There Ain't No Grave Going To Hold My Body Down

Several years ago when my family and I visited Philadelphia we toured Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed. We saw the Liberty Bell, and all the sights so cherished in our nations history. To a history buff, it is an exciting place to visit. However, of all I saw, that which excited me the most was the epitaph on the grave of Benjamin Franklin, located just in sight of Independence Hall. It was written by Franklin himself and reads:

The Body of Benjamin Franklin, printer
(Like the cover of an old book,
Its contents worn out,
And stripped of its lettering and gilding)
Lies here, food for worms!
Yet the work itself shall not be lost,
For it will, as he believed, appear once more.
In a new
And more beautiful edition,
Corrected and amended,
By its Author!

What Franklin was referring to is the future resurrection of the believer. As the believer anticipates the future, one of the blessed truths that thrill’s the soul is that one-day there is going to be a resurrection of the body. As a popular song of a few years past put it, one of these days “we are going to get up, get up, get up, get up out of the ground, for there ain’t no grave going to hold my body down.”

As we saw in our last study (Vs.12-19), there were some in Paul’s day that did not believe in the bodily resurrection of the believer. Yet Paul declares that if there were no resurrection of the believer, it would mean that Christ had not risen from the dead. Paul had said in verse 13 “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen,” and in verse 16 “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised."

If Christ was not raised from the dead, then as we saw in our last study, there are serious consequences as Paul explained in verses 12-19. If Christ be not risen from the dead, our preaching is vain (Vs.14). our faith is vain (Vs.14, 17), all who preach a resurrected Christ are false witnesses (Vs.15), we are yet in our sins (Vs.17), those who have died have perished (Vs.18), and we are to be pitied (Vs.19)

But after telling us what it would mean if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, in verse 20 Paul boldly and assuredly states, “But now is Christ risen from the dead.” Paul proclaims, “He’s alive! He has risen from the dead!” He now tells us what it means seeing that Christ was raised from the dead. He tells us that because Jesus was raised from the dead, the believer will be resurrected as well.

E.M. Bounds in his book The Glory of the Resurrection writes: “Hope throws its rich luster over the night of the tomb and thrills with deathless joy the heart where the resurrection of Jesus has been realized. We are to come out of the grave because Jesus came out of His grave. Our tombs will be empty of our bodies because Joseph’s new tomb on the third morn was empty of His body.”

Jesus declared in John 14:19, "Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." To the sorrowing family of Lazarus Jesus said: "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). What is Jesus saying? He was declaring that there “ain’t no grave going to hold our body down.” If Jesus does not come in our lifetime and we must face the appointment with death, one day our bodies will be resurrected. As well, our loved ones who died in the Lord; there is coming a day when their bodies will be raised from the dead.

Let’s look at our text and consider this wonderful promise.

1. IT IS A GUARANTEED RESURRECTION

Paul informs those who did not believe that the bodies of the believers would be raised from the dead that one day there would be a resurrection of the body. Furthermore, he states that the resurrection of body is a fact guaranteed. Christ’s own resurrection is the guarantee.

Notice in verses 20-21 what Paul says about Christ’s own resurrection.

A. The Power Of Christ's Resurrection

In Philippians 3:10 Paul expressed a great desire of his heart: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." Paul saw the resurrection as a powerful matter historically, eternally, and personally. In verse 20 he says, “But now is Christ risen from the dead.” The words “is risen” are in the perfect tense indicating that the resurrection of Christ is an historical event in the past, yet the effects of that event are still felt in the present.

It has been 2000 years since Jesus rose again from the dead, but the power of His resurrection is still being felt today. Every time a person gets saved we see the effects and power of His resurrection. There are many whose lives have been totally changed and transformed. There was a time when many of you had nothing to do with eternal things but now the things of God cannot be divorced from your daily existence. What brought about such a drastic reversal in your life? It is the power of His resurrection and the effects that are still felt even this day.

Consider the case of Saul of Tarsus. We see him hastening along the Damascus road, bitter hatred filling his heart for the One called Jesus and all who confess His name. But suddenly the heavens opened and a light brighter than the sun shown down on the wayward persecutor. At once a tremendous change takes place and Saul of Tarsus becomes a new creature and goes forth to defend what he once destroyed. What made the difference? It was his contact with a risen Christ that wrought the miracle, as it has wrought similar miracles in the hearts and lives of untold millions. It is the power of His resurrection that is still felt today.

I was reading the other day about the stone that was rolled away from the tomb where the body of the Lord Jesus lay. It is said that the stone that was rolled from the tomb was a wheel of granite, eight feet in diameter and one foot thick. Rolled into a groove, it would weigh more than 4 tons. (15,000 Illustrations by Paul Lee Tan) I think you would agree it would take great power and strength to roll such a stone away. But the real power exhibited that day was not a power outside the tomb but the power in the tomb. I speak of the power of a resurrected Christ, a power that is still felt today.

