Life Everlasting

SERMON NOTES

Sunday, March 29, 2026
This We Believe #8: Life Everlasting

Main Text: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

What is the Christian view of everlasting life?

1. Jesus will return, and the dead will rise.  (1 Cor 15:52)

Two resurrections, two destinies:

• Those in Christ rise to everlasting life with Him (JI Packer quote)
• Those who reject Christ rise to face the second death

2. Believers will have resurrected, perfected bodies like Jesus.
(1 Cor 15:20-23)

Two helpful illustrations:

• Seed vs Tree (15:36-38)
• Moon vs Sun (15:39-41)

The Great Contrast (15:42-54)

3. Death will be finally destroyed (1 Cor 15:55-57)

How then should we live TODAY in light of this FUTURE hope?

1. Don’t give up or lose heart.
2. Make sure others know Christ.
3. Keep your eyes on eternity.

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Opening Illustration

We live in a culture that does everything it can to avoid thinking about death. We stay busy, we distract

ourselves, and we fill every quiet moment with noise—phones, screens, schedules. We’ve learned how to

push death to the margins of life, keeping it at a distance in hospitals, funeral homes, and places we don’t visit

unless we have to.

And for the most part, that works—until it doesn’t.

Every once in a while, something breaks through. A diagnosis. A tragedy. A phone call you weren’t expecting.

And in that moment, all the distractions fade, and you’re confronted with something you’ve known all along

but rarely stop to consider.

Every one of us will walk through that door one day. Every one of us will take our final breath.

And when that moment comes, the things that seem so important right now won’t matter nearly as much.

Your job won’t matter. Your schedule won’t matter. Your achievements won’t matter.

The only thing that will matter is this:

What is waiting for you on the other side?

What is your hope in the face of death?

Need

We don’t just need comfort when we face death.

We need a hope that is real, a hope that can actually stand up to reality.

Because when you step back and look at the world around us, you quickly realize that people have very

different answers to this question.

Some believe that nothing happens at all. When you die, you simply return to the dust. Your body breaks

down, your consciousness disappears, and your existence comes to an end. And if that’s true, then ultimately

nothing really matters. Your life has no lasting meaning, and your choices have no eternal consequence. So the

best you can do is make the most of the time you have—eat, drink, and be happy—because this life is all there

is.

Others believe in some form of reincarnation, that you come back again and again in different forms, moving

through an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The goal is to improve yourself enough to eventuallyescape that cycle. But the problem is that no one can clearly tell you how good is good enough. You’re left

striving, trying, hoping you’ve done enough to move forward, but never really knowing where you stand.

And then there are those who believe that everyone goes to heaven. In the end, we all leave this broken world

behind and step into some version of eternal peace. It doesn’t really matter how you live or what you

believe—eventually, we all make it. And while that may sound comforting on the surface, it doesn’t account

for justice, it doesn’t address the problem of our sin in the face of God’s holiness, and it doesn’t take the

brokenness we all see and experience in this world seriously.

So we’re left with a deeper question that we can’t avoid forever:

What is actually true? What really happens when we die?

And more importantly, what is our hope in the face of death?

Subject

So today, we’re going to look at what the Bible actually says and answer this question:

What is the Christian hope for everlasting life?

Can you open your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 and stand for the reading of God’s Word?

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58

THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION BODY

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?”

36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow—you are not

sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain. 38 But God gives it a body as

he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for

humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly

bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41 There is a

splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star

in splendor.

42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; 43 sown in dishonor,

raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; 44 sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a

natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being;, the

last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the man of dust,

so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we

have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

VICTORIOUS RESURRECTION

50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can

corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all

be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, andthe dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible body must be

clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible

body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is

written will take place:

Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?,

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work,

because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Preview:

– What is the Christian view of everlasting life?

– How does that change the way we live today?

Sermon:

The apostles’s creed ends with a one-sentence summary of our Christian hope:

“I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen.”

Let’s unpack this statement book working our way through 1 Corinthians 15…

What is the Christian view of everlasting life?

I want to walk through Paul’s theology of the return of Christ sequentially, so it makes sense to us in

chronological order. Here’s the events he lays out.

1. Jesus will return and the dead will rise.

Paul writes, “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

This is not symbolic language. Paul is not speaking metaphorically about spiritual renewal or emotional

transformation. He is describing a future, physical, historical reality that will take place when Christ returns.

The same God who raised Jesus from the dead will raise His people from the dead.

Christianity does not teach that death is the end, nor does it teach that we simply live on in memory. It

teaches that the dead will rise.

Two resurrections, two destinies

The Bible is clear that every person will be raised, but not every person will experience eternity in the same

way.

Those in Christ → everlasting life with Him

This is the hope of the Christian life. Not just survival after death, but life with a Person.(SHOW QUOTE)

As J. I. Packer writes: “Being with Jesus is the essence of heaven; it is what the life everlasting is all about.”

Heaven is not primarily about a place, though it is real. It is about a relationship restored and fully realized.

Life everlasting is life in the presence of Christ, where everything that sin has broken is finally made whole.

If you don’t want to be with Jesus now, why would you want to be with Jesus forever?

Those who reject Christ → the second death

The Bible is equally clear that there is another reality.

From Revelation 20:14–15 (CSB):

“Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone

whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Not everyone experiences eternity the same way. The difference is not whether you will rise—the difference is

where you will spend forever.

The lake of fire is a metaphor for real suffering and eternal judgment.

So the most important question is not simply, “Do you believe in life after death?”

The question is: Are you in Christ?

