"There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body."-1 Corinthians, c. av., part of v. 44.

These words are very familiar to us; but have we ever asked ourselves what they really mean, what they involve? St. Paul is speaking here of the resurrection of the dead. Some of his Corinthian converts had doubted the resurrection, the possibility of the resurrection. For like Nicodemus when our Lord told him of the new birth, and he asked how can these things be The Corinthians had mistaken the nature of the thing that was offered to them for belief; and they had asked strange questions about the nature of the resurrection. And like those Sadducees who tried to pose our Lord with difficult questions about marriage and the resurrection, they erred, not knowing the scripture nor the Power of God.

So when St. Paul says some man will say, "How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come?" Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die." He is replying to, he is meeting the objections of those persons who had denied the possibility or the probability of the resurrection.

On turning to the former part of the chapter you will see that St. Paul proves from undeniable testimony that our Lord has risen. That he was seen on many occasions by his most intimate disciples, and even by 500 brethren at once; and by the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ he shows the falseness of the position of those who deny the resurrection at the last day. For if one man has risen others may. And then he points out that Jesus Christ is the first fruits of the great harvest at the resurrection day. Death indeed came into the world by the sin of one man, but then by one man also came immortality and the resurrection from the dead. For although in Adam all die, yet in Christ all will be made alive. He shows also that the Christian faith requires a consummation of this kind, and that it lacks completeness without it. That without the resurrection his preaching is nonsense, and forgiveness of sins a fiction; and if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable. Christianity puts a number of restraints upon us which are not pleasant to our lower nature; we must bridle our tongue and not obey the sinful lusts of the flesh; we must give up many things in which we should like to indulge, and all for what purpose if there be no resurrection: better, says, the Apostle is the Epicurean dictum, let us eat and drink for to-morrow we die.

For

But do not deceive yourselves the resurrection is a reality. The resurrection of Jesus Christ has settled the question, has put it beyond a doubt, therefore awake to righteousness, and sin not that you may have a joyful resurrection. And now, he says, let me tell you something about it; there are two kinds of bodies, there is a natural body and there is a spiritual body, there is a terrestial body and a celestial body, there is a body of earth and a body of heaven. It may be strange to you as you see the natural body lowered into the grave and hidden from sight; a body worn out with disease it may be, it may seem strange that there should be any further life for that in store. For we watch in the late autumn

"And see the calm leaves float

Each to his rest beneath their parent shade.

How like decaying life they seem to glide!
And yet no second spring have they in store,
But where they fall forgotten to abide
Is all their portion, and they ask no more.

Unconscious they in waste oblivion lie,

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In all the world of busy life around

No thought of them; in all the bounteous sky
No drop, for them, of kindly influence found.
Man's portion is to die and rise again."

But says, the Apostle, have you ever considered the fate of a seed which is put into the earth? It is put into the ground, buried out of sight, and perishes, and yet lives again in another form. "That which thou sowest, thou sowest not that which shall be, but bare grain it may chance of wheat or of some other grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him and to every seed its own body"; and this decay of the seed, this process through which it passes is analagous to that through which the natural body of man passes.

"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour; 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. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body." Thus St. Paul leads us up to a very important truth, which we shall do well to think about, viz., that there is such a thing as a "spiritual body," for, I believe, that for the majority of Christians the idea of a “spiritual body" is a very vague and unreal one, they think of a spirit which has no body at all, or they think of a natural and carnal body which must see corruption, but they do not think of a "spiritual body," of a body made up of a spiritual substance, i.e., of an immortal, heavenly, and yet of a tangible substance, and the reason why men do not think sufficiently of this which St. Paul tells us exists and will be ours at the resurrection, is not far to seek. It is because they have no experience of such a substance; but this is no reason at all why it should not be. For God who formed these natural bodies of dust can easily form spiritual bodies out of the same material transformed, and then, there may be forces in nature with which we are now unacquainted, which will bring this to pass in the ordinary course of things; for there is a force in the universe called Electricity which was unknown to us for ages; and so it is quite possible that there may be other powers in nature hidden now from us which will produce unexpected and marvellous results.

But there was once a time when men had some experience of what this spiritual body, which will be ours after the resurrection, was like. And this was during the forty days spent by our Lord on earth after the first Easter Day. He was then living in His resurrection body. How different was His mode of life compared with what it had been before His death and burial! He is no longer talking familiarly in the market place, in the lanes, or by the lake side to his disciples. He is no longer mixing with the world at large, eating and drinking at their marriages and feasts.

Now it is" touch me not " to his most intimate friends. Those who knew Him best scarcely recognise Him, and are afraid of his presence. His body is no longer subject to the conditions of time and space. He appears how and when He will. Suddenly, as the apostles sit in the room, no door is opened, no sound is heard, Jesus stands in the midst. He is no mere spirit. He can still speak and eat, and He has the same body as of old, for Thomas must reach hither his finger and thrust it into His side. It is the same body sown in dishonour and raised in glory. Again, He has no abode. He appears in Gallilee, and as two disciples walk to Emmans. He goes into the house with them and shares their evening meal. He blesses and breaks the bread and mysteriously disappears. It is the same Christ St. Peter

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feels as he runs through the water to meet the Lord; He has already been recognised by the beloved disciple, but He is living under different conditions. And St. John says in his Epistle "Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him," We shall be like Him. This natural body will have become a spiritual body. This body of the first Adam will have been exchanged for a body of the second Adam, in whom alone dwelleth immortality." For as we have borne the image of the earthly we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. And then we are told that this putting on of the spiritual body, this being clothed with immortality will be sudden. "Behold I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep for we shall be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds." We shall rise with a body like our Lord's body of Glory, then our kody of humiliation shall be made like unto His body of glory. Then shall this mortal put on immortality. And the assurance which we poor mortals have that all this will happen to us proceeds from the fact of our union with Jesus Christ through His Church. We are the members of His body. The Head has risen with this new life, therefore the members will one day rise too. Christ is the resurrection and the life, in whom alone dwelleth immortality," therefore those who are connected with him have life also. Let us see that we preserve this union which was begun at our baptism. Let us strengthen it by constant prayer and by using the means of grace which are placed within our reach.

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It being evident then that there is a spiritual body and an immortal existence in store for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, does it appear that all will have the same capacity of enjoyment? Will all be equal in heaven? as people sometimes say. No, it does not appear from the words of the Bible that all will be equal in the new life any more than they are here. There will be degrees of glory. This St. Paul teaches us from the different glory of the stars, one star differing from another star in glory, so also is it in the resurrection. Those who have got very near to God here will be very near to God in heaven. Those who have turned many to righteousness will shine as the stars. Those who have gained ten talents will have other ten given to them, will have a higher place, not so much, probably, an order of precedence as a greater capacity of enjoyment. For in my Father's house is many mansions. And then there is the seat on the right hand and on the left to be given to them for whom it has been prepared. All will be saved by the merits of Jesus Christ, but all will bə rewarded according to their works, according to the way in which they have served God here.

Then, how many that are first now in intellectual or social qualities, in wealth, in position and influence will be last, and the last first. What surprises, what disappointments, what joys at that resurrection day. We are led to such reflections as have arisen from the words of our text, not only from the Easter season on which we have now entered, but also from what occurred yesterday (April 16), when we carried to its final resting place the body of one who had been long known to you and who had gained the respect and love of all. We shall miss him in the village, and especially in the House of God, for in spite of whatever failings he may have had, (none are without failings,) he certainly had some excellent virtues. I will allude here more particularly to his generosity, and to his deep sense of duty towards God. Of the first I may say that he was ever ready to help as far as his means would allow every good work which was brought under