We Shall Bear the Image of the Heavenly Man - Christopher G. Brenyo

Ascension Presbyterian Church Longwood

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1 Corinthians 15 35 but someone will ask how are the dead raised?

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With what kind of body do they come? You foolish person what you sow does not come to life unless it dies and what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel perhaps of wheat or of some other grain but God gives it a body as he has chosen and to each kind of seed its own body for not all flesh is the same but there is one kind for humans another for animals another for birds and another for fish there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind and the glory of the earthly is of another there is one glory of the

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Sun and another glory of the moon another glory of the stars for star differs from star and glory so is it with the resurrection of the dead what is sown is perishable what is raised is imperishable it is sown in dishonor is raised in glory it is sown in weakness is raised in power it is so a natural body is raised a spiritual body if there is a natural body there is also a spiritual body thus it is written the first Adam became a living being the last

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Adam became a life -giving spirit but it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural and then the spiritual the first man was from the earth a man of dust the second man is from heaven as was the man of dust so also are those who were of the dust and as is the man of heaven so also are those who are of heaven just as we have borne the image of the man of dust we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven

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I tell you this brothers flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable this is

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God's holy and infallible word let's pray together Lord Jesus I thank you for the plain teaching that your

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Holy Spirit enabled Paul to write in this letter we thank you for the crystal clarity of our need of resurrection and the inconceivable fact that we could never enter into heaven with these bodies of sin we thank you for your gracious provision

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Christ we thank you for uniting us to yourself that your resurrection becomes our resurrection your righteousness becomes our righteousness your inheritance your fellowship with Father and the

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Spirit becomes ours as well we ask all these things in Jesus name please be seated the title of the message today is we shall bear the image of the man the bulk of the message is going to be contained in that last section in the late 40s they're getting around verse 46 through to verse 50 the question for today is how will we be transformed how will we be transformed because clearly the apostle sets forth some hard doctrine here we are not fit for eternity in heaven in our present state if all the benefits we think about Christ redeeming work and regenerating us we are not presently ready to enter into the eternal state we have to die first we have to be planted in the ground that we might be raised with new glorified bodies the resurrection of Christ and this doctrine is essential to the gospel because there is no heaven for us without it we are unqualified we are staying we are tainted we have perverted the righteous demands of God's law we cannot stand in his presence today apart from the mediating work of Christ and apart from bearing some likeness in the resurrection of Christ there's something else that has to happen for us we have to die we have to be raised how will we be transformed well the answer simply is by dying being united to Christ in death and being raised with him because of our union with him so first Paul gives a very basic observational kind of natural illustration about the differences of various bodies secondly he speaks of the transformation the redeemed man

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I want to be very careful about this the redeemed man's body that dies is buried was transformed in the resurrection and made fit for heaven it's not so for the unbelieving man he is raised in the likeness of his father

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Adam of his representative we also see here for the Christian the transformation of representation there are two representatives

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Adam and Christ the whole of the world is confined under sin in Adam the blessed children of God the elect the people of God are

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Christ's they're represented by him and share the blessings of his resurrection it's not so with the wicked so we also have a transformation of representation here and finally the two

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Adams the two representative heads so we get looking in verse 38 continues this very natural discussion of verse 37 it says and what you so it's not the body that is to be but a bare kernel perhaps of wheat or some other grain

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I made some illustration last week about the idea of the planting of that kernel and the dying of that seed which enables future growth and God has ordered things in such a way that there is plant life each seed has its own body and they're different from one another it says in verse 39 for not all flesh is the same there's one kind for humans another for animals we can observe this scientifically we can say there are differences between the animals individually they're distinct from one another and humans are distinct from animals should be noted here that the scripture does not equalize or equate a human with the animal but distinguishes the human as that creature made in the image of God enabled to have fellowship with him and knowledge righteousness holiness is able to relate to God so there's all kinds of flesh there's all kinds of plant life there's all kinds of living creatures there's even different kinds of heavenly bodies the stars in the heavens we have a lot of light pollution here living in a giant metropolitan area of more than two million people but if it were perfectly dark outside tonight we would see some stars shine brighter than others our sun which keeps this universe this part of God's creation alive this earth it gives us light it is a little dwarf star there are many stars greater than the

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Sun that keeps us alive and Paul says we can distinguish between all of these bodies and part of the argument here is the deniers of the resurrection say we don't need a transformation there's some of us sitting in this room that think we can walk into heaven today as we are we can't we need the mediation of Christ on the one hand we need regeneration but we also need resurrection

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I cannot stand in God's presence in this body

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I can't his holiness would crush me his righteousness would disintegrate me there's going to be a day because of the perfect mediation of Christ and because I have a share in Christ's resurrection that I can stand in his glorious presence

