There is no truth more plainly taught in the Bible than the resurrection of the dead. Any man who can read can see that the Bible plainly teaches that the bodies of men who die and are buried in the earth shall be raised from the dead when Christ appears the second time unto salvation, whether he believes it or not.
Someone is ready to say, You are wrong, for Paul says the resurrection of the dead is a mystery, and a mystery is something which we do not understand. Paul did not say that the fact that the dead shall be raised is a mystery. The mystery is how it can be done in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Men who have died and have molded to dust, and perhaps their dust has been scattered to the four winds of the earth, will, at the word of God, be reassembled and changed to immortal beings, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The mystery is not that the dead shall be raised incorruptible, but is how it can be done so quickly. Listen to Paul’s statement. He says, “Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed [from natural to spiritual], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Nothing could be more plainly stated than the fact that at that time, which is at the last trump, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and both the living and the dead shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And he then tells just what kind of a change that shall be, for he follows this by saying, “For this.” Mark the word “this.” It means something that is present, or near in place or time. And Paul meant to tell the saints at Corinth that his, and also the corruptible and mortal body of each of them, which they then possessed, must, at the last trump, be raised from the dead, and be changed from corruption to incorruption, and from mortal to immortal, and he therefore said, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” If people who read would stop and study the meaning of the language used in what they have just read, they would avoid many mistakes that they often make, which often lead to confusion. The foregoing quotation is a full sentence in Paul’s discourse on the subject of the resurrection of the dead, and a clear understanding of each word in the sentence will give a clear understanding of what it is that shall be raised from the dead. The first word in this sentence is “for,” which is here used as a conjunction, joining that which follows it with that which had just gone before, and means the same as “therefore.” The next word is “this,” which means that which is present, or near, in space or time. The next word is “corruptible,” which means that which may be corrupted; that may become putrid; subject to decay and destruction; as our bodies are corruptible. This word cannot be applied to our bodies after they have died, putrefied, and come to a state of corruption. Christ died, but his body did not see corruption. But David’s body did see corruption. (See Psalms xvi. 9, 10; Acts ii. 25-32.) This proves that the word “corruptible,” as it occurs in this text, can only be applied to a human body before decomposition sets in. This is proven by the Scriptures themselves in the promise God made to David concerning Christ. He said, I will not leave his soul in hell, neither will I suffer my Holy One to see corruption. The Jews then, as they do now, believe that it meant David, their king, should arise from the dead and occupy his throne as a literal king, and all the dead of national Israel should be raised from the dead, and all Israel be gathered together into one place and live forever with David as their king. But Peter, on the day of Pentecost, denied this, and said, Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This settles forever what is meant by the word “corruptible.” It means the fleshly body of a man, which is subject to corruption after it dies, but in the case of Jesus did not see corruption, nor did the bodies of Enoch and Elijah, nor will the bodies of any of God’s people who are alive on earth at the second coming of Christ, when he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation from the last enemy to be destroyed, which is death, see corruption. See Heb. ix. 27, 28; 1 Cor. xv. 25, 26, and you will see that I am right on this point.
The next word in the text which we are considering, is “must,” which means to be obliged; to be necessitated, etc. It is the strongest word in our language that we can use to express absolute necessity. In this text, it means that the end under consideration cannot be attained without it. What is it that must be done? This corruptible must put on incorruption. “Put on” here means to invest with, as clothes or covering, as to put on a cloak. So this corruptible must be clothed in incorruption before the aim can be attained. And following the next sentence after this one, we are told what it is that shall come to pass when the things herein mentioned as that which must be done have taken place.
