Mar. 31, 2024

“IF A MAN DIES, WILL HE LIVE AGAIN?”

1 CORINTHIANS 15

Job 14:14 “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes.”

Mark 8:36 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

So, if it’s really possible to live forever, then there is no more relevant issue than this, “if a man dies, shall he live again?

1 Corinthians 15:19 “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

Vance Havner once said, “The hope of dying is the only thing that keeps me alive.”

In 1 Corinthians 15 the apostle Paul deals with this question in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”

Now the word “gospel” means good news, and the good news is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ provides positive answers to the three most important questions about life after death:

1.   Is There Life After Death?

The answer is yes, Jesus’ resurrection proved it:

1 Corinthians 15:3-5 “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.”

On that first Easter morning Jesus Christ strolled out of that tomb very much alive. When the women went to the tomb to anoint His body, they discovered the tomb was empty.

1 Corinthians 15:5-8 “and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”

1 Corinthians 15:12 “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

When a man steps out of His own grave, He is anything that He says that He is and He can do anything that He says He can do!

Is There Life After Death? Yes

2.   If There Is Life After Death, What Is It Like?

1 Corinthians 15:20 “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Now that word “firstfruits means an example of that which is to come.

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

*First There Was A Separation Of The Body

Just before Jesus died He said, “Father into your hands I commend My Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

*So There Is A Departure Of The Spirit From The Body, Then There Is A Resurrection Of The Body.

John 5:28 “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice.”

When Jesus commands it, there will be a resurrection of the body.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Luke 24:38-42

1 Corinthians 15:35 “But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”

1 Corinthians 15:38-41 “But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. 39All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. 40There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.”

Paul says, just trust God. He is able to create a body that will perfectly fit into its intended environment. 

1 Corinthians 15:52-55

Our bodies will be active bodies.

Our bodies are going to be identifiable bodies.

3.   How Can We Attain Eternal Life?

If life after death were for sale, how much would you pay for it?

So we can’t earn it and we don’t deserve it, but the good news is that Jesus Christ stepped in to pay the debt for us.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

4.   Now, I Can Only Think Of Two Reasons Why You Would Refuse Such A Fantastic Offer:

*Is Because You Love Sin.

*Is Personal Pride.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

When man dies will he live again? Yes, Jesus proved it, Jesus demonstrated it, and Jesus Christ purchased it for you. It’s up to you to receive it. Have you done that?