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I have to be transformed in order to be fit for heaven so we see why

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Paul is so emphatic the resurrection is essential to the gospel there's a different kind of glory there's a glory of the

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Sun there's a another glory of the moon another glory of the stars and this is all observational illustration from Paul so that we get the main point and here it starts to come down verse 42 so it is with the resurrection of the dead now listen to these contrasts it's a very beautiful section here this is very easy to understand

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I love the literature the language that's used here by Paul this is what the resurrection of the dead does what is sown is perishable and children that were perishable means it's subject to death and to rotting what is sown is perishable what is raised is imperishable today there's somebody in the world alive who's let's say 116 years old and they're the oldest living person in the world it's very exciting we don't hear about that much after that because they died pretty quickly after being declared the world's oldest man or woman you and I are housed in perishable bodies our bodies will rot in the ground you do not all the effort we do to keep them nice and pretty and fit and struggle some of you do

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I don't but all the effort you do you're eating right you're fit all these things it's great you should be good stewards of the body that the

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Lord has given you but one day it's all going to fail it's going to rot in the ground we have sense of that these bones this flesh will rot in the ground in our conception they're born into sinfulness and so on says in verse 43 in dishonor it's raised in glory and notice that the difference is how perfectly balanced it is on both sides we're perishable but but what will be for the

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Christian is imperishable what was sown in dishonor will be raised up in glory what is sown in weakness will be raised in power it's sown as a natural body it's raised as a spiritual body that's a dramatic transformation that Paul describes the redeemed man's body that dies is it's transformed in the resurrection of this next section

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I'd like you to take out the hymnal and turn page 870 in the very back it's not him number it's the page number this is the shorter catechism

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I'm going to read through a couple of these questions and answers because I want you to see our identification with the main point here our identity with Adam we are bearing the image of the man of the dust right now you and I can observe with our own eyes as our own experience not only true for us but for everyone around us we are perfectly bearing the image of the earthly man the first Adam let's look at this first starting first well what special act of Providence did

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God exercise towards man in the estate wherein he was created the answer when

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God had created man he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience for those of you new students from RBC this is after doctor of God you take doctrine of man doctrine of man is questions 10 through 20 in the

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Westminster Catechism but notice there's a covenant of life and the condition of that covenant stipulation of that covenant is perfect obedience there's no perfect obedience

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Adam has fallen and the bad news for us is

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Adam is our representative we fall with him now you say this seems unfair

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I don't like being fallen with Adam what's tough you're falling in Adam and you have improved upon your fallen condition by all of your own transgressions you have perfectly reflected the fallen nature of your father

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Adam it's evident everything you do it's the air that you breathe you and I are wretched lawless sinners what happened verse 13 said did our first parents continue in that estate answers our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will fell from the estate wherein they were created by sinning against God covenants been broken the promise of future blessing to add his posterity is lost

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Adam has blown it so we look at our text keep that open and look over at the scripture it says verse 45 there the first Adam became a living being of course we get harkened back in the interest of time

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I can go back and you know the creation account but he's formed from the dust of the ground there's another contrast drawn here the first representative

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God molded out of the clay of the ground he made him and breathe life into him and made him alive living being but he was formed from the dust of the ground there's a last

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Adam a second Adam that became a life -giving spirit skip over to Merck chat question 16 and I love the crispness of this answer because it creates the exception which is

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Christ but it shows how all men are following this condition question 16 did all mankind fall in Adams first transgression the answer the covenant being made with Adam not only for himself but for his posterity all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation sinned in him and fell with him in his first transgression that is so good you have no idea how good that is theologically precision is so good because we came into the world the old -fashioned way every one of us but there's one individual who has come into this world in a different way you just celebrate the incarnation of Christ Christ comes out of heaven and is conceived in the womb of the

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Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit so we have the capacity now for another one to be our representative question to what state is the fall bring mankind the fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery your life your brokenness your pain your sorrow your physical ailments some of you have a cold today it's because of sin it's because of Adam because of his representation your little common today is a perfect illustration of your identification with the man dust we are desperately in need of a better representative than Adam he perfectly represents us we need someone better than him and better than us to represent being further explains appreciate your with me wherein consists the sinfulness of that state we're into man fell the sinfulness of that estate we're into man fell consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin the want of original righteousness so we should stop here not only am

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I a transgressor but fallen him I'm devoid of the righteousness required to be in heaven

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I don't have either side of the ledger I don't have the credits

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I have all the devils I don't have the righteousness I have a want of righteousness and I have a boatload of sin just like my father the answer continues and the corruption of his whole nature which is commonly called original sin together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it so the original sin is root cause of all of these transgressions

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I was talking to my students on Wednesday and I think it's a very basic idea it's important I think the children should pay attention closely now it's very helpful for you we are not sinners because we send to listen carefully