The next word in the sentence is “incorruptible,” which means that it cannot be corrupted or decay; not admitting of corruption, as gold is incorruptible. Spirits are supposed to be incorruptible. Our bodies shall be changed into incorruptible and immortal substances. Wait. See Webster. There are two more words in the sentence that I have not yet given the authoritative definition of, and they are “mortal” and “immortality.” Mortal, as an adjective, means subject to death; destined to die; as man is mortal. As a noun, it means a man, being subject to death; a human being. The last, and only word in this sentence that I have not given you the definition of, is the word “immortality.” It means the condition or quality of being immortal; exemption from death and annihilation; unending existence. Thus, I have given the meaning of every word in this sentence as they are given by our standard authors. They certainly show that the word “corruptible” cannot mean a human body which has been dissolved by putrefaction. Neither does the word “mortal” mean a dead body. This sentence, therefore, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Paul was talking to the saints at Corinth about his and their then present living, fleshly, mortal, and corruptible bodies when he said, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Therefore a certain scriptural saying can never come to pass until these things take place, for Paul goes on to say, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then (and not until then) shall be brought to pass the saying, Death is swallowed up of victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Why anyone who can read cannot understand the only meaning the words contained in this sentence will admit of, I cannot understand. The reason I have taken so much pains to define and bring out the meaning of each word in the sentence contained in the twenty-third verse of this chapter is that I might leave no room for a doubt as to what is meant by the resurrection of the dead. When you have found the exact meaning of the language used in this sentence, you may know of a truth that every other inspired truth in the Bible on this subject is in perfect harmony with it.
The third verse above this one, in view of what is contained in this verse, is easy to understand. It says, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. This means that our natural, physical, mortal, flesh and blood body must undergo the change already mentioned and discussed before it can inherit the kingdom of God. The body, after it has died and gone into a state of corruption, cannot, while in that state, inherit incorruption. No, it must be changed, not exchanged. This is absolutely proven by the next verse, which I have already quoted, which begins by saying, “Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [which means die], but we shall be changed [both the living and the dead must be changed. The living from their mortal state to a state of immortality, and the dead from a state of corruption to an incorruptible state], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” I do not know how language could make anything plainer than Paul has made this matter. He starts out in this chapter, after the caption of his letter, with an argument, affirming the resurrection of the dead, based on the resurrection of Christ.
Now let us go back to the beginning of this chapter, and read it verse after verse, commenting on each verse as we go, and see whether or not we can arrive at an exact conclusion as to what, or whose body, or bodies, he had under consideration in his affirmation of the resurrection of the dead. Follow me closely, dear reader, and test carefully what I say, and if I do not present the exact meaning of the language in what I quote, please write me and call my attention to my mistake, that I may reconsider and correct it, if indeed I have made a mistake.
Paul begins this chapter by saying, “Moreover, brethren, I declare [in the present tense] unto you the gospel which I preached [in the past tense] unto you, which also ye received [in the past tense], and wherein ye stand [in the present tense]. “We learn in this first verse that Paul was at that time preaching unto them the same gospel that he had preached unto them before, and which they had received, and wherein they yet stood. There are two things in this verse that we should keep in mind. First, that whatever it was that Paul had preached unto them, and which they had received, and wherein they were yet standing, Paul called it the gospel, and let me add just here that there can be no gospel of Jesus Christ if the dead are not to be raised. The name Jesus means Saviour, and the angel told Joseph that He should save his people from their (in the plural) sins. And I know of no people who are sinners except the offspring of the earthly Adam, who died at the age of nine hundred and thirty years, because he was a sinner. It was the creature man which God made of the dust of the ground who died at that age, and it was the mortal body that died, and this is the kind of people Paul is discussing the resurrection of, for he speaks of them as being mortal and corruptible. So the next verse says, “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached [in the past] unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” There is a saving power in the gospel to the saved, but not to the unsaved. (See 1 Cor. i. 18.) In the next verse, Paul says, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” He is here referring to what he said at first, as what he had preached to them in the past, and that they had received it and were still standing in that belief. But a little later, he found some who did not accept what he was then preaching, and he asked them how they could say what they were saying, since the first could not be true unless what he was then preaching to them was true. The next verse goes on to say, “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” In the foregoing verse he continued to tell them what he preached unto them first of all, and which they had accepted, and still believed it, and in the next four verses he is telling how many people saw Jesus after his resurrection, the greater part of whom he said remained unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. Keep in