1 CORINTHIANS LESSON 27


     We will begin this lesson in I Corinthians 15:46 "Howbeit that
[was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and
afterward that which is spiritual."

     In the last lesson, we had been studying about the body of man.
We had been studying how the body of flesh must die for the body of
spirit to live. Man, born of woman, is born in the flesh. This is the
natural body of man which begins to die the day it is born. The flesh
of man is made from the dust of the earth and that flesh will return
to dust. This natural man {woman or man} is a human. He is born in the
world, and he is of this world, until he has a spiritual experience
and becomes a spirit man. John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  We are all
flesh, until we allow the Lord Jesus Christ to quicken us to the
spirit. When we make our decision to follow Christ in baptism, we are
buried in a watery grave, and the new man which comes forth out of
that grave is spirit. After we have buried that man of flesh and
become spirit, we are no longer of the world. We are in the world, but
we are not of the world. Our spirit cries out for that home where only
the spirit man can go {heaven}.

     I Corinthians 15:47 "The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the
second man [is] the Lord from heaven."

     "Earthy" means he was made of the dust. Jesus was not a man when
he was in heaven, He was God the Word. His manhood came when the Word
of God took on the form of flesh. He took on the body of man so that
He could better relate to our limitations in the flesh on the earth.
Jesus did not use His Godhood to make Him any less vulnerable to the
earth. He tired in His flesh, as we do. He did not even use the fact
that He was God to keep from suffering on the cross. He had to defeat
Satan as a man, because it was a fleshly man that had succumbed to the
wiles of the devil.

     I Corinthians 15:48 " As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also
that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] they also that
are heavenly."

     Jesus took on the flesh of man to put Himself in the position of
man. He had to set the pattern in the flesh for us to follow, so that
we could, also, follow Him in the Spirit. His flesh was so that He
could suffer completely for us on the cross. He took the full
punishment that we deserved. He became earthy, to pave the way for us
to become heavenly.

     I Corinthians 15:49 "And as we have borne the image of the
earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."

     Jesus Christ, and His people all bore the image of the earth in
that we are in the house of flesh on this earth. We shall vacate this
house of flesh and we, like Jesus, shall take on the heavenly. If we
are truly Christians, we are like Christ. He owns us. We are His
property. He bought us with His precious blood. To be a Christian,
means to be Christ like.

     I Corinthians 15:50 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption."

     This is speaking of the house we call our body on this earth.
This body must return to the dust from which it came. Saying that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, is just saying that
we do not carry our shortcomings and the cause of those shortcomings
with us to heaven. The inheritance we are looking for is described in
the next verse I Peter 1:4 "To an inheritance incorruptible, and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,"
Look with me in the next verse how this all comes about. I Peter 1:23
"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

     I Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed,"

     There is a generation of people that will be alive when the Lord
comes back for His own. They will not taste of death. This is commonly
spoken of as the rapture of the church. Really it is the catching away
of the believers into the heavens to be with their leader Jesus
Christ. The silver trumpet of redemption shall blow in the sky, and we
will be redeemed from this earth, ever to be with the Lord.

     I Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

     I Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:"
I Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  To really understand read
all of this account. I have chosen just two verses from the account
for here. This will happen so quickly that you would not even have
time to blink your eye.

     I Corinthians 15:53 "For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality."

     This body of flesh is corruptible and, also, is mortal. The
spirit man will come forth from within this body of corruption, and we
will shed the corruptible body like a person removes an overcoat, when
they no longer need it. Praise God! I will have a new Spiritual body
which will be immortal.

     I Corinthians 15:54 "So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory."

     Jesus defeated death when He rose from the grave. We defeated
death when we accepted life in Jesus Christ. This is just the moment
of the manifestation of everlasting life within us. This is the moment
we receive the reward of the victory that was won for us earlier by
Jesus. There is no more death. We are eternal from this moment on. We
have really been eternal from the moment we received Jesus {the Life},
but this is just the manifestation of that life.

     I Corinthians 15:55 "O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave,
where [is] thy victory?"

     Only those who receive Jesus as their Saviour can ask this
question. There is no sting to death of the body, when everlasting
life of the spirit man within that body is being born. Jesus won the
victory for us. It is our victory through Him.

     I Corinthians 15:56 "The sting of death [is] sin; and the
strength of sin [is] the law."

     James 1:15 "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."  The penalty for
sin is death. If you are a Christian, the penalty was paid for you by
Jesus Christ when He shed His blood on the cross to free you from sin.
Without a law, you would not be able to break the law. The law was
given us to show our need for a Saviour.

     I Corinthians 15:57 "But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

     The gift of the righteousness was given to us, because we
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We did nothing to earn it. We just
received salvation through the grace of God. Grace means unmerited
favor. The only way to heaven is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

     I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

     This simply said is once you receive the salvation the Lord Jesus
Christ provided for you, walk in that salvation. Stay with your
salvation. Do not turn back into sin. Stand in Him. Do not be moved by
wind of false doctrine.  Then determine to work for the Lord every
moment, until He comes.








                      1 Corinthians 27 Questions

1.  Howbeit  that was not first which is ___________, but that which
    is _________.
2.  Man, born of a woman, is born in the _________.
3.  Quote John chapter 3 verse 6.
4.  We are all _______, until we allow the Lord to _________ __.
5.  Tell what happens at Baptism.
6.  The first man is earthy, the second man is the _____ _____ ______.
7.  What does "earthy" mean?
8.  Jesus defeated Satan as a ___.
9.  Why was this important?
10. Jesus took on the flesh of man to put Himself in the __________-
    of man.
11. As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the
    image of the _________.
12. What must we vacate to take on the heavenly?
13. To be a Christian means what?
14. _______ and _______ cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
15. Quote 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 4.
16. What are we born by in 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 23.
17. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be ________.
18. What is verse 51 commonly spoken of?
19. The trumpet of redemption is made of what metal?
20. Verse 52 says the change is so sudden, it could be measured as how
    short a time?
21. Where, in Thessalonians, do we read of this?
22. This corruptible must put on ______________.
23. This mortal shall put on _______________.
24. We will shed this body like someone removes an __________.
25. Death is swallowed up in __________.
26. When did Jesus defeat death?
27. When does it become real to us?
28. Who are the only ones who can ask the questions in verse 55?
29. The sting of death is ___.
30. The strength of sin is the ____.
31. How do we receive victory?
32. What are the Christians to be in verse 58?