 |  |
"And the Lord God said . . . . . and now, LEST he (Adam) put forth his hand, and take
also of the tree of life, and EAT AND LIVE FOR EVER: THEREFORE the Lord God
sent him forth from the garden of Eden . . . . ."
One thing is abundantly clear from this, if there is one thing that God will not tolerate,
it is an immortal sinner. God alone has immortality (I Tim. 6: 15, 16) and He gives it to
His redeemed children when He awakes them from the dead and gives them a spiritual
body fashioned like the resurrection body of the Lord Jesus.
At the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet in Rev. 11:, "the kingdoms of this
world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ" and immediately follows
reference to the `great power', `the reign' and the `time of the dead' (Rev. 11: 15-18).
This is all connected with the parousia of Christ. His visible coming back to the earth
in power and great glory, which He Himself dates after the Great Tribulation
(Matt. 24: 21, 29). Let us rightly apportion the Word of Truth and not confuse this
with the hope of Col. 3: 1-4.
No.26.
pp. 32 - 37
We are coming to the conclusion of the setting forth of the great basic doctrine of
resurrection in I Cor. 15: After looking forward to the resurrection of the believer as the
culmination of his redemption (see also Rom. 8: 23), a time when immortality,
previously absent, will be `put on', Paul now designates it as victory over the last enemy:
". . . . . then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is
sin; and the power of sin is the law: but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 15: 54-56 R.V.).
The Apostle is alluding to Isa. 25: 8, "He will swallow up death in victory"; and
Hosea 13: 14, "O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction".
Death is the result of sin (Rom. 5: 12), but for the believer the sting has been drawn, for
the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus at Calvary covers `all trespasses' (Col. 2: 13), and
because He has died for sinners death itself shall finally be destroyed. Wonderful though
this vision is, Paul ends on a practical note:
"In consequence of this, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, abounding
always in the Lord's work, since you know that your labour is not vain in the Lord"
(15: 58, 100: K. Barrett).
The subject now changes and Paul returns to further questions concerning which the
Corinthian believers had asked his guidance (see 7: 1; 8: 1; 12: 1). It was most
probable that they had heard of the collection of money the Apostle was organizing for
the poor saints at Jerusalem and now Paul gives them instructions in this matter: