(The Spirit is forever.)
JOHN 6:64-66
Jesus said: "Life is in the spirit which quickens - the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you,
are
spirit and life. But, there are some who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the outset who did not believe,
just
as He knew him who would betray Him. He said, "Therefore, did I say to you, that no man can come to Me, unless
it
be given to him by My Father."
(The whole Creation, and everything in it, is all transparent
before God, as "it is within Him that we all exist and live and move and have our being. We are all made
to be
His children." (Acts 17:28) This also helps us to understand that it is in His Spirit
that He beholds us, and it is in the Spirit that He knows the dispositions of our hearts - all hearts being
transparent before Him, being as we are, within His own Spiritual Being and Presence.)
ST PAUL: 1 Corinthians 15:3 & 21
"Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures: He was buried and rose again on the third day,
according to
the Scriptures.:
"For by a man (Adam) came death, and by a Man (Christ) the
resurrection from the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also, all shall be brought to life in Christ, all in
their
proper order - Christ as the first fruits and then, after His coming, all who have believed in His coming."
"It is to their shame, those who die resisting knowledge of God."
(15:34)
ST PAUL: 1 Corinthians 15:35-57
Some may ask: "How do the dead rise again? And what sort of body shall they have?"
These are senseless questions. That which is sown is not quickened unless it die first. And that which is sown
is
not the body it shall have. It is a bare grain, such as wheat or some other, but God gives it a body according
to
its own kind. All flesh is not of the same kind: One is the flesh of men, another is of beasts, another is of
birds, another of fish.
And then, there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies have a glory and beauty of their own,
while
earthly bodies have a beauty of their own. One is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, and
another
the glory of the stars. While the stars too, differ from one another in their brightness.
It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: that which is sown is perishable, but it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, but it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness but shall rise in power. It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body, as it is written: "The first man Adam was made into a living soul;" (Genesis 2:7) the last Adam into a quickening spirit. First was the natural man without the Spirit, then came the Man with the Spirit. The first man was of the earth, earthly; the second Man was from Heaven, heavenly. As the earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the Heavenly Man is, so are we to be in Heaven. We who have been modelled on the earthly man are to become modelled on the Heavenly man. Put it another way: flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God: and the perishable cannot inherit that which lasts forever.
Behold: I will tell you of a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed. In a
moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, imperishable, and we shall
be
changed as well. For our perishable nature must put on imperishability, and our mortal nature must put on
immortality.
And when this mortal has put on immortality, then the words of Scripture will come true, "Death is swallowed up
in
victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?"
(Osee/Hosea 13:14) Now the sting of death is sin: and sin gets its power from the Law.
All thanks be to God Who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who believes in Him has, even now, passed from death to life. (John 5:24)