mind that he means by “the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep,” that the greater part are yet alive, but some of them have died. It is common with him, and with many of the scriptural writers, to speak of the dead as being asleep, and especially when they are talking about the resurrection of the dead. He ends that part of it by saying, “And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” Then he does not mention the resurrection in the next three verses. They are given to statements concerning himself. But he begins the twelfth verse by saying, “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Keep in mind the fact that they are not differing as to whether or not Christ had risen from the dead, for he affirms that he had preached the resurrection of Christ from the very first of his preaching among them. He says that he did that first of all, and he says that they received it and were still standing in that belief. So it was not the resurrection of Christ which some were now denying, for in the next verse he follows that statement by saying, “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.” Let me here say that the phrase in this verse does not mean, if Christ did not rise in the past, nor that he, or anyone else, is now, at the present time, rising from the dead. The language will not admit of such a conclusion. And, beside this, the expression in the twenty-ninth verse, which says, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?” “What shall they do?” is in the future, and “if the dead rise not at all” is in the future tense. This thought of the future resurrection of the dead bodies of the saints runs through this entire chapter, and is found clearly indicated in almost every place in the Old and New Testaments where the resurrection of the dead is mentioned. Job tells us that it shall not take place until the heavens be no more. This places it at the time of the second coming of Christ, when, Peter says, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise (2 Peter iii. 10), and which John saw take place in his vision on the isle of Patmos (Rev. xx. 11), where he said, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” And he saw, immediately following this scene, the resurrection of the dead, both small and great, all of whom stood before God to be judged; and he saw all places which held the dead, give them up, among which places was the sea, for he said, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.” We surely ought to understand what kind of dead the sea will give up to be judged, for they are now going down by the thousands almost daily. Job was certainly inspired, for the time set by him is fully corroborated by these writers fifteen hundred years after he wrote.
But back to Paul. He said in the next verse, “And if Christ be not risen, then is your preaching vain, and your faith is also yam.” Why was the preaching of the apostles vain if Christ had not been raised from the dead? It was because he had been preaching that Christ died to save them from their sins, but that end could not be accomplished by a dead Christ. For Paul said in Romans v. 10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” If he remained dead, we could not be saved by his life. This will be made more evident as we go on. The next verse says, “Ye, and we [the ministers] are found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.” Paul is here arguing that if the dead should fail to rise, then the entire end for which Christ died would be a failure, and all they (the ministers) have preached is but a farce and a falsehood, and there is nothing to it.
The next three verses say, “For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also who have fallen asleep in Christ perish.” The direct consequence that could possibly befall God’s people is, and will continue to be a fact, if the dead are not to be raised in the future. And the reason is made very plain in these three last verses. “For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” There can be only one reason why Christ should not have risen from the dead, if he did not rise, and that would be that he failed to satisfy the law for those for whom he died. Jesus himself said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Christ went under the law to redeem his people from under it, so neither he nor his people can ever be freed from under it, and rise from the dead, unless he fulfilled it to its last jot and tittle. If he failed to do this, he would perish, and all those who have fallen asleep in him are perished, and all the rest of mankind at their death will perish forever, because he failed to satisfy for their sins. Their faith is vain; they are yet in their sins. And he follows this up by saying, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” He means by that saying that God’s people suffer more in this life than the wicked do. (See Psalms lxxiii. 3-6.) Their hope in Christ is that in the resurrection, they will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (See Romans viii. 18-25). They also hope they will then obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. But if Christ did not rise, he failed to put away their sins by the sacrifice of himself, and they are yet in their sins, and are left without hope and without Christ, and are of all men most miserable. But thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul did not leave us without hope, for the next verse says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” In my mind’s eye and ear it seems that I can almost see him and hear him triumphantly waving his blessed right arm, with something in his glorious hand, and shouting, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” A most glorious truth is this, for he hath said of his people, by the mouth of the prophet Hosea, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be they plagues; O grave, I will be they destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” Meaning he will not turn from this promise and fail to fulfill it. Paul, in what I have already quoted, tells us just when this promise shall be brought to pass. He says, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” It is wonderful how those Old Testament writers and the New Testament writers are so perfectly agreed on this subject.
