Resurrection Lives

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Resurrection Lives

Date: Apr. 19, 2025

Passage

1 Corinthians 15:35-49 (ESV)

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 15:49

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Death often feels like a sad and tragic affair, but it is also inevitable. There is always something that must die in order for a resurrection to take place. Jesus died after being crucified on the cross. Yet, Jesus’ resurrection brought a surprising triumph of God over sin, evil, and even death. This triumph extends to all who believe in him.

Dying is never easy, however. Dying means letting go of a life that seems right to us at the moment. It is easier to protect, to maintain, and to justify who we are now, or to think we are no more than the mistakes we have made. By dying to who we are, we become more of what God made us to truly be. There is beauty, peace, and freedom in becoming more and more like Jesus, in the image of God in us, sloughing off the shells of who we thought we were, like a seed that blossoms into a flower. Apostle Paul says he dies every day (31). Indeed, the act of dying and rebirth can be a way of living.

Prayer: Father, you are the author of our lives, help us to claim it by dying to who we think we are and embrace the stamp of your image in us. Give us resurrection faith and lives.

One Word: We shall bear the image of Jesus

Write on a Scroll What You See

Revelation 1:9-20

Key Verse: 1:18

and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Today's Question

What is the fourth commandment?

See answer and references