[Steve Myers] Welcome to another session of Epistles of Paul. This is 1 Corinthians 14 as we're just trying to wrap up the chapter here. Paul had just gotten done reminding them that God is not the author of confusion. So he is not a God of disorder, he's not a God of chaos or tumult, he's not a God of instability, he's not a God of commotion. That's the implication that he gives here as he talks about how church services, how worship services should be organized. And as he's giving that instruction we mentioned last time that the divine order that God gives applies here at services as well. And so just zeroing in on church services themselves, he's saying that men should lead the services, that men should be the speakers, not the ladies. And so that takes us all the way back to traditions in the church in Chapter 11 where he really makes the point, men should be men and women should be women, and you should never try to mix up those roles. He's emphasizing that very fact. You know, when men fail to lead, what happens? Well, then women and children are going to fill in the void. That's just what's going to happen.

So don't take this as some kind of condemnation for women. It's also pointing out the fact that men weren't doing what they were supposed to do. They weren't fulfilling their God-given responsibilities or it wouldn't have been an issue. And so when you think about that, when men are spiritually strong, when men are obedient to God, then there are an outpouring of wonderful results that it works the way it's supposed to. When the family's doing things decently and in order, God blesses that. When church does things decently and in order, God blesses that as well. So we certainly don't want to get this confused with the idea of value. This isn't saying that somehow God values men over women. That is not the point that the apostle Paul is making. We are all perfectly equal in God's eyes. We all have the exact same spiritual potential. Paul emphasizes that over and over when he says, you know, there's neither Jew or Greek, free or slave, none of those kinds of things. There's not bond or free, all of that. There's neither male nor female. He makes that point very, very strongly. You can find that in Galatians 3:28 where he mentions that very thing. And so Paul is not a chauvinist. That's not it at all.

And so then the question is, okay, we have the same spiritual potential. So because we have the same spiritual potential, because we are equal in God's sight, does somehow that negate the need for submission? No. Do men have to submit? Absolutely. Do women have to submit? Yes. Do children have to submit? Yes. The answer is yes, absolutely. It doesn't negate the need for submission. We've seen that throughout Paul's letter already. Yes, we all have to submit. Even Christ Himself submits to God the Father. And so when we recognize that, we recognize that divine order and how it even applies for church services. Remember Chapter 12, he talked about that metaphor of the body. We're like a body. And there are different members, different individuals that perform different roles. Is each one important? Yeah. He said, absolutely, every one of them is important. And so as we get to this section in 1 Corinthians 14 where he says in verse 34.

1 Corinthians 14:34 "Let your women keep silent in the churches."

Interesting that's a plural word, this isn't just talking about Corinth, in the churches, in the congregations. Remember, he just got done telling us that there is supposed to be peace in all the congregations, all the churches of the saints. So we're not talking about individual groups here and there, all the churches of God in all the congregations. So he says, the women, this is what we do everywhere. This is everywhere, in all the churches, women should keep silent. And we notice last time he talked about the fact, what had happened it seemed, there was confusion. There was definitely division at Corinth. And of course this helped, it seem. contribute to that division.

But it wasn't just something that Paul wrote about. Sometimes you might read a commentary that talked about the fact that Paul was a chauvinist and didn't like women or in the 1st century women were supposed to be seen but not heard and he's just taking this cultural approach. Well, it's interesting that a similar thing is said in 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2, notice the instructions that are given here in 1 Timothy. We'll see that this wasn't just an isolated comment to Corinth. Here as Timothy is to be a pastor, maybe even a type of a regional pastor over a number of congregations. Look at the instruction that he receives here. This is in 1 Timothy 2, notice verse 11. Notice verse 11.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 He says, "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission." So once again, an admonition for the church as a whole, he says, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence."

