Living By the Power of the Spirit

Introduction

Somebody from this congregation gave me the book “The Promise of God’s Power” by Jim Cymbala and I have been reading it lately. In the book, the author tells the story of Pam Pena, who is the wife of one of the associate pastors in their church. She grew up in a Christian home, but as a teenager, lacked confidence and felt worthless. She wanted to please her school friends and began cutting school and drinking and smoking. At age 16 she found herself pregnant and when her boyfriend found out, he abandoned her. She was devastated and quickly obtained an abortion. After that she determined that she would try harder to do the right thing so that God would accept her, but these efforts left her empty and she remained insecure and became obsessed with the weight she had gained.

After she graduated, she attended a Christian college, and while there she engaged in compulsive dieting and vigorous exercise, which left her weak and thin from bingeing and purging. After two years, she dropped out of college and went to a secular school where her life began to spin out of control. She began to take cocaine and became addicted and continued her excessive dieting. One New Year’s eve at a party, she raided the medicine cabinet of the host family and the next day took all the pills she had found and while she was waiting to die, she phoned a friend. This led to her rescue, but her compulsion to food was not broken. Sometime later she made another suicide attempt.

All during these turbulent years her family and church were praying for her. One morning while driving to work, she cried to God and was sobbing so hard that no sound came out of her throat, but her soul was shouting, “O God, I want to live!”

She remembers that “the love of God came into the car.” She says, “I quit striving for approval. I saw my self-deception. Finally I saw with my spiritual eyes what I had been missing. I seemed to fall into God’s arms saying, ‘I give up. I will believe that you love me.’”

Her addiction to cocaine stopped right there. Within a few weeks she stopped smoking and over the next two years, without psychotherapy or seminars the Holy Spirit began to work on her eating disorder. A few years later at a Thanksgiving celebration she was having dinner with familiy. Holidays can be the worst nightmare for bulimic people. As she was eating and as she even took desert, the Holy Spirit seemed to whisper in her ear, “your fine. It’s finally over.”

Cymbala comments, “The fact is that God performed a miracle in the life of Pam Pena. Today she is a wonderful servant of the Lord who brings others to freedom in our church. She was healed, not through human strategies, but rather through the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit.”

When I read such stories, I am encouraged, but also have a lot of questions. I know what the Bible says about the power of Holy Spirit, and when I read these stories I often wonder where the power of the Spirit is in my life. This morning I would like to speak about the power of the Holy Spirit. I confess that what I am speaking about is more of a question than an answer. I know that I easily live by what I know. It isn’t hard to figure things out and make plans based on knowledge. I know that I easily live by my effort. It isn’t hard to see a path and determine by will to walk it. But I truly wonder if that is what God wants. I wonder if we are missing something. I wonder if we too often run ahead of God. Much of what I will share has been prompted by Cymbala’s book, but the things raised are things that have been questions in my heart for some time. They are also ideas which are rooted in the Word of God. As we hear the Word of God this morning, I hope that we will hear what God is saying to us and respond to His invitation to live by the power of His Spirit.

God Has Given Power

As Christians we have often emphasized the importance of making a commitment. The Bible calls us to do so. In Romans 12:1, we are invited to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices.” We understand such an invitation and we determine to live by it. We live our Christian life by a commitment to Christ and to obedience and this is right and good.

As Christians, we have emphasized the importance of God’s Word. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” We live our Christian life by reading and studying the Word of God and trying to do what it says and that is right and good.

When we want to make decisions we are encouraged by God to seek and follow wisdom. All of Proverbs is a call to follow the path of wisdom. Proverbs 2:1-5 says, in part, “…if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding…then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” We live our Christian life making decisions and living according to the wisdom we gather through the fear of the Lord and that is right and good.

The Bible calls us to live our faith life in community. Hebrews 10:24, encourages, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…” Whenever we have struggles or questions, we speak to one another and seek wisdom from the community of faith which surrounds us. We live our Christian life in the context of brothers and sisters who can help us walk in faithfulness and that is right and good.

However, God has also promised us power through His Spirit.

When Jesus ministered on earth, he did so in the power of the Spirit of God. In Luke 4:16-22, Jesus quoted Isaiah 61:1, 2 and indicated that that prophecy had been fulfilled with His presence. The text says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” All of the work of Jesus was done in the power of God so that, as He says to the Pharisees in Luke 11:20, the power displayed through Him in healings and teachings was evidence that the kingdom of God had come.

