Chapter 14

We will notice one more passage in the context, which may be urged as an objection. "Behold I show you a _mystery_; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed 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." The _mystery_, here mentioned, refers to the change of those, who should be found alive at the coming of Christ in his kingdom, produced by the full revelation and establishment of that doctrine, which proclaims the immortal resurrection of all mankind _by being made alive in Christ_. It is the fulfillment of the following scriptures--Eph. i 9,10--"Having made known unto us the _mystery of his will_--that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one _all things in Christ_, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him." This mystery was _then finished_ in the full revelation of his will to the doubting christians, whom Paul addresses in the context. This is evident from Rev. x:7--"But in the days of the voice of the _seventh angel_ when he _shall begin to sound_, the _mystery_ of God _should be finished_, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." And that he began his reign when the mystery was finished is certain from Rev. xi. 15--And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, "and he shall reign forever and ever." Here we perceive that this _mystery of God's will_ was to be finished at the sound of the _seventh or last_ trump, which will is, to gather or make alive all things in Christ. And at this time he was to receive his kingdom and reign forever and ever. _"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,"_ has reference to those persecuted christians, who were not to "taste of death till they saw the Son of man coming in his kingdom."

Phil. iii:20, 2l--"For our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." That this passage has reference to changing our _natural into immortal bodies_ at the resurrection, I see not a shadow of evidence to prove, either in established in their final and blissful condition the passage itself, nor in the context. The context we have already noticed by pointing out the resurrection to which Paul desired to attain. Chap. i:6--"He, that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until _the day of Jesus Christ."_ Chap. iv:5--"Let your moderation be known unto all men. _The Lord is at hand_." "The day of Jesus Christ" and "the Lord is at hand" refer to his coming at the end of the Jewish age, and not to a resurrection at the end of time. Paul gave the Philippians notice of no other coming of Christ. The passage has reference to the change the living were to experience, at this coming of our Lord in his kingdom, by being delivered from their persecutions, doubts and fears, perfected in faith, and "established unblamable in holiness before God," so as to resemble in a moral and exalted sense those immortal beings in heaven who are here called the "glorious body" of Christ. The body to be changed embraces both Jew and Gentile christians, who were at that time to be raised from their lowly condition into his gospel kingdom and "shine forth like the sun." This is evident from the manner in which he commences: "For our conversation is in _heaven_, from _whence_ we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our _lowly body_ that it maybe fashioned like unto his glorious body." He contrasts the low and oppressed condition of the whole christian body with what will be their exalted condition at the coming of Christ, and that exalted condition will assemble that glorified body of beings in _heaven_ who died in his cause, and with whom they had their conversation, and from _whence_ they were expecting the Saviour. It has reference, I conceive, to the body in which Christ arose. The church is the body of Christ, and it is to be presented to himself a _glorious body_, not having spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. The Greek word _tapeinos_ rendered "vile," should be rendered _lowly or humble_.

It will be noticed, by the reader, that the word _body_ is used in the _singular_ number and not in the plural, as some have quoted it in their writings. But if it refer to individual _forms_, it ought to be rendered in the _plural_--"who shall change our vile _bodies."_ But it means the whole church or body of believers--a collective body of individuals. In this sense the Greek word, _soma_, here rendered _body_ is frequently used in the New Testament. That the apostle does not refer to all mankind is evident from the fact, that after the vile body is changed according to the working, he adds--whereby he is able _even_ to subdue all things unto himself--That is, able _even_ to subdue all things as well as to change that body. If the passage refer to an immortal and general resurrection, or rather to the change of all the living into immortal beings, then there would be none to subdue after that period. But if we apply it to the coming of Christ in that generation, and to the change of the whole christian body, then all is plain and in perfect agreement with the preceding and succeeding context; also with 1 Cor. 15th chapter, and with the whole tenor of revelation, which speaks of but _one coming_ of our Saviour in his kingdom, and which shows that the work of subjection commenced after the change of the living at the last trump, whose sound announced the commencement of his reign. The word _kai_, rendered _even_, should probably have been rendered _also_. "Who shall change our lowly body--according to the working whereby he is able also to subdue all things to himself." The whole context, however, justifies the above exposition because the christians were looking for the coming of Christ at the end of that age, and exclaimed, "the Lord is at hand."

[To be continued.]

SERMON XXIII

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor. xv:20.

