LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF THE RESURRECTION

1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-34

NASB

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified [a]against God that He raised [b]Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in [a]Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30 Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If [a]from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE. 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Become sober-minded [a]as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

15:15 [a]Or concerning  [b]I.e. the Messiah  15:22 [a]I.e. the Messiah  15:32 [a]Lit according to man  15:34 [a]Lit righteously 

NLT

12 But tell me this —since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God —for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.”[*] (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) 28 Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

29 If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? 31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. 32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts —those people of Ephesus[*] —if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[*] 33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

[15:27] Ps 8:6.   [15:32a] Greek fighting wild beasts in Ephesus.   [15:32b] Isa 22:13.  

As you doze after hitting the snooze alarm, the phone rings, forcing you to stumble out of bed in the gray predawn light. You fumble clumsily for the phone as it rings again. You pick it up, press “talk,” and listen to a wavering, grief-stricken voice trying to get the words out. The news shocks you.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, the grim reaper has struck again.

Maybe this time it is a parent or grandparent, your brother or sister, or a close friend. In any case, when news of the death of a loved one reaches us, we feel stunned. Disbelief, confusion, and grief lead to lingering remorse. Wave upon wave of choking sorrows well up within us as we do our best to believe what we’ve heard.

Death. We’ve all felt its sting. But for those of us who believe in Christ, there is a soothing comfort in the midst of otherwise excruciating, unbearable pain: the resurrection.

The resurrection is all we have to cling to when death has snatched a loved one from our arms. The resurrection of Christ is the promise of ultimate perfection, the hope of glory, the reward of faith, the basis of eternal life. Our own resurrection is the personal expectation of a breaking dawn, the rays of the Son transforming us and our dark world with the coming of a new and glorious day. Stop and think. Without the resurrection, our lives would have no hope, no meaning. The realm of darkness would endure victoriously, and death would perpetually sit enthroned as king.

Yet the apostle Paul shines the coming glorious light of the resurrection into our present lives when he discusses the central place of Christ’s miraculous resurrection. It is, in fact, the guarantee of our own eternal life and future bodily resurrection. Paul asserted these basic Christian truths in a cultural context unsympathetic toward the idea of the redemption of the human body. Some of the Corinthians had scoffed at the idea of a literal bodily resurrection. Many had embraced the Greek philosophy that the body was the perishable, contaminated, and disposable seat of all humanity’s problems —not just the sin that had taken control of it, but the physical body itself (see “Body and Soul,” p. 98). Because of this intrusion of philosophy, they had failed to come to terms with the Christian hope of the future bodily resurrection. So, in 1 Corinthians 15:12-34, Paul puts the Corinthians’ errant opinions to death and raises in them a renewed hope for eternal life in their immortal, glorious, resurrection bodies.

From My Journal

Waiting for Dad

1 CORINTHIANS 15:16-20

I’ll never forget the night I stroked the hair from my father’s forehead and kissed him goodbye for the last time. At that moment, a hundred boyhood memories played around in my head.

To this day, certain smells and sounds still remind me of my dad. Oyster stew. The ocean breeze. Smoke from an expensive cigar. The nostalgic whine of a harmonica. A camping lantern. Car polish. Fun songs from the thirties and forties. Freshly mowed grass. A shrill whistle from a father to his kids around supper time. And, of course, Old Spice aftershave.

All of those things were once trademarks of my dad’s physical presence in my life. Now they are lingering reminders of his absence. He left this world like he lived in it: quietly, graciously, with dignity, without demands or harsh words or even a frown. He surrendered himself to the cursed enemy of life. Death —selfish, insatiable, vicious —but conquered and temporary.

I knew without a tiny thought of doubt that my father had been received with open arms into the presence of his Lord and Savior. Absent from the body, he was present with the Lord. But I also know that every day of my own life on this earth brings me closer to a glorious reunion —not only with my father, but with my mother and with all those fellow believers who preceded me in death. Now I await with eager anticipation the moment when heaven’s door opens and the Lord Jesus steps out, bringing with Him the souls of all those who have fallen asleep. I’m waiting for that moment of resurrection, of reunion.