So as we look at the worship service, the holy convocation, this is what applies, that the man has authority. Where does that authority come from? It's not that he just deserves it. No, it's God-given authority. God gave that authority. God gave that. He said this is the way that it should work, that we have Christ submitting to the Father, man submitting to Christ, women submitting to man. And so it's interesting that he basically mirrors what we've been reading about in 1 Corinthians 14. And look at the logic. The logic behind it flows exactly the same. Once he says that, notice what he says in verse 13.

1 Timothy 2:13 He says, "For Adam was formed first."

So when God says services should be orderly, they should be proper, we recognize men should lead worship services and it goes back to creation. It's not a cultural thing. You can't use that argument, well, that was the 1st century and so today it's entirely different. No, you'd have to argue against the creation itself to try to make that apply. And so when we recognize that, we realize that God ordained a system of authority. And when you think about the authority, what does it help accomplish? I mean the authority that God outlines here, we have order in the family, we have order in society in general, and we have order in the church.

And so when you consider this very fact of God-given authority, I mean all authority is delegated authority. It all comes from God. And so God has delegated that authority. And so no wonder, no wonder Satan attacks the family. If you can dissolve the family unit, well, you're going to get rid of this idea that God is a God of order, and then it becomes confusing. Well, who's in charge? Who's working this? Who is the one who has been placed in that responsibility? Well, if you destroy that system, it all becomes chaos and confusion. And that's a pretty good description of our society today. And so God established this system of authority and Satan tries to undermine that. And so the stability of the family, the stability of society begins to fall apart and that has its impact in the church. And so when we recognize that, we can see why God established it that way.

And so if you go back to 1 Corinthians 14, when he says this idea of, "Let women keep silent," they're not to exert their authority over men. And so interesting that it's not just a male-female kind of thing either. We recognize that we see that it's a timeless reason. It's a timeless reason that God formed Adam first. And so that's important to recognize. And when we recognize that, this is something that God ordained from the very beginning. Men are to be the leaders and they're responsible for the family. They're responsible for the church. And so this beautiful principle is one that's repeated over and over and over again throughout Scripture. In Ephesians, it talks about being subject to one another. Ephesians 5 talks about that very fact. And so remember, we're talking about women not laleoing, not speaking, speaking in inspired ways in services. Does that discount the fact that they serve? No. They sing special music. They contribute outside of services in so many ways, remarkable ways, wonderful ways. And so women have other God-ordained responsibilities.

But when you look at Scripture, God ordained only men to be those leaders. They're the only ones that are a part of the ministry. So when you read 1 Timothy 3 or read Titus 1, that becomes very clear. And so it's quite an interesting subject when you really dig into it. When you even think about just the way that authority is designated, it's not by committee, it's not by popular vote. Where do we find the example? Well, it's Scripture. It's in the Word of God. So it's God's Word. And if ladies may start to feel, well, I guess I just can't contribute anything to church services, well, that's not really true either. I mean, does this seem like something that would be so very restrictive that somehow women are left out of services? I hope you don't feel that way because when you really get down to think about it, most men don't speak, do they? Most people don't speak at church services. And so women aren't the only ones who are not elders or pastors. Not everyone is an elder. Not everyone is a pastor.

And so when we begin to look at it that way, I think that helps frame the issue overall that God is a God of order, not one of instability and confusion. And he tells us we're to worship in spirit and in truth, spirit and in truth. And so he gives the guidelines to do that very thing. And so that helps support the idea of masculine and feminine roles. And when we recognize that, everyone needs to be subject to God's guidance. Everyone needs to be subject to God's rule and His authority. And that includes every single individual.

