Pastor Kevin Sadler |
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept” (I Corinthians 15:20).
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (I Corinthians 15:20). England, a ship signaled to a man on shore, who relayed the word to another on a hill, and so on across Britain. The first word, “Wellington,” was signaled. The next word was “defeated.” Then a fog closed in, and the message was interrupted. Across England, people wept over the message: “Wellington defeated.” Then the fog lifted. The communication continued with two additional words: “the enemy.” And Englishmen celebrated the victory.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (I Corinthians 15:20). England, a ship signaled to a man on shore, who relayed the word to another on a hill, and so on across Britain. The first word, “Wellington,” was signaled. The next word was “defeated.” Then a fog closed in, and the message was interrupted. Across England, people wept over the message: “Wellington defeated.” Then the fog lifted. The communication continued with two additional words: “the enemy.” And Englishmen celebrated the victory.
There was great sorrow when the body
of Jesus was carried from the cross to the tomb. The signal seemed to
say, “Jesus Christ defeated.” But three days later the fog lifted and it
was announced, “Jesus Christ defeated the enemy!” Through Christ
we have complete victory over our enemies of sin, death, and Satan, and we have
new life, a glorious hope, and the certainty of our own resurrection one
day. But the subject of resurrection in God’s Word is one that
needs to be rightly divided.
“But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” (I Corinthians
15:23).
In the fifteenth chapter of I
Corinthians, Paul speaks of the resurrections, both prophetic and according to
the revelation of the mystery. In verses 23-28, Paul outlines the
prophetic “order” of resurrections, and he begins with Christ’s. As Paul
spoke of the gospel of salvation in verses 1-4, he made it clear that Christ’s
resurrection was prophesied: “He rose again the third day according to the
Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:4 cf. Psalms 16:10). In verses 20 and
23, Paul refers to Christ’s resurrection as being the “firstfruits,” meaning
that His resurrection is a foretaste of what is to come. Christ’s bodily
resurrection guarantees the great harvest of bodily resurrections yet to come
for both the kingdom saints and the Body of Christ.
Notice though how Paul says “they
[not “we”] that are Christ’s at His Coming” (I Corinthians 15:23), speaking of
the resurrection of the prophetic saints after Christ’s second coming.
These saints will be raised and ushered into the earthly, millennial reign of
Christ. This is the “first resurrection,” and it includes all the saved
from the prophetic program, or in other words, all the saved from the past,
prior to this dispensation of grace, and all the future martyred Tribulation
saints. As Revelation 20:6 states,
“Blessed and holy is he that hath
part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but
they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand
years.”
Following the thousand-year Kingdom,
when Christ “must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet” (I Corinthians
15:25), comes the time when “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”
(I Corinthians 15:26). After the Great White Throne, “death and hell”
will be “cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14) and “there shall be no
more death” (Revelation 21:4). The second resurrection, or “resurrection
of damnation” (John 5:29), of all the unsaved of all ages will take place at
this time, when they will be fitted with bodies to endure everlasting
punishment.
After Paul gives this prophetic
sequence of events regarding resurrection, in verse 51 he brings up a secret
coming and a secret resurrection that wasn’t ever before revealed.
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (I Corinthians 15:51,52).
The “first resurrection” and this secret
resurrection are two different resurrections. The prophesied “first
resurrection” will take place after Christ’s prophesied second coming.
The secret resurrection will take place at Christ’s secret
coming, the Rapture (I Thessalonian 4:13-18). This coming of Christ and
its resurrection is part of the “revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25), the
message which had been hid in the mind of God and revealed first to the Apostle
Paul (Eph. 3:1-9). All the previous resurrections, such as Christ’s
resurrection, the first resurrection, and the resurrection of damnation were
all revealed in the Old Testament (Isaiah 53:10; Daniel 12:2), but not the resurrection
of the Body of Christ.
Notice how the personal pronouns
change from “they” to “we” here as Paul applies this coming of Christ and resurrection
to the Church, the Body of Christ: “We shall not sleep,
but we shall all be changed” (I Corinthians 15:51). The Rapture is
the bodily resurrection day for the Body of Christ only, which is not referred
to or revealed outside of Paul’s letters. The Rapture and its secret
resurrection is part of the mystery program while the second coming and its
first resurrection belong to the prophetic program.
“For our conversation is in
heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who
shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious
body” (Philippians 3:20,21).
King James Bible
The Preserved and Living Word of God
Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
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