B. The Pledge Of Christ's Resurrection

In verse 20 we read that Christ has “become the Firstfruits of them that slept,” and in verse 23 Jesus is called, “Christ the Firstfruits.” The word “Firstfruits” comes from a word meaning “the beginning” and the preposition “from” therefore meaning, “from the beginning.” It is a word associated with the Jewish sacrificial system. They would bring the first of their flocks or harvest as a sacrifice to God to express their gratitude to God. It was an action that consecrated the entire flock or harvest and expressed not only their thanksgiving but also their faith in the future harvest.

When the scriptures speak of Christ as the “Firstfruits” it is speaking of a guarantee of more to come. He is the first of a long line of others that will be raised from the dead. His bodily resurrection is a pledge and guarantee that others are going to follow. Now when you read the Bible you find that Christ was not the first person to be raised from the dead. There are several in the Bible that were raised from the dead but Christ was the first to be raised and never die again. Others that were raised eventually died again. Christ the Firstfruits is the pledge and promise that one day there will be a resurrection of the dead and those that are raised will never die again.

The word “slept” in verse 20 simply speaks of those that have died. We read in verse 21, “For since by man came death…” Literally, “death came through a man.” We are familiar with the story in Genesis and the entrance of death through Adam. God has said to Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen.2:17).

Adam died spiritually for he was separated from God and he eventually died physically for we read in Genesis 5:5, “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.” The death of Adam affects us all for we read in Romans 5:12, " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Death came through man but verse 21 not only tells that death came through man but by another man “came also the resurrection of the dead.” Jesus, God of very God, became man. As a man He died and was buried. But as a man He was also raised from the dead and became the pledge that many more were to going to experience a resurrection from the dead. It is a guaranteed resurrection.

Socrates, the renowned Greek Philosopher, drank the poison hemlock and lay down to die. “Shall we live again?” his friends asked. The dying philosopher could only reply, “I hope so, but no man can know.” Oh, how wrong was Socrates. We don’t have to hope and we do know for Christ’s own resurrection, Christ our Firstfruits is the pledge and guarantee of our own resurrection. As the old-timers used to put, “There is goin’ to be a great gettin’ up morning.”

2. IT IS A GROUP RESURRECTION

In verse 22 we read “all die” and as well “all shall made alive.” The scripture is saying that everyone will die and that everyone will be raised. Now, the “all” takes in everybody, meaning that everyone is going to be resurrected. But, as we shall see, everybody is not in the same group. As we look at our text we find that God sees people in two groups. Let me explain.

A. How God Recognizes Each Group

We read in 22, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." When God looks at the human race He sees us as either “in Adam” or “in Christ.” It doesn’t matter the color of a persons skin, nationality, background, vocation, upper class, middle class, or lower class, in the eyes of God the whole human race is either in the “in Adam” or “in Christ.” Those that are “in Adam” are those who have never been saved. Those that are “in Christ” are those that are saved. All of us are in one of these two groups and classes of people.

Another difference is that those in Adam die. Those in Christ shall be made alive. When the Bible says that those in Adam “all die,” it is not referring to the instantaneous act of dying. It refers to a continuous process of dying. In other words, those who are lost are in the process of dying which brings them closer each day to the final death. That final death I speak of is an eternal separation from God that results in eternity spent in hell.

What is so terrible about death when it comes to those “in Adam” is not the physical part of death, but the eternal death that follows. When the Bible speaks of the wages of sin being death that is what is meant. If you die “in Adam,” lost, having never been saved, hell is awaiting. But on the other hand, those that “in Christ” will live on for eternity in heaven. We read in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Those who are in Christ may have a physical death but they were never experience an eternal death, for those in Christ “shall all be made alive” (Vs.22). We have been given eternal life in Christ. There will be no eternal death. I ask you today, are you “in Adam” or “in Christ?” Have you been saved or are you lost. Are you bound for hell or are you bound for heaven? It all depends on whether or not you are “in Christ” or “in Adam.”

A party of climbers, roped together, were making their way along a snow ridge high up in the Alps, when the leader slipped and fell over the edge of the precipice. The rope attached to him jerked the next man off his feet, and each of the party except the last was in turn dragged over. The last man, an experienced climber, had time between the first slip until the rope tightened around his own body to plunge his ice-axe deeply into the snow, dig his heels into the snow, and brace himself for the coming strain; and when it reached him he held firm. For a short time all hung out in space, with a terrible death threatening them thousands of feet below. Then the first man swarmed up the rope, and over the body of the next who followed after him, and all managed to climb to safety. (Conquering the Fear of Death by Spiros Zodhiates, P.301-302)

The first Adam slipped over the precipice of eternal death and the result was he dragged all mankind after him. But there was One, the God-man, Christ Jesus enabled mankind to climb to safety. Jesus, Who died and rose again the third day, is the rope to safety. Reject Him and there is eternal death. Accept Him and there is eternal life.

