>> Jen: Hello, faithful listeners, and welcome to the Bible Explained podcast. We're going to be in the book of First uh, Corinthians today, so make sure to grab your delicious cup of coffee or cup of tea this morning. And we'll be reading First uh, Corinthians 15. All right, faithful listeners, before we begin today's episode, I have a very sad announcement and, um, I'm even hesitant to break this news to you. I discovered last month that I cannot
drink caffeine of any kind. Whether it's black tea, coffee, green tea, nothing. Whatever it is, it makes me extremely sick. I discovered this because when I got off of coffee, I switched over to black tea and still didn't feel very good. Cause as you guys know, I've been dealing with some stomach problems this entire year. So I went to black tea. Long story short, I missed a couple days last month of drinking it and I was like, oh, you know, I feel pretty good. But then the day after
that, I drank black tea again. My like typical Earl Grey. And I felt extremely sick that evening. And that was the first day I put two and two together and realized it might be the tea or coffee that I'm m drinking. So then I did a, uh, three week long experiment where I didn't drink any tea or coffee and I felt significantly better every single day. Like my some stomach problems were still there, but not like
when I drink anything caffeinated. So then my husband went to the store and he knows everything that I've been like, dealing with. He bought me some chamomile tea and also some. It's not rooibos tea, I'm sorry. Oh, it was oolong tea. And he bought me some oolong tea, not knowing that it was caffeinated. So the next morning I drank it to be nice and also to experiment a little bit further. I got so sick. I was like next to the toilet all night. I couldn't leave the bedroom. I was so sick.
And that was the first time that had happened since the last time I drank anything caffeinated. I wonder how far this caffeine problem that I have goes. But throughout all of this, I looked up the symptoms of a caffeine allergy. And I have a lot of the symptoms of a caffeine allergy. And I wonder if this entire time my issues have boiled down to caffeine, which I never quite cut out of my diet.
So yeah, I'm sad to announce that because I love caffeine and I love coffee and my entire platform was built on coffee. I I mean, my logo, for heaven's sake, is a coffee cup. So I'm just really sad to tell you guys that I can't drink coffee or tea anymore. So I am neither a coffee drinker or a crazy tea drinker. Maybe I can do like herbal teas and be like a crazy herbal tea drinker.
But yeah, for the time being, I am, um, not drinking anything caffeinated that even includes, like decaf coffee because I don't know, my body can't really handle it or process it. The platform isn't changing, by the way. The logo is not going to change. I still love a hot beverage while I'm doing my podcast. Like, right now, I've got cranberry apple tea that I'm drinking.
So you can just imagine the coffee cup on the logo of this podcast as just being filled with any delicious hot beverage that you prefer. All right, guys, let's read first uh, 1 Corinthians 15:20 through 34. We'll be talking more about the resurrection from the dead and how apparently the Corinthian Church did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. And Paul is about to set them straight and he actually does so kind of harshly. So let's get into it. I'll be reading out of, uh, the Web.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the firstfruit of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own Christ. The firstfruits, then those who are Christ's at His coming. Then the end comes when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, uh, even to the Father, when He will have abolished all
rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For he put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who subjected all things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also be subjected to him, who subjected all things to him. That God, uh may be all in all. Or else what
will they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead aren't raised at all, why then are they baptized for the dead? Why do we also stand in jeopardy? Every hour I affirm by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our LORD, that I die daily. If I fought with animals at ephesus for human purposes. What does it profit me if the dead are not raised? Then let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Don't be deceived. Evil companionship corrupts good morals. Wake up righteously and
don't sin. For some have no knowledge of God, uh. I say this to your shame. So last week we talked about why the resurrection of the dead has to be believed by Christians. Because that's basically the most basic understanding of our faith in Jesus, is that he came to earth as a baby, he died on the cross, got buried, and then rose from the dead three days later. And not just rose from the dead, but experienced a resurrection.