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I'm using the same words in a different order we're not sinners because we send you know how the answer should be we sin because we're sinners does that make sense our transgressions don't make us and mark us as sinners we're sinners therefore we do what's familiar to our nature we sin got a problem what gets worse the worst possible thing to have a legal description of our bad condition there's something worse than that look at question 19 what is the misery of that state we're into man fell this is the greatest tragedy of all all mankind by their fall a loss communion with God are under his wrath and curse and so made liable to all the miseries of this life to death itself and to the pains of hell if you remain the entirety of your life under the representation of Adam and you continue to show and display your allegiance to him you will endure the pains of hell forever one of the reasons

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I pray for the urgency of the gospel today is happy moralistic successful people all around us are perishing because they don't have

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Christ as their representative they've maintained their natural allegiance to Adam that's why we have to preach

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Christ it begs the question let's look back at our text the first Adam became a living being very obviously it's supernatural and creation there is the life -giving the breathing into his nostrils and all that there's something different about the last

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Adam he's a life -giving spirit it's not the next spiritual that is first but the natural and then the spiritual first 47 the first man was from the earth a man of dust and I love this six -word phrase so compact so loaded with meaning the second man is from heaven now

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I'm seeing why this is so essential I need a better representative than Adam and God himself has supplied his dear son

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Christ who happens to be the second person of the Trinity in the flesh so let's look at question this is why the resurrection is so essential

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I need union with Christ in his death burial and resurrection if I don't have that I have no possibility of entering into heaven

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I need heaven to come down and rescue me and take me to heaven

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I'm not going to climb up there my own strength question 20 did

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God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery your heart should be beating you should be getting on the edge of your seat you should be thinking the gospel of Christ has come

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God did not leave us in this miserable estate there's a better representation in Christ did

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God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery the answer

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God having out of his mere good pleasure from all eternity elected some to everlasting life did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a

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Redeemer the Redeemer of question 20 is the last

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Adam the first Corinthians 15 the first man verse 47 was from the earth what a great picture a man of dust the second man is from heaven well here's where the argument turns it becomes very powerful it's very simple but I hope you'll catch the elegance and beauty of this this is really incredible argumentation very persuasive in terms of its rhetoric in a classical sense listen to the

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Paul's logic in verse 48 as was the man of dust so also are those who are of the dust so you and I were sick or sinners were subject to death we are mortal how have we born into the man of dust well we're human like him we are of the same flesh and blood as Adam and that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that flesh has experienced a total and radical corruption we are sinful number two as we've just looked at really quickly in those questions in the shorter catechism we're falling with Adam and we bear all the marks of that corruption we are utterly entirely thoroughly sinful look at your own life look at your heart observe the human condition it is factually true it's proof we see with our own eyes we've experienced ourselves we know that that's true so here's the kicker of Paul's argument you're definitely with Adam we can see it everywhere you're definitely with him fallen in him you have sinned you are subject to death you're gonna die your bones are gonna rot in the ground and this reveals our desperate need for Christ in his gospel we need a better mediator we need a great high priest in order to approach

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God and in fact there's no possibility if all this is true we've observed it with our eyes we have no ability to approach him our sinfulness our impurity disqualifies we could never stand in God's presence but here's the good news with the certainty of a that we are sinful and Adam we're going to bear the image of the first man we're doing flawlessly we're flawlessly bearing his image right now the certainty of this promise is you can observe it there's different kinds of bodies you can look in the stars you can see the differences everywhere you can observe your fallen statement

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Adam with that same assurance we can observe the tangible reality through faith in Christ and our union with him in his resurrection we could have the same kind of certainty of being represented by the last

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Adam it's an amazing argument for Paul so now the main thesis of we shall bear the image some processes that seems to have to happen we have to be transformed we have to be redeemed and purchased from this status of being in Adam and be placed under this better status of being in Christ and his resurrection so how is this transformation affected well first first actor in all of this is

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God himself the father from all eternity we read has purposed to redeem the elect by his dear son that's the first cause the second cause is in time and space and history the man from heaven went to the cross and died there bearing all of our guilt bearing all of our transgressions it happened in time in reality here on earth the

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Holy Spirit acted as well by applying that work of redemption to us corporately as the church the people of God and individually as individual sinners but I think we've forgotten we have to die first the whole of the natural man's existence he's trying to avoid death at all costs but you see death is the entry point into the eternal state death in Christ means

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I have a share in his resurrection and I will be glorified

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I will be transformed in some miracle of God's economy I can stand in the glorious presence of God because I'm in Christ that's the transformation that has to happen so sometimes we cut it a little bit short it's a little bit truncated we think right now