God has promised that same power to us through His Spirit. In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised that his followers would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. What follows in the book of Acts is a story of the work of the Spirit of God demonstrated in miracles, powerful teaching and clear guidance. The message of the New Testament is that the power of the Spirit of God is available to every believer.

The apostle Paul said, in I Corinthians 2:4, 5, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

We understand living by commitment, by the Word of God, by wisdom and by the help of the community of faith, but do we understand that God intends for us to live in the power of the Holy Spirit?

D.L. Moody wrote, “I believe, and am growing more into this belief, that divine, miraculous, creative power resides in the Holy Spirit. If we look to the spirit of God and expect it to come from Him and Him alone then we shall honor the Spirit, and the Spirit will do His work.” “I cannot help but believe that there are many Christians who want to be more efficient in the Lord’s service. It is from the Holy Spirit that we may expect this power.”

The Christian life is to be lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? How do we live in the power of the Spirit? Where is the power of the Spirit active in our life?

The Spirit of Power

The Spirit of God is at work in the world, in the church and in the believer. This morning, I would like to look particularly at two areas in which we need and are promised the Spirit’s power.

Power to Change

The first area in which the Spirit’s power is available to us is in changing us to become more like Christ. God has forgiven our sins by the gift of Jesus Christ. We can never live obediently enough to make ourselves acceptable to God and have had our sins atoned for by the blood of Jesus. Just as we have been changed from sinners to saints by the power of God, so we must continue to be changed into the image of Christ, not by our power, but by the work of the Holy Spirit.

In II Peter 1:3, 4, Peter says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness … he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” In this verse we notice that it is by “His divine power” that we have received everything we need. What we need does not come by the power of our commitment or the strength of our resolve, but by the Spirit of God. Furthermore, it is through that power given to us by the Holy Spirit that we “participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world.” In other words, we are changed into Christ likeness by the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians in 3:16 is, “^ … that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ^17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” As we express faith, it is the Spirit who empowers us to know and live in Christ.

J.B. Phillips wrote, “Every time we say, ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit,’ we mean that we believe that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it.” God has promised us power to change and that power comes from His Holy Spirit.

Robin Giles was born to an unmarried 21 year old who communicated to her that she was a mistake. All of her life she heard and experienced severe rejection from her mother. Her mother expressed this rejection through her words and even through physical violence against her. As she grew up, bitterness began to grow in her heart. For years she lived on a rough road of self doubt, depression, inner seething at the unfairness of life, irresponsible relationships and even a suicide attempt. She admitted, “I felt I had a right to be angry.” In her mid twenties she began to attend church and came to know Christ. God healed her from her terrible past. She says, “God has taken the sting out of my past. For so long the memories of my mother’s behavior kept me from experiencing abundant life. But then I realized one day that the Lord had changed my heart toward her. I had hated her for so long but God totally took that away.”

Is God changing me by the power of the Spirit? If change comes as a function of our faithfulness, strength, ability and power, we get the glory? If it is a result of something God has done, then He gets the glory.

If God is not changing us, why not? How can our lives be changed by the power of the Spirit?

Power to Serve

The other area in which we need the power of the Spirit is in serving Him. God has promised that His Spirit is the one who will empower His work through His servants.

In II Thessalonians 1:11 Paul prays for the Thessalonians saying, “we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.” It is a prayer that God’s power will be active to make their service effective. God has promised to answer that kind of prayer.

The marvelous phrase in Zechariah 4:6 should give us a clue about how God accomplishes His work. There we read, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty…”

It is the Spirit who convicts the world of sin according to John 16. It is the Spirit who accompanies the preaching of God’s Word with power, according to I Thessalonians 1:5, where Paul says, “our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Without the Spirit of God we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind or chariots without horses. Like branches without sap, we are withered. Like coals without fire, we are useless.”

Samuel Chadwick said, “The work of God is not by might of men or by the power of men but by His Spirit. It is by Him the truth convicts and converts, sanctifies and saves. The philosophies of men fail, but the Word of God in the demonstration of the Spirit prevails.”

