The resurrection body of the believer — Kory Crawford

Before we read together in the Word of God, we'll just ask for the Lord's help this day, and we'll have a word of prayer. Father, we're thankful this day for our Lord Jesus Christ. We're thankful, Father, for the salvation that we have in Him.

Father, we often sing, redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. And we're thankful, Father, this day for redemption, for salvation's price that was paid at the cross. And Father, we're thankful we're not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.

And we're so thankful, Father, this day for your Word, the truths of it, the promises that we can glean from it. We're thankful even for the portion we would consider today of a glorious future hope for each child of God.

And Father, we just pray that the words that we would ponder upon, the words that would be spoken today, that they would be received not as the words of men, but as they are in truth the Word of God. And Father, the needs are so varied today.

There's so many different needs in the world today. Your Word could tell us that anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good Word makes him glad. So Father, we would just pray that a good Word today, a Word from yourself, would, Father, maybe some in anxiety, some in uncertainty today, that the Word would make them glad, that they would find hope and find rest, and that the words would be acceptable, even words of truth.

So we pray for your help here this day, Father. We're thankful again for the Word of God, that it is living, that it is powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. And Father, we just pray today that even as we look upon promises from you, that, Father, it would pierce us to the deepest parts of our soul, and Father, would motivate us to live each day for the honor and glory of our Savior.

So we ask these things, Father, and pray for a blessing, pray for good connection, and we just ask this in your Son's worthy and precious name. Amen. Now I'd just like to read today in the book of 1 Corinthians and chapter 15.

1 Corinthians and chapter 15, and we're going to read the last half or so of this chapter, well-known verses, and just ponder a little bit about and think upon this great topic, this great promise of the resurrection body of the believer.

So we will read together in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and we'll start in at verse number 35. We'll think a little bit about the context of the verses as we start, but we'll just read starting from verse number 35.

It says, 1 Corinthians 15 and 35, the Word of God says, but some man will say, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.

And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of wheat or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. For one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. How be it that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual.

The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is a Lord from heaven. As it, as is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show 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 trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

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. O death, where is thy sting?

O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is a law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

What a, what a glorious chapter from the Word of God. Glorious truths, glorious promises for each child of God. There is no doubt at this time in the world, there are believers that are discouraged, distracted.

Believers that are maybe misinformed and fearful, uncertain and without rest. Some are experiencing sickness like never before. Others are in mourning. It may seem that there is death and defeat on every side when we look outside our windows.

But today I would just like to lay before each child of God the Holy Scriptures that we have just read to encourage our hearts, and it says this, But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It was Brother Jack Hay back in the third message of this Refuge series who impressed upon our hearts the the glorious truth and reality of the rapture of the church, that imminent moment when Christ will call his church home, that the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.

And those wonderful words, the summation of that event, So shall we ever be with the Lord. And it was the the week following that that Brother Andrew Usher spoke on and encouraged our hearts of this glorious truth, that our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, He's risen.

He's alive. There's an empty tomb. You know, you could easily go out and search out the tombs, the sepulchres, the remains, the burial plots for whatever priest or prophet, whatever pope or preacher you wanted, and you could go there and you could find where they were, where they've been buried, where their bodies lay.

But you know, if you're to look for Christ's tomb today, if you were to find out where they had laid that body, you know what you would find. Maybe you'd hear that same question. Those believers heard so long ago.

Why do you seek the living amongst the dead? And here where we have read, it's really the the meeting, the glorious meeting of these two truths, that Christ is coming back and that He's risen from the dead and in a moment it says we're going to be changed.

That because Christ has risen, the encouragement for each child of God today is this. We shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. It's that moment that that Paul could write about to the Philippians when he would say, who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body.

Like any doctrine of the Word of God, the resurrection body of the believer is something that should cause us to be in awe, something that should cause us to worship and to take heart and know of the blessed future that awaits each one.

And as we have read in the in the final verse of this portion, my beloved brother, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. That each true believer could could enjoy today of what that future day of what John would write, John would say, and what we shall be has not yet been revealed, but we know that when He appears we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is.

And here in in 1st Corinthians 15, it gives us a little picture of what we shall be like in that moment when we are changed for all eternity. It gives a little view, a little picture into what it shall be like, what we shall be like in that glorious day and for all eternity.

And knowing this, being reminded of this great truth today in these in these few moments together, these few minutes together, that in the midst of of storms of this life, of the pandemics of this life, we might be encouraged knowing there is coming a day when we'll receive a body that'll never get sick.

