The Beginning of hope

1 Corinthians 15:20

1 Corinthians 15: 20-23

Colossians 1: 1-15

2 Corinthians 5: 8

John 14: 1-6

Luke 23:43

Revelation 21:1-8

Psalm 96:13

Psalm 98

Romans 8:18-30

Romans 8:1-11

2 Samuel 7: 12-17

John 20:19

Ephesians 1:10

1 Peter 1:3-7

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

Philippians 3:7-11

Philippians 3:20-21

Psalm 96:10

Ephesians 4:1-6

Ephesians 3:8-21

The Beginning of Hope

With Rev. Brian Moseley

1 Corinthians 15:20

“20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

 First fruit: with a harvest yet to come

–          Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection and new world.

–          He is the example of what is to come.

–          He not only died for us, he rose for us and ushered in the beginning of the Kingdom and earth uniting. It was not the end of his will that the start of new creation.

–          Something new has happened. Reversal and preparation.

–          Jesus is the example of what is to come: he died, then three days passed, and then the resurrection. This is the example of the first fruits of what is to come for all of us.

–          We will die, a short period in paradise (which is God’s presence- the garden), then the new heaven and earth with the resurrected bodies living with Jesus here on a new earth.

–          Doctor N. T. Wright calls it “life after, life after death”.

–          What God did through his spirit for Jesus and the resurrection, he will do for all of us who are his children upon his return. He will raise us in new bodily life to share in the bodily life in his new world.

–          In 1 Corinthians 15: 20-23 it says

“The Last Enemy Destroyed

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

–          As our bodies will be resurrected the world will be resurrected into perfection and sanctification. All death and corruption will be reversed. Jesus’s resurrection was the beginning of the reversal.

–          In Colossians 1: 1-15 it says He was the first born

“Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Their Faith in Christ

3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

Preeminence of Christ

9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Heaven is not the destination; it is a season:

–          The main focus of the modern church is on what happens after we die. It is often asked “where are they now?” The New Testament doesn’t focus on this very much.

In 2 Corinthians 5: 8 it says

“8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”

And in John 14: 1-6, Jesus taught the disciples where he will bring all who belong to him before his return. Into the presence of God.

“The Way, the Truth, and the Life

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

–          In review, Jesus told the repentant thief on the cross “Today you will be with me in paradise (the garden) in Luke 23:43

–          It isn’t the destination; it is the blissful season where we wait for the ultimate destination.

–          For Jesus, that destination came three days later and at his coming, those who belong to him will rise as he has been raised. Jesus will take his people with him for a moment and then when the time comes, give them new bodily life in the new world.

–          New creation is guaranteed by his resurrection. There is no chance for evil to enter again. All chaos is removed, as the sea is dried up (John’s symbolic writing) in new creation.

Revelation 21:1-8

“All Things Made New

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The children of God long for his judgement: making things right on his return.

–          Being a just God, he longs to put all things right. Not to destroy all his good creation but reversing corruption.

Psalm 96:13

“13     before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.”

Psalm 98

“A Song of Praise to the Lord for His Salvation and Judgment

A Psalm.

98 Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
2 The Lord has made known His salvation;
His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
5 Sing to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
Shout joyfully before the Lord, the King.

7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
The world and those who dwell in it;
8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
Let the hills be joyful together
9     before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
With righteousness He shall judge the world,
And the peoples with equity.

–          We who love Jesus Christ and our father in heaven should desire God’s love and justice because it is life and justice.

–          We were made to rule in God’s creation with gentle stewardship, because we know our father does the same for us.

Romans 8:18-30

“From Suffering to Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of [a]corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

–          It has to do with rescue and renewal not to destroy the world but to save it by God’s justice and righteousness.

The results of the resurrection: agents of the Kingdom and eternal life now.

Romans 8:1-11

“Free from Indwelling Sin

8 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

–          The resurrection creates new out of the old, renewal, freedom, rescue and redemption.

–          The project has already begun.

–          The dark powers have been overthrown.

–          It was a fulfillment of prophecy.

2 Samuel 7: 12-17

“12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

17 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.”

–          The resurrection aligned and reset all things in this world.

John 20:19

“The Apostles Commissioned

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

–          New creation is to be put to work in the world by the Holy Spirit. We are to be the agents of new creation, working and proclaiming. The Holy Spirit in us who have been spiritually resurrected and raised from the water and the death, are the temple of God’s presence here and are to spread new creation out into the world. We are the life bringers of salt and light, bringing heaven and earth together but knowing this is a shadow of what is to come.

