A Mystery Revealed
February 22, 2022
A Mystery Revealed
By Brooke Holt
“Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” - 1 Corinthians 15:45-53
Right here, right now you resemble the first man Adam in the sense that you were created from the dust and to the dust you shall return. Life came and remains in you through the breath of God. That is your reality and the reality of every living being. Yet, in this same passage from Paul’s letter, he shared a divine mystery. This was something that had previously been withheld from God’s people but was then revealed through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Do you know the mystery? Though every living being is like Adam in his or her creation, not every person will die as Adam did. There will be some people who are here on this earth when Jesus returns. Those people will not die a natural death but will instead be transformed. Their perishable bodies will become imperishable bodies. Their mortality will be transformed to immortality. Why? Because no one can enter the kingdom of God while in these natural bodies. God’s glory would consume us.
That mystery is revealed that you might live in the hope of hearing that trumpet sound and that you would be ready for the divine transformation. In fact, today is like the rehearsal for that final day. We practice godliness in developing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are all expressions of the divine nature that we will fully inhabit in those resurrected bodies.
Even those greatly debated spiritual gifts that Paul has been addressing, those, too, are for practicing and anticipating what is to come. As we mortal beings experience God’s supernatural work in us through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is a foretaste of what we will be when we see him face to face.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ revealed the mystery of what we shall be as well as part of the plan for that final day. The Lord invites you to the daily practice of his transformation knowing that the best is yet to come.
Reflection:
Do you think about the second coming of Jesus Christ, and are you preparing yourself for that day? You may be part of that great revealed mystery—the one who never tastes death physically but is simply transformed to glory. We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Related Resource:
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a "gift" who will guide us, lead us, and empower us. Yet many believers don't experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This unique Christian small group Bible study provides a space in which we can explore what it truly means to "walk in the Spirit" on a daily basis. The Spirit-Filled Life small group curriculum centers on a 6-part video teaching series examining the life-giving and creative work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Begin to experience the gift today!
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