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Children of God (teknon) are mentioned three times in Rom. 8::
(1)
"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God"
(Rom. 8: 16).
(2)
"If children then heirs" (Rom. 8: 17).
(3)
"The creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God" (Rom. 8: 21).
The `bondage' here, is called "the bondage of corruption", and for this reason, that
when this glorious liberty is entered it will also be "the redemption of the body" in
resurrection.
In the course of answering the question "How are the dead raised up, and with what
body do they come?" the Apostle used a term in I Cor. 15: 37 that should be given
careful consideration. Firsts he utters a truth, which is all important:
"That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die" (I Cor. 15: 36).
This is in line with the words of Christ:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12: 24).
We quote from the writings of Professor Godet here:
"The death of the seed, the condition of its return to life, consists in the dissolution of
its material wrappings under the action of the earth's moisture and heat. It is by this
process of destruction that the impalpable germ of life which dwells in it, and which no
anatomist's scalpel can reach, is set free. In proportion to the putrefaction of all the
material elements takes place, this force awakes and shows itself by the simultaneous
appearance, in opposite directions of two vital shoots, the stem and the root."
Now the Greek word translated "grain" in I Cor. 15: 37 is kokkos, the word translated
`corn' in John 12: 24. The etymology of the French language is not our province, but
we understand that the Greek kokkos gives us the word cocoon, which we have borrowed
from the French. A cocoon, as we all know, is the outer covering of silky hairs with
which the pupa or chrysalis of many insects, the silkworm for example, is protected.
While the Apostle limits his example to the miracle of seed growth via death, God in
nature has set before us a most wonderful illustration and answer to the question "How
are the dead raised up and with what body do they come?"
First.
The depositing of the egg.
Second.
The caterpillar stage.
Third.
The chrysalis or pupa stage.
Fourth.
The emergence of the perfect butterfly or moth.
These four stages are repeated in the movement from the natural man's conversion
until the entry into resurrection life and glory.