And so as we consider these very things, I think it's important to recognize how valuable women really are. I mean, they're tremendous. When you look at Scripture, I mean, think of the examples of women and how they served. I don't think, ladies, you have to anything to feel bad about just because services are limited to men giving those sermons and sermonettes, that inspired speaking. Because you look at examples like Deborah, fantastic individual who was a judge and a prophetess, a fantastic, unbelievable example that she set. Not only Old Testament examples, we have the example of Anna in the New Testament was a prophetess. Luke 2:36 describes...You think she had a powerful impact on the church? Absolutely. When you look at women who played prominent roles in serving God's people, I mean, you can't help but think of Priscilla who was active in helping and serving and teaching and speaking in inspired way, but just not during the church service. Did she help with Apollos? Absolutely. She helped her husband to help guide Apollos, which is just tremendous.

As we go through Paul's letters, we're going to read about one of my favorite ladies in the Bible, Phoebe, who was even more than a deaconess, who had a powerful impact on the church. Yes, described as a deaconess, but also one who carried other responsibilities as well that really impacted the church in so many positive, powerful ways. Where would the ministry of Christ have been without prominent women? It's interesting that yes, we had the 12 apostles, the disciples that were with Christ, but look at the ladies who were with Him that contributed to the ministry of Christ. You can't help but wonder if those ladies weren't around, how would things have been so very, very different? And so when we recognize those ways that women contribute, yes, they are commanded to edify the body of Christ. Titus talks about they are expected to teach, they're expected to lead. And so when we recognize that, that doesn't mean that God somehow downplays the value of women, not at all. We wouldn't have the body without everyone.

And so really what we're looking at here is just the church service itself and the way the church is organized in the sense that, okay, there's not an example of any woman that's ordained as a priest or a pastor or an elder or anything like that. So when we consider what Paul talks about here in 1 Corinthians 14, hopefully we recognize, yes, it's about authority. And yes, every one of us needs to be under authority. And to be under God's authority, no matter male or female, means we're subjecting ourselves to Him, something that both men and women must do. We all must do that. And so we also recognize the fact that this should never, never foster any ideas of inequality between the sexes. That's just not the case. That's not the case at all. And so remember, submission isn't about value. It's about order. It's about order. So, mission is about order and doing things decently and in order. It's not about value.

And so when we recognize that, I think that helps us to come to the right conclusions. Yes, women should not assume the office of pastor or elder or the one who gives the sermonettes or the sermons, but they are absolutely critical to the functioning of the body of Christ, to the church itself. And so when we recognize that, we all fulfill the roles that God's given and that's a very good thing. So women are not inferior to men when she's acting as a godly woman and fulfilling the role that God gave to her. And so I think when we recognize that, the church should be a powerful example of the way that God has ordered things. And so when we look back then, look back at 1 Corinthians 14, remember that he says here...I'm not sure if I skipped verse 36 or not, but we'll read that first.

1 Corinthians 14:36-40 He says, "Did the Word of God come originally from you or was it only you that it reached?" No, it came from God, God's first in authority. "If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord." They're Paul falling all the way back on God's authority. God's the one that's directed this. He says, "If anyone's ignorant, well, let them be ignorant." You don't recognize these things? Well, it's foolish. That is foolish. "Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy and do not forbid to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order."

There he finally makes that statement we've been referring to so many times as he concludes this particular thought. Remember emphasizing the spiritual aspects of encouraging and inspiring others, speaking in inspired ways. Yes, we should desire that even over this idea of speaking with different languages. And so hopefully that begins to make it very clear why God ordained things the way that He did.

Now, of course, we've been saying that Paul has been addressing different challenges, different issues, different practices that had been going on in Corinth. And so now he's going to move to another subject as we get into Chapter 15. We had talked about the various themes of the chapters, how Chapter 14 was all about languages or the tongues, Chapter 13 about agape, about love, Chapter 12, when he talked about spiritual gifts, Chapter 11 about traditions in the church. Kind of continue that idea in Chapter 15, which is known as the resurrection chapter because he's really going to zero in on this proper teaching of the resurrection. And so let's jump in right away into 1 Corinthians 15:1.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 He says, "Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain."

So he goes right back to the authority of the Word of God. He was preaching the Word, preaching the Word, and he's talking about the value of that Word. And so as Paul came to them, he goes back to what he preached. What did he do?

