1 Corinthians 15:35-41
But some will say, “How are the dead being raised up?” and “To
what kind of body will they come?”
Foolish one! That which you sow,
it is not being made to live unless it dies.
And that which you sow, you do not sow the body that will become but
rather a naked seed – it might be of wheat or of some remaining kind. But God gives a body to it just as He desires
and He gives to each seed its own body.
Not all flesh has the same body – in one case some are mankind and another
body is domesticated animals and another body is winged creatures and another
is fish. There are heavenly bodies and
earthly bodies. But the glory of the
heavenly body is of one kind and the glory of the earthly body is of another
kind. Another kind is the glory of the
sun and another kind is the glory of the moon and another kind is the glory of
stars. For a star is different from
other stars in glory.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought
This imagery that Paul uses here regarding the seed is one
of my favorite imageries of resurrection.
It should be, because Jesus Himself begins using this image in His own
ministry: see John 12:23-28. From a
farming perspective it makes sense. With
the seed we see a physical shell. But
when the seed is put into the ground, it begins to grow into something that
could never have been guessed just by looking at the seed! But the seed must go into the ground in order
to have this process happen! The seed
must be buried and die to the idea of being a seed before it can become
something more. Furthermore, the seed
must accept the idea that it is not the end of life but rather the
beginning! So it is with us. We each have physical bodies. We each tend to think of this existence as
the most important part of life. But
that is just not true. We will die. We will be buried. And then God will make each of us into
something absolutely unforeseeable!
Death is not the end that we often imagine it to be. Death is merely the end of this existence as
we transition into an existence that makes this one seem small.
How do you view death?
Do you fear death or anticipate it?
How can you anticipate death without being morbid about it?
Second Thought:
In the middle of this verse Paul talks about the different
kinds of bodies. Here on earth we
understand the human body. It is highly suited for thinking and reasoning and
learning and understanding. We don’t have
claws or thick skin. We are neither
particularly fast nor particularly strong.
We are thinkers. But then there
are the domesticated animals that are built for feats of strength such as
plowing fields or dragging carts behind them.
There are birds, which are primed for flight. There are fish, which are given bodies
perfect for existing in the fluid world of water. What is Paul’s point? God is good enough to give us bodies that are
suited for our existence. Thus, while
none of us can ever hope to guess what our spiritual bodies will look like in
heaven, we can be guaranteed that our bodies will be suited for a spiritual existence
with the Father. We may not know what to
expect in the life to come, but the witness of creation is that God knows what
He is doing when giving us bodies to suit our needs.
Do you ever think about what the spiritual eternal life will
look like? Why can this be a fun pursuit
of imagination? How can we let this pursuit
be a time in which we exercise our trust and hope in God?
Third Thought:
Notice how many times Paul talks about glory in these
verses. We are given glorious
bodies. God’s handiwork is a glorious
thing! Heavenly bodies, earthly bodies,
the sun, the moon, and even the stars have glorious bodies. The animate and the inanimate have glorious
bodies. As we think about the eternal
and what will come about when our physical body is sown into the earth, don’t
forget to stop and give glory to God, who made all of the glorious things that
we know.
How can you give glory to the Father today? Why is it important to remember to glorify
His name?
Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 15:42-49
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