Gary Martin Service
Monday, February 25 (died February 20, 2013)
Note: Gary and Diane Martin were faithful members of First Free Wichita during both of my tenures there.
Obituary: W. Gary Martin, 71, Allstate Insurance agent, died Feb. 21, 2013. He was preceded in death by father, William H. Martin. Survivors include wife, Diane; sons, Jeff Martin of Wichita and Eric Martin of Milford, NE; mother, Betty Martin of Wichita; grandchildren, Lauren Martin, Carlie Martin, Garrett Martin, Austin Martin and Justin Martin; niece, Kristin Dahm of Wichita; and nephews, Trey Frederick of Wichita and Trent Frederick of Winter Garden, FL.
Message: Sundays won’t be the same without Gary Martin. For years I have walked down the center aisle before first service and have greeted the early birds who always sit in the same spot–Dorothy Watkins in the last row on the right, then two rows in front of her are Neal and Lareah Danielson, and then right in front of them are Gary and Diane Martin. As hard as it was for him to stand, Gary always wanted to stand to greet his pastor. And you’d best not have any sore fingers if you were going to shake hands with Gary. What a grip he had! I will miss him a lot.
I want to talk to you today on the topic, “Is there any future for the human body once death overtakes us?” We all know there’s a future for our spirits, our persons, for the Scripture teaches us that “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” But what about the body itself? What happens to it? When we place our friend Gary in the grave, are we saying goodbye for good to that familiar form we have grown to love, to that twinkle in the eye, to that strong hand shake, to that deep bass voice?
I’ve chosen this as the topic of our meditation because Gary was once quite a physical specimen, playing football, serving in the Coast Guard, strong as an ox. Even after his legs and his heart betrayed him, his upper body was still strong, and no one I know would want to challenge him to an arm wrestling contest. But old football injuries caught up with him, this legs gave out, his heart deteriorated, and eventually it just stopped. Sad? Definitely. Depressing? Perhaps, especially when we consider that many of us will end up with similar issues, maybe worse. But hopeless? No way.
The Bible tells us that believers in Jesus Christ have a great future ahead of them, and I’m not just talking about their spirits; I’m talking also about their physical bodies. The Apostle Paul took an entire chapter in the New Testament to tell us about the resurrection–first the resurrection of Christ, then the resurrection of the believer. Much of that long chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, focuses on the fact that the resurrection is physical and bodily. Just as Jesus’s actual physical body came back to life, leaving the tomb empty, so will be the case for His followers. And Gary Martin was a follower of Jesus.
If you’re skeptical that there’s any future for a body after death, you’re not alone. Nineteen hundred years ago some members of the Corinthian church posed some skeptical questions on this very issue. The Apostle Paul had just presented a number of logical, water-tight arguments about the resurrection body when he interrupted himself with some questions he knew some were asking. I’m reading from 1 Corinthians 15:35:
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” (Paul responds) You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.”
I want to stop there and ask you to notice the structure of this passage. Two questions appear in verse 35 and the answers constitute the rest of the passage. The first question is, “How are the dead raised?” And the second is, “And with what kind of body do they come?”
Those questions sound legitimate enough; after all, we’re all curious about such things. But in this case the people asking are not really seeking information; they are demonstrating an attitude of scorn and unbelief. The sense of the original Greek is this: “How can you be so gullible as to think the dead will be raised? The human body is weak and decaying, and when you put it in the ground, that’s the end of it.” It’s this skeptical and contemptuous attitude that elicits Paul’s response, “You foolish person!” He has little patience with someone who wants to make bodily resurrection appear ridiculous.
To question One: “How are the dead raised?”, or “How is it possible for dead, decaying bodies to be resurrected?”, Paul offers a two-fold response:
Death always precedes new life. (36) Death and decay, far from being a hindrance to resurrection, are a necessary prerequisite to it. An analogy from nature helps to press home the point: “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” You can have a whole sack of grass seed, but as long as you keep it dry and on the shelf in the garage it will never sprout. However, if you take it out and plant it in the dark, damp soil so that the seed begins to decay, then it will sprout. If this is true in the realm of gardening, which Gary loved so much, why is it so hard to believe in regard to the body? Our present bodies are like “seed” for our resurrection bodies. (37-38). No decay, no growth. No death, no resurrection.
Interestingly, Jesus used the same kind of argument when speaking of His own resurrection in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” Before Christ could bear the fruit of salvation for all of us, He had to die; His death then produced a great harvest of souls. Likewise, before we can enjoy resurrection life, we too must die. There has to be an end to the old before there can be a beginning of the new.
The second question was: “What kind of body will the resurrection body be?” Paul responds that our resurrection bodies will be similar to our present bodies. (37-38). But they will also be different from our present bodies. (37, 42-44)
The seed analogy serves well here, too. Verse 37: “What you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel.” When a farmer plants corn, he doesn’t plant the luscious ears of corn, all yellow and juicy, that he hopes to harvest. No, he plants bare corn seeds. So also, when a dead body is planted in the ground, it is just a bare seed in comparison to the resurrection body which will take its place.
But just because what is planted and what sprouts are not identical does not mean that there is no similarity between them. As a matter of fact, there is always an organic relation between them. Verse 38 expresses it this way: “But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body (i.e., a body which corresponds to the seed planted).” If you plant a corn seed, you’re going to get a corn plant, not wheat or cucumbers or an oak tree.
So also, the resurrection body will have an organic connection to or continuity with the present body. God is going to fashion our resurrection bodies out of these present bodies. When Gary’s body is resurrected it will still be Gary! Isn’t that encouraging? We will recognize him. His unique personality will still be there, minus the irritations, of course.