And today I'll talk about the difference between rising from the dead and experiencing resurrection in a little bit. But we have to believe that Jesus experienced the resurrection of the dead, because that proves that Jesus truly saved us from our sins. Because firstly, he proved all of the prophets of the Old Testament by rising from the dead. Secondly, he showed himself to be God, uh
that came down in human flesh. And thirdly, he shows us that a resurrection is possible for us, that we don't just die in our sins, completely abandoned by God, uh, but that a true resurrection can happen for us as well if we believe on Jesus, who was the first person ever to be resurrected. So it says Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first
fruit of those who are asleep. So this idea of first fruits comes from the Old Testament, where the Israelites would bring the first fruits of their crops to God, uh as an offering. So this was a special offering that would happen right at the beginning of
barley season in the spring. And I think also at the beginning of a different season, like towards the fall, the people would bring the first fruits of everything that they had gleaned from the fields and give it to God, uh as a act of thanksgiving that God, uh provided them food for the rest of the year. And so it says that Jesus is the first fruit of those who are asleep. So that term falling asleep, we also see that strewn throughout the Old
Testament as well. Right now, we're going through the kings and what happens at the end of every king's life. It says this king slept with his fathers. So scripture often uses the term asleep to express death. And I like that Scripture consistently does that, because the people who wrote scripture who were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write it all had faith and hope that there was a resurrection from the dead. The word
death feels very permanent, right? But the word asleep is a temporary status that somebody goes through and then wakes up right the next morning or whatever. So Scripture consistently uses the word sleep to refer to death. And Paul, once again here does the same thing. He says, Jesus became the first fruit of those who are asleep. So Jesus became the first person to be resurrected from the dead. And you might be like, well, Jen, there's definitely stories of other people who rose from the dead
before Jesus rose from the dead. Yes, but they were not resurrected. And so that's why there's a difference between rising from the dead and resurrection. So, for example, in the Old Testament, we're about to talk about a prophet named Elijah in the Book of First Kings. And I'm super excited to get into his life and his story. But one of the miracles Elijah did was he raised somebody's child from the dead.
And that's way back in the Old Testament. So you might be like, well, that child was raised from the dead before Jesus was. So how could Jesus be the first of all of the people who have been raised from the dead? Well, because Jesus was the first person resurrected. And there is a difference between resurrection and being raised from the dead. People who were raised from the dead before Jesus died
once again. So they were raised from the dead. They lived their life after that, but then they died. Resurrection is something much deeper. So not only are you raised from the dead, but your body becomes something very different where it will never die again. It has an, um, immortal, eternal status. Hence why Jesus, when he was resurrected, his body was very different to the point where his disciples many times couldn't even recognize
him. And Jesus was able to go through walls, and then he ascended up into heaven. So his body was unlike our earthly bodies right now. Jesus started out in an earthly body, but then once he was resurrected from the dead, his body became something very different, something very immortal. So that's the difference between resurrection and being raised from the dead. So we have to believe that Jesus was resurrected and not just raised from
the dead, but resurrected. Because someday all of us Christians will be resurrected from the dead as well. Verse 21. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam, all die, so also in Christ, all will be made alive. So this is the concept that Adam, who was the first man that God, uh created, he caused sin and he caused death. But Jesus was the first man, the first fruits, rather, of resurrection. And so anybody who lives in the ways of Jesus is
going to experience this resurrection as well. So you have two choices. You can live in the ways of Adam and experience death and suffering, or you can live in the ways of Jesus, verse 23, but each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, then those who are Christ's at his coming. So in other words, Jesus was the first one to be raised from the dead. And then you and I who believe in Jesus will be next with our resurrection when
he comes again. So we won't experience this resurrection until Jesus second coming into the world, which Paul is actually going to explain at the end of this chapter, I believe he says that when Jesus comes again, the dead in Christ will rise up out of their graves and they will ascend into heaven to meet their LORD in the air, the same way that Jesus did 2,000 years ago. So we won't experience that resurrection until after Jesus comes back to earth once again.