Michael Durso came from a well to do family. He inherited the pasta business which was well known and successful in New York city. He met a girl who was also from a fairly well to do family and together they enjoyed the fast life and participated in drug use and immorality. One day she expressed that she was feeling empty in spite of all their money and life of pleasure. She suggested that they go to church. She said that “God seemed to be saying to her, ‘give me your life.’” They attended, but he didn’t want to go and went with a defiant mood. As the meeting was brought to a close, there was an invitation to receive Christ. Michael says, “Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed. I knew my life was headed for hell. All my confidence in my religious upbringing and my smart image vanished. Both Maria and I headed for the front.” They were soon married and they grew in faith and became involved in various ministries as he continued to work in the family business. A number of years later, their church was offered a church building that was being abandoned and they were invited to start a church there. As the church leadership prayed they “sensed the Spirit of God directing their attention to Michael and his wife to spearhead this new venture.” Without seminary training and with the understanding that they would have to leave the family business, they accepted this challenge. Over the next few years this new church grew. The life and ministry of this man is an evidence of the work of the Spirit of God.

Are we serving in the power of the Spirit? If we are serving in God’s power, we will serve with God given giftedness. Then there will be effectiveness beyond what is natural to us and God will receive the glory for what He is doing.

If not, why not? How can we serve in the power of the Spirit?

Living by the Spirit

How do these promises become reality in our life? Ephesians 5:18 commands – “be filled with the Spirit.” We can and must do something for the Spirit of God to become active in our life. What do we do? How do we do it? Perhaps that is the wrong question. I think it would be more accurate to say that it is the Spirit who does His work in us and through us. How do we put ourselves in a position to allow Him to work?

Die

I wonder if the starting point isn’t at the point of our need. I wonder if the Spirit will work before we really want Him to work. As long as we believe that we have what it takes or that we can do it; as long as we want to work for God without God, God will not get in the way. In John 12:24, Jesus says, “^ … unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ^25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” This verse isn’t only about salvation, it is also about service and it is the person who gives up, who is willing to die to self who will discover the power of God.

Ask

If we can humble ourselves and give up, the next step is to ask God. Jesus promised in Luke 11:13, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Samuel Chadwick said, “The church that multiplies committees and neglects prayer may be fussy, noisy, enterprising, but it labors in vain and spends its strength for naught. It is possible to excel in mechanics and fail in dynamics. There is an abundance of machinery; what is wanting is power.” We have a prayer room; let us use it to seek God. Whenever we have a prayer meeting; let us come in order to seek God.

Wait

When we have prayed, we need to wait for God to work. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Cymbala says, “God has given us a very simple equation if only we have the faith to reach out and experience it: The Holy Spirit’s power is our greatest need. This power and blessing is freely promised to all God’s people. This promise can only be fully received through sincere praying in faith and through waiting on God for His blessing to come. This is what happened in the New Testament, and this is the only thing that will satisfy our souls’ thirst.”

Depend

It took a thorn in the flesh for Paul to realize that he needed to depend on God in an ongoing way. In II Corinthians 12:9, he admitted, “…my power is made perfect in weakness.”

This dependence must be ongoing. D.L. Moody said, “A great many think because they have been filled once, they are going to be full for all time after; but O my friends, we are leaky vessels and have to be kept right under the fountain all the time in order to keep full. Let us keep near Him.”

God’s Promise

If we desire, ask, wait and depend, the promise of God is that we will see His Spirit at work in our life and in our church. His promise, in II Corinthians 3:18, is that we are being transformed by the Spirit. His promise, in I John 4:4 is that the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. God assures us, in Ephesians 3:20 that He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…”

May we stand on these promises!

Conclusion

I have sometimes wondered, “Is the Spirit absent in our church?” I have sometimes questioned, “Do we want the power of the Spirit or are we content to retain control and work in our power?”

God’s Spirit is at work in our church! I see it in the many people who are serving Him. I see it in lives being changed. I see it in ministries that are effective beyond the natural. I see it in compassion shown to anyone in need. I see it in the commitment to mission that goes deeply into our hearts and wallets. I see it in the generosity of many people who gladly give to the work of God. I see these things, but I wonder what else God wants to do among us? I have so much to learn about what it means to live by the power of God offered through His Spirit to His people. Will you join me in seeking the power of the Spirit in your life and in our church?

