STUDY THEME: EIGHT DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD." 3-31-02"
ANTICIPATING RESURRECTION."
1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-4, 5-8, 12-18, 19-20.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO 1 CORINTHIANS 15.
The lesson for this Sunday, of course, is for Easter Sunday. It is designated as our ‘evangelism lesson." It is hoped that we will have some non-Christians in our classes this Sunday and hopefully this lesson might be used of the Lord to reach them for Christ.
There this is no more important doctrine to the Christians faith than the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! When the enemies of Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees, were demanding of Jesus a "sign" or "proof" of His identity, Jesus chose His resurrection as the supreme proof. Paul made it very clear in 1 Cor. 15 that if this doctrine were not true, then the Christian faith would collapse in upon itself. Thus, this lesson is very important for us.
This lesson will seek to answer the question, "What does Jesus’ resurrection mean to me?" We not only want to learn the historical facts about the literal resurrection of Christ, but we also want to know the theological and personal implications of His resurrection? We must not let this great truth simply be an intellectual affirmation of our minds. It must be a living reality that guides us and instructs us in our daily living.
The suggested "Bible Truth" is that because Christ arose from the dead, believers also will experience resurrection. And the suggested "Life Impact" is to help us to live each day in anticipation of the resurrection, and to express our gratitude to God for His gift of life beyond death."
As we come to the conclusion of our study of the theme "Eight Days That Changed the Word," it is Easter Sunday, "Resurrection Day." What difference does the belief in the resurrection make to those attending the two funerals being conducted at the same time at opposite ends of the memorial park?
The first group of mourners committed the body to the grave feeling that they would never see their loved one again. Members of the second family were saddened by their loss but were comforted in knowing that their loved one had trusted Christ, was with Him in heave, and would be raised again in the final resurrection.
In the secular worldview of the first group, this life is all people have. Thus we are to get out of life as much as we can, anyway we can. Life is lived from a selfish perspective and motivation. Some secularists believe in reincarnation or some other concept of life after death. Their philosophy lacks any basis in truth and is a failed attempt to find hope without God.
In the biblical worldview of the second group, believers are raised from spiritual death to eternal life when they trust Christ as Savior. They receive full life now and assurance of life beyond death with Christ. At Christ’s return, they will take part in the resurrection of believers and will enjoy Christ’s presence forever.
Paul established the church at Corinth on his second missionary journey and labored among the believers there for a year and a half. Later, when Paul was ministering in Ephesus, he received correspondence from church members at Corinth who were asking Paul questions regarding the resurrection. It of great importance to remember that the Corinthians were denying not the resurrection of Jesus Christ but the resurrection of the body; and what Paul was insistent upon was that if a man denounced the resurrection of the body he thereby denied the resurrection of Jesus Christ and emptied the Christians’ message of its truth and the Christian life of its reality. Some in the Church believed there was no resurrection. First Corinthians 15 was Paul’s response to their disbelief.
Paul began this final section of his letter by reminding the Corinthian Christians of the good news that he had preached that they had believed, and by which they were saved. It was not news that he had invented, but news which had first been delivered to him, and it was news of a Risen Lord. Then he summarized the content of the good news of salvation. He then focused on the debt and resurrection of Jesus
The words Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, included three affirmations: First, Christ died. He was unjustly condemned and crucified. At that time, His enemies thought they had won a victory. His followers thought they had sustained a terrible defeat. Jesus resurrection, however, led them to rethink the cross. Second, they came to realize that Jesus died for our sins. Jesus death was atonement for the sins of the world. 2 Cor. 5:19 says "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." Vs. 21 says "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin: that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Rom. 5: 6 "When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Third, they recognized that His atoning death was according to the scriptures. After the resurrection, he risen Lord taught them in Luke 24:44-45 concerning the O.T. passages He had fulfilled. They saw that passages such as Isaiah 53 had their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus’ suffering and death.
Second, he was buried. All four Gospels tell how Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb made available by Joseph of Arimathea. The mention of His burial reinforces the fact that Jesus was truly dead. It is an amazing thing that one of the first appearances of the Risen Lord was to the disciple who had denied him.
