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1 Corinthians 15 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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0:00So, Paul is going to finish
0:02the book of 1 Corinthians
0:05with a return and revisit of the
0:08foundation.
0:09What is the gospel? [music]
0:11What is the big picture? What is the
0:14eternity we are all moving toward?
0:17And it's as if he's been saying,
0:19"You've got divisions.
0:22That's going to destroy the temple. You
0:24need to come back into order.
0:27You need to put love before liberty.
0:29You need to find the order of
0:31relationships. You need to realize the
0:33gifts of the Spirit because the Spirit
0:35needs to be manifest in the church.
0:38But you need to make sure it's done in
0:39love. And you need to do it orderly.
0:42Order, order, order. And now [music]
0:44he's like, "Now I want to show you what
0:46this is all aiming toward cuz if you
0:48don't arrive here, you miss the whole
0:50[music] point."
0:521 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 1. Now I
0:56make known to you, brethren, the gospel.
0:59Now I make known to you, brethren, the
1:02gospel,
1:03which I preached to you,
1:05which also you received,
1:08in which also you stand,
1:11by which you are saved if
1:16if you hold fast the word which I
1:21preached to you,
1:22unless you believed in vain.
1:26There are astounding insights right
1:28here.
1:29We know the gospel is how we are saved.
1:33But the gospel is something we stand in.
1:36And it's something we are saved by only
1:40if we hold [music] fast the word which
1:43he preached, unless we believed in vain.
1:47That word vain means useless. Unless we
1:51believed in a manner that is useless.
1:54Failure to continue, failure to hold
1:57fast, failure to stand
2:00makes past belief useless.
2:05For I delivered to you
2:07as of first importance what I also
2:10received,
2:12that
2:13Christ died for our sins according to
2:16the scripture,
2:18and that he was buried,
2:20and that he was raised on the third day
2:22according to the scripture,
2:24and that he appeared to Cephas, then the
2:2712.
2:29After that, he appeared to more than 500
2:32brethren at one time, most of whom
2:35remain until now, but some have fallen
2:38asleep. Then he appeared to James, then
2:41to all the apostles, and last of all, as
2:44to one untimely born, he appeared to me
2:47also.
2:49So, Paul says, "This is the gospel.
2:53Jesus died for our sins. Jesus was
2:57buried,
2:58and Jesus was raised on the third day
3:01according to the scripture.
3:03And this is the proof
3:06that there is forgiveness, that there is
3:08power over the dominion of death itself.
3:11Everything in the church is predicated
3:14on this, the death, burial, and
3:17resurrection of Jesus Christ.
3:20This is the gospel that we receive. This
3:23is the gospel we stand in. This is the
3:25gospel we hold fast to, and if we don't,
3:28we believe in vain.
3:31Amen?
3:32But belief is not just mental assent,
3:36because twice we are told that we must
3:39obey the gospel. How do you obey the
3:42death of Jesus? How do you obey the
3:44burial of Jesus? How do you obey the
3:46resurrection of Jesus?
3:48The first gospel preaching by the
3:51Apostle Peter on the birthday of the
3:54church was when the Jews said, "Men and
3:57brethren, what must we do?" He said,
4:00"Repent, be baptized, and be filled with
4:03the Holy Spirit. That means obey the
4:06gospel by dying to the reign of sin in
4:10repentance. That's how you're united
4:12with the cross of Jesus. Obey the gospel
4:15by burying that old self under the the
4:18sacrifice of Jesus in water baptism.
4:21That's how you obey the burial of Jesus.
4:25Obey the gospel by being filled with the
4:28same spirit that raised Christ Jesus
4:30from the dead. That's how you obey the
4:32resurrection of Jesus. So, obeying and
4:36believing are the same thing as Romans
4:3810 showed us. Who has believed, they
4:41have not all obeyed, for Isaiah says,
4:44"Who has believed our report?" Do you
4:46understand?
4:48So,
4:50then he goes on.
4:53For I am the least of the apostles, and
4:56not fit to be called an apostle, because
4:59I persecuted the church of God.
5:02But by the grace of God, I am what I am.
5:07And his grace toward me did not prove
5:09vain. There's that same word.
5:12But I labored even more than all of
5:16them. Yet not I, but the grace of God
5:19with me.
5:21So, Paul says, "Jesus appeared to me,
5:24too."
5:25On the road, do you remember, in a
5:27vision, in the heavenly vision?
