Ep 291 – 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

In this episode, based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Paul is nearing the end of his letter and begins to focus this reader's attention on the end of life and the return of Christ. It is as if he is trying to refocus their attention on what really matters. Not only should they believe in and look forward to the resurrection of their bodies, they should understand that the bodies they will receive will be sin-free and death-resistant. This Greek idea that had permeated the church in Corinth that the human body was somehow evil and the soul good was unbiblical. And while our earthly bodies are dying and decaying, subject to acting out our sinful inclinations, and prone to resisting God's will and the Spirit's leading, they will be renewed one day. We will receive resurrected bodies. Spanking new, God-created bodies that will be free from sin, pain, suffering, disease, and death. And as Paul states earlier in this same chapter, that hope is based on the reality of Christ's bodily resurrection. He too received a new body. He had been brutally beaten, crucified, pierced in His hands, feet and side, but had walked out of the tomb alive and well. Yes, He was still carrying the marks of the wounds on His body, but He was alive and would never die again. And we have the same remarkable fate in store for us. Our bodies, like His, will be new and improved.