No fear of sickness, no fear of disease. We'll receive a body that will never be sick. And owe to God today that that this great truth would encourage each heart here today. I know that the needs are so vast, different experiences for different believers around the world, but each one that we would be encouraged, that we would be able to, after thinking and pondering upon this great promise of God, we might be able to say like the psalmist of old, I love thee, O Lord, my strength.

May we find strength today in these tremendous promises from the Word of God. And so I would just like to go through these these verses that we have read and and really start, and we need to start back at the start of chapter 15, to see what the context here is this chapter.

And chapter 15 at the start is really driving home the truth and the reality and relevance of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first verses, these well-known verses in 1st Corinthians 15, it tells us that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scripture.

It doesn't even leave us with that. It tells that he was seen, that there was a reality to the resurrection. There was people that visibly saw him in this world. But then, as you keep coming down this chapter, you arrive at verse number 11 and 12, and it speaks of the believers who were doubting whether there was a resurrection of the dead.

They had doubts of whether this would even take place, a resurrection of the dead. And Paul would write and say, if there's no resurrection from the dead, then Christ is not risen. And he tells us the relevance of that in verse number 14.

He says, if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is also in vain. We see the relevance and the importance of this great truth, that Christ has risen from the dead. If he hasn't risen, we're still in our sins.

Verse number 17 says, and ye are yet in your sins. And what about those who have gone on before, loved ones who have perished, if there's no resurrection from the dead? He says in verse 18, then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

There's no hope for them. There's no hope for the one. If there is no resurrection, there is no hope for those that have gone on before, those who have passed on. There is no hope of being reunited with loved ones.

The grandparent that has gone on before, no reunion will be had. The spouse, the parents, even the child, who has gone on before. And he says in verse number 19, if in this life, only we have hope in Christ, if there's only hope in Christ in this life, what does he say?

We're of all men, most miserable. There's no future hope in Christ. We should be miserable. If there's no resurrection of Christ, our faith is in vain. If there's no resurrection of the dead, there's no future hope for us.

It was Sigmund Freud, that Austrian philosopher and doctor, who at the end of his life, he maintained his stance as an uncompromising atheist. And in one of his well-known written works, he would write this, and he would describe the belief in God as a collective neurosis.

He said it, he called it a longing for a father. But he wrote these words, and he wrote this in one of his best-known quotes. It says this, and finally, there is the painful riddle of death, for which no remedy at all has yet been found, nor probably will ever be found.

What hopelessness! No hope. But then we come to the glorious words of verse number 20 in this chapter, and it says, but now, but now, is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

I like how J .B. Phillips puts it in his translation of the New Testament. He says this, but the glorious fact is that Christ did rise, from the dead, and he has become the very first to rise of all who sleep, the sleep of death.

Dear child of God, dear believer today, it is neither a fiction nor fable, the resurrection of the dead. It's a glorious fact. It's something we can grab hold of today, and it says here, but now, but now.

I love those words. It always, it changes the course of where the verses are heading. Here we have, he's talking about, if Christ is not risen, then we're miserable, but now, Christ is risen from the dead.

You find those words in the book of Romans, in those first three and a half chapters of the book of Romans, just the convincing case brought before man of men's guiltiness towards God. But those words in Romans 3 and verse number 21, but now, but now the righteousness of God, without the law, is manifested.

Ephesians 2, you find those same words saying we were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise. We had no hope without God in this world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes afar off, have been brought nigh, by the blood of Christ.

You were sometimes in darkness, it says in Ephesians as well, but now, you are light in the Lord. Tremendous words that completely change the course of where the verses are heading. And here it says in verse number 20, but now, Christ is risen from the dead.

And he goes on to speak about this, to establish the reality, and the relevance, and the truth of Christ's resurrection. And then we arrive at verse number 35. Where we started reading at. And Paul places here two questions that someone might have when speaking of the resurrection of the dead.

And here we have in verse number 35, these two questions. First one is, how are the dead raised up? How is it possible that something that is dead can be raised up? And the other question that he answers, and he presents, and with what body do they come?

How is it that someone, something that is dead, can be raised up? And if they are raised up, what body would they have? With what body do they come? And here in these first few verses, Paul is going to, at the start, he's going to address and answer these questions that the believers would have had.

So we find here in verses 36 through 38, the answer to this first question. How are the dead raised up? And he's going to talk to us about a body that is dead. A body that is dead. How is it possible that something that has died, that has been buried, can be raised up?

And he speaks here, and he uses the analogy of a seed. Something that throughout, even to this day, is something that we can relate to. Something that we can understand. In verse 36, he's really saying, the seed you plant doesn't come to life unless it dies.