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I'm fine I stand in the presence of God you don't you stand in the presence of the mediator who stands in the presence of God Christ but Christ's work is so comprehensive as comprehensive is as our fall in Adam is equally so maybe even more so gloriously so Christ has comprehensively made it possible for us to be righteous in him and to dwell in God's presence not for a mortal lifespan but for eternity we have to be planted in the ground in death and raised up in the resurrection in order to fully bear the image of Christ we are image bearers and this phrase which

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I often challenge there isn't already this is the not yet but the not yet is

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I'm not uncertain it's certain we will so we have don't know and don't experience the fullness of what it will be like because one day we're going to see him as he is well how is this accomplished how do we bear the marks of the heavenly man well in the resurrection and to some extent now in the spirit we are made partakers of the divine nature we have communion with the living

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God we are sinners we have no standing we have no place but because of Christ we have communion with God that which was lost in the garden has been restored in Christ and we have it beautiful picture of that in the

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Lord's Supper were made here to be sons of God and we say this in our liturgy we are in Christ and he's in us it's very much the heart of what's happening in our understanding in our grappling in our laying hold of that truth we are in Christ and he is in us picture the

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Lord's Supper what a great gift from God to his church second under the evidences of us bearing the image of the heavenly man is holiness now sometimes the preaching this will say this is a call to personal holiness the progressive view of sanctification in this case that's actually true but that's not what this is talking about we always have to be progressing in holiness but Paul is piercing us with the doctrine of the resurrection here this is doctrine this isn't live a better Christian life this is straight resurrection doctrine coming at us confronted with the holiness of God God's absolute uncompromising holiness you've got no progressive sanctification equipped for that beauty

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Christ it reveals our need for holiness we do not have what it takes because of what

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Christ has done we were not born again we're born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible born of the

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Spirit modeled after Christ I've already made allusions to this but these two are regeneration and resurrection are essential we forget resurrection we know we need regeneration but we forget that we need resurrection as part of Paul's argument here and finally how are we going to bear the image of the heavenly man you and I are going to be fit for eternity

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I saw a picture recently when

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I started covenant 12 years ago 13 years ago almost now and I have aged a lot of 13 years and even you college students and younger people you look back in pictures

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I look so much different than I did five years ago ten years you and I are bearing the marks of mortality there's only a couple people here who aren't in the process of dying they're really small children they're in the growth phase you stop growing you're on the decay phase but Christ is going to make us fit for eternity he's going to change these vile bodies and make them and fashion them to be like his glorious body when we wake up from death we will have finished our conformity to Adam and we will have the fullness of our new conformity to Christ likeness so it takes

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Christ likeness to a whole nother level there is an earthy Christ likeness but that does not compare to the heavenly

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Christ likeness that we will have in the resurrection first Corinthians 1310 says when the perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away here and grammatically there the imperfect present is contrasted with a perfect future an imperfect present is in contrast with the perfect big future and that's what's been going on these comparisons so in corruption raised sown in dishonor raised in honor sown in weakness raised in power sown as perishable raised as imperishable my friends you and I must have a share in the resurrection of Christ or there is no holiness there's no heaven for you and I must be the object of God's affection in order for him to send his dear son to accomplish this work for us we need to be a far more grateful people far more thankful people than we are you and I have the greatest hope no one in the world has the hope are you hopeful today your future is secure in Christ are you hopeful that is your life shaped and moved and directed by that hopefulness that thankfulness that comes from this truth and also doesn't it make you want to be more like Christ now and to put to death those ways that are consistent with the children of Adam were perishing the way finally

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I have to ask the question because it's a painful question for me there are many days many hours many seasons where I do not long to be transformed

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I don't think of the better country which is heaven

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I don't and that speaks to my ignorance or my carelessness with this precious doctrine the resurrection of Christ do you long to be transformed do you long to be made holy well in the end the end of the day you have to die and you have to experience the resurrection like Christ did in order for it to be accomplished and lastly by way of application we have to share the good news of the gospel of Christ because all of those people as people in your family your extended family and your siblings your brothers and sisters your parents your neighbors they are all under the sway of the old representation they're content to be there we have to arouse them and wake them up to the truth in their need of transformation in Christ you have to preach

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Christ and crucify to them ask the question at the outset how we've been transformed the answer is we have to have union with Christ that union with Christ is union with his death his burial his resurrection but if you are a child of God if you're one of God's people if you're a

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Christian if you're a believer I can say with absolute confidence as I observe my life and your life

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I have great confidence that you have fallen with Adam because of this precious truth

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I have equal confidence if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you will bear the image of the heavenly man let's pray together

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Lord Jesus we are so thankful for this doctrine

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I'm so thankful that you humbled yourself taking on the form of a servant in order to give life to all those we've redeemed

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Oh Lord we're so naturally focused so earthy cause us to long for heaven cause us to long for the more perfect communion with you and Father the