So Christ is going to come, then the dead are going to be raised and experience the resurrection. And then in verse 24, then the end comes when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, uh, even to the Father. He will abolish all rule, all authority and power. So when Jesus comes again the second time, he is going to literally abolish every rule of
law here on earth right now. And instead of having heads of state and kings and presidents and whoever else leading all of these nations, Jesus is going to be the one who will rule. And Paul says here that Jesus is going to reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Revelation, who was written by John, also talks about this, that when Jesus comes back, he will reign for 1000 years and then he will make a new heaven and a new earth.
So after Jesus comes back, this current earth that we're on right now is still going to be around for a very long time. For a thousand years, it says. And during that time, it seems that Jesus is going to be targeting all of his enemies and making sure that all of his enemies, um, are abolished. Basically, he's going to put all
things under his subjection. And then once that time, that 1000 years is finished and Jesus is done putting everything under his rule, that is when he makes the new heaven and the new earth and everything here is done away with completely then verse 27. But when Jesus says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who subjected all things to him. Let me switch to a different version there because, uh, that is a very awkward sentence. So I'm going to switch over to the
NLT and read that. In fact, I'm going to actually read this entire paragraph in the NLT, starting in verse 24. After that the end will come when he will turn the kingdom over to God, uh the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the scriptures say God, uh has put
all things under his, ah, authority. Of course, when it says all things are under his authority, that does not include God, uh Himself, who gave Christ his authority. Then when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority so that God, uh, who gave His Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything, everywhere. And I just love the way the NLT actually words this entire paragraph. It really gets to the heart of what is
going on. So basically Jesus is going to destroy every enemy, including death, which, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that particular verse which is, um, verse 26. Jesus is going to destroy every single enemy that he has. And then everything will be under Jesus authority. And when everything is under Jesus authority, then Jesus himself is going to put Himself under God, uh the Father's authority so that God, uh the Father becomes supreme over everything,
everywhere. And this is not to say that Jesus is lesser than God, uh the Father because he puts himself under God, uh the Father's authority. Jesus does that because he is part of the Trinity. And each part of the Trinity has a different role. And every single part of the Trinity, you'll notice, actually glorifies a different part of the Trinity. So God, uh the Father glorifies Jesus, Jesus glorifies God, uh the Father, and then also the Holy Spirit glorifies
Jesus and glorifies God, uh the Father. But then Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is a better advocate than he is. And then God, uh the Father glorifies the Holy Spirit, so they all glorify each other. And so Jesus as a member of that Trinity is always trying to glorify God, uh the Father, so everything will be subjected to God, uh the Father in the end. So that tells a little bit about what's going to happen in Jesus Second Coming.
But now switching back to the web and reading the rest of today's portion, Starting in verse 29 it says, or else what will they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead aren't raised at all, then why are they baptized for the dead? So nobody's quite sure what Paul means actually in this verse. It could have been that Paul is talking about a Gentile ritual for the deceased where the Gentiles would actually baptize their people in the name of
their dead ancestors. And Paul's like, you know, why Would the Gentiles go through with a ritual like that in the name of their dead ancestors if they didn't believe in some sort of resurrection from the dead?
So God, uh actually placed this knowledge of eternity in us, that even the Gentiles who believe that their ancestors have power, the Gentiles have some form of understanding that their ancestors aren't really dead and gone, if that makes sense, that their ancestors are just asleep and there's some sort of resurrection that is going to happen. So Paul could be referring to that ritual of baptizing for the dead, but he could also just be talking about us Christians.
Why are us Christians if we don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus? Why are we even getting baptized? Because the entire point of baptism is an analogy of life after death. Because once you go under the water, you know, going under the water signifies death, death of self. Coming back up out of the water signifies that you've been made something new. That is the entire analogy of baptism. So Paul's like, why are you getting baptized if you don't believe in the resurrection of the dead?