Yes, I’m awaiting the sharp, piercing blast of the last trumpet to raise the dead, the transformation of the living into glorious, immortal bodies. I’m awaiting the worshipful strum of the harps and lyres (and, I hope, a massive pipe organ!) in the unfathomable heavenly worship. But I’m also awaiting the nostalgic whine of a harmonica held in the glorified hands of the man who left so much for me when he left this earth so many years ago.

I’m waiting for Dad.

— 15:12-19 —

Having established Christ’s miraculous, bodily resurrection from the dead as an essential part of the gospel message (15:1-11), Paul asks a perplexing question: “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (15:12). Note that not everybody was leaning in this direction; only “some among” the Corinthians were denying the future resurrection from the dead.

Paul skillfully argues against this minority view within the Corinthian congregation by taking the errant opinion to seven logical conclusions. With each successive point, he casts brighter light on the Corinthians’ doubts about the meaning and significance of the resurrection from the dead.

First, if the resurrection is false, then Christ Himself was not raised (15:12-13, 16). Denying the resurrection of our bodies also requires that we deny the Lord’s resurrection, for they are intimately linked (6:14). When Christ returns, “we will be like Him” (1 Jn. 3:2), for God will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil. 3:21). In fact, Christ is the “firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18), indicating that our resurrection is inseparably connected to Christ’s. So, logically, if our own future resurrection is to be understood only metaphorically or spiritually, then we must also understand Christ’s resurrection in the same way.

Second, if the resurrection is false, our message is empty (1 Cor. 15:14). Like dominoes, Paul’s second argument joins the force of the first to topple the Corinthians’ flawed theological reasoning. If resurrection itself is false, then Christ’s resurrection is false, and if Christ’s resurrection is false, then the message of the gospel itself is “vain” (15:14). The word “vain” comes from the Greek word kenos [2756], meaning “empty,” “hollow,” “devoid of content.” Without the resurrection, the good news of Christ is no news at all. John Stott put it well: “The person and work of Christ are the rock upon which the Christian religion is built. If he is not who he said he was, and if he did not do what he said he had come to do, the foundation is undermined and the whole superstructure will collapse.”[88]

Third, if the resurrection is false, our faith is vain (15:14). With the collapse of the objective fact of the resurrection comes the loss of the heart and soul of the gospel message itself; as a result, our faith in that message is also empty and worthless (15:14, 17). Without His resurrection, our faith will never change lives. In light of the promise of our own resurrection, our faith is strengthened by hope, hope is motivated by promise, and promise is sealed by Christ’s own resurrection from the dead.

Fourth, if the resurrection is false, we are all liars (15:15-16). If there is no such thing as a literal resurrection from the dead, then everyone who claimed to have seen the resurrected Lord is quite obviously a liar: Paul, Peter, the apostles, James, the five hundred. Although they did not claim to have seen the risen Lord in person, one might even say that every Christian thinker and leader who has defended the faith has therefore lied —Augustine, Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham. Even Christ Himself, who predicted His own resurrection and the resurrection of all of us (John 2:18-22; 5:25-29), has lied to us. All the martyrs who died believing in Christ’s resurrection and hoping for their own resurrection have died for a lie.

Diagram titled 'If the Resurrection Is False.' If the resurrection is false ... (1 Cor. 15:12-19) Christ was not raised. Our message is empty. Our faith is vain. We are all liars. We are lost in our sins. The dead are lost. We are to be pitied.

Fifth, if the resurrection is false, then we are lost in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17). If Christ had remained dead in His tomb, we would still be dead in our sins. His death and resurrection provided payment of our infinite debt to God and the power of eternal life. Good news —we aren’t left to ourselves to earn any part of our salvation! From beginning to end, Christ’s work of death and His resurrection have provided everything we need for salvation and eternal life.