1 Corinthians 15:3 "I deliver to you first of all that which I also receive, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."

So this becomes absolutely critical. This is what I talked about first and the idea of first being most important in this. Where do you start? You've got to start with the realization that we're sinners, that we deserve death, that we fall short of God's way and we need a Savior. We need Christ. And so Christ died for our sins. He paid the penalty for us so that we could be forgiven, so that our sins could be removed. So He delivered that first and he says it's according to Scripture, according to the Word of God. And looking at that Word, verse 4.

1 Corinthians 15:4 "And that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures."

And so he verifies this through God's Word. This isn't outside of what God prophesied. This is what was going to happen. And he says, this is exactly what did happen. And then he says to validate that.

1 Corinthians 15:5 "He was seen by Cephas, by Peter, then by the 12." So all the apostles saw him. After that, you need more validation? Here's a big one. "He was seen by over 500 brethren at once."

So he says, there's no mass hallucination here. This doesn't happen on its own that suddenly 500 people see something that couldn't possibly happen and they all think it's true. No, he's pointing out very clearly 500 people saw the resurrected Christ. And in a way, Paul says, well, if you don't believe me...what should they do?

1 Corinthians 15:6 Well, he says, "He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remained to the present, but some have fallen asleep."

So some of them have died, but if you don't believe me, Paul says, go ask them. Go ask them. You know, we've all probably turned on the television here or there and, you know, 11:00 here in the East. You have eyewitness news, right? Well here's eyewitness news in the 1st century. You don't believe me? Go talk to these eyewitnesses. They were there. They'll validate this very fact that Jesus Christ was most definitely resurrected. And all these hundreds, not just somebody went out in the woods in New York and dug up some gold plates and, "Look what I found. Wow, I was out there all by myself. And isn't this...?" No, believe me, because it's true. Well, no. Here 500, so he's adding to the veracity, to the truth, the facts that Christ absolutely was resurrected. It says after that, verse 7.

1 Corinthians 15:7-8 "He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time."

So Paul even includes himself. And if you remember, after Paul was knocked down on that road to Damascus, he goes into the wilderness where he says he was taught by Christ, taught directly by Christ. And here he says, abnormally born. I don't think he's talking about his physical birth that, you know, maybe his mom had trouble or had a weird kind of a birth or something like that. The abnormally really points more to an untimely birth or just out of what was ordinary in the sense that all of these others, the 12, the 500, saw him right then. Was Paul there at the crucifixion? Was he there at the resurrection? No, he wasn't there at that time. So at another time, later, Paul was persecuting the church so he was definitely coming at a different time. And so that's why he uses that phrase there that, "He was seen by me as one born out of due time," abnormally born in that sense. I think it's what it says in the King James Version. But Paul saw him as well. And interesting, he remembers, this would be hard to get off your mind, verse 9.

1 Corinthians 15:9 "I am least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God." Imagine how that must have weighed on Paul as he would recall dragging true Christians back to Jerusalem in chains so that they could be put on trial and ultimately killed. Yeah, so he sees himself, definitely not some egotist here. "I am least of the apostles." And so Paul didn't place himself above others. He wasn't arrogant. In another place, he's going to tell us, "I am the least of the disciples." So not only least of the apostles, least of the disciples. Then he even takes it a step farther. He calls himself the greatest of sinners. And so Paul certainly, you know, wasn't pompous in any way, and he recognizes that. And I'm sure that would have been a difficult thing to get off your mind. I've certainly forgiven, but hard to take that thought away, and it came here as he's writing to the Corinthians.

But notice how he begins to overcome that thought. How do you overcome those types of thoughts that might come back to you? Well, you recognize the positive side of things, the God-given side of things.

1 Corinthians 15:10-11 He says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God, which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed."

