From Resurrection to Return

The ‘Now’ and ‘Not Yet’

-1 Corinthians 15.20-28-

[1 CORINTHIANS 15.20-28] - 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end (telos), when he delivers [hands over] the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted [this does not include the one] who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

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Christ’s resurrection is the first part of the harvest and also that which assures the 

Corinthians that the rest of the harvest will eventually come in.

-Ben Witherington-

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[1 CORINTHIANS 7.29,31] - 29 But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. 31 Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.

[1 CORINTHIANS 10.11] - 11 These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

[GALATIANS 1.4] - 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

[EPHESIANS 4.21-24] - 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

[ROMANS 8.18-23] - 18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

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This [is] the ‘dialogue’ of present and future. It is…the silent belief that lies behind all that [the New Testament] says.

-Oscar Cullmann-

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PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS & IMPLICATIONS OF ‘NOW’ & ‘NOT YET’:

• Marriage:

  • Over-realized expectation: you expect your spouse to be perfect.

  • Under-realized expectation: marriage is a pain and a burden.

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We don't have perfect marriages, but we can have good marriages, wonderful marriages, wonderful marriages that aren't perfect.

• Church:

  • Over-realized expectation: everyone’s looking for that perfect church.

  • Under-realized expectation: churches are bad, churches are horrible, churches are toxic. They're all bad so we're just going to accept that.

• The Christian Life

  • Over-realized expectation: that we can be perfect; that we can be a finished work in this life.

  • Under-realized expectation: we're just sinners; we're fundamentally busted up and broken down.

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It is clear…that the resurrection is not simply one event among many but is the quintessential way that Scripture is fulfilled and is the means by which Jesus as Messiah is Lord of all. The resurrection, in short, is the ‘hope of Israel,’ and this hope has broken into history through Jesus of Nazareth.

-Brandon Crowe-