5:30And he says, "I'm the worst. I'm the
5:31least. I shouldn't even be called an
5:33apostle." But he says, "By the grace of
5:35God, I am what I am, and his grace did
5:38not prove vain to me." How do we know
5:40that his grace did not prove vain?
5:43I labored more than all of them.
5:48So, when grace is vain, there are no
5:51works in your life. There is no fruit.
5:53There is no labor in your life. But,
5:56when grace is real, it is the energizing
5:59of God in you unto obedience.
6:03Anything else
6:05is vain. So, now we have believing in
6:08vain and grace in vain. And the opposite
6:11of grace in vain is an activation of the
6:15works of God in our life. I labored even
6:18more than all of them, yet not I, but
6:20the grace of God with me.
6:23Real works that God wants us to walk in,
6:26the ones he's prepared before the
6:28foundation of the world, are works that
6:30we can't take credit for.
6:32Let your light so shine before men that
6:35they may see your good works and give
6:37the glory to your father.
6:39Amen. Jesus says in Matthew 10, "When
6:42you're brought before rulers, it will
6:44not be you speaking,
6:46but it will be my father." That's grace.
6:49But, if that's not happening in your
6:51life, you believed in vain.
6:53The grace of God is vain in your life.
6:55It's useless. It's not having the
6:57effect. Grace has an effect not just on
7:01your eternity, but on your labor, on
7:03your work, on your now.
7:06It changes you. It moves you. It speaks
7:09through you, and you don't get the
7:10credit. And this is where we see there
7:12is no dichotomy between grace and works.
7:16Only between grace that works and the
7:19works of the flesh that we choose for
7:21ourself. There's a big contrast between
7:23those two. But, real grace, God's grace,
7:27it works.
7:29Whether then it was I or they, so we
7:32preach and so you believed.
7:36Now, if Christ is preached that he has
7:39been raised from the dead, how do some
7:41among you say there is no resurrection
7:44of the dead?
7:46Now, Paul says, "How do some among you
7:50say there is no resurrection for the
7:53dead?" Okay?
7:56So, is Paul agreeing with these people
7:58who say this?
7:59No.
8:01But, he's going to show how foolish they
8:04are
8:05even though he disagrees with them
8:06categorically.
8:09But, if there is no resurrection of the
8:10dead, not even Christ has been raised.
8:13And if Christ has not been raised, then
8:16our preaching is vain and your faith is
8:19vain.
8:20Now, we get vain two more times.
8:23It's useless. It has no value. It's
8:26vain.
8:27Moreover,
8:29we are found to be false witnesses of
8:31God because we testified against God
8:35that he raised Christ whom he did not
8:37raise if in fact the dead are not
8:39raised.
8:40For if the dead are not raised, not even
8:42Christ has been raised. And if Christ
8:44has not been raised, your faith is
8:46worthless.
8:48So, again, he's doubling down on a faith
8:52and a preaching and a grace that either
8:54has value and effect or it's worthless.
8:58You are still in your sins.
9:01You're still caught. You don't have
9:04power by the spirit over sin. You are
9:06still in your sins.
9:08Then those also who have fallen asleep
9:11in Christ have perished.
9:14If we have hoped in Christ in this life
9:17only, we are of all men most to be
9:20pitied.
9:21He says, "If we have hoped in Christ in
9:23this life only, we are of all men
9:26most to be pitied."
9:28Does that mean they have no joy in this
9:29life?
9:30Does that mean they have no peace?
9:33Does that mean they have no laughter, no
9:35love? No.
9:37He says, "Make my joy complete."
9:41He says, "I have no greater joy." The
9:42Apostle John says.
9:46He says, Jesus says,
9:48"Abundant life in this life."
9:51Amen.
9:52But,
9:54these men are dying.
9:56Paul's fixing to be beheaded. All the
9:58apostles
9:59are going to die a violent death besides
10:02John.
10:04And he's saying, "If there's no
10:05resurrection and we're building our
10:07whole life
10:08on the resurrection,
10:10then why would we be doing this?
10:12We're the worst fools of all. We're
10:14willing to die for something that we
10:16actually experienced.
10:18How dare you tamper with the fundamental
10:21question of whether the dead are raised?
10:25But now Christ has been raised from the
10:27dead, the firstfruits of those who are
10:29asleep.
10:31For since by a man came death, by a man
10:34also came the resurrection of the dead.
10:38For as in Adam all die, so also in
10:41Christ all will be made alive.