Pretty powerful statements here. It was the grace of God. That's undeserved favor. God called him, forgave him. Did Paul deserve it? No. Do we deserve it? No. We've received God's grace as well. And notice what he says here, God's grace was not in vain, wasn't useless is literally the word there, vain, which is a good reminder.

There's a whole religious world out there who think they're under grace that they can continue to sin, they can continue to ignore God's law, they don't have to obey God because they claim to be under grace. Well, wait a second. What kind of grace is that? I think that's useless grace. You know, what did the grace of God lead Paul to do? Led Paul to obey. God's grace leads us to obedience and it led Paul to serve God to an unbelievable extent. And so what a blessing that is. And so God's grace was not something that Paul said, oh, I'm forgiven, now I can do whatever I want, like most of the religious world feels that way. No, that is useless grace. But a grace that isn't in vain, he says, led him to labor. He worked more abundantly, worked harder than all of the others in that regard. And He's saying, well, that wasn't me, but that was God in me. That was also by God's grace. And so what a powerful statement that He makes here.

1 Corinthians 15:12 Then, he says, "If Christ has preached that He's been raised from the dead, yes, He has been raised from the dead. But how do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?"

There's the key point in this Chapter 15. There were some of the Corinthians that said no, there's no resurrection of the dead. Now, maybe some of that came from Judaism. You know, there were some sects of Judaism that didn't believe in the resurrection. Anyone remember probably the biggest group? Yeah, the Sadducees, that's right, the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. And so you remember how you can remember who the ones were that didn't believe in the resurrection? It's the Sadducees, they're sad you see, they don't believe in the resurrection. But notice how Paul begins to refute that. How do you deal with that? Well, first he said there were eyewitnesses to this. You should believe it. Yes, hundreds of eyewitnesses. Then he goes on to say in verse 13.

1 Corinthians 15:13-14 "If there's no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen." Well, that makes sense. "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty."

Interesting. Where did Paul begin here? We began talking about the resurrection. What did he deliver to them first?

1 Corinthians 15:3 "Christ died for our sins."

Now he comes back to that. "If Christ did not die for our sins, if He was not resurrected, your faith is empty." Your faith counts for nothing, counts for nothing.

1 Corinthians 15:15-17 And so he says, "Yes, we are found false witnesses of God. We've been preaching lies." He says, "Because we've testified of God that He raised up Christ whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen." So if you follow this logic, if you want to believe Christ did not rise, that He wasn't resurrected, he says, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins."

And so there's no forgiveness of sin without the resurrection of Christ. And so he points this out so very clearly that it has to be this way. Otherwise, there's no point in believing. There's none.

1 Corinthians 15:18 He says, "Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished."

There is no hope. There is no promise. They're dead and that's it. Story over.

1 Corinthians 15:19 He says, "In this life only we have hope in Christ. We are of all men most pitiable."

King James says miserable. There's no hope for the future, none. If this is all it's about, this is all it's about. Of course, that's kind of interesting because a lot of the Greeks would have felt that way, that's all it is, you know, so let's eat, drink and be merry, right? That's all we have. A lot of our world feels that way today. But he says that's a miserable state of mind because that is not the fact. And so Paul begins to show, here's the facts. Here's the fact, it's what I delivered to you. It's the story of the gospel. It's the facts of what God has ordained.

1 Corinthians 15:20 He says, "Christ has risen." Look at verse 20, "But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

So Christ is the firstfruits. Interesting analogy there, takes us back to harvesting, especially some of those Old Testament examples, the firstfruits, what happened with the firstfruits? Well, if you go all the way back to Leviticus, the firstfruits were the beginning of the harvest. And what they would do is they would offer the very first of the firstfruits to God and they would take those initial firstfruits and give them to the priests as an offering. And so here he compares that very thing to Christ Himself, that Christ is the firstfruits. If you compare this to what it says in Leviticus 23, it points out that whole story so very clearly how Christ is like a firstfruit, like the wavesheaf offering that's mentioned there that was lifted up to God. Christ was resurrected and He is the firstfruits, the beginning of those who have fallen asleep, those who have died in other words.

