April 21
FLESH AND BLOOD
-1ST Corinthians 15:50 states, … Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption …
-Here is the same verse as it reads from the New Testament In Modern Speech: … But this I tell you, brethren: our
mortal bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor will what is perishable inherit what is imperishable …
-Let us now attempt to discuss the nuts and bolts of this scripture verse. We will focus our attention on:
1. FLESH AND BLOOD
2. THE KINGDOM OF GOD
3. INHERITING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
-To put this scripture into its proper context we must first see what the apostle Paul is talking about in this chapter
( 1st Corinthians chapter 15 ). The theme of this chapter is the resurrection of the dead. The resurrection that
Paul is speaking of is not a spiritual resurrection, but rather a bodily resurrection. The chapter starts out with Paul speaking
of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He was seen by Peter, and then by the twelve. It
goes on to say that afterwards He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once. As well, He was seen by James, and
then by all the apostles. Paul then states that Jesus appeared unto him. After establishing the resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ, Paul then deals with those who deny the possibility of the bodily resurrection of the rest of the dead. He further
states, that if there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, THEN CHRIST HIMSELF HAS NOT RISEN FROM THE DEAD! Please
keep in mind that Paul is not referring to a spiritual resurrection, but rather to the actual bodily resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ, which is then to become the PATTERN for our own resurrection as well. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
then becomes the pattern and guarantee for the resurrection of the entire creation. The key to understanding this is to be
found in the statement … But this will happen to each man in the right order ( 1st Corinthians 15:23 ) …
The order is simply this:
1. CHRIST
2. CHRIST’S PEOPLE ( THE REMNANT, OR FIRSTFRUITS OF CHRIST )
3. THE REST OF THE DEAD
-To understand what the resurrection will be like, read the rest of the chapter. As well, take into consideration the verses
that speak of Jesus after His bodily resurrection. Remember … JESUS IS THE PATTERN!
-The words "flesh and blood" do speak of the corrupt nature of man. As well, they speak of our corrupt ( mortal ) body.
Both our corrupt nature and body are subject to sin and death ( whether spiritual or physical death ). This is saying that
our corrupt nature and mortal body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, whether now or in the ages to come. This means that
we need a NEW NATURE AND A NEW BODY. Jesus demonstrated this by His resurrection, for He had all power in HEAVEN AND IN EARTH.
He was unlimited in the spirit realm, AND He was unlimited in the physical realm due to His glorified body. When Jesus appeared
to His disciples after His resurrection, He assured them that He was not a spirit. He said, … BEHOLD MY HANDS AND MY
FEET, THAT IT IS I MYSELF: HANDLE ME, AND SEE; FOR A SPIRIT HAS NOT FLESH AND BONES, AS YOU SEE ME HAVE ... This
is the pattern for our resurrection! Notice that Jesus said that He had flesh and bone, but mentions nothing about blood.
Please keep in mind that this flesh and bone body that Jesus spoke of was not the same type of body that went into the tomb.
IT WAS A GLORIFIED ( SPIRITUAL ) BODY ( 1st Corinthians 15:42-49 )!
According to Dr. Stephen Jones:
-"Men have long speculated on the ages to come. What will happen, when, and in what order? What will the condition of men
be when they are raised (1 Cor. 15:35)? What is the purpose of the reign of Christ in the age to come, known to the Hebrews
and early Christians as the Kingdom Age, or the Messianic Age? How does it differ from the age that follows it, described
as "the new heaven and the new earth" having a "new Jerusalem"?The key to understanding the Kingdom of God is to view it in
its three stages of development, rather than pitting one view against another. Some say the Kingdom is NOW, and they are certainly
correct. Others say the Kingdom is FUTURE, and they are correct as well. A few even say that the Kingdom of God began with
Moses, and they too are correct. The Kingdom of God did indeed begin in the time of Moses when God first organized Israel
into a Kingdom at Horeb. But the Kingdom of God was manifested in a greater manner under a Pentecostal anointing in the second
chapter of Acts.
But the Kingdom of God is also yet future as of this writing. We await the outpouring of the Spirit under the Feast of
Tabernacles, which will manifest the Kingdom of God in its highest form on the earth. Only this view is large enough to encompass
both those who believe the "Kingdom Now" idea, as well as the "Future Kingdom" viewpoint. We believe that the term "resurrection"
is never used in the Bible for anything but a physical raising from the dead. We certainly understand that the believer is
given life at his justification, but this does not negate the need for resurrection. Paul made it plain in 1 Corinthians 15
that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the pattern and basis of our own resurrection. Jesus took time to carefully explain
to His disciples that He had been raised in a physical body, though He was certainly not subject to the limitations of our
present flesh. (See Luke 24:36-43.) In other words, when a man is justified by faith in the blood of the Lamb, he receives
a Passover anointing from God, but this does not bring him personally into the fullness of the Spirit. When a man receives
the Spirit of God through the anointing of Pentecost, he receives a fresh anointing, but it is only an earnest, and he is
still left with imperfections by which he falls short of the glory of God. Only when God pours out His Spirit upon us in the
fulfillment of Tabernacles will we find the perfection and immortality we seek." ( The Millennium Question, Dr. Stephen
Jones )
-O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? O GRAVE, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY?-