Resurrection: Continuity and Transformation

I Corinthians 15:35-58
Introduction
The Question: How are the Dead Raised?
A skeptic raised a very interesting question with the following story. It seems that Henry died and was buried in the local cemetery. His widow planted an apple tree over the grave. After many years the roots reached down into Henry’s body and began to draw nutrients from the now decomposed body. So, in essence, Henry became part of the apple tree. Robert used to walk through the cemetery and discovered the apple tree and found that the apples were delicious. Over a period of a few years, he ate many apples from that tree. So, in essence, Henry became a part of Robert. Years later Robert also died and was buried in the same cemetery. Now, at the resurrection, what will happen to Henry and Peter? How will they be separated?
Paul quotes a skeptic in I Corinthians 15:35 when he says, “…someone may ask, ‘how are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’” As you may remember from last week, there were some false teachers in Corinth, who questioned the resurrection. They believed that it couldn’t happen. They believed that the physical body had become an irrelevancy in Christ and was to be discarded, not resurrected. Gordon Fee explains their perspective when he says, “The Corinthians are convinced that by the gift of the Spirit, and especially the manifestation of tongues, they have already entered into the spiritual, ‘heavenly’ existence that is to be. Only the body, to be sloughed off at death, lies between them and their ultimate spirituality. Thus they have denied the body in the present, and have no use for it in the future.” Paul has already begun to answer their doubts about the resurrection in the early part of this chapter and now goes on to deal with some of these more practical questions about how it can actually happen.
We ask similar questions. We wonder how it is possible for that which has decomposed to actually rise from the dead. We wonder about those who have been cremated or buried at sea. We wonder if it is even necessary and whether a spiritual resurrection is perhaps really all we can hope for. John Piper says, “…we tend to assume that the condition that the departed saints are in NOW without their bodies is the way it will always be. And we have encouraged ourselves so much with how good it is for them now, we tend to forget that it is an imperfect state and not the way it will be, nor the way Paul wanted it to be for himself.” We wonder if we will be recognizable. Will my resurrection body be like how I am now? Will I recognize my father in the resurrection? We wonder what happens to people when they die and we wonder whether resurrection will really add anything.” We wonder if we will still have temptations in heaven.
It Is Possible! 35-41
Paul is pretty direct in his answer to the skeptic. NIV softens it too much and if you have a different translation you will see how it is in Greek. Paul says, “You fool.” Why such harsh language? Because anyone who thinks with the heart of a skeptic does not take God into account.
Illustration of a Seed
If you have ever dug up a potato plant you know very well that the potato which you put into the ground back in spring is not really usable. I wouldn’t want to clean and cook and eat it. It is rotten, it has died. But out of that dead plant, a new potato plant has produced many potatoes that look quite similar to the way the rotten one used to look, but are good to dig up and clean and cook and eat.
Paul points out that even within nature; we find an illustration of resurrection. He speaks of a seed, which is planted, perhaps of wheat or some other seed. By being planted, it dies, but by being planted, it grows up to become a plant which produces more seeds. Therefore, the miracle of resurrection should not surprise us that much. We already have an illustration of how it is possible in nature. The point in 36, 37 is not that death is necessary, but that a new kind of body comes out of death.
God Created, God Can Recreate!
In the verses which follow, the text points to God’s great power in creation. I watched a show on TV the other day on the animals living in Africa. In one area, there are many different species of antelope. I think they said that 90% of the world’s antelope species live in that area. Some are very small and others quite large. I love seeing what is living in the ocean when I go snorkeling. The creatures under the sea are so different from the creatures living on land, those creatures which I am used to seeing. But even there we see an incredible variety of wildlife from the little mouse to the mighty moose. When Paul speaks of the difference between the flesh of men and animals and birds and the difference in splendor of the earthly bodies and the heavenly bodies, he is reminding us that the God who created all of these certainly would have no trouble putting together a resurrection body – even if Henry is within Peter or if Sally has been cremated. To deny the resurrection because it doesn’t fit with our scientific or logical categories is to deny the power of the God who has created the whole world.
In other words, a careful look at what exists and at the God who created it should tell us that resurrection is no problem for God.
Our Bodies Will Be Transformed 42-49
But we continue to wonder, how will it happen? One of the key points of this passage is that in the resurrection there will be, as Gordon Fee puts it, both continuity and transformation in the resurrection body.
Continuity
When the text uses the imagery of the seed, part of what we are to understand is that there is continuity between the seed and the plant. You don’t plant a wheat seed and harvest barley. The wheat seed becomes the wheat plant. We are meant to understand that there is also continuity between our present physical body and the resurrection body that we will receive.
