-THE KING’S BUSINESS
1145
were not true resurrections in the sense that Jesus’ resurrection was. Death entered the-world through man (Adam), so also resurrection, it came through man (the man Christ Jesus, the second Adam). Resur rection was just as universal as death; “As in Adam all die, §o also in Christ shall all be made alive.” It is evident from the whole context that the life Paul is here speaking,of is life in the sense of resur rection from death, i. e., resurrection of the body; and this verse distinctly teaches that as-all men die in Adams, physical death, so in the second Adam all men get resurrec tion from the dead. Whether it shall be a resurrection unto life or a resurrection unto judgment, a resurrection to everlasting life or a resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt, depends entirely upon what one does with the Christ in whom he gets resur-- rection (John 5:28, 29 R. V.; Dan. 12:2; John 3:36). But resurrection all will get, good and bad. Some would read verse 22 in this way; “as in Adam all die, even so shall all in Christ be. made alive,” but that is not what Paul said. He did not say, “shall a llin Christ be made alive,” but “in Christ shall all he made alive” All lose life in Adam, the life of the body, dust they are and to dust they return (Gen. 3:19), and all obtain life, that is life of the body, resurrection of the body, in Adam- This statement of Paul sweeps the whole foundation out from under the the ory of “conditional immortality.” There is no condition about it. Every member of the human race gets resurrection and end less existence in Christ, whether he will or whether he won’t. Whether this endless existence shall be “eternal life” (John 17:3). or eternal perdition, “eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might” (2 Thess. 1:9 R. V.) is conditioned upon what one does with that Jesus in whom he gets resurrection. The 22 verse does not teach universal sal vation, but it does teach universal resur rection. There is no use discussing the question whether a man is naturally immor tal or not. Whether he is or not all men
get resurrection in Christ. The rankest infidel gets resurrection in Christ as well as the most earnest believer. To that extent all men are saved in Christ, their bodies are saved from the dust and raised and Christ is to this extent the “Saviour of all men,” but He is the Saviour, espec ially to those who believe (TTim. 4 :10) In that they not only get resurrection, but having accepted Christ it is a resurrection to eternal life. While all men shall be raised, they shall not all be raised at the same time or in the same class, but “each ip his own order.” The expression “in his own order” means “in his own rank,” company or regiment; the word used is a military word. First of all Christ, the first fruits of the resur rection harvest is raised alone. The next company or corps .will be composed of those who belong to Christ when H e comes again. This is the “first resurrection.” Only those who belong to Chrjst when He descends from heaven will have part in the first resurrection (1 Thes. 4:16; Rev. 20:5). After that comes “the end.” Paul does not • discuss the details of “the end” here. We learn elsewhere that in the end there will be a resurrection and judgment of the remaining dead (Rev. 20:11-15). Great confusion arises, in comparing the various scriptures that have to do with the Second Coming of Christ, from losing sight of the fact that all the events connected there with do not occur in an instant or in a day, but cover a long period of time, and that there are clearly defined stages in the development of these- events. Even ‘the day of the Lord” is not a day of 24 hours. When we seek to be more explicit than the Word of God is in our staking out a chart of events connected with the Second Coming of Christ, we go beyond what is written and inevitably are led into mistakes and error. When, the “end” comes Christ will deliver up His mediatorial king dom to the Father (v. 24 R. V.). God will no longer reign mediately through Christ, Thursday, December 27. 1 Corinthians 15:23-26.
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter