Archive for month: August, 2021

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.  Let’s go!

On verses 35-49:  In 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, Paul addresses a question that people back then and people today have about resurrection: if Christians will physically rise from the dead, what kind of bodies will they have? Will we look the same way as when we died?  Will we look like zombies? Will those who died with wounds still show those wounds when they are resurrected? Will we look younger or older?  What about people whose bodies were cremated after they died? What will our resurrected bodies look like?

In response to these questions, Paul says: don’t expect your resurrection body to look just like the body you died in (v37). Rather, your resurrection body will have a splendour that is altogether different from your earthly body (v40).

Does that mean that guys who always wanted six pack abs will get it with their resurrection body? Does that mean the parts of your body which you wish were smaller or bigger will be your ideal size when you get your resurrection body? I can’t promise anything. But if we take a clue from how the disciples didn’t immediately recognize the resurrected Jesus after he appeared to them (for example, Luke 24:15-16), it’s very possible that when your loved ones see you in your resurrected body, your resurrection body will look different enough that they might not recognize you at first, but then when they realize it’s you they’ll be like, “Wow! It IS you!”

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 15:29-34. Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 15:29 (NIV) 
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 

On verse 29:  Welcome to one of the more controversial verses in the Bible.  When Paul writes about people being “baptized for the dead”, what does he mean?  Paul seems to be describing a practice where a Christian would get baptized for an unbaptized dead person (perhaps a relative, an ancestor, or a friend).  This is the only place in Scripture that refers to this practice.  Now it is highly questionable whether getting baptized on behalf of an unbaptized dead person has any effect at all.  Baptism of course is a personal decision.  We can’t save someone from their sins or secure their place in heaven by getting baptized on their behalf.  Some scholars even see Paul as being sarcastic and rhetorical in verse 29, as if to say, “What good is it to get baptized for the dead?”  For all these reasons, baptizing for the dead is not something you see practiced widely in churches today, if at all.
Still, verse 29 shows us how important baptism was to the early church and how seriously the early church took Jesus’ command to get baptized.  Baptism is not an option for believers, but a command from Jesus himself (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16).  In fact, if you’re not willing to get baptized even though you have the opportunity to do so, you need to question whether you really believe in Jesus.  If I say, “Jesus I want to follow You”, and Jesus says, “Okay.  Go and get baptized”, and I say, “Well, let me think about it, or let me wait until my circumstances are more perfect”, then you need to question whether your heart is really set on following Jesus, or if you’re actually following something else more closely.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NIV) 
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 
23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 

On verses 20 to 23:  As we near the end of his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul talks about things that we as Christians can look forward to in the future.  The first thing that will happen as a pre-cursor to “the end” is that God’s people will be resurrected.  Just as death came to all people through one man, Adam, when Adam sinned against God, resurrection from death has been made possible for all people through one man, Jesus Christ, when he rose from the dead.  In other words, because of our connection to Adam the first man who sinned, like Adam we too were destined to die and be separated from God.  But because of our connection to Jesus the only man who never sinned and who rose from the dead, like Jesus we too will experience resurrection from the dead.  So when Paul says that Christ is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v20), he means that Christ is the first to die, rise from the dead, and never die again, and that we as people who have trusted in Jesus (“those who belong to him”) will follow in His footsteps and also be raised from the dead one day (v23).  Praise God!  For Christians, death is not the end.  For after death comes resurrection.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 14:26 (NIV) 
26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.

On verse 26:  The church of Corinth was full of creative and spiritually gifted people.  Everyone was eager to share what they felt God had placed on their heart, be it a song, a message, a vision, a tongue or an interpretation of a tongue.   Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth: check your motives before you share anything – always do it to build up the church, not to feed your own ego.  In the same way, whenever you’re sitting in any church gathering large or small, check your motives whenever you share with others.   Let it always be “for the strengthening of the church”, to exalt God’s name, not your own.

1 Corinthians 14:27-28 (NIV) 
27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two–or at the most three–should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.
28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

On verses 27-28:  This shows that Paul’s concern with tongues was mainly in regard to addressing the congregation publicly.  He says if there’s no one to interpret, go ahead and speak in tongues but keep it between you and God.