In verses 42-44 Paul explains four key ways in which the resurrection body will be different, and this should be very encouraging to those of us who watched Gary’s body deteriorate: “What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” The first contrast has to do with …
Permanence. Our physical bodies are perishable; our resurrection bodies will be imperishable. The word “perishable” means “subject to deterioration and decay.” Medical science indicates that the process of aging and deterioration begins in infancy, but, of course, the older we get, the more we notice it. Gary’s body gave out on him, limited him, and caused him great frustration. And death rapidly accelerates the rate of decay. One of the reasons bodies are embalmed is to retard the deterioration, but nothing, not even mummification, will prevent it.
However, the resurrection body will be “imperishable.” Our new bodies will know no sickness, decay, deterioration or death. No surgeries needed, no walkers required, no pain experienced. The resurrection body will be permanent.
The second contrast has to do with …
Value and potential. “It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.” By this Paul probably means that because of sin, our bodies, which were originally created to bring honor to God, have become characterized instead by dishonor. We dishonor God when we misuse and abuse our bodies; we dishonor God by not taking advantage of the gifts and abilities He as placed in us; we dishonor Him when our physical passions dominate us. But in the life to come our bodies will no longer be the servants of passion and impulse, but rather the instruments of service for God, perfected for pleasing, praising and enjoying the Creator, who made our bodies, and the Redeemer, who restored them. That is the highest honor and glory imaginable.
The third contrast is in regard to …
Strength and ability. “It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.” The human body is a truly amazing instrument. Man has never been able, and likely never will be able, to build a camera to match the human eye, or a tool to do what the human hand can do, or a computer capable of the intricate thought patterns of the human brain. When we contemplate such facts, we are inclined to think of our physical bodies as very powerful. But, of course, as we get older there is actually much more evidence of weakness than power in our bodies. The body sags, it groans, it aches.
Our physical constitution so often says to our dreams and plans, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Gary never gave up on trying to make his body function. Just a few weeks ago he was out roto-tilling his garden in preparation for the coming spring! By himself! When Eric up in Nebraska heard about that, he called Jeff and said, “Dad has lost his mind!” Well, God promises that Gary’s new body will be raised in power. Whatever his heavenly spirit determines to do, his heavenly body will be able to carry out.
The final contrast is in regard to …
Sphere of operation. “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” It is very important that we not interpret this contrast wrongly. Paul is not saying that our present bodies are material whereas our resurrection bodies will be immaterial. Rather I think his point is that our present bodies are natural and our resurrection bodies will be supernatural. Our present bodies are a kind of “earth suit” designed for time but not for eternity. Prof. J.A. Schep, who wrote one of the classic books on resurrection defines a “spiritual body” as follows: “a body of flesh completely dominated by the Spirit’s powers, living in space and time and yet not enslaved to present laws of space and time.”[i]
To summarize, our resurrection bodies will have continuity with our present bodies, but there will be discontinuity as well, sameness but difference. Isn’t that exactly what we see when we look at the body of Jesus in His post-resurrection appearances? He appeared and disappeared at will. He could walk through doors without opening them, being essentially unlimited by space and time. Yet he still bore the wounds in his hands and side. He still sat down with His disciples to eat and drink with them, though it’s difficult to imagine He needed nourishment. He was recognized at times but not at other times. He generally operated within the laws of nature, but wasn’t bound by them. He was remarkably the same, yet remarkably different. Our resurrection bodies, too, will experience both continuity and discontinuity with our present bodies.
Well, So what? What practical conclusions should we draw this morning after hearing what the Apostle has to say about the resurrection body? I want to suggest three:
1. We should face the fact that none of us is getting any younger. I encourage all of us to realize this morning that in respect to eternity our lives are but a vapor–here today and gone tomorrow.
2. We should face the fact that eternity is coming. There is life after death, but it won’t be the same for everyone, for the Bible makes it clear that for some it will be a time of incredible joy and blessing; for others it will be a time of shame and loss and suffering. But it is coming.
3. We should face the fact that now is the time to prepare for eternity. The Bible tells us that where and how we spend eternity depends upon what we do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ now. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 5:24ff:
I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live….
Have you crossed over from death to life?
Friends, I want to close with two verses from the book of 1 John: (3:2-3: “Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known.” We can know we are children of God if we have put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, but there’s much about the exact nature of our resurrection bodies we cannot know. We can’t have all our questions answered. Then John goes on, “But when (not if) He appears (i.e., when Jesus Christ returns), we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” The order of events is this: He appears. We see him. We shall be like Him.
What a hope! What a difference that makes to everything in life! It transforms the way we act and the way we think. It transforms our dreams, our aspirations, and what we do with our time. Everything is changed–for our departed loved one, and for us–if we know his Lord and Savior.
Prayer: Father, thank you that you have not left us without hope. You know we are grieving, just as Jesus grieved when his good friend Lazarus died. But our grief is not without hope. You have given us promises for the future–that we will spend eternity with you, not as disembodied spirits but with new bodies that are imperishable, glorious, powerful, and supernatural. Help Diane and her dear family to grasp the grandeur of this future for their beloved Gary. And help all of us to believe you when you promise that we, too, can experience the same if we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Conclusion: One of Gary’s best friends is Jim Ritter. Gary loved Jim’s saxophone, and he especially enjoyed hearing Jim play “When the Saints Go Marching In.” He knew that wasn’t likely to make it into our Sunday morning repertoire, but this is Monday morning, and so we’ve asked Jim to come and honor his friend while Bill Wullshleger accompanies him vocally.
Thank you, Jim and Bill. Please remain seated while the family is dismissed. They will be in the courtyard and would be pleased to greet you all.
[i] J. A Schep, The Nature of the Resurrection Body, Eerdmans, 1964.