I mean, if the Lord is willing, to continue to write on this subject until I have commented upon every place in the Scriptures which I think will throw any light on the subject, and as it will be too long to print in the Signs I aim to publish it in pamphlet form, with this article in the beginning of it, and I would like for all who read this, and would like to have one of them, to write me, so I can enroll their names and know when I have enough to meet the expense of getting it out. The price will be as low as it can be to pay for getting it out and handling it. I mean to show that the end for which God made everything which was, and is, is to make manifest, or make known, his eternal glory, the riches of which can never be made known without the resurrection of the dead. For Paul said, “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the RICHES of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.”
You will note that I have put certain words in italics, to which I wish to call special attention, and have put the word “riches” in small capitals, and have italicized the phrase “of his glory,” to show that the RICHES of his glory can only be known on the vessels (Note this word “vessels”) of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. This will not take place until the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, and he shall be seated upon the throne of his glory to judge the quick ((living) and the dead, and God shall call for all nations to gather before him to be judged. He will then “say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name; for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” I will show that all the foregoing applies to the outward man, the flesh, which perisheth; while the inward man, which consists of two parts, which are called the spirit and soul, is renewed day by day. Those inward parts are where Jeremiah says God promised to put his laws. (Jer. xxxi. 33) Paul said to the Thessalonians, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.” Meaning every part of you, and named them, by saying, “And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then he adds the blessed part of it by saying, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” Does anyone think that man’s whole spirit, soul, and body will be preserved blameless in God’s account unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then God will condemn the body to everlasting annihilation? I do not. Back in creation, when God made man, when he stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, he formed man’s spirit in him, and if you will consult Deuteronomy xxix. 29, you will not ask anyone what he formed it of. And I have never read of the spirit or soul of man dying and returning to dust, or of being buried, and a promise that they should be raised up at the last day. Jesus taught that men can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. (Matt. x. 28.) And I aim to show that the work of changing man from the image of the earthy and conforming him to the image of the heavenly is begun in man while in this life, and will not be completed until the day of Jesus Christ. Paul said to the Philippians that he was confident of this very thing, that he who had begun a good work in them would continue it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. i. 6.)
I mean to try to present the exact scriptural teachings on these things, if God is willing. I also aim to show that the resurrection of the dead bodies of the saints was the foundation of the hope of the prophets, of Moses, of the fathers and of Paul, and that the entire end and aim for which God created all things will be a failure if the dead do not rise in the glorious image of his blessed Son. John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Then he added, “Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” From this, we see that this was the hope of John and the believers of his day, and it is my only hope for a blessed immortality beyond this life. I am in my eighty-third year, and this doctrine grows sweeter to me as I approach nearer the end of this life.
When we begin the continuation of this subject, I will leave off the last part of this article, and go back to where I left it at the twentieth verse of the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and finish the investigation of that chapter, for there is much more proof in that chapter to substantiate the position which I have herein taken. I will bring in those things which I have proposed to prove, at the proper time and place.
If any wish to write me concerning this article, they will please address me at Sulphur Bluff, Texas, R. F. D. 1, Box 65. I remain a poor old sinner, but in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.
The next word in the text which we are considering, is “must,” which means to be obliged; to be necessitated, etc. It is the strongest word in our language that we can use to express absolute necessity. In this text, it means that the end under consideration cannot be attained without it. What is it that must be done? This corruptible must put on incorruption. “Put on” here means to invest with, as clothes or covering, as to put on a cloak. So this corruptible must be clothed in incorruption before the aim can be attained. And following the next sentence after this one, we are told what it is that shall come to pass when the things herein mentioned as that which must be done have taken place.