Well, why would you say firstfruits? Well, what did the firstfruits signify? Go back to the Old Testament, it was harvest time. So when it comes to be harvest time, they would dedicate the first to God. The wavesheaf specifically, you know, before that spring harvest would be lifted up before God, certainly symbolized in the resurrection of Christ. What did it mean though? Was that all there was to it? Well, we got the firstfruits and now let's call it a day. It's all over. Well, no, of course not. What happened? What happened next was the harvest. Now get out in the fields. Let's harvest the crops. Same thing applies spiritually speaking. Christ is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. There's going to be a greater harvest. There will be many more to come. He was the first and now there are many more to come. And so we recognize that in this example. So how important is the resurrection of Christ? It's absolutely critical to the plan. Can't happen without it. And so Paul emphasizes that point. Look at verse 21 then.

1 Corinthians 15:21 He says, "For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead."

So the translators I think got it right here. New King James, since by man, with a small m, what would that point to? Since by man came death, what man with a little m would that point to? Okay, it would point to Adam. Adam sinned. That started the whole cycle of death. Well, by Man, then with a capital M, also came the resurrection of the dead. So here we have the solution to sin and death comes by man with a capital M, comes by Christ Himself. So through the resurrection of Christ, the firstfruits comes the resurrection of the dead. There will be a greater harvest. There will be more that will be resurrected. And so, let's talk about that resurrection.

Paul is going to teach and instruct them about this specific teaching of the resurrection of the dead. Most importantly, was that Christ died for our sins and was resurrected, seen by hundreds and hundreds of people. You need to believe it because without it, we have no forgiveness of sin. We have no capability of being a part of the kingdom of God, of being born into the God family. "And so by Christ came by man the resurrection of the dead." He paved the way, in other words. We can look to His example and we'll follow.

1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die. Even so, in Christ all shall be made alive." That's a pretty powerful statement. Not just some, I mean it's all inclusive, both examples. "As in Adam all die." Everybody's going to die. Everyone will die one way or another. "Even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

All, everyone, everyone will experience a resurrection. Now, we also have to recognize that can mean different things. And so let's talk about the ways that this is representing here.

1 Corinthians 15:23 He says, "But each one in his own order."

Kind of interesting, is God a God of order? Absolutely. Yeah, not confusion, but in order. So each one in his own order. Who was the very first? He tells us Christ. "Christ became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." He told us that back there in verse 20. And so all will be made alive, each one in his own order. First we have Christ the firstfruits. than afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. So here we have the believers. Those who are faithful Christians, those who have died in the faith. If you remember our studies in 1 Thessalonians 4 discusses the return of Christ and the resurrection of those who are Christ at His coming. Those who have died in the faith and those who are alive, those true Christians, faithful Christians who are alive at His coming, they're the ones that are in the next step.

They're the ones in that initial resurrection. What else do we call that resurrection? The first resurrection. Right? Sometimes it's called the better resurrection. So various names for that first resurrection. And sometimes then those that will be a part of that resurrection are also called the firstfruits. The firstfruits, why would they be called the firstfruits? Because there's more later. There'll be more later. Christ is the first of the firstfruits. Those at the resurrection when Christ returns can be called firstfruits as well. And those are the believers, whether died in the faith or alive at His coming.

Then we follow the progression on from there. Look back at verse 24.

1 Corinthians 15:24-26 He says, "Then comes the end when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet." So all enemies fall under His feet. So we see God certainly will rule all. And he says, "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death."

And so this kind of ties us back to Revelation 20. In fact, if you want to turn back to Revelation 20, we can see a little bit of the order of things here as well. And as we look at Revelation 20, it talks about those who are in that first resurrection and it's described as...First if we look at 20:4.