Sixth, if the resurrection is false, then the dead are lost (15:18). If there is no resurrection, then those believers who have gone before us in death have perished. Following his overarching principle of “as with Christ, so with His body, the church,” Paul argues convincingly that if Christ Himself has not been raised, but has been destined to an eternal ghostly existence without a resurrection body, then all those “in Christ” will also perish in the same way —flittering about as bodiless wisps of vapor, unable to enjoy the blessings of the new heaven and the new earth, unable to embrace their loved ones, unable to enjoy the new creation that will be fashioned for them. Yet because Christ Himself has been raised, all those “in Him” will be raised as well.

Seventh, if the resurrection is false, then we are to be pitied (15:19). Paul puts it bluntly: “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied,” because they had sacrificed and suffered so much for the gospel and had placed all their hopes on the risen Savior. David Prior captures Paul’s reasoning:

Paul sees this attitude to Jesus as pitiable and pathetic: if there is no such thing as resurrection, much of Jesus’ teaching falls to the ground and he is revealed to be a liar. Yet the Corinthian Christians had set their hope on Christ as Lord of life, death and eternity. If he was not raised from the dead, he is not Lord of anything. If life here on this earth is all there is, it makes no sense to base our hope on the groundless promises of one who made empty assertions about eternity.[89]

— 15:20-28 —

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul gives the tragic answer to the question, “What if there were no resurrection?” Then he does an about-face. With two words, “but now” (15:20), he shifts from the hypothetical to the factual, from the “what if” to the “what is.” He writes, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (15:20).

“Those who are asleep” is Paul’s favorite euphemism for believers who have died. It is not our souls that sleep —once we die, our immaterial parts are absent from the body and the earthly realm and immediately taken into the presence of the Lord in a place of peace and paradise (Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:21, 23; 2 Cor. 5:6, 8; 12:4). We will be fully conscious, pleasantly content, but yet incomplete. Why? Because our bodies will be “sleeping” in the grave, awaiting resurrection. Our salvation will be complete only when both our immaterial and material parts are reunited —the long-awaited redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23).

The “first fruit” of our resurrection is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. William Barclay explains the background of this image from the Old Testament Law in Leviticus 23:10-11.

When the barley was cut it was brought to the Temple. There it was threshed with soft canes so as not to bruise it. It was then parched over the fire in a perforated pan so that every grain was touched by the fire. It was then exposed to the wind so that the chaff was blown away. It was then ground in a barley mill, and the flour of it was offered to God. That was the first-fruits. And it is very significant to note that not until after that was done could the new barley be bought and sold in the shops and bread be made from the new flour. The first-fruits were a sign of the harvest to come; and the Resurrection of Jesus was a sign of the resurrection of all believers which was to come.[90]

The outcome of Jesus’ resurrection is described in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22. The death that entered the world through the sin of Adam was reversed by Christ’s resurrection from the dead. All those humans who are born “in Adam” (15:22) —that is, the entire physical human race —are born in a state of mortality, destined to die. All those who are born again “in Christ,” however —the spiritual family of believers incorporated into Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (12:13) —will likewise follow suit in Christ’s resurrection. Like a Hebrew worshiper who took his first fruits to the temple, Jesus’ resurrection points to the full harvest to come —the resurrection of the saints.

The emphasis now shifts from the past to the future —from Christ’s resurrection to ours (15:23). Paul explains our resurrection in relation to some upcoming end-times events. He gives few details and focuses on the ultimate destiny of believers. Paul presents a general outline of a three-stage resurrection process, with a clear order of events but no specific timetable for fulfillment.

First stage: Christ the first fruits (15:23). This already has occurred, when Jesus Christ rose from the dead (Matt. 28:1-20). Jesus became the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18; Rev. 1:5), indicating that He is the first “among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). Since Christ’s resurrection, we who believe in Him and are spiritually united to Him by the Holy Spirit are associated with His resurrection as a guarantee of our own (Eph. 1:13-14).

