One famous author found out this truth. "Everybody has to die; but I have believed an exception would be made in my case. NOW WHAT?" (W. Saroyan) Believe it or not, none of us will get out of this world alive! His question frightens most people. But we just read the answer in our Bible. We have peace and hope to face death. Our Creed leads us to the end of life triumphantly in Christ: I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.

Resurrection of the body? Life everlasting? I’m not sure I want this old body. And I agree with playwright, George Bernard Shaw - "I don’t think an endless existence with G B Shaw is a very good idea!" Somehow, we are going to be changed. This change will be instantaneous. Yet, we will be much the same. We are promised a new body. Just as our bodies were equipped just right for use here on earth, He has a new body waiting for us to use for Him in heaven. The Lord knows I’m ready for a new body. "How much do you weigh?" asked the doctor. "170 pounds with glasses. Without them, I have no clue." Our bodies give up. The resurrection of the body can’t happen soon enough for me!

Immortality, that’s what the world wants! We want to live forever, even without God. Stem cell research, cloning, cryogenics to keep us around until a cure is ready for us. Yet, no matter what we invent, we are going to die.

We have eternity to live. The question becomes ours: will we be with God or not? God chooses to share His immortality with us. It is not something we have within us...it is something He has within Himself: immortal love. The Resurrection of Jesus declares God to be in control. He created us. He can re-create us. He can raise us from the dead and give us new life!

So, the resurrection of our bodies must be part of the plan of God. The final words of the Creed invite us to be included. We need to know that we will be raised to face the final judgment of God. What a joy we have as Christians! One day we will be raised to new life, JUST LIKE JESUS! The great joy we will have then - recognizing each other in the home of our Lord. We will not have to ask, "Is that you?" But we will shout with great joy: "You, Again!" So, let’s walk through these final words with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His resurrection is OUR PATTERN, OUR PROMISE, OUR PROSPECT!

Are you gripped by this vital truth? His resurrection becomes the guarantee of our own! For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive! (I Co 15.22) Here we have the central truth of our Christian faith. Where does the hope of your forgiveness and my forgiveness lie? In the death of Christ! Where does our hope of eternal life lie? In the resurrection of Christ!

Are you IN CHRIST? When you are, you join the rest of us who identify with Him. We yield our lives to Him - His love, His knowledge, His power, His very self! That is why we call Him LORD, and His authority, as we pray, "Lord Jesus, come into my heart!"

Jesus Christ makes the Gospel. To be IN CHRIST means we also have embraced the great truth of the resurrection of Jesus. He was raised bodily, from death to life! So, our life in Christ makes sense for all of life. WE PLACE OURSELVES IN THE CARE AND KEEPING OF JESUS CHRIST! The resurrection is the pattern we live by. Our whole faith rests on the truth.

Mockers, doubters, and deniers challenge: "there is no resurrection of the dead." Paul argues back: if that is true, not even Christ has been raised....(13)

your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. (17)

...we are of all men to be pitied. (19)

Every time we talk of a living Christ, every time we ask Him to be present here...

Every time we break bread and share one cup...we declare we believe in the resurrection!

Don’t forget, this great event is rooted in history! The gospels were written while the enemies of Christ yet lived. The opening of I Corinthians 15 delivers the truth in the midst of our world history: The gospel which I preached (1) and you were saved! (2)....

Christ died, v 4: buried, raised - according to the Scriptures! (4) He listed persons who saw Jesus after Easter! He appeared,... appeared,.. appeared,.. appeared! (6-8) That is why we fairly shout the words: "Christ is risen!" "He is risen, indeed!"

God, through His power and grace, will raise us up to a new life. He already has given us new life in Christ. When we die, it will be life ...out of this world! We meet our Lord Jesus Christ. Our bodies lie in the dust somewhere. But when the end of all things comes, a shout, a trumpet blast, and the dead in Christ will rise! (I Thess. 4.13f)

New bodies ready to be used by Christ to worship and serve Him. What a great way to close! In triumph! I believe in the resurrection of the body, BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST WAS RAISED. HE LIVES AND THAT IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.

Christian life without the resurrection would be dreary...like the night sky without stars, life without love, or springtime without flowers! We can’t imagine one without the other. Christianity would be a religion of social ethics at best.

The resurrection of Christ and of His believers , becomes our horizon for a future with Him and with each other! Without this, faith in Christ loses meaning. No resurrection story? Then, there would be no New Testament and no Church!

We don’t argue the truth of the resurrection from human reason. No! We begin to grow in our understanding of the event, as we EXPERIENCE THE LIVING CHRIST. That is what life in Christ is all about! I am the resurrection and the life;...and whoever lives and believes in Me, shall never die. (John 11.25, 26) This is the promise He made to us!

What is our prospect? Life everlasting! This is not quantity of time, but quality of a new relationship with Christ. We will see Him. He will see us and welcome us home and to new opportunities to do! How will we carry out what God has for us?

The nature of our resurrected body has caused many of us no end of problems. Some people insist on being buried a certain way - (upside down on his horse. When the resurrection for him arrived, he believed the world will be upside down...he’ll start the new life at a gallop)! We are promised a new body. Just as our bodies were equipped just right for use here on earth, He has a new body waiting for us to use for His glory with Him in heaven. He has something very special!

Paul warns us that Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. (50) the bodies we have for now work well here. But in heaven, we will have something better!

What will our bodies be like? They’ll be a lot like the one Jesus had after Easter: the same, but different. Recall the Apostles saw Jesus. It is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have. And He ate a piece of fish. (Luke 24.39f) He came through locked doors in Jerusalem and fished in Galilee in an instant.

Your body will be the same but different: You will be recognized with flesh and bones, but no blood will be necessary, just like Jesus. Paul used the illustration of a seed in farming, to grasp your resurrection: a seed is...

V 42: sown perishable - raised imperishable

V 43: sown in weakness - raised glorious, powerful So...you and I are...

V 44: sown a physical body - raised spiritual - (no longer subject to the fleshly desires)

Each change will have a connection to the world we know, but our new bodies will be ready for service in the new environment of heaven! When Jesus Christ calls for us, a mystery will take place...and we are part of it! We will be just right and looking just like Christ. V 49: bear the image of the Man of heaven - Jesus

I love a mystery. I will not know how this comes out until I get to heaven. But with you, I will be V 51: changed...V 52: in a moment, a twinkling of an eye...changed!

V 54: death swallowed up: The last enemy we face - death! Because Christ lives, we have His promise that we too will live in Him somehow, some way!

We will become what God intends for us. We will finally reach our potential! This life is prologue to the real drama ahead! But we don’t have to worry about death anymore. We have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (57) We have wonderful things ahead. Our new bodies will be fit for the new life with Christ. The best thing? We will be with Christ. Here is quality of life, not just quantity. What a future we all have!

******

Nine messages, one gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of you have wrestled with the creed, because you want to be sure about Jesus in your own life. The Creed is based on Him from beginning to end. Do you trust in Him? Are you "in Christ"? Have you rested your restless heart in Him? Can you say with the Creed, "I believe"? If not, why not?

Go at least as far as the father who begged Jesus to heal his son, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9.24) That’s a good place to begin, and one day with the Church, you may allow your restless soul to rest with Him! AMEN!