Throughout the text Paul is also using the word body. As we have mentioned, the false teachers believed that the physical body was evil and garbage and to be discarded. They were looking forward to a spiritual after life with no connection to their physical body. But when Paul constantly uses the term body to refer to what will happen in the resurrection, we are meant to understand that there is continuity between who we are now and who we will be in the resurrection. In other words, just like Jesus was recognized by the disciples because of the scars in his hands and the hole in his side, which had happened when he was crucified, so we also will be recognizable as us because there will be continuity between us now and the resurrection body we will receive.
This is important and the importance of it arises right out of creation. Because God created us in His image, with a physical body and pronounced it good, we know that the body is intended to be eternal. It is only sin that has marred that image and brought death into the picture. Therefore, there must be continuity between us now and our resurrection body.
Transformation
But there is also transformation. It is very important to understand that transformation is what is intended. It is not continuity and discontinuity, it is not the same, but different. It is the same, but transformed. God will take our body and transform it and the details of how we will be transformed are clarified in verses 42-44.
The body which is buried is perishable, subject to malfunction, injury and aging; but the body that will be raised will not be perishable, it will not die ever again. It will be a body which will live eternally.
The body which is buried is sown in dishonor. Even though we are in the image of God, sin hides that image and we bring dishonor to God. The body which is raised will be raised in glory. It will always display the greatness and splendor of who God is.
The body which is sown is sown in weakness. We have both physical and spiritual limitations. We are limited by what we can do. We are subject to sin. The body which is raised is raised in power. Even though the disciples recognized Jesus’ body as his own, he was able to enter rooms that were locked. Our resurrected body will not be subject to the power of sin, but will have power over sin.
The body which is buried is a natural body, suited for life on this earth. The body which will be raised will be a spiritual body, suited for life in heaven, suited to live in the presence of God. Gordon Fee says, “The transformed body, therefore, is not composed of ‘spirit’; it is a body adapted to the eschatological existence that is under the ultimate domination of the Spirit.”
Through Jesus
In order to affirm continuity and transformation and to help us understand how it happens, Paul goes on to say in vs. 44b, “If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”
The natural body comes from Adam. He was the first one created by God and is our ancestor in the physical sense. It is from him that we get our physical DNA. We were first created as physical, living beings by God, out of the dust of the earth. Every person on earth has a physical body. Since the physical body was created by God, in God’s image, and declared good, it is important to recognize that we share in something that is good and that God intends for us and that we will keep that physical body for all eternity.
But there is also a spiritual body. Our spiritual body comes from Christ. He was created by God, not only as a living being, but as a “life giving Spirit.” Christ has come into the world from heaven and has come in order to transform us into spiritual beings. It is from Christ that we receive our spiritual DNA. When we put our faith in Christ, we become one with Him and will therefore share in a transformed spiritual body. It is in Christ that we will be raised to eternal life in a transformed spiritual body. We do not receive that new life entirely now, but must wait for its completion when Christ returns.
The physical life we all share has come to us in Adam. The spiritual life we have received comes to us in Christ. John Piper says, “body-type is determined by descent. In order to have an earthy body, you must become a descendant of the first one to have one—Adam. In order to get a new body, you must become a descendant of the first one to have a new body—Jesus.”
This morning we are talking about the hope of the resurrection and this is an important point. If you want to experience the transformed, eternal life with God in heaven for all eternity, there is only one way for that to happen. It must happen through Jesus Christ. If you have not asked Jesus to come into your life and transform it, today would be a good time to make sure that you will also receive a resurrection body.
We Will Be Changed 50-53
In a passage which is so often read at funerals to give us great comfort, Paul goes on to help us understand how it will happen. He speaks of a mystery, by which he does not mean that it is something we can’t figure out, but something which was not known, but now has been made known to us.
We Must Be Changed
First of all, the text declares that a change must take place. In our present state, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Now we are flesh and blood and in order to go to heaven, we must first of all be transformed to become a spiritual body. Now we are perishable and that which is perishable cannot be in heaven. It is impossible for us in our present condition to be in heaven. The word “cannot” in this section is very powerful. There cannot only be continuity, there must also be transformation. Both verse 50 and 53 declare the absolute necessity of this transformation.
We Will All Be Changed