Second stage: those who are Christ’s (1 Cor. 15:23). This resurrection will occur after an undefined period of time “at His coming.” Those who have died believing in Him will be raised as part of the harvest that follows the first fruits. Describing this miraculous event, Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”

Third stage: the unsaved dead (1 Cor. 15:24-27). The ultimate end to all of God’s enemies, including death itself, will occur sometime after the resurrection of believers. We know that the span of time between the first and second stages of the resurrection process already has lasted nearly two thousand years. Though Paul doesn’t explicitly predict here the time that will elapse between the second and third stages, Revelation 20:4-5 tells us that there will be a reign of Christ and His resurrected saints for one thousand years on the earth. During this earthly reign, Christ will have destroyed all ungodly dominion, authority, and power. He will then put all enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:24-25). At the end of this thousand-year reign, death itself will be destroyed, as all unbelieving souls are raised up to face the judgment of God, and death itself will be thrown into the “lake of fire” —also known as “the second death” (Rev. 20:7-15). At that point, everything in the universe will have been submitted to the lordship of Christ, functioning under the submission of God the Father (1 Cor. 15:27-28). The transfer of the kingdom back to God the Father (15:27-28) indicates that the earthly kingdom of Christ during the thousand-year reign will come to an end, and all the redeemed will continue to live in the eternal state under the direct kingship of the Father and the Son. This will occur in what the Bible describes as the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:1–22:5). Then and only then will the triune God be universally confessed, praised, worshiped, and served as “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28) —that is, recognized by all as the sovereign Lord with supreme power in the universe.

Diagram titled 'The Three-Stage Resurrection Process.' Stage 1: Christ, the first fruits. Followed by Church Age, a gap of time (2000+ years). Gathering saints into the church through proclamation of the gospel, awaiting the coming of Christ and the resurrection. Stage 2: Those who are Christ's. Millennial Kingdom, a gap of time (1000 years). Reign of Christ and the resurrected saints over mortal humans, culminating in the destruction of Satan. Stage 3: The unsaved dead.

— 15:29-34 —

Paul has thus far pointed to the past (the resurrection of Christ) and to the future (our coming resurrection). In the next few verses, he brings his readers back to the present to discuss our practical response to these central theological truths.

He begins by appealing to the Corinthians’ practice of baptizing “for the dead” (15:29). If the dead are not raised, why, he asks, are people baptized for them? This passage has prompted many suggestions about what Paul is referring to by this baptism for the dead.[91] Some include:

We can rule out the practice of baptizing living believers for the benefit of loved ones or ancestors who died without being baptized (first option above). This has never been a belief or practice of orthodox Christians from the first century on. Only Mormons have opted for this position. Deciding which of the remaining explanations makes the best sense in the context, however, is not easy. Keener comments, “Probably Paul’s theological shorthand here made clearer sense to the Corinthians than it does to us.”[92] Regardless of the correct interpretation of this verse, Paul’s main point is clear. If there were no resurrection, such a practice would be nothing more than empty liturgy. The practice of being baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ is absurd if we confess only death without resurrection.

Yet wholehearted belief in the resurrection has more profound, practical implications. Paul points out that belief in the resurrection ought to affect our attitudes toward this present life (15:30-31). Motivated by the rewards of immortality in our glorified, resurrected condition, believers are “in danger every hour” (15:30). In fact, they “die daily” (15:31), giving up their rights, comforts, privileges, and earthly goals. This Christian philosophy of life affects even our willingness to risk our physical lives for Christ (15:32). Weighed against the priceless gift of eternal life, the present earthly treats and treasures become corruptible trinkets of no value. As the missionary martyr Jim Elliot famously wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”[93]

Besides this revaluing of our earthly life, Paul also notes that the resurrection should affect our moral behavior. If we are living only for this life, the indulgent, hedonistic philosophy makes sense: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (15:32). If there is no reward in eternity, then why not live it up? Why not say yes to any and all cravings of the flesh? Why not hang out with the restless and rebellious crowd, party until dawn, and live a life of fun-filled debauchery, flushing all virtues and morals down the toilet (15:33)? If the rejection of the resurrection, eternal life, and future rewards leads to immorality and sin, then belief in the resurrection should lead to a life characterized by sober-minded judgment and holiness (15:34).

