Easter 2002 Issue
| Luther: on the Resurrection |
| A brief comparison - (KJV vs. MESSAGE) |
| Easter: A Sermon - r.w.s. |
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I Corinthians 15:16-20
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
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LUTHER: ON THE RESURRECTION
"There is only one transformation that counts: it comes to pass when God, upon the death of this mortal body, transforms it into a shining, beautiful body even as the sun in the heavens. In the presence of our Lord God there is no death and as far as we and the eyes of our flesh are concerned death should be considered nothing but a brief removal. Just as it goes at our birth so is it done at our death: just what were you and I a hundred years before we were born - yet God still created and fashioned us in due time. In like manner He also can reconstitute body, flesh and blood even though they have been dead for a hundred years. For before Him everyone lives: all who shall still be born as well as all those that are alive."
"Since God, by His Word and omnipotence, created the heavens and earth and all creatures out of nothing, that is to say, produced them from death and to this day does the same thing shall He not, according to the same skill, that is, through His powerful Word and divine omnipotence, be able to raise the dead? I mean to say He certainly is an all powerful farmer: whatever He builds, sows and plants, is never lost. He lets us see that He has the skill and almighty power to raise the dead by having us observe all the animals on the earth, the fruits in the field, and all creatures. Therefore when we get sick unto death and are about to be buried we should not become gross ignorant fools and sharp, pointy pin heads, and say: how will the dead rise? How is it possible that something can be made out of a dead corpse decaying and corrupting in the grave? But rather say: Dear pin head, go into the garden and ask the cherry tree how it is possible that out of a dry, dead looking twig a blossom comes forth and after the blossom a cherry? Go into the house and ask the lady of the house how it is possible that from a dead egg lying under the hen a living chick comes into being? Now since God deals thusly with cherries, chickens, etc. ought you not give God the glory that when He permits winter to come over you and you die and are buried in the ground that He is equally able to bring summer again and bring you forth from the ground and waken you from the dead?"
r.w.s.
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A BRIEF COMPARISON
I n a seemingly never ending stream of pollution yet another version of the Bible is about to be released. For some time now, portions of this new version called "The Message" have been available and selling well, but the completed "Bible" is to be in print this coming summer. What follows is a sneak peak at this new paraphrase to give you just a small sample of this latest befouling of God's Word.
NOTE: A more in-depth and revealing review of this
version will be in the next issue of the ILC Journal.
A s it is the Passion season we will compare a passage regarding the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in the King James Version and "The Message".
| 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KING JAMES VERSION Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: |
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 THE MESSAGE Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time-this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I'm assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you're in this for good and holding fast.) The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; |
Comments:
1) The King James Version is 100% accurate to the original Greek.
2) Not all of the additions, changes, and subtractions have been marked. Realize that "The Message" is a paraphrase, therefore so much has changed that only a sampling of it's glaring errors have been noted.
3) Notice how many extra words are present in "The Message", 110 compared with 85 in the KJV and 61 in the Greek. It is true that it sometimes takes more than one English word to translate a Greek word in order to reflect tense and so forth, but not that many more!
4) "Brethren" is changed to "Friends". I do not know about you, but I have some friends who are not brothers in the faith!
5) "Gospel" is changed to "Message". "Gospel" is a basic term used by Christians for centuries coming from the Greek word "euaggelion". The "Gospel" is the good news, the evangel, the glad tidings of salvation in Jesus Christ!
6) What is this: "one final time" clause in THE MESSAGE? Did Paul give up preaching the Gospel to the Corinthians? NO, for there is a SECOND Epistle to the Corinthians!
7) Christ died for our sins; the Greek word translated "Christ" in the KJV is "Christos", meaning annointed; the word "Messiah" in THE MESSAGE is a translation of the Hebrew word "Mashiyach", also meaning annointed; but, my fellow believers in Christ, the New Testament was given to us in Greek, not Hebrew. The Greek word "MESSIAS" is used only in John's Gospel.
Changes, changes, despite God's warning in Deuteronomy 4:2, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it..." "THE MESSAGE" IS DANGEROUS!
Look for more on this latest paraphrased perversion in the next ILC Journal... it is much worse than you have seen so far. As the saying goes: you aint seen nothin yet!
m.e.l.
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Easter : A Sermon
(Reprinted from the March/April 1994 LRH Newsletter)
"But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?
And with what body do they come?"
"It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body."