Second step in Paul’s theology of the last days…

2. Believers will have resurrected, perfected bodies like Jesus

One of the convictions that sets Christianity apart is its high view of the physical body. This impacts our view

of stewarding our health, our view of gender and marriage, our view of suicide, on and on I could go. Very

important part of Christian theology.

Listen to Paul’s words a little earlier in this chapter in 1 Corinthians 15:20–23…

20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For

since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in

Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits;

afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

According to this promise, Jesus is the first resurrection of many. What happened to Him will happen to us.

We celebrate His victory over death, his resurrection, as a foretaste of what we will all experience who are in

Christ.

The Christian hope for the future is that we will have perfected, glorified, resurrected bodies. This is what the

creed is saying, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” We will not be ethereal, disembodied spirits

floating around the clouds forever – that sounds awful and boring.We will have new, perfected bodies that will exist on a new, perfected earth. What is the connection between

our current bodies and our future bodies?

Paul gives us two illustrations in today’s passage to help us understand our future hope:

Seed → Tree (15:36–38) – SHOW PICTURE

You don’t plant a tree—you plant a seed. The acorn falls from the tree, is buried in the ground, and then from

that separation and brokenness comes a beautiful creation.

And what comes out of the ground is far greater than what went into it.

Your current body is the acorn.

Your resurrection body is the oak tree.

There is continuity—but also transformation.

Same DNA, but totally different in form and beauty.

Moon → Sun (15:39–41) – SHOW PICTURE

The moon and the sun both shine—but not with the same glory.

Your current body is like the moon—

limited, fading, fragile.

Your future body will be like the sun—

radiant, powerful, full of glory.

The point of both of these illustrations is to use things we are familiar with to help us understand something

we are unfamiliar with.

The passage goes one step further to lay out the detailed contrast between the two bodies.

The Great Contrast (15:42–54)

This gets a little technical, but I want to say exactly what the text says:

Earthly Body Definition Heavenly Body Definition

Corruption (φθορά)

A body subject to decay,

deterioration, and

ultimately death under

the effects of sin.

Incorruption (ἀφθαρσία)

A body completely free

from decay, death, and

deterioration, perfectly

sustained forever by

God’s power.

Dishonor (ἀτιμία)

A body marked by the

shame, frailty, and

humiliation that come

from living in a fallen

world.

Glory (δόξα)

A body radiating honor,

beauty, and fullness of

life as it reflects the

splendor of God.Weakness (ἀσθένεια)

A body limited by

sickness, fatigue,

vulnerability, and

inability in a broken

creation.

Power (δύναμις)

A body fully energized

and empowered by God,

no longer limited by

weakness or decay.

Mortal (θνητός)

A body destined to die,

bound to a temporary

existence under the

curse of sin.

Immortal (ἀθανασία)

A body incapable of

death, fully alive forever

in the presence of God.

This is not a small upgrade.

This is a complete transformation.

Not just better—glorified.

The third and final step in our future hope:

3. Death will be finally destroyed

In 1 Corinthians 15:55–57, Paul quotes two Old Testament promises (one from Isaiah and one from Hosea) to

celebrate the end of death altogether:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, death, is your victory?

Where, death, is your sting?”

Because of Jesus:

• Sin is defeated
• Death is defeated
• The grave is defeated

Listen to the promise of Revelation 21:4 of what will happen with Christ returns:

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more,

because the previous things have passed away.”

No sin.

No suffering.

No injustice.

No funerals.

No death.

Just life with Christ forevermore.

How then should we live in light of this future hope?

Paul doesn’t end with theology—he ends with application.

1. Don’t give up or lose heart.

(1 Corinthians 15:58)

“Be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work…”

Don’t give up.

Don’t drift.

Don’t grow weary.

This world can beat you up. Jesus promised that we would have trials in this life.

The hope of the Christian faith is NOT that this life will be easy.

But that God will be with us through it all, and that nothing we go through today is in VAIN. It’s not empty.

How do we know that? Because eternity is coming, resurrection is coming.

Jesus is coming. Don’t give up or lose heart, my friends. God will make all things right in the end.

2. Make sure others know Christ

If this is true—

then evangelism is not optional.

People are not just choosing a belief system.

They are choosing their eternal destiny.

This should give us urgency, boldness, and compassion.

I want to celebrate the 43 people, children, students, and adults who have signed up to be baptized on Easter

and to make their faith in Jesus public before this church family.

God is moving to draw people to himself.

If you are here and you don’t know Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you haven’t made the decision to follow

Jesus, there is no more important decision that you can make.

Your eternal destiny rests on what you do with Jesus. So, take the step to trust Him today.

And all those of us who know Christ: take the step to tell someone else about Jesus today.

3. Keep your eyes on eternity

We live in a culture obsessed with the temporary.Paul lifts our eyes to the eternal.

What you are walking through right now—

pain, loss, aging, suffering—

is not the end of your story.

But also all the blessings and joys you are experiencing right now, is not the end of your story either.

This LIFE is not the end. It is the beginning. Keep the eternal in view.

This is why we labor in Christ, we pray and serve, we give sacrificially to expand our future ministry footprint

and invest in what God is doing through Cityview and other ministries.

Because eternity is real and Jesus is coming.

Final Invitation

On the first Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to shouts of praise and adoration:

“Praise the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Some celebrated, some ignored, and some rejected.

In the same way, Jesus will enter His creation again one day to shouts of praise and adoration.

All who have longed for his return will rejoice that He has come to make all things right, to renew and restore

His creation, and put a final end to death and sin.

On that day, will you be ready to celebrate His return?