10:45But each one in his own order, Christ
10:47the firstfruits, after that those who
10:50are Christ at his coming.
10:53So he says there's going to be an order
10:54to the resurrection. First, Jesus rose.
10:58Then those who belong to him at his
11:00coming, they're going to come.
11:02Then comes the end when he hands over
11:05the kingdom
11:06to the God and Father
11:09when he has abolished all rule and all
11:11authority and power.
11:14For he must reign until he has put all
11:17enemies under his feet. The last enemy
11:19that will be abolished is death.
11:23For he has put all things in subjection
11:25under his feet, but when he says all
11:28things are put in subjection, it is
11:30evident that he is accepting who put all
11:33things in subjection to him.
11:35When all things are subject to him, then
11:38the Son himself will also be subjected
11:40to the one who subjected all things to
11:42him, so that God may be all in all.
11:46He's saying that there's going to be an
11:49order to resurrection. Jesus starts the
11:51resurrection, then those who are
11:54alive when he comes back, then those
11:56who are dead are going to rise. Amen?
11:59And he says that
12:02he's going to deliver up the kingdom to
12:04God the Father
12:05and put an end to all rule, power,
12:07authority, and dominion. There's going
12:09to be a day when nobody's over anybody,
12:10when nobody submits to anybody. But he
12:13says he must reign, that rule must be
12:16real right now until everything is put
12:19into subjection under his feet. And so
12:21we ask,
12:23okay,
12:24where and how is that subjection coming?
12:27Well, Ephesians 1:22 tells us
12:30that he put all things into subjection
12:32under his feet and gave him to be head
12:34over all things to the church, which is
12:36his body. The amplified says this is a
12:39headship exercised in and through the
12:41church, which is his body.
12:43So, the church is the mechanism of
12:45sonship whereby all things are being
12:49brought under subjection to God's feet.
12:52If everything is being brought under the
12:54dominion of the Holy Spirit through the
12:56mechanism of the church, then that's God
12:59reigning through the church, and when
13:01we've brought all things under
13:03subjection to his feet, then he's going
13:05to return. Then the project is complete.
13:08And there's nothing that is tormenting
13:10us anymore that has not been brought
13:12under complete obedience to the the
13:15spirit through the church.
13:18And he says then, when all things are
13:20subjected to him, then the Son himself
13:22also will be subjected. The Son refers
13:24to to human aspect.
13:27And that sonship aspect is working in
13:30and through the church.
13:32As Ephesians 1:22 shows.
13:36So that God may be all in all. The The
13:39point, the goal of all of this, the goal
13:43of the church age, the goal of the
13:45kingdom is for God to be all that is in
13:49all of us.
13:51He's the only motivation. He's the only
13:53purpose. He's the only power. He's the
13:55only why. He's all that is in all.
14:00Otherwise, what will those And then
14:03Paul goes back here in verse 29
14:06to the people he disagrees with. Some
14:09are saying
14:11that there is no resurrection. So he
14:13says, "Otherwise, what will those do who
14:15are baptized for the dead?
14:18If the dead are not raised at all, why
14:20then are they baptized
14:23for them?"
14:24Paul is not endorsing baptism for the
14:27dead in the church. How do we know that?
14:30Well, no command or practice
14:34can be established except in the mouth
14:36of two or three witnesses. If there
14:38aren't two or three scriptures telling
14:40us to be baptized for the dead, then
14:41we're not to be baptized for the dead.
14:44He says, "They, not we,
14:48those who are
14:50Why are they doing this?"
14:52Now, it's quite likely that the people
14:55who are challenging the resurrection are
14:57Sadducees.
14:59They don't agree with the resurrection.
15:01We know there are Pharisees and
15:03Sadducees in the Jewish community, and
15:06both of them are in the church or at
15:09least influencing the church.
15:11So maybe the Sadducees had a practice,
15:14and Paul's saying, "That doesn't make
15:15any sense. Why would you be baptized for
15:18the dead if there's no resurrection? How
15:20does that make sense?"
15:23Otherwise, what will those do who are
15:25baptized for the dead? If the dead are
15:27not raised at all, why then are they
15:29baptized? Notice he says, "If the dead
15:31are not raised at all." It doesn't refer
15:33to Christ's resurrection. It doesn't
15:36refer to our resurrection. It's they and
15:39them.
15:40Is that clear? Now, the Mormons went and
15:42made a doctrine out of let's be baptized
15:44for the dead because of this. But,
15:46that's establishing something outside
15:48the witness of two or three scriptures,
15:50which is not biblical.