This transformation must happen to every person who will inherit eternal life. Those who have died will already have taken the first step towards transformation. Death has claimed them, and resurrection will transform them so that they are fit for heaven. But what about those who are still alive at Christ’s coming, what will happen to them? Will they somehow go directly into heaven as they are? No! Because they are still flesh and blood and they are still perishable. Since change is necessary, change will happen to them as well. Paul says, “we will not all sleep,” that is die, “but we will all be changed…!”
Changed In a Moment
There has been a doctrine around among some Christian groups that when you die you enter into purgatory. At that time, depending on how you have lived your life, you will be changed gradually over time. Difficulties and trials will purge you of your evil self and slowly you will be transformed in order to be fit for heaven.
I Corinthians 15:52 destroys that thinking. The change which will happen, whether we have died or are still alive will be instantaneous. It will be “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye.” Just as we are saved by the power of God, so we will be changed by the power of God. In one quick moment all those who are in Christ, will be transformed in order to be fit for eternity in the presence of God.
At the Last Trumpet
All of this will happen when Christ returns. The indicator will be a very clear and loud trumpet blast. Just as in I Thessalonians we notice that those who have died will be raised first and then those who are alive will be changed.
People, what a glorious day that will be! How we look forward to that day when all of us will be changed to perfection for all eternity! The change does not happen at death, but at the resurrection. Although people go to be with the Lord at death, there is something incomplete in that experience. Resurrection will bring it to completion.
Sin and Death Will Die 54-57
At that time, all that is broken will be fixed.
Death Swallowed Up
First of all, death is swallowed up in victory. The imagery of being swallowed up is wonderful. What kind of a picture comes into your mind when you think of death being swallowed up. Perhaps we could think of a big dog swallowing a doggie treat, whole. The big dog that swallows death is victory. That is so hard for us to imagine because death permeates everything in our life now. No matter how great life is, death is never far away. When it is swallowed up, we won’t see death any more.
When Paul quotes Hosea 13:14 in verse 55 it is in the tone of a taunt, as if he is saying, “where is your power now death?” Oh what a glorious day when that which we fear, which will come to all of us, which is never far from reality in life is gone for all the rest of eternity!
Sin Removed
The other thing that will be permanently removed is sin. The text says that “The sting of death is sin…” But the taunt is also applied to that reality when it says, “Where, O death, is your sting?” Death is caused by sin, and it too is swallowed up in victory. Without sin present, there is no longer any death and with death and sin both completely and finally removed, we can live in victory and hope. For now, sin has been conquered, but we still live with its effects and in its influence. Death is still a present reality. We will have to wait for that which has already become truth to become final reality. That is the hope in which we live. What hope! What glory! “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Therefore 58
So we are rejoicing! We are living in hope! But how are we living? Paul concludes this wonderful chapter with the word “therefore.”
Stand Firm
There are many things which cause us to forget this great victory. In the church in Corinth, false teachers were deceiving people to give up on the gospel tradition which Paul had preached. The daily grind takes our joy away. Trials remove our hope. God’s silence threatens our faith and before long we hang our heads and stand weakly clinging to a thread.
But with this reminder and this hope, Paul encourages us to "stand firm and let nothing move you." Satan is a roaring lion who deceives some by evil desires and some by wrong thinking, so I call us to remember the centrality of the resurrection to the gospel message and to stand firm in that gospel.
Piper puts it this way “‘Immovable’ means don’t get knocked over by sudden blows. Keep your balance.”
Give Yourselves to the Work of the Lord
If this dot is our life now, and if this line, which extends forever, is the rest of our life after resurrection, it puts into perspective who we really are and where we will be for most of our existence. This chapter helps us remember the reality of that perspective. It also invites us to live according to our eternal reality instead of our perishable reality. I Corinthians 15:58 goes on to say, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
What is the work of God to which God has been calling you? Are you hesitating because it might interfere with your favorite TV show or your recreational pursuits? Give yourself fully to the work of the Lord!
Is there an opportunity you keep passing up because it will cost you something that you are unwilling to give up? “You know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” It will cost you something, but it will also return to you far more than it costs.
Gary Takahashi writes, “In proper proportion recreation and diversions can help restore our energy and increase our effectiveness. But they can also easily become ends in themselves, demanding more and more of our attention, concern, time, and energy. More than one believer has relaxed and hobbied himself completely out of the work of the Lord.”
Conclusion
Good news! This isn’t all there is – not the mortality of this body, nor the corruptibility of our soul, nor the life we now live. God has created us for eternity and in Christ will transform this broken body into an eternal, incorruptible body. Therefore rejoice!
Good news! The life of God has already taken up residence in this body through the Holy Spirit. Therefore live!