You have to put a seed in the ground in order to see it sprout up. And he uses this analogy, and there's a wide range of analogies you could use. You could think of an acorn. You have to put that acorn into the soil, into the ground, and bury it in order to become that great oak tree.

I'm by no means a horticulturist or a botanist, but I remember as a child in elementary school, you would receive those little packs of seeds from your teacher. Whether they be tomato seeds or whatever they were, and just little seeds.

And even as a child, you were amazed that you could put that little seed in the ground and plant it and bury it. And it would spring forth of life. It would bring forth fruit. And that's what Paul is using here to convince, to explain to the believers.

How is it that something that is dead can be raised up? Well, we see it all around us. We see it with this little seed. In verse 37, I found another translation that puts it just like this. And what you plant is not the form that it will be, but a bare kernel, whether it is wheat or something else.

And he says here, it's God. God gives it a body as it has pleased him. It has to be buried. It has to be put into the ground in order to be raised up. We see it in creation. And that's the answer Paul gives to this first question.

A body that is dead, it can be raised up. We can see life come from something that is seemingly dead and buried. And we see it in the seeds that are planted in the soil. But then he comes to this second question.

With what body do they come? And here in verses 39 through 41, he's going to talk about bodies that are distinct. A body that is distinct. And he uses three analogies. Again, something we can all understand even today so clearly.

Such great truths from the word of God. The first one he tells us about is in verse number 39. And he speaks of distinct bodies here on earth. He says all flesh is not the same flesh. And he's going to give four different types of bodies, of flesh that we all can visualize in our own minds.

He speaks of men. He speaks of the animals, the beasts. He speaks of fish and he speaks of birds. He says each one of them they have different flesh. And he makes special mention to these four groups of bodies.

And it's very interesting that in the creation, way back in Genesis 1, specific attention and detail as well is placed upon these separate different types of species. It speaks of God creating the birds of the air.

It speaks of God creating the fish in the sea. It speaks of the Lord creating animals upon the earth. It speaks of God creating mankind in here. He says it again. There's there's distinctness. There's a distinctness in the flesh, in the bodies of each thing we see in creation of the earthly bodies here on earth.

But then he gets to verse 40. And he speaks to us and he does a comparison of the bodies on earth and the bodies in heaven or in outside of the earth. He speaks of celestial and terrestrial bodies. Heavenly and earthly bodies.

And he says in verse number 40 that their glory is different. There is a distinctness to their glory. Their splendor, their praise worthiness, if we want to say that, is distinct. How many of us has have sat back in an evening out in the country and just looked up at the sky?

Looked up at the glory, the distinct glory of the heavenly bodies, of the sun and the moon and the stars. It was a friend of Job who would say, behold the heights of the stars, how high they are. There's a distinct glory to the terrestrial, to the celestial, to the heavenly bodies.

It was the psalmist who could write, and when I consider thy heavens, the works of thy fingers, the moon and the stars that which thou hast ordained, what is man? That thou are mindful of him. The distinct glory of the celestial bodies, of things in space, things that we can see from this earth.

But he speaks also, he says there's a distinctness to the bodies on this earth. There's a glory to them and we could consider the beauties of a sunrise on the ocean, of just seeing the calmness of that beach and seeing those waves quietly come in.

There's a distinct glory to the earthly bodies. And Paul keeps going and he arrives at verse number 41. He's talked to us about earthly bodies. He's talked to us the difference between heavenly bodies and earthly bodies.

But here in verse 41, he keeps us in the heavens and he talks about the sun and the moon and the stars. Each one has a distinct body, a distinct glory to it. So that question that the believers would have had, and with what body do they come?

Is it so hard to believe? Is it so hard to understand? That the bodies that we have now, when there is a resurrection of the dead, they'll be changed. They'll be distinct. We see distinct bodies all around us.

And so what will that body be like? What will that body be like? In verse 42, he says so also is the resurrection of the dead. There's a distinctness to it. The body that we have, that we will receive for all eternity, it will be different.

And it's very interesting, and this is where I like to spend the portion of the time now. It's thinking about the body and what it will be like. And we have here four different descriptions of the body, four different descriptions.

Whereas human beings, I think, very occupied and put a lot of emphasis on what we look like. There's probably not too many people that would go out for the day without at least spending a few moments looking in the mirror to see if they have mostly everything in order.

And it's interesting to think that we are very consumed with the external appearance. A recent study that was done said that 90 percent of teenage girls want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance.

That 40 percent of middle-aged women and 20 percent of middle-aged men consider plastic surgery at some point in their life. And as we get older, as others get older, I would say, they become occupied with their hair, losing their hair, their hair turning gray, their eyesight starting to dim, their ability to hear starting to lessen.