You're just being baptized for somebody who you claim is still dead. Jesus is still apparently in the tomb, not resurrected. So what is the point in you getting baptized if you don't believe that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead? And then also Paul says, why do we, we apostles, stand in jeopardy every hour? Paul's like, look, my life is in danger every day. I am persecuted all the time
for the message that I am preaching. And same with all of the other apostles and all of the other disciples and evangelists that are out there. We get persecuted on a day to day basis for our message of Jesus. So why then do we do that if Jesus is still in the grave and our Christian faith is for this life only, there's no point in doing that. Why would any of us do that? Why would we risk our lives for something that is only for this life,
for this here and now? And then in verse 31, Paul says that he dies daily. So every single day, he is literally giving of himself. He is killing himself for the gospel. He is being persecuted, targeted for the gospel every single day of his life. Why would he live in that sort of way if there was no message of eternal life? He wouldn't. He says, if I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? So he's like, look, I fought with these men, these monsters at Ephesus
for the sake of the gospel. Why would I do that if There was no eternal life. What does that even profit me? It profits me literally nothing. He says, if the dead are not raised, then let's eat and drink for tomorrow we die. In other words, do what feels good because life is short and tomorrow we die. But Paul doesn't preach that message. He says that's the logical message to preach if
there was no eternal life. But since there is eternal life and resurrection after the dead, I don't preach that message because that message is not God, uh honoring and doesn't lead to everlasting life. And then he gets kind of harsh here. Don't be deceived. Evil companionship corrupts good morals. Wake up righteously. Don't sin, for some have no knowledge of God, uh. And I say this to your shame. So the uh, Corinthians were not doing what they should have been
doing. They were not spreading the gospel message properly. They were listening to evil people who didn't believe in the message of resurrection from the dead, and they were teaching other people to believe these things. And Paul says, you should be ashamed of yourselves. You should be ashamed for teaching and believing a message that I and the other apostles didn't preach. Don't listen to evil people because
they corrupt good morals. And what's really funny, that verse, evil companionship corrupts good morals, is actually Paul quoting a famous play of the time. And I didn't know that. I always assumed that it was like a proverb or something. No, it was Paul quoting a play written by some guy named, uh, Menander. It was a proverb by the Greek poet Menander. Bad company corrupts good character. And apparently this poet, Menander, was well known with the Greeks of the time.
So the uh, Corinthians would have known what Paul is talking about there. But it's interesting that Paul quotes a Greek poet and not a Bible verse or anything there, but it's still true. Evil companionship corrupts good morals. Paul says, don't listen to these evil people who are teaching you a message that is not the same as the message of the gospel. Don't listen to them. Wake up and don't sin. And also preach the gospel because some have
no knowledge of God, uh. And it's a shame that those people in your congregation and in your city have no knowledge of God, uh, because that shows that you're not doing what Christ called you to do, which is to preach the gospel to every creature. And Paul says, I say this to your shame. So m. Paul gets pretty harsh at the end of this portion of Scripture, but he gets harsh because you know the uh, Corinthians were not
doing what they should have been doing. And it's really sad how corrupt the Corinthian church got very shortly after Paul left, to the point where some of them didn't have any knowledge of God, uh and were believing in no resurrection from the dead, but still getting baptized and still going through the motions and still living culturally as a Christian. But they didn't have any faith or heart knowledge of who God, uh was. And so Paul sets them straight, I think,
in today's portion of Scripture. But we'll continue on with first uh, 1 Corinthians 15 on Thursday. So I hope to see all of you guys then now of course on Fridays. As you all know, I do a separate podcast for members on KO Fi and I just want to thank everybody who has become a member on KO Fi because that is how this business is sustained from your
guys donations and memberships. So I appreciate all of you guys that have helped keep the lights on over here at P40 Ministries and has helped me continue to produce quality content over here at P40 Ministries. So I thank all of you guys for your financial donations and memberships. If you're interested in becoming a member and gaining access to Friday's podcast episodes or to the discussions episodes I do with my sister, which those are going
to be changing as well. So I think something you guys will like a little bit more. If you guys are interested in any of that, then please click on the link in the description that says Ko Fi and that will take you over to my KO Fi page where you'll see all the information of everything that I have to offer under the memberships. Or you can do a one off donation over there as well if you would like to. Faithful listeners, have a fantastic and wonderful rest of your
Tuesday. I will see you guys tomorrow for an episode from First Kings and we'll talk about another king that isn't very well known in Scripture. Faithful listeners, happy listening and God, uh bless.