So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being ; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth and made of dust; the second man is from heaven. Like the man made of dust, so are those who are made of dust; like the heavenly man, so are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the man made of dust, we will also bear the image of the heavenly man. (1 Corinthians 15:42~49 — Holman Christian Standard Version)
When a child of God dies, his soul goes to be with Jesus in paradise. The body of course goes to the grave. But when Jesus comes again, there will be a resurrection of bodies. Jesus will come with those who died and are living with Him in paradise. They will then be clothed with new resurrection bodies, so in heaven we will be both soul and body.
But there’s much more that God is showing us in this passage, than about life in paradise. He wants us to understand that when we truly “die” to our corrupt and evil desires and choose to live for Him, we begin to live in a new realm, a spiritual realm, right here on this earth. Paul teaches about the first Adam, the one formed by God from dust in the Garden who handed over the dominion God gave him to Satan. But the second Adam is Jesus, who took back that dominion out of the hands of Satan when He died and rose again. Jesus’ sacrifice undid the tragedy that Adam and Eve began at the beginning of time. Jesus is our life-giving Spirit — He snatches us away from death and gives us life, if we just accept His sacrifice for ourselves and serve Him as our Lord.
Few who label themselves Christian live a victorious life, because few understand that power over all evil is ours now on this earth, not just in heaven after our bodies die. Jesus said many times, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is at hand!” That means we can access the power of the Kingdom of Heaven right now if we become His true servants, empty ourselves of our selfish desires and agree to follow Him no matter where He leads us. Healing, miracles, authority over demons, the infilling of His Holy Spirit, wisdom, strength, unexplainable joy and peace… This is meant for now, and is just a taste of what life will be like when we gain our heavenly bodies and see Jesus face to face. Heaven will be an amazing experience that we can barely imagine. But Jesus’ defeat of Satan on the cross is His gift to us who have to struggle through this dark world, so that we can immediately be forgiven and be given life and power on a spiritual level, in another realm.
Now that you know you can have it, do whatever it takes to find it.
No comments:
Post a Comment