And we put much emphasis on this body and what happens to it. And we have here in these verses four descriptions of what our body is like now. Four descriptions. It says in verse number 42, the body that we have now is a body sown in corruption.

It's sown in corruption. What that simply means is we have a perishable body. A body that is decaying over time. A body that is going to die. A body that is mortal. Ever since the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3, we have this corruptible flesh.

This corruptible body that is decaying as we age. The process of death is the wheels are turning. And it says the body that we have now is sown in corruption. There's no one that can argue that fact today.

There's no one in the world that can argue the fact that our bodies, they're corruptible. They were perishing. And that there's a mortality to them. But he continues in verse 43. And he tells us that the body that we have now is also a body not only sown in corruption, but it's sown in dishonor.

Sown in dishonor. Indignity. Shame. Disgrace. You know, we could think of a body that is dead. A dead body. And really there is no dignity to a dead body. There's something innate inside a human being that as we, if we were to approach a dead body, there would be a much different feeling we would have as we viewed that.

As we viewed someone, the difference between seeing someone lying down and sleeping and seeing a dead body, there is an indignity to it. But even in this life, if we think about this life, that same word dishonor is used by Paul in Romans chapter 1 when he would say this, that God gave them up unto vile affections.

Dishonorable affections. So really this body that we have, sown in dishonor. I don't think there's any of us. No doubt there is. There is none of us who cannot think of things of shame, things of disgrace, sins that we have committed in this body.

It's a body that is sown in dishonor. God gave them up to their dishonorable affections. The world is full of bodies that are addicted, bodies that have blasphemed, bodies that have reproached against God.

It's a body that is sown in dishonor. That's the body that we currently have. But verse 43 would also tell us it's a body sown in weakness. It's sown in weakness. Really, it's the idea of disease, infirmity, sickness, feebleness, frailty.

Cancer can come at any age. It's a body that is sown in weakness. And maybe more in these past few months than any other time in our lifetimes. We can sense the weakness of our own body. That there is the ability to get sick and to your body to almost shut down on you.

It's a body that is sown in weakness. And the last description he gives in verse 44, it says it's sown a natural body. What does that mean? It's a body that is fitted to the low condition that the sensitive enjoyments and environments of this life.

It's not a supernatural body. It's an earthly, breathing, living body we were born with. My oldest son recently has become very interested in space and space exploration. And the first question that he had when he when he got that first book about space was why do they wear such big helmets?

Those astronauts. And you know, it's interesting just even as a child would notice that. The great lengths that we'd have to go to just to protect this natural body from leaving its natural environment.

Almost impossible to leave very far from earth. Why? Because we've been given, it's been sown a natural earthly body. It describes the man in Adam and what pertains to him. We could probably relate to Paul when he would write, oh wretched man that I am.

Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? We know what our body is like now. That maybe though those four characteristics we just went through is not news to anybody today. What will our changed bodies be like?

What will they be like? We could maybe today like the psalmist of old could ask that question. What will it be to dwell above and with the Lord of glory reign since the blessed knowledge of his love so brightens all this dreary plane?

No heart can think, no tongue can tell what joy it will be with Christ to dwell. When sin no more obstructs the sight and flesh and sense deceive no more. When we shall see the prince of light and all his works of grace explore what heights of depth, what heights and depths of love divine will there be through the endless ages shine?

What will that changed body be like? We really see here in these verses it's the opposite of the body we have now. It says here today we have a body that is sown in corruption. How is it raised? Raised in incorruption.

Raised an immortal body with an unending existence. We could look through scriptures and we could find Methuselah and what body he must have had. 969 years. The resurrection body. It's an immortal body.

It's going to exist for all eternity. It's a body that can never die. Sown in corruption. Raised in incorruption. We have as well the thought and we were thinking about it's a body that is sown in dishonor.

Sown in dishonor. How is it raised? What does verse number 43 say? Sown in dishonor is raised in glory. A body of indignity, disgrace, shameful acts. It says it's going to be raised. A glorious body. There's a very apparent dignity, grandeur, greatness to the resurrection body.

It's raised in glory. No longer marked by sin and despair and shame like in this life. It's a body raised in glory. We thought today of the bodies we have are bodies that are sown in weakness. Bodies that are susceptible to disease and illness and sickness.

What does it say in verse 43 again? Sown in weakness. Raised in power. In an abundance of might, of strength. That is how the the new body is described. It's a body that is raised in power. No longer to to feel that sickness.

No longer to to fear the infirmities and the pandemics of this life. Raised in power. And it says as well, sown a natural body. We thought how that that relates to the body that is fitted for this earth.