15:52Why are we also in danger every hour? Do
15:55you hear the difference in pronouns?
15:56They and them. Why are we also in danger
16:00every hour? So, he's like, "This is
16:02crazy. If we're giving our lives and
16:06risking our lives every hour for this
16:08argument, why would we do it if we don't
16:10actually believe it?"
16:11I affirm, brethren, by the boasting
16:14in you which I have in Christ Jesus our
16:16Lord, I die daily.
16:21>> [snorts]
16:22>> If from human motives I fought with wild
16:26beasts at Ephesus,
16:29what does it profit me?
16:31If the dead are not raised, let us eat
16:33and drink, for tomorrow we die.
16:37He's saying, "Why was I Why did I fight
16:41with wild beasts who were trying to kill
16:43me at Ephesus?
16:45Why am I dying daily? Why is my life in
16:48threat every day?
16:50Why am I going to be beheaded at Rome?"
16:52He could say.
16:54If the dead are not raised, let's just
16:56eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow
16:58we die.
17:01Do not be deceived.
17:03Bad company corrupts good morals.
17:08So, there's a company
17:10who is in the church that is corrupting
17:13the church. And that company is saying
17:16there's no resurrection. and that
17:17company is baptizing for the dead, and
17:20it's bad company.
17:22And it's self-contradictory company. So,
17:25tell the company to go home.
17:28Become sober-minded as you ought, and
17:31stop sinning.
17:32For some have no knowledge of God. I
17:36speak this to your shame.
17:38But someone will say, "How are the dead
17:41raised?
17:42And with what kind of body do they
17:44come?"
17:46You fool.
17:49That which you sow does not come to life
17:52unless it dies.
17:58I would observe here that Paul just
18:00said, "You fool."
18:03Is he disobeying Jesus' warning? No,
18:06he's using it wisely.
18:09That which you sow,
18:11what you plant in the ground, does not
18:13come to life unless it dies.
18:20The seed
18:21that you plant in the soil ceases to be
18:24a seed. It dies as a seed in order to
18:27come to life as something else.
18:30And that which you sow, you do not sow
18:33the body which is to be, but a bare
18:36grain, perhaps of wheat or something
18:39else.
18:41But God gives it a body just as he
18:45wished, and to each of the seeds a body
18:49of its own.
18:50So, he says, "You want to know what kind
18:51of bodies we're going to have?
18:53Think of your human capacity
18:55as the seed of what you're going to be
18:58in the resurrection.
19:01All flesh is not the same flesh.
19:05But there is one flesh of men, and
19:08another flesh of beasts, another flesh
19:10of birds, and another of fish.
19:14He's saying, "Just because you know what
19:16your flesh is like now, let's
19:18acknowledge that not all flesh is the
19:20same. There's major distinctions, and
19:23there's going to be a distinction
19:24between who you are and what you will
19:25be."
19:27There are also heavenly bodies and
19:30earthly bodies, but the glory of the
19:32heavenly is one, and the glory of the
19:35earthly is another.
19:38There is one glory of the sun, and
19:40another glory of the moon, and another
19:42glory of the stars.
19:45For star differs from star in glory.
19:48One is brighter, and one is dimmer.
19:51The moon is not the sun. The moon is
19:53merely a reflection of the sun. Does the
19:55moon have no glory? So, he's saying, "In
19:57the same way, your human body, it's
19:59something. It's got glory.
20:01But, it we're going to change. We're
20:04going to be different when we are raised
20:05from the dead
20:07than we are now. So, also is the
20:09resurrection of the dead.
20:11It is sown in a perishable body. It is
20:15raised an imperishable body. It is sown
20:18in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It
20:21is sown in weakness. It is raised in
20:24power.
20:25It is sown in a natural body. It is
20:28raised a spiritual body.
20:32If there is a natural body, there is
20:35also a spiritual body.
20:39If you are a natural person, there's
20:41going to be a spiritual person.
20:44If there was a natural Israel as a
20:46nation-state, there's going to be a
20:48spiritual Israel as the body of Christ.
20:52So, also is it written,
20:55"The first man, Adam, became a living
20:58soul.
20:59The last Adam became a life-giving
21:03spirit."
21:06>> Jesus became a life-giving spirit. He's
21:10who came on the day of Pentecost. I will
21:13not leave you orphans. I will come to
21:15you.