THE WILD BEASTS OF EPHESUS?

1 CORINTHIANS 15:32

In 1 Corinthians 15:32, Paul mentions having “fought with wild beasts at Ephesus.” This line has puzzled theologians and historians who have questioned whether Paul meant these words to be taken literally, in reference to some kind of attempt at feeding him to the animals in the arena, or to some other kind of danger he faced during his missionary journeys.

Though it is possible that Paul referred to some literal experience with wild animals known to the Corinthians, several points support a metaphorical rather than a literal interpretation of Paul’s intention (see 16:8-9).

First, as a Roman citizen, Paul wouldn’t have been thrown into the arena to fight with beasts, since this practice was reserved mainly for heathens, savages, or slaves. Under Roman law, noncitizens like Jesus or Peter could be executed publicly as a spectacle and even for “entertainment” purposes. Citizens of Rome, however, were granted a private, more dignified execution by beheading outside the city, which was Paul’s fate.

Second, in his extensive autobiography in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33, Paul never mentions wild beasts, but instead talks about dangers from his countrymen, “dangers in the city,” and “dangers among false brethren” (2 Cor. 11:26). It seems that if Paul had had a literal encounter with wild beasts, he would have mentioned it in that litany of his previous sufferings.

Third, in his record of Paul’s daring missionary exploits, the meticulous chronicler, Luke, doesn’t mention wild beasts in Ephesus or anywhere else. He mentions stoning, trials, ill-treatment, and suffering, but no wild beasts.

Fourth, other early Christian writers such as Ignatius of Antioch also used the imagery of wild animals metaphorically in reference to false brethren and opponents of the Christian faith.[94] This suggests that such language and imagery would have been understood as metaphorical by Paul’s original audience.

APPLICATION: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-34

Raised to Newness of Life

After arguing from an if-there-were-no-resurrection perspective, (15:12-32), Paul switches his premise and gives us three commands to obey in light of the truth of the resurrection. These three exhortations provide us with clear, direct applications for our lives today.

First, quoting a proverb from Greek literature —“Bad company corrupts good morals” (15:33) —Paul urges us to listen discerningly, distinguishing right doctrine and practice from the false opinions of the crowd and the depraved culture around us. If we become enmeshed with ungodly people, their philosophies will become our own. As we are increasingly “baptized” by the culture’s values, beliefs, and practices, our own baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ will become less and less a part of our character. Are you aware of the dangers of the world’s deceptive philosophies? Do you surround yourself with godly people to imitate? Consider the various worldly influences that bombard you with their deceptive messages: television, radio, Internet, schools, co-workers, advertisements, etc. Then consider the number of positive Christian influences in your life. How can you help balance these, putting to death the philosophies of the world and breathing new life into a Christian worldview?

Second, we must become sober-minded. Paul sounds a clear wake-up call: “Become sober-minded as you ought” (15:34). We must be aware of how easy it is to slip into a clueless slumber or stumble into a passive stupor. With each poisonous dose of the world’s intoxicating brew of temptations, we increasingly find ourselves obsessed with its tune of “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die.” We have got to wake up to the fact that our society devours personal identity, encouraging mechanistic living and groupthink philosophies. To do so, we need to renew our minds (Rom. 12:2). We need to take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). We need to dwell on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, reputable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8). Living like that results in putting to death the deeds of the flesh and walking in newness of life (Rom. 6:4).

Third, we must simply “stop sinning” (1 Cor. 15:34). In light of our claim to know God intimately and to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ, we must listen with a sensitive heart to the voice of the indwelling Spirit who convicts us of our sin. We should keep short accounts, confessing our sin and being cleansed from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:14-16). Nothing is as exciting, satisfying, or rewarding as turning away from the deeds of the flesh through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:13).

In short, as we await the resurrection and transformation of our mortal bodies at the return of Christ, let’s deliberately put to death the attitudes and actions of the flesh. With equal vigor, let’s renew our minds, modeling the resurrection life by the power of the Holy Spirit.