The next word in the sentence is “incorruptible,” which means that it cannot be corrupted or decay; not admitting of corruption, as gold is incorruptible. Spirits are supposed to be incorruptible. Our bodies shall be changed into incorruptible and immortal substances. Wait. See Webster. There are two more words in the sentence that I have not yet given the authoritative definition of, and they are “mortal” and “immortality.” Mortal, as an adjective, means subject to death; destined to die; as man is mortal. As a noun, it means a man, being subject to death; a human being. The last, and only word in this sentence that I have not given you the definition of, is the word “immortality.” It means the condition or quality of being immortal; exemption from death and annihilation; unending existence. Thus, I have given the meaning of every word in this sentence as they are given by our standard authors. They certainly show that the word “corruptible” cannot mean a human body which has been dissolved by putrefaction. Neither does the word “mortal” mean a dead body. This sentence, therefore, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Paul was talking to the saints at Corinth about his and their then present living, fleshly, mortal, and corruptible bodies when he said, For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. Therefore a certain scriptural saying can never come to pass until these things take place, for Paul goes on to say, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then (and not until then) shall be brought to pass the saying, Death is swallowed up of victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Why anyone who can read cannot understand the only meaning the words contained in this sentence will admit of, I cannot understand. The reason I have taken so much pains to define and bring out the meaning of each word in the sentence contained in the twenty-third verse of this chapter is that I might leave no room for a doubt as to what is meant by the resurrection of the dead. When you have found the exact meaning of the language used in this sentence, you may know of a truth that every other inspired truth in the Bible on this subject is in perfect harmony with it.
The third verse above this one, in view of what is contained in this verse, is easy to understand. It says, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. This means that our natural, physical, mortal, flesh and blood body must undergo the change already mentioned and discussed before it can inherit the kingdom of God. The body, after it has died and gone into a state of corruption, cannot, while in that state, inherit incorruption. No, it must be changed, not exchanged. This is absolutely proven by the next verse, which I have already quoted, which begins by saying, “Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep [which means die], but we shall be changed [both the living and the dead must be changed. The living from their mortal state to a state of immortality, and the dead from a state of corruption to an incorruptible state], in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” I do not know how language could make anything plainer than Paul has made this matter. He starts out in this chapter, after the caption of his letter, with an argument, affirming the resurrection of the dead, based on the resurrection of Christ.
Now let us go back to the beginning of this chapter, and read it verse after verse, commenting on each verse as we go, and see whether or not we can arrive at an exact conclusion as to what, or whose body, or bodies, he had under consideration in his affirmation of the resurrection of the dead. Follow me closely, dear reader, and test carefully what I say, and if I do not present the exact meaning of the language in what I quote, please write me and call my attention to my mistake, that I may reconsider and correct it, if indeed I have made a mistake.
Paul begins this chapter by saying, “Moreover, brethren, I declare [in the present tense] unto you the gospel which I preached [in the past tense] unto you, which also ye received [in the past tense], and wherein ye stand [in the present tense]. “We learn in this first verse that Paul was at that time preaching unto them the same gospel that he had preached unto them before, and which they had received, and wherein they yet stood. There are two things in this verse that we should keep in mind. First, that whatever it was that Paul had preached unto them, and which they had received, and wherein they were yet standing, Paul called it the gospel, and let me add just here that there can be no gospel of Jesus Christ if the dead are not to be raised. The name Jesus means Saviour, and the angel told Joseph that He should save his people from their (in the plural) sins. And I know of no people who are sinners except the offspring of the earthly Adam, who died at the age of nine hundred and thirty years, because he was a sinner. It was the creature man which God made of the dust of the ground who died at that age, and it was the mortal body that died, and this is the kind of people Paul is discussing the resurrection of, for he speaks of them as being mortal and corruptible. So the next verse says, “By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached [in the past] unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” There is a saving power in the gospel to the saved, but not to the unsaved. (See 1 Cor. i. 18.) In the next verse, Paul says, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” He is here referring to what he said at first, as what he had preached to them in the past, and that they had received it and were still standing in that belief. But a little later, he found some who did not accept what he was then preaching, and he asked them how they could say what they were saying, since the first could not be true unless what he was then preaching to them was true. The next verse goes on to say, “And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” In the foregoing verse he continued to tell them what he preached unto them first of all, and which they had accepted, and still believed it, and in the next four verses he is telling how many people saw Jesus after his resurrection, the greater part of whom he said remained unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. Keep