–          Heaven (God’s space) and earth (our space) are not a million miles apart. That belief and practice is epicureanism (Greek, Pagan influence). The letter to the Ephesians counters this view.

–          Heaven and earth were designed to overlap and interlock. We were created for the specific purpose of standing at the threshold between the two. This is the original Jewish / Hebrew view, and that of the first century church.

Ephesians 1:10

“10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.”

–          The power of the age to come has already been set loose in this evil time by the resurrection through God’s people.

–          God has fulfilled all through Jesus and has thereby fulfilled his promises to the human race, for those who are totally open and devoted to him.

–          God will do for all who believe on Jesus, what he did for Jesus on Easter.

–          He will renew the physical and the spiritual, combining them together.

–          God’s will isn’t about all of us leaving corruption to go up to Jesus. It is about Jesus coming down to transform this world into what he wants it to be and to transform us into the people he wants us to be.

–          Jesus confronts Peter with love, forgiveness and fresh Commission in John 21: 15-17. This is what resurrection means!

Sanctification through the hope of the resurrection: a day in the life of a Kingdom agent:

1 Peter 1:3-7

“A Heavenly Inheritance

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,”

–          When sorrow and difficulty come, the first things we should look to are the empty tomb and the resurrection.

–          In verse 1:3 We have been born again with a New Hope through the resurrection. For Peter it was a realization that the world was much different than he thought and God’s plans were much bigger. The future hope was being forged right before him and the future of humanity was being redefined by all that he had seen.

–          Hope transforms us.

–          Humans need hope. We need to see “a greater end” that transcends our circumstances. We need to “see or imagine” life past the moment.

–          The first thing Peter does is turn their attention to the hope of the resurrection.

–          He shows us the way to access this living hope by not denying the tragedy, suffering and corruption of this world, but by letting it engulf us and then be transformed by faith. Then we come out on the other side as people of profound wisdom and joy. People who are not crushed by our sufferings but made into more beautiful creations.

–          In verse 4 and 5 we have been brought to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfaded, and kept in heaven. But not a heaven that is far away, rather our inheritance resides in the one that resides in us, in God’s keeping and through his spirit. The completion of this inheritance will take place on Jesus’s return. This is in concordance with our faith (knowing God’s love for you and trusting him!).

–          He teaches us in verse 6, that to be a follower of Jesus and holding on to the hope of the resurrection creates joy. We receive revelation and purity of our faith through the difficulties in trials. This results in praise in God’s glory and honor in Jesus Christ that results from joy.

–          Faith is like the gold that remains after the fire not increased but purified.

–          The resurrection of Jesus provides the living hope and gives us a gift through the process of suffering, that transforms us into a new and different kind of creation that possesses humility and wisdom. It is not denial!

–          It is allowing the fire to purify your faith; this is done by embracing the struggles.

–          Our hope isn’t just in our personal destiny but something outside of us. Jesus’s death and resurrection showed the love he has for us. He became what we were, so we can become what he is. It is the future of humanity that walked out of that tomb. Is your hope in someone or something that will fail or in something that is eternal now?

The reign of Jesus has already begun: through unity

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

“The Last Enemy Destroyed

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

–          These scriptures unfold the promise. The present time that we live in is the overlap of God’s rescue and is an act of love. He delays waiting on all of those who are being called by his spirit and his word, to the gospel. He implements Jesus’s present sovereignty on earth through his people. It is the ongoing battle of Jesus implementing his victory won the cross and to put all his enemies under his feet.

–          Jesus reigns now! The last enemy is death and that will only happen at the time of his return and renewal of this world. New line the defeat of death isn’t casting the body aside and going to heaven that is the description of death. It is the season before the return where God will be All in all.

Philippians 3:7-11

“7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Philippians 3:20-21

“20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

–          We are citizens of heaven and are to be agents of heaven’s culture here on this earth until the day when Jesus comes and completes the process, giving us our glorious, Resurrected new bodies.

Psalm 96:10

“10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

–          Jesus is already reigning! He does this through us in this world by the power of his spirit.

–          We are meant to do this in unity and holiness as the body of Christ. This is the result of the resurrection and making us new creatures.

–          Our obedience and submission to Jesus by his spirit, are examples of new creation. Heaven on earth now displays the signs of life.

Ephesians 4:1-6

“Walk in Unity

4 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in [c]you all.

Ephesians 3:8-21

“Purpose of the Mystery

8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Appreciation of the Mystery

14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.