In our last we noticed the context, and also taken into consideration the language of Paul on the coming of Christ and the change of the living in Phil. iii:20, 21. This, we have shown, has no reference to the mortal bodies of men being changed to immortal bodies, so as to resemble the personal form of Jesus Christ. If it refer to Jesus, still the resemblance would be _moral, not personal_, for no where do the scriptures teach, that we are in our personal appearance to be like our Saviour. But in a _moral_ sense, "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." I do not say, that there will be no _personal_ resemblance between immortal beings and Christ. I fully believe there will be; but I mean that this personal resemblance is more a matter of course, than a doctrine of divine revelation. I do not read of the "glorious body" of Jesus in his immortal resurrection state. But the scriptures do compare the moral body of Christians on earth with the glorified body of holy beings in heaven, Heb. xii:22, 23--"But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an in-numerable company of angels to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made made perfect." So far as the Christians were "established unblamable in holiness before God even our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints" so far as they were elevated to "shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever" so far as their moral condition and enjoyments were improved and enlarged, thus far, of course, the _lowly body_ of the church on earth would be changed into a moral resemblance of that "glorious body" of Christ, who were praising him in heaven. In _heaven_ the Christians had their conversation, from whence they were looking for the Saviour, as shortly to come, and fashion them into a moral resemblance of those saints above, who had died in his cause, and who were to come with him. From the whole context, the conclusion is irresistible that this change of the "vile body" was at the coming of the Lord _then_ at hand, and not at the end of time, as some imagine.

Another scripture commonly applied to the _general_ resurrection of the dead, and a change of all the living is recorded in 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17--"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not _be before_ them that are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God; and the _dead in Christ_ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in air, and so we shall be evermore with the Lord." That Paul here refers to the coming of Christ in his kingdom to establish his reign, and to elevate the Christians who were alive at that period, the _preceding_ and _succeeding_ contexts fully justify. And so I must understand his language, till some one can prove a third coming of Christ, and an _eighth_ sounding trump at the end of time. In the two preceding chapters, he dwells largely upon the persecutions of the Christians, exhorts them to be faithful, expresses his desire "to perfect that which is lacking in their faith," and concludes by saying--"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ _with all his saints."_ No one will deny that this has reference to his coming at the end of the Jewish age. Now would it not be doing injustice to this powerful and cogent reasoner to say, that he suddenly drops this subject without giving his brethren any warning, and runs off to the end of time, speaks of another coming of' Christ at which he is to raise, at the same instant, all the dead and change the living to immortal beings? And that he should again, as suddenly, drop this subject, and hasten right back to the coming of Christ at the destruction of Jerusalem? To charge him with this is certainly ungenerous.

After stating that Christ should descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God to exalt the dead and living, he adds--"But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write for yourselves perfectly know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape." There is no resisting the conclusion, that _"the day of the Lord"_ in this passage refers to the same period when "_the Lord himself shall descend from heaven_" in the passage above; which must be at the destruction of Jerusalem. He quotes Christ's own language, Matt. xxiv:43. See also 2 Peter iii:10. In both places, the sudden coming of Jesus is compared to a "thief in the night." But where is a _general_ resurrection, at the end of time, clearly stated, that he had no need to inform them of the times and seasons, because they already perfectly knew? Where is sudden destruction to come upon any in that day? For one, I find no such revelation.

Though the doctrine of immortal resurrection of all mankind was fully revealed, and established in the world at the coming of Christ in his kingdom; yet that particular point is not argued by the apostle in the scripture on which we are commenting. He is not speaking of all mankind, nor of the immortal resurrection; but as in Phil. iii:20, 21, so _here_ he is speaking of the Christians _only_ who should be alive when that scene burst and of those dead _only_ who had died in the cause of Christ. "The dead in Christ" cannot possibly include those who died previous to his birth, but those only who died in the faith of his doctrine previous to his coming in his kingdom. We might reason this point at large, but deem it unnecessary till some one proves how those, who never heard of a Saviour, could be said to die in Christ, or to be dead in him. I would, however, remark that the Greek preposition _en_ may be rendered, _on account of_. The phrase would then read thus--_the dead on account of Christ_. Wakefield renders it thus--"_they who have died in the cause of Christ_." That this is its true sense, I have not a doubt.

Let one thing here be distinctly noticed: Paul says--"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain," &c. Now where has our Lord ever said, when speaking of the immortal resurrection, that some would be alive, and be changed to immortal beings? Nowhere. This single circumstance ought to make every man pause before he asserts such a change to be true. Read Christ's language in all three of the Evangelists where he addresses the Sadducees; and he speaks only of the dead being raised, but not of any one being changed. Read his language, John vi:39--"And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the last day." Nothing is here said about changing the living to immortal beings. The Father has given all into the hands of his Son; and if he is to _raise_ them up at the last day, then all must die, for the _change_ of the living is not the _resurrection_ of the dead. How then could Paul tell his brethren, "by the word of the Lord," that they were to be thus changed? He could not because there is not a "thus saith the Lord" to support it. But Paul had the word of the Lord support the change in the living which we have pointed out. Christ said, "the righteous should go into life eternal," they "that endured unto the end should be saved" that "they should shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father," and that "they should be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