in mind that he means by “the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep,” that the greater part are yet alive, but some of them have died. It is common with him, and with many of the scriptural writers, to speak of the dead as being asleep, and especially when they are talking about the resurrection of the dead. He ends that part of it by saying, “And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” Then he does not mention the resurrection in the next three verses. They are given to statements concerning himself. But he begins the twelfth verse by saying, “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Keep in mind the fact that they are not differing as to whether or not Christ had risen from the dead, for he affirms that he had preached the resurrection of Christ from the very first of his preaching among them. He says that he did that first of all, and he says that they received it and were still standing in that belief. So it was not the resurrection of Christ which some were now denying, for in the next verse he follows that statement by saying, “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.” Let me here say that the phrase in this verse does not mean, if Christ did not rise in the past, nor that he, or anyone else, is now, at the present time, rising from the dead. The language will not admit of such a conclusion. And, beside this, the expression in the twenty-ninth verse, which says, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?” “What shall they do?” is in the future, and “if the dead rise not at all” is in the future tense. This thought of the future resurrection of the dead bodies of the saints runs through this entire chapter, and is found clearly indicated in almost every place in the Old and New Testaments where the resurrection of the dead is mentioned. Job tells us that it shall not take place until the heavens be no more. This places it at the time of the second coming of Christ, when, Peter says, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise (2 Peter iii. 10), and which John saw take place in his vision on the isle of Patmos (Rev. xx. 11), where he said, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” And he saw, immediately following this scene, the resurrection of the dead, both small and great, all of whom stood before God to be judged; and he saw all places which held the dead, give them up, among which places was the sea, for he said, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it.” We surely ought to understand what kind of dead the sea will give up to be judged, for they are now going down by the thousands almost daily. Job was certainly inspired, for the time set by him is fully corroborated by these writers fifteen hundred years after he wrote.
But back to Paul. He said in the next verse, “And if Christ be not risen, then is your preaching vain, and your faith is also yam.” Why was the preaching of the apostles vain if Christ had not been raised from the dead? It was because he had been preaching that Christ died to save them from their sins, but that end could not be accomplished by a dead Christ. For Paul said in Romans v. 10, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” If he remained dead, we could not be saved by his life. This will be made more evident as we go on. The next verse says, “Ye, and we [the ministers] are found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.” Paul is here arguing that if the dead should fail to rise, then the entire end for which Christ died would be a failure, and all they (the ministers) have preached is but a farce and a falsehood, and there is nothing to it.
The next three verses say, “For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also who have fallen asleep in Christ perish.” The direct consequence that could possibly befall God’s people is, and will continue to be a fact, if the dead are not to be raised in the future. And the reason is made very plain in these three last verses. “For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” There can be only one reason why Christ should not have risen from the dead, if he did not rise, and that would be that he failed to satisfy the law for those for whom he died. Jesus himself said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Christ went under the law to redeem his people from under it, so neither he nor his people can ever be freed from under it, and rise from the dead, unless he fulfilled it to its last jot and tittle. If he failed to do this, he would perish, and all those who have fallen asleep in him are perished, and all the rest of mankind at their death will perish forever, because he failed to satisfy for their sins. Their faith is vain; they are yet in their sins. And he follows this up by saying, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” He means by that saying that God’s people suffer more in this life than the wicked do. (See Psalms lxxiii. 3-6.) Their hope in Christ is that in the resurrection, they will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (See Romans viii. 18-25). They also hope they will then obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. But if Christ did not rise, he failed to put away their sins by the sacrifice of himself, and they are yet in their sins, and are left without hope and without Christ, and are of all men most miserable. But thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul did not leave us without hope, for the next verse says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” In my mind’s eye and ear it seems that I can almost see him and hear him triumphantly waving his blessed right arm, with something in his glorious hand, and shouting, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” A most glorious truth is this, for he hath said of his people, by the mouth of the prophet Hosea, “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be they plagues; O grave, I will be they destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” Meaning he will not turn from this promise and fail to fulfill it. Paul, in what I have already quoted, tells us just when this promise shall be brought to pass. He says, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” It is wonderful how those Old Testament writers and the New Testament writers are so perfectly agreed on this subject.