Third, he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. This shows that Jesus "was raised" by God. It can be translated "has been raised." Christ died, but he is not dead, he was buried, but he is not in the grave: he was raised, and he is alive now." The third day includes the time from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning. The resurrection of Jesus was foretold in scriptures such as Isaiah 53: 10-12.
The O.T. is full of bleak, grim pessimism regarding what is to happen after death.
Ps. 6:5 says, "For in death is no remembrance of Thee; in Sheol who can give Thee praise?
Ps. 30: 9 "What profit is there in my death if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise Thee?
Will it tell of thy faithfulness?
Ecclesiastes 9:4,5,10 read "But he who is joined with all the living has hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing …whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, or thought, or knowledge, or wisdom, in Sheol to which you are going.
The Christian belief is that after death individuality will survive, that you will still be you and I will still be I. The life after death involves the total man; body and soul. Paul never said that we would rise with body, with which we died. He insisted that we would have a spiritual body. Man’s personality would survive. What Paul is contending for is that after death the individual remains.
Paul in Vs. 5-8 then listed six of the ten appearances of the risen Lord. Cephas, the nickname Jesus gave to Simon Peter. The Corinthians knew Cephas well. He was one of the leaders over whom they argued in 1 Cor. 1:12. This appearance to Simon Peter is also mentioned as happening on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. Neither Paul nor Luke described what happened at this meeting of the risen Lord and the disciple who had denied Him three times.
Jesus also appeared to the twelve. Actually, since Judas was dead, there were only eleven; but this expression had become a somewhat technical term for the ones who had been with Him. Keep in mind that none of the apostles was expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead. Although Jesus had predicted His death and His resurrection, they never truly heard what he said about the resurrection, because they were hung up on his prediction of suffering and death. Thus the disciples had to be fully convinced that they saw the Lord alone. They did not merely see a vision of a spirit, they saw the Lord in his glorified body.
Only Paul mentioned Jesus’ appearance to above five hundred brethren. Paul emphasized that most of these people were still alive when he wrote the Corinthians over 20 years later. In other words, these witnesses could confirm that Jesus is alive. They had seen Jesus with their own eyes.
Paul is also the only one to mention the appearance to James The half brother of Jesus did not believe in Jesus during His ministry, but he was among the 120 who prayed before Pentecost in Acts 1:14. Jesus’ appearance to James may have made the difference. He became the author of James ands the leader of the Jerusalem Church.
Paul also reported an appearance to all the apostles. Paul already had mentioned the ones whom we generally call "the apostles," but at times the word is used of a larger group of missionaries whom Jesus had sent out.
The apostle Paul included himself among those who had seen the Risen Lord. He believed his experience on the Damascus road was more than a vision of spiritual things. He believed the risen Lord made this special revelation to him. Paul recognized that he was not one of the twelve and that the appearance to him came after the ascension. He therefore, referred to himself as one born out of due time. This really means, one born before the time. He is thinking of that glorious day when the risen, glorified Christ is to appear on earth once more and His people will look upon Him and recognize Him as their Lord. Paul insisted that the Risen Lord appeared to him and commissioned him to be an apostle.
What was Paul’s purpose in listing these appearances? He was showing the evidence for the reality of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Skeptics must deal with this evidence. They must come in with a better explanation for the objective phenomena concerning the resurrection. The objective phenomena are these: (1.) The disciples claimed to have seen the risen Lord. (2.) Their lives were changed, and by this message the lives of others were changed. (3.) For 20 centuries changes in individuals and society have been attributed to the living Lord. Skeptics simply respond by saying that no one could have been raised from the dead because dead people do not come back to life. How would you answer such a skeptic?
The objective evidences for the resurrection of Jesus are impressive. There are the testimonies of a wide number and variety of people who saw Him alive after His death. The early believers surely believed that He was raised from the dead. There is the evidence of His influence in history—more profound, and more helpful than the influence of any other person. The reality of Christ’s resurrection is not to be doubted. It is one of the most documented facts of history. Christians do not worship a dead deity but a living Lord. Unlike any other philosophy or religion, Christianity is based on the truth that God’s Son died for our sins and was raised from the dead.