21:16However, the spiritual is not first, but
21:19the natural, then the spiritual. First
21:22the natural, then the spiritual.
21:25First Israel, then the body of Christ.
21:27And in the restoration, first natural
21:30Israel in 1948, then the restoration of
21:34spiritual Israel
21:36yet to come.
21:37The first man is from the earth,
21:40earthly. The second man is from heaven.
21:43As is the earthly, so also are those who
21:47are earthly.
21:48And as is the heavenly, so also are
21:51those who are heavenly.
21:53Just as we
21:55have borne the image of the earthly, we
21:58will also bear the image of the
22:01heavenly.
22:02You're just the seed. And when you fall
22:05into the ground, that's not the end.
22:08That's the planting.
22:10And God's going to raise you up into an
22:12eternity that makes you as different as
22:16a tree is from an apple seed.
22:20And yet they are connected.
22:22Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and
22:25blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
22:29Nor does the perishable inherit the
22:31imperishable. This is what Jesus meant
22:34when he said, "You must be born again.
22:35You can't even see the kingdom of God."
22:38And the ultimate consummation of the
22:40kingdom, when we go to heaven, your
22:42flesh can't inherit that.
22:45Your body can't inherit that. God's got
22:47to change you in order to see the
22:49spiritual reality of His kingdom here,
22:51and then He's got to change you even
22:52more in order to inherit the eternity in
22:56the New Jerusalem to come.
22:59Behold, I tell you a mystery.
23:01We will not all sleep, but we will all
23:05be changed.
23:07So, not everybody's going to be planted
23:08in the ground, but everybody's going to
23:10be as changed as a seed is to a tree.
23:15In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
23:18at the last trumpet, for the trumpet
23:21will sound, and the dead will be raised
23:24imperishable, [clears throat]
23:25and we will be changed.
23:30For this perishable must put on the
23:32imperishable, and this mortal
23:35must put on immortality.
23:39But, when this perishable will have put
23:42on the imperishable, and this mortal
23:44will have put on immortality, then
23:47will come about the saying that is
23:50written, "Death
23:53is swallowed up in victory.
23:55[clears throat]
23:56O death, where is your victory?
24:00O death, where is your sting?"
24:04The sting of death is sin,
24:08>> [clears throat]
24:08>> and the power of sin is the law.
24:11But, thanks be to God, who gives us the
24:15victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
24:18Therefore, my beloved brethren,
24:21be steadfast,
24:23immovable,
24:25always abounding in the work of the
24:28Lord,
24:29>> [music]
24:29>> knowing that your toil is not in vain in
24:32the Lord.
24:34So, [music] he starts the chapter by
24:36saying,
24:37"You believed in vain if you're not
24:39steadfast, [music] if you don't stand
24:41and continue." But, I didn't believe in
24:44vain. I worked harder than you all. He
24:46finishes the sandwich, the chapter, by
24:48saying,
24:49>> [music]
24:49>> "So, brethren, be steadfast, stand fast,
24:53be immovable, keep standing, [music]
24:56always abounding in the work of the Lord
24:59like I did, like the grace of God did in
25:02me.
25:03That's so that your belief [music] is
25:05not in vain.
25:06Knowing that your toil
25:09in the Lord
25:11is not in vain.
25:14What is he telling us?
25:16He's saying, "Don't live for this life
25:21only.
25:23This life is the planting of a seed
25:26that's got to
25:27come forth in a whole new reality. And
25:30if you think and make decisions [music]
25:33based on this life only,
25:35you're going to be of all men most
25:37miserable.
25:39But this is
25:39>> [music]
25:40>> we're all going to be changed.
25:42The sinners are going to be changed, the
25:43righteous are going to be changed. The
25:46graves are going to be opened, Jesus
25:47says in John 5,
25:49>> [music]
25:49>> and they will come out those who did the
25:51evil deeds
25:52to a resurrection of death, and those
25:54who did the good deeds to a resurrection
25:56[music] of life. We're all going to be
25:58changed. This is but the waiting room
26:01for an eternity [music] where it all
26:03becomes plain what it was all about.
26:06So don't let it be in vain. Don't let
26:08your faith be in vain. Don't let grace
26:10be in vain. Don't let the gospel be in
26:12vain. Don't let your toil be in vain.
26:15Let God work in you through his power to
26:18keep moving
26:19toward that eternal purpose,
26:21heaven.

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This page contains the full transcript of 1 Corinthians 15 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams by Heritage Press, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 3,824 words across 630 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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