I Corinthians 15:35,44
(read 35-53)
How can you tell a Christian from a non-Christian? You certainly cannot do it by looks. Though a person were to pray himself to death or wear distinctive religious garb or trinkets to bed it would not necessarily mean he would be a Christian. Such a person could easily be so proud of his humility that he would make Satan blush, if that were possible. But how shall we tell a Christian from a non-Christian? Are we to tell it by the confession of his mouth? Maybe -- and then maybe not. For example, a Moslem will confess Jesus of Nazareth and highly acclaim Him, but not as the Son of the living God but as a prophet like Moses, David or their Mohammed. So they confess Jesus and are damned. Nor can we today accept the confession of just anyone who says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Ordinarily that is a fine confession of Christ, but from the lips of Jehovah's Witness it is sheer fraud. He, like many, believes that Jesus Christ is God's Son just as all believers are and are called sons and daughters of God. Such a person will even say, "Jesus is the Son of God" and mean only that Jesus is, of all believers, in a class by Himself -- and yet only a man, a believer like the rest of us. Just as, years ago people would say "Babe Ruth is the home run king" and mean, of course, that there are many home run hitters but Babe Ruth was greatest of all yet he was a baseball player even as all other baseball players. In this way a Jehovah's Witness may confess beautifully with his mouth: "Jesus is the Son of God" -- and be damned in spite of it.
Well in just which way can we most accurately tell a Christian from a non-Christian without looking into his heart? Just ask a person: Where is Christ buried? A Christian will invariably say: He isn't buried. Others will hem and haw around and end up having Christ's physical body buried. Just ask a man: Where are Jesus' bones resting? You will soon learn if a Christian is in the room or not.
Notice, I am talking about the body, the flesh and bones of Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified -- not about a nebulous "resurrection" of Christ that is floating about in religious circles so often today. Oh, we can understand the term "resurrection of Christ" correctly, but there are some Lutherans who firmly believe that "Christ" arose but His body, His flesh and bones, did not necessarily rise so that anyone passing by the grave Easter morning would see it empty. What these abusers of words mean by the "resurrection" of Christ is this: The disciples, longing for Jesus physically to rise wrote that He actually did in the Gospels and by doing this were expressing the universal wish for a resurrection of the dead. See, that is chopping things up properly. Alas, they will find in hell that it takes more than a wish or desire of some fanatical disciples -- for to these modern teachers of religion, the fishermen, hard-working and honorable men, were fanatic types while those who scoff at the resurrection of Christ's body, bones and flesh, are considered "sound", "wise", and "eminent" theologians -- to attain eternal blessedness for their bones and flesh.
Now should we be surprised that such flesh and bones resurrection deniers are found in churches. After all, in a congregation begun by that greatest of all apostles, blessed Paul the first -- and only, there were those that denied the resurrection of the dead. And, as skeptics do today the wiseacres in Corinth asked: all right, if the dead rise -- "With what body do they come?" Paul answers them completely and we are extremely happy those scoffers coughed and wheezed about the resurrection for this gave Paul, writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, an opportunity to reveal things to you and me and the whole world that are so beautiful and glorious that forever and ever we shall sing happily and with voices ringing Hallelujah to that precious Savior of our dull, blind and sinful race, our Lord Jesus Christ. O Holy Spirit, open our poor minds and understanding to Thy Word. Warm our hearts as we see our graves and those of our loved ones opened -- clothed in light, deriving all power and life from Him who is still and forever the light of the world. Amen.
Consider with me this question.
What Kind of Bodies Will We Have In The Resurrection?
I. All creation teaches the resurrection of the body.
II. Let us look more closely to the spiritual body we will have.
I.
The question Paul anticipates from the resurrection deniers is this: "But some men say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" He answers: "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die." All creation (some call it nature but since men make nature into Nature, with a capital "N", that is, make a mother goddess we prefer the word "creation") teaches that every seed must die before a new plant can grow. Therefore, Paul argues, you people are plain fools to say dead human bodies do not rise. They die don't they? Why, then they must rise. A farmer doesn't plant seed in the ground only to have the seed die or to raise a crop of seeds under the ground. He is looking for a new life, a more abundant life. He depends on it that the seed dies and decays and that a plant arises from the germ. When we plant a dead loved one in the ground we are looking forward to the new crop, a new harvest, and we learn that there will be one for Christ, the Firstfruit of that harvest is already risen.
There is something to think about.
When a farmer plants a kernel of corn that plant has a seed-body, but that is not the condition of the body that is coming out of the ground. No, the condition or state of the body of that plant, after the death of the seed-body is much more glorious and powerful in every way. There is a stalk, roots, leaves, husks, kernels, tassels, etc. God gave it the kind of body it had when it went into the ground and God gave it the kind of Body that it has when it comes out of the ground -- yet it is in the very same body, the same corn plant. Look at Christ: the same body that went into the grave came out of it. The angel, whose sermon was written in heaven, was very careful to mention that very fact. He said:
That is to say: you women are looking for the corpse of the man, Jesus, which was taken off the cross and placed here by Nicodemus and Joseph. You won't be satisfied until you find Him, nor do you want a different corpse or reasonable facsimile. Well, He is not here, He is risen. He is the very same Jesus with body of flesh and bones but now He is operating in a new condition of existence in which He fully and always uses His glorious might, power and dominion. It is this Christ
How? "according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." (Philippians 3:21)
Then he mentions flesh:
Someone might ask: but will the resurrected body have flesh? Of course it will, says Paul. The very nature of our human body is that it is made of flesh. Flesh is as essential to a human body as its lungs and heart. Why, Job tells us that with these very eyes of our head which are made up of flesh we will see God.