In these verses Paul attacks the central position of his opponents at Corinth. They said flatly, "Dead man do not rise again." Paul’s answer is, "If you take up that position it means that Jesus Christ has not risen again; and if that be so, the whole Christian faith is wrecked."
After seeking to prove the bodily resurrection of Jesus by reporting on the eyewitnesses who saw Him alive after His death, Paul explored the results that would be true if the dead do not rise. He tried to lead the Corinthian believers to see the inevitable conclusions and the hopelessness that would exist if there were no resurrection.
First, Paul pointed out an inconsistency with the fact that he preached God raise Christ from the dead. Yet some of the believers at Corinth were saying that there is no resurrection of the dead. When Paul came to Corinth, he preached Jesus crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. The Corinthian Christians believed him, received his message, and were saved. Yet some believers now were saying there is no resurrection of the dead. They were denying the message they had believed that brought them to Christ. Paul urged them to think about it---if there is no resurrection…then not even Christ has been raised from the dead. The doctrine of "no resurrection" would apply to Jesus Christ as well as to everyone else.
Second, Paul reasoned that if Christ has not been raised everything based on faith that Christ is risen and is alive would crumble. Paul concluded that if there is no resurrection, then his preaching was useless, and both he and the Corinthians’ faith, also was useless. Preaching must proclaim what is real and genuine, and faith must rest on something real and genuine. The preaching of Paul and others and all the believers’ faith was based on the reality of resurrection. But if there is no resurrection, then the disciples’ preaching and their faith was groundless and futile.
Third, not only was their preaching and faith empty, but Paul and the apostles were false witnesses about God. They had testified that God raise Christ from the dead. But if the dead are no raised, then God did not raise Christ from the dead. The preachers had lied in their testimony about Jesus’ resurrection.
Fourth, Paul repeated the implication of a "no resurrection" doctrine. If the dead are not raised, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, Paul said your faith is futile; you are still in you sins. The Corinthians had trusted Jesus to take away their sins. If He were still dead, He could not forgive them. Consequently, their faith was worthless, and their sin was still upon them.
Fifth, a "no resurrection" doctrine also would affect Christians who have died. Paul declared that believers who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. The word lost in vs. 18 means "ruined," "destroyed", or "perished." All believers would be lost because their hope in a risen Savior would be groundless if there is no resurrection.
Without the resurrection of Christ, Christianity is worthless as far as our experiencing God’s forgiveness and life after death with Him. If Christ has not been raised, we are fools to put our trust in Him to deliver us from sin’s guilt and to give us immortality in His presence.
The resurrection of Jesus proves four great facts, which can make all the difference to a man’s view of life here and hereafter.
Paul said, take away the resurrection and you destroy both the foundation and the fabric of the Christian faith. Think about your own salvation and new life. If Christ was not raised from the dead you are yet in your sins. The good news being without any real effect left you as you were before you repented and believed. Think of the time when you have been at the grave of loved ones in Christ and hoped to be reunited with them in the new heavens and new earth. If Christ has not been raised form the dead, there is no victory over death. If Christ is not alive, the dead in Christ, are not with the Lord awaiting the resurrection; they have died and that was the end of them.
Throughout the passage Paul insisted that Christ’s resurrection and believers’ resurrection are inseparable. You can’t have one without the other. Vs. 16 repeats this theme from Vs. 23: "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised."
If Christ was not raised from the dead, redemptive history ended in a grave. Then is God not the living God, nor is He the God of the living as Jesus said in Mark 12:27. Death is stronger than God; death is stronger than God’s Word. God’s acts are proven futile in the face of man’s greatest enemy—death. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation for all that Christians believe, do and hope. If the foundation is removed, all else crumbles. Just contemplating how life would be changed without Him is devastating.
4. PLEASE READ 1 CORINTHIANS 15: 19-20.
"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."
If this is correct, the focus is on the importance of life beyond this life. If there is no future resurrection, we are to be pitied for living our lives as if there were. Then the pleasure seekers may be right in Vs