Monday, May 7, 2007
1 Corinthians 15:50-53 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
JESUS' EASTER VICTORY CHANGES US PHYSICALLY
There are certain places in this world that you cannot go unless you are dressed in the proper attire. Almost every restaurant has a "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" policy. Some restaurants even require diners to be dressed more formally.
Whether a person likes it or not, he has to abide by the dress code to gain access to certain places. Well, when in it comes to the heavenly kingdom, we also have to abide by a dress code of sorts. Simply put, nothing corruptible or mortal will be allowed into God's heavenly kingdom at the time of Judgment Day.
It is our sinful condition that presently holds sway over our bodies. That is why we have problems with our bodies; that is why these earthly bodies are always dying. But through faith in Jesus, the curse of our sin is removed and Jesus' Easter victory becomes ours. Jesus' Easter victory tells us that we too shall rise again from the dead, and when we do, our bodies will be found in a perfectly glorified state, ready to inherit eternal life.
But why must we wait for this? Well, let us think of our present bodies as our "work clothes". Just like our Lord Jesus did His saving work in a feeble body that was subject to pain and death, so we also wear these bodies while we work to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls. When our Master's saving work was done, He exchanged His mortal body for His perfect, glorified body. After our work here is done, we look forward to the same.