Yes, we shall see God with our eyes of flesh, The risen Lord Jesus had the same eyes, ears, arms, legs after His resurrection as before His death. But the flesh of our resurrected bodies will be in a highly augmented, glorious condition -- not gross, thick, dull and earthly as it now is. Besser [Wilhelm F. Besser: 1816 - 1884; Lutheran Pastor; author of Bibelstunden] says: "Transparent as crystal, the body of the resurrection will radiate the glory which the Spirit of Christ imparts to it; the flesh, no longer a dull covering will be a lamp of spiritual light, according to the manner in which Christ was transfigured on the holy mount." So that body of ours in the resurrection will have flesh, but it will be appropriate for a spiritized or spiritual body. Nor should anyone get upset as to how we will get such flesh after this present vile body decays. God can do anything He wants. Among the creatures God fashioned there are various kinds of flesh. A bird's flesh is lighter than the flesh of cattle and the flesh of a fish is created for a life spent in water. If the flesh of a bird had the density of the flesh of a cow it would take a long runway to get into the air. If the fish's flesh structure and frame were of the density and consistency of a hog is would sink to the bottom unable to swim. God designed flesh to suit the beings he created for the place in which He put them. Yet it is all flesh and so it is with our resurrected bodies -- it will be flesh but the flesh covering will be sheer light and beauty and it will be more glorious than our present flesh as an oak tree is more glorious than an acorn and yet the acorn and the oak tree are one tree, one plant. The godless thought lurking in the minds of unbelievers denying the resurrection of dead bodies is that God's power is limited and since they cannot understand how such a thing as a more glorious body and flesh is possible they stupidly imagine it is not possible when with God "all things are possible." [Matthew 19:26] All creation of plant life teaches the resurrection of the body and the many different forms of bodies, flesh and glory, whether terrestrial or celestial, tell anyone who has not lost his reason to the monkey-men of evolution that God is able to do exactly what He pleases and wills. And since He wills that we live with Him in glory forever He will provide the bodies suitable for that existence.
II.
Secondly, lets look closely at the spiritual body we will have in the resurrection:
The apostle contrasts our present body with our resurrected one after comparing seed plants with mature plants. Our present body is "sown in corruption." No one can stop the decay of the human corpse. Riddled by sin, cleaving to the earth it must decay when it is sown dead into the ground. All the skill of the undertaker cannot stave off corruption. But "it is raised in incorruption". God will give us our body back at the Last Day absolutely free from even the thought of corruption. Don't forget, Christ redeemed us body and soul for an eternal life. Therefore, since we are destined to live in eternal glory, a place absolutely devoid of all corruption or uncleanliness we, of necessity, will own and possess incorruptible bodies. And those bodies will be stronger and more glorious than Adam's body which he had in Eden before the fall into sin. This great exaltation of even our bodies resulted from Christ's work on Calvary, dying for our sins. He did not redeem us for a natural, perfect life as Adam had in Eden but exalted us higher than that. When Adam fell from his original righteousness and perfection at the Creation the whole race of which he is the father -- you and me -- lost all hope of eternal life through the powers of our own soul. Into this ruined mass of humanity, lost from God, blind and corrupted with the soul clinging desperately to this present world Jesus came and by dying for our sins and rising again became the "firstfruits of them that slept", the forefather of an entirely new race of human beings, a spiritual race of men designed for an eternal life and the beginnings of this life is here and now. The life-giving Spirit of God creates faith in our hearts and whosoever believeth has eternal life not shall have some time in the future. [see John 3:14 -16, 36] Yes, it is now present, we have eternal life even now. The Bible says, (I John 3:2)
(because we are still in this natural life of body and soul which is beset by sin)
(we will have a spiritual body even as He has and we shall be fully able to see Him who loved us even unto the death of the cross.)
"It is sown in dishonor;..." No matter how strong or beautiful the body may have been in life, in death it is dishonorable, somewhat repulsive to look at, especially if it has been ravaged by disease or an accident. We hasten it out of sight quickly. "It is raised in power." Yes, we will have a true spiritual body packed with tremendous power. Luther says that after Christ's resurrection Christ "No longer has a natural body but has a body that is spiritual. This is the way Paul expresses it. This is how we, too, shall be in the Last Day. Then flesh and blood will become spiritual life so that my body and your body shall live without food or drink, will not begat children, digest, throw off waste matter and the like. But inwardly we shall live according to the spirit and the body will be glorified and be like the sun today and be even more brilliant. There will be no natural flesh and blood, no natural or physical functions which animals perform." Ah, beloved, what excellent, high and glorious prizes the Lord Christ has gained for us by His triumph over the grave.
r.w.s.
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