B. When God Resurrects Each Group

We read in verse 23, “But every man in his own order.” The word “order” means “to place or station a person or thing in a fixed spot.” The word was a military term describing the separation of soldiers into detachments or into groups. The Bible tells us that every person, “in Adam” and “in Christ;” saved or lost will one day be resurrected from the dead. Both groups will experience a resurrection from the dead but the “when” and time each group is resurrected if different. Each group will be resurrected in “his own order.” We read in Acts 24:15, “…that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.”

In verse 23 Paul tells us when those “in Christ” will be resurrected. We read, “Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” At the “coming” of the Lord Jesus, those that are in Christ will be resurrected. I think of that beloved passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17: "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 prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with 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 the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

One glorious day Jesus is going to return and when He does there is going to be a resurrection. The word “coming” was sometimes used to speak of an invasion of a province by a general. It was a word that described the entrance on the scene of a new and conquering power. Praise God there is One coming on the scene in the near future that is going call up the living and raise up the dead and forever we are going to be with the Lord.

I am glad I can say:

On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of His resurrection share;
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.

I always close out a funeral with words about the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead for it is a great comfort to know that one day, there will be a resurrection and we will be with our loved ones again. We are all, everyone in the group “in Christ,” are going to be resurrected!

In the opening part of verse 24 Paul tells us when the group “in Adam” will be resurrected. We read, “Then cometh the end…” The “end” that Paul speaks of is not the termination of time. The word speaks of the completion or conclusion at which anything arrives. We might say, “The end of the war,” or “The end of the race.” It is speaking of the conclusion of some event of which there had been a certain goal.

Paul is describing that hour when those who died “in Adam” will be raised from the dead. Notice Rev. 20:5, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.” The reference to the “first resurrection” speaks of those who are saved, “in Christ.” Notice Rev. 20:6, “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.”

Those who have part in the “first resurrection” have no part in the “second death.” Just what is meant by the phrase “second death.” It means that those who are lost will one day be resurrected from death and hell to stand before God. Notice Rev. 20:11-13, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”

There will be a day when every lost person will be resurrected from death and hell to stand before God, face God, and be judged by God. This is sometimes called the second resurrection. The difference between the resurrections of those are “in Christ” and those who are “in Adam” is that those who are saved will be raised to never die again and will live in eternity with Christ. But those that are lost will be resurrected and then be cast into the lake of fire that is called the second death. Notice Rev. 20:14-15, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

We have two groups, two resurrections at two different times. I am glad that I will be a part of the first resurrection. Why would anyone hesitate to be saved when there is such a future ahead?

3. A GLORIOUS RESURRECTION

The glory of the resurrection is not only what it will mean to the believer but also for what it will mean to Christ. In verse 24 Paul describes what will follow our resurrection. Paul tells us that the resurrection will be a glorious matter, for afterward, Christ will reign.

A. The Establishment Of His Reign

We read in verse 24, "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father..." After the resurrection of the believer and a period of time we call the tribulation, Christ will reign on this earth for 1,000 years. As Luke describes, He will sit upon the throne of David. Afterward, He will deliver up the kingdom to His Father.

Verse 25 tells us that, "He must reign." There are three "musts" that are related to Christ. He must rise. He must return, and He must reign. he Bible tells us in Romans 14:11, "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." This world as a whole does not recognize Him as Lord and does not bow to His Lordship. But there is coming a day when He shall reign and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Him as Lord.

Peter McKenzie, the famous Methodist preacher, was being shown through Madame Tussaud's Waxworks in London. Coming to one object, the guide said, "This is the chair in which Voltaire sat and wrote his atheistic blasphemies." "Is that the chair?" asked Peter. Then without seeking permission, he stepped over the cord, sat down in the chair, and begin to sing:

Jesus shall reign where'er the sun
Doth His successive journey's run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

One glorious day, Jesus shall reign!

B. The Effects Of His Reign

The effects of His reign are many. We read in verse 24 that He will, "put down all rule and all authority and power." Also in verse 25 we read that He will, "put all enemies under His feet." One day every Christ-rejecting nation, every Christ-rejecting person, as well as every demon in hell along with Satan himself, will be put under His feet.

Verse 26 tells us that even death will be eliminated: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Every foe, every enemy, every adversary will be conquered for, "He hath put all things under His feet" (Vs.27). On that day, "it is manifested that He is excepted" (Vs.27). He will be revealed that He is Lord of lords and Lord of all. It will be a glorious resurrection.