Revelation 20:4 "I saw thrones and they that sat on them and judgment was committed to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, had not received his mark on their foreheads. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

So here we have that first resurrection that ties in back with what we read in 1 Corinthians 15, those that are Christ's at His coming, those who had died in the faith that are resurrected, like 1 Thessalonians 4 talks about, "And they'll live and reign with Christ for a thousand years." But there's certainly a lot more people who never knew Christ, never understood God's plan, never experienced that calling by God.

Revelation 20:5-6 And so here we see it says, "The rest of the dead did not live again until a thousand years were finished." So we see they'll come to a resurrection. So we have the first resurrection, those at the return of Christ. And of course in verse 6 it tells us, "Blessed and holy is he who has a part in the first resurrection because they will be made spirit." They will be resurrected as spirit beings. And so verse 6 says, "Over such the second death has no power. There will be priests of God and of Christ and reign with Him a thousand years."

That's that millennial period that we celebrate. We recognize that every Sabbath day. We recognize that during the Feast of Tabernacles as well. This special time points back to this idea of the first resurrection. And he also talks about a second, verse 5, "The rest of the dead didn't live again until a thousand years were finished." So there, once again, we see that fits in with what Paul said about each one in its order, each one in its order. And so there is a second resurrection of those that never understood God's way and they'll have an opportunity. And we see that happens at the end of the millennium. Sometimes that's called the second resurrection. Verse 11 here, if you're still there in Revelation 20, reminds us that sometimes they call it the white throne judgment.

Revelation 20:11-12 "'I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.' And what does John see? 'I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books.'"

And so here we have a second resurrection, the great white throne judgment that's also called there. And so here we see they will have an opportunity where the Bible, the Biblia, the Books are open to them and they'll have an opportunity to understand. And so if we flip back all the way to 1 Corinthians 15, we see Paul fast forwards to that time when ultimately we'll be past those resurrections. Of course, that second resurrection, we should just make a special note there, these individuals are not resurrected to spirit life. They're resurrected to physical life so that they'll have that opportunity to choose God's way or not. And then ultimately they'll be given spirit life if they choose to follow God and obey and submit to Him. So if we head back then to 1 Corinthians 15, we fast forward to.

1 Corinthians 15:26-28 "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death." That's verse 26. And then we see, "For He's put all things under His feet. But when He says all things are put under Him, it's evident that He who put all things under Him is accepted." And so ultimately the Father is always the head of the family. All things put under the feet of Jesus Christ, but the Father is always supreme. And so he says, "Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." That God may be all in all.

So that kind of takes us to that time of the new heaven and earth. Revelation 21 begins to describe that, that after the millennium, after the kingdom of God on Earth, and after that second resurrection, the great white throne judgment, ultimately God the Father will dwell with us. He'll dwell with His resurrected saints. There'll be a new heaven and a new Earth. And that time Paul is kind of describing there when ultimately death will be done away with. Revelation describes it so beautifully where it says, "There'll be no more crying, no more tears, no more death." All of those things are going to pass away. So we can kind of keep that order of things in mind as we consider this resurrection, the various resurrections that Paul is describing in 1 Corinthians 15. Then as we get to verse 29, he says something kind of interesting that we'll probably have to take time next time to discuss a little bit.

1 Corinthians 15:29-31 He says, "Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead if the dead don't rise at all? Why are they baptized to the dead? Why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?" He says, "I affirm by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily."

And so here Paul is trying to contrast a couple of interesting things. And what we'll do since we don't have a lot of time right now, we'll leave you hanging for a moment. What is he getting at when he says about those that are being baptized for the dead? As he speaks the truth about the resurrections, well, what about this? What about this idea that the dead rising and how in the world is that connected to being baptized for the dead? Is that something we should consider? Is that something for the Church of God? What about that? Well, let's save that for next time. We'll pick it up right there and we'll discuss what exactly he's getting that and how that ties in to Paul's teaching on the resurrection.