I mean, if the Lord is willing, to continue to write on this subject until I have commented upon every place in the Scriptures which I think will throw any light on the subject, and as it will be too long to print in the Signs I aim to publish it in pamphlet form, with this article in the beginning of it, and I would like for all who read this, and would like to have one of them, to write me, so I can enroll their names and know when I have enough to meet the expense of getting it out. The price will be as low as it can be to pay for getting it out and handling it. I mean to show that the end for which God made everything which was, and is, is to make manifest, or make known, his eternal glory, the riches of which can never be made known without the resurrection of the dead. For Paul said, “What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the RICHES of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.”
You will note that I have put certain words in italics, to which I wish to call special attention, and have put the word “riches” in small capitals, and have italicized the phrase “of his glory,” to show that the RICHES of his glory can only be known on the vessels (Note this word “vessels”) of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory. This will not take place until the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, and he shall be seated upon the throne of his glory to judge the quick ((living) and the dead, and God shall call for all nations to gather before him to be judged. He will then “say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by my name; for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” I will show that all the foregoing applies to the outward man, the flesh, which perisheth; while the inward man, which consists of two parts, which are called the spirit and soul, is renewed day by day. Those inward parts are where Jeremiah says God promised to put his laws. (Jer. xxxi. 33) Paul said to the Thessalonians, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly.” Meaning every part of you, and named them, by saying, “And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then he adds the blessed part of it by saying, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” Does anyone think that man’s whole spirit, soul, and body will be preserved blameless in God’s account unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and then God will condemn the body to everlasting annihilation? I do not. Back in creation, when God made man, when he stretched forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, he formed man’s spirit in him, and if you will consult Deuteronomy xxix. 29, you will not ask anyone what he formed it of. And I have never read of the spirit or soul of man dying and returning to dust, or of being buried, and a promise that they should be raised up at the last day. Jesus taught that men can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. (Matt. x. 28.) And I aim to show that the work of changing man from the image of the earthy and conforming him to the image of the heavenly is begun in man while in this life, and will not be completed until the day of Jesus Christ. Paul said to the Philippians that he was confident of this very thing, that he who had begun a good work in them would continue it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. i. 6.)
I mean to try to present the exact scriptural teachings on these things, if God is willing. I also aim to show that the resurrection of the dead bodies of the saints was the foundation of the hope of the prophets, of Moses, of the fathers and of Paul, and that the entire end and aim for which God created all things will be a failure if the dead do not rise in the glorious image of his blessed Son. John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Then he added, “Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” From this, we see that this was the hope of John and the believers of his day, and it is my only hope for a blessed immortality beyond this life. I am in my eighty-third year, and this doctrine grows sweeter to me as I approach nearer the end of this life.
When we begin the continuation of this subject, I will leave off the last part of this article, and go back to where I left it at the twentieth verse of the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and finish the investigation of that chapter, for there is much more proof in that chapter to substantiate the position which I have herein taken. I will bring in those things which I have proposed to prove, at the proper time and place.
If any wish to write me concerning this article, they will please address me at Sulphur Bluff, Texas, R. F. D. 1, Box 65. I remain a poor old sinner, but in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.
J. C. SIKES Sulphur Bluff, Texas
(Article appeared in the Signs of the Times of June and July, 1941)
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