It's not a supernatural body. What does it say? Raised a spiritual body. And that does not mean that we will just be raised as spirits. No, but we will be raised with bodies that are fitted for a heavenly environment.

We could see that example in Christ. After he had risen from the dead, he would say, behold, handle me and see. For flesh, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see that I have. We can take heart today each believer.

There is despair and and and sickness and and fear maybe in this life for many. But there's a tremendous promise from God. Sown uh sown in corruption. Raised in incorruption. Sown in dishonor. It's raised in glory.

Sown in weakness. Raised in power. Sown a natural body. Raised a spiritual body. It was a few years ago that my uh, my grandmother uh passed from this world to to be with the Lord. And she really had a hard uh last several years of her life.

Her body began to break down at an early age and compare in comparison to most um was subjected to a walker and then a wheelchair at a fairly young age. And every time you went to see her there was something else failing in her body.

But for years it seemed like she suffered for years. Several years. And that day that she passed I thought of these verses. That body that she had really a body that was sown in weakness. But she's been she's been awaiting now in heaven.

She's waiting for that moment when she'll receive not a body sown in weakness, but a body sown in power. What tremendous future hope for each child of God. Those tremendous words of that hymn. I have heard of a land on the faraway strand.

Tis a beautiful home of the soul built by Jesus on high where there we never shall die. Tis a land where we'll never grow old. It says then when our work here is done and that life crown is won and our troubles and trials are o 'er all our sorrow will end and our voices will blend with the loved ones who've gone on before.

Never grow old where we'll never grow old in a land where we'll never grow old. There's coming a day when we'll be given those resurrection bodies. What difference what what contrast we see than in the bodies that we have now.

So he gives us in these in these first verses here the the difference of the characteristics. But then he paints out in verses 45 to 49 the difference in the in the forerunner in in really the prototype of this body.

He speaks of the first Adam. And what contrast we see again. He says in verse 45 the first Adam the first man Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam was made it says made but that made's in italics.

It's really the last Adam was a life-giving spirit. The prototype that first Adam the body that we have now a body marked by corruption and dishonor and weakness. This earthly natural body suited for this world.

It says Adam he was made a living soul. No power in himself. It was God who breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. It was Job and Daniel who both could say and speak of the frailty of man that the breath of all mankind and every living thing is in the hand of God.

But we see here the last Adam. Christ Jesus the Lord. And it says who is the firstfruits from the dead. What does it say of him? He was a life-giving spirit. That first Adam that that symbol of the body we have now he had to receive life.

It's Christ who is that picture of that future resurrection body. It says he's the one who gives life. He gave life at creation. Colossians 1 would tell us he is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of every creature.

For by him were all things created that are in heaven that are on earth that are visible and invisible. They were created by him. There was life given at creation. But then there was life given at Calvary.

John's gospel in the last few chapters would say this. These things are written. This account of the Lord Jesus Christ of his life and his death and his resurrection. These things are written. Why? That you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God in that believing you might have life through his name.

But we can see not only life given at creation or at Calvary but we see that tremendous promise of life given at that coming day. Revelation chapter 21. What does that voice say? Behold I make all things new.

I am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountains of the water of life for you. He gives life. He's a life-giving spirit, a life-giving individual.

Verse 47 here continues giving the contrast of these two men of these two bodies. The first man, what does it say in verse 47? It says he's of the earth earthy dusty. The second man is the Lord from heaven.

What a contrast. The first Adam, the picture of that first body, the body that we have now. He says he's a dusty man. He's an earthly man. The second man it's the Lord from heaven. What a scope of comparison.

The Lord from heaven. Nothing dusty, nothing earthly about him. And it says in verse 48 as we have such as they as is the earthy so are they also which are earthy and as is the heavenly such are they that are heavenly.

I love what verse number 49 tells us. As we have borne the image of the earth we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. When does that happen? We receive that resurrection body where this vile body will be changed like unto his glorious body.

Right now we bear the marks and sense the image of the first man. We have these earthly bodies corruptible, dishonorable, weak, natural bodies but it speaks of a coming day. We're going to bear the image of the heavenly.

It was in first John when he would write of those words and we've already thought upon them. But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. What tremendous promise.

A body that will be different, that will be changed, that will be transformed, that will be fashioned like unto his glorious body. Maybe there's some listening today and you're elderly and you have a spouse maybe who's sick you see them in their weakness and their body is just starting to give out on them.

Take heart today. It's a body that's sown in weakness. One day it's going to be raised in power. There's those that have maybe elderly parents and you see the same thing. You see the ones, the father's knee you sat on and the strength that he had but now in his in his older years it's starting to go.