But, inquires the reader, were those who died in the cause of Christ raised immortal at his coming? No, they were not. It simply means that they were in that day to receive their elevated stations of glory and and honor in the gospel kingdom, so much so, as if they had been alive. The living Christians, in this respect, were not to be before them. Having suffered and died in the cause of Christ, they were in the minds of the living to "shine as the stars forever and ever" in the kingdom of Christ, because they had turned many to righteousness. The Lord had, as it were, delayed his coming, and many had given up faith in Christ's resurrection, and were sorrowing without hope over their friends who had fallen asleep in his cause. They of course had no faith in the immortal resurrection of their friends, nor in the fulfillment of Christ's predicted coming to raise their names to unfading honor for having labored and died in his cause. We are not to understand that those departed saints were _literally_ exalted to elevated stations in Christ's kingdom on earth, any more than Christ _literally_ came. But as Jesus was _in that day_, at the end of the Jewish age, "crowned with glory and honor," as king on the mediatorial throne of the universe, so were his apostles elevated on thrones of glory with him. Jesus says, "when the Son of man shall sit on his throne of glory, ye also shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

Now certain it is, that Jesus did take his throne, when he came in his glory, at the destruction of the temple. Then it is equally certain, that the apostles and martyrs also took their's at the same period and in the same sense. _Then_ Christ came and "his holy angels" and all the saints came with him; not literally, but in the same sense that he himself came. Luke ix:26, 27--"For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory and of his Father's and of the holy angels; but I tell you of a truth there be some standing here which shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God." I Thess. iii:13--"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God our Lord even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." Here we perceive, that he was to come "_with all his saints and holy angels_." By his _holy angels_, we are to understand his gospel messengers or martyred apostles and by _his_ saints, those who had died in his cause. These are the persons who are said to be _dead in Christ, and asleep in Jesus_. By the words _dead and asleep_ we are not to understand their present extinction of existence in contrast with their immortal resurrection, but the supposed _low and disgraceful_ cause in which they died, or for which they were put to death by their persecutors, as malefactors. This _disgraceful condition_, in which their murderers viewed them as unchangeably sleeping, stands in contrast with their _triumphant exaltation_ at the coming of Christ. Their enemies would _then_ look upon them as having come forth from the dust of the earth and shining as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever, and not as sleeping in perpetual infamy and dishonor. [See Daniel xii 2, 3, and John v:28, 29.] Their enemies (whether dead or alive) were to come forth to _shame, contempt, and condemnation_, which stand in contrast with the _glory and honor_ to which the Christians (whether dead or alive in Christ) were to be raised in the minds of the living even to succeeding generations.

Let it be distinctly noticed that _these dead in Christ_ are not said to be raised _incorruptible and immortal_, but only caught up with the living Christians in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air--not _literally_, but in the same sense that the living saw the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, so should they see his saints and holy angels raised from the slumber of infamy, and, together with the Christians who remained alive at that day, be exalted with him in the air. [See Matt. xxiv:30, 31--Mark xiii:26, 27--Luke xxi:27, 28, and Rev. i:7.] In these passages he is represented as "coming in the _clouds_ with his angels," who "gathered, with a great sound of the trumpet, his elect," and raised them to honor in his kingdom. And let me add--this is all the _change_ Christ has ever said should take place in the living at the sound of the Trumpet. I have no doubt that the Apostle had his eye upon the above words of our Lord when he said, "we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." It will here be plainly seen in what sense those who had died in the cause of Christ were _first_ raised. They are represented as coming with him at the destruction of the temple, and after that event the whole "body" was exalted together. The "vile body" of Christians on earth (vile indeed in the eyes of their enemies) was then "fashioned like unto his glorious body" of saints and angels in heaven who had died in his cause.

That we have given a correct exposition of 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17, is evident from Paul's words 2 Tim. iv:7, 8--"I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a _crown of righteousness_, which the Lord, the righteous Judge shall give me at _that day_," &c. The phrase "_that day_" means not the day of Paul's death, but the day Christ should appear in the clouds of heaven at the end of the Jewish age. His _crown was merited_ for having "fought the good fight and kept the faith." The crown means that exalted honor he should then receive for having "turned many to righteousness." And not only himself, but all, "who love the appearing of Christ," should shine as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever in his gospel kingdom among men. We this day look upon the martyrs and apostles as the lights of the Christian world and as occupying, on the sacred page, stations far more exalted than any ever conferred upon the greatest men of the universe. They are "made priests and kings to God" for dying in his cause, and thus establishing the truth of Christianity.

This was the "first resurrection," and these were the persons who had a part in it, which no subsequent christians can ever can have. Rev. xx:6--"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." But if Christ had not come in his kingdom at the end of the Jewish age, as the prophets and himself had declared, then the whole Christian system must have fallen and the names of its martyrs and apostles remained buried in perpetual infamy as a set of deluded men and impostors. But, blessed be God, it is not so. They, by their faithfulness, have attained unto the "first resurrection" and thus broken the dark chains of infidelity into fragments. This is the _resurrection and change_ referred to in Phil. iii:20, 21, and 1 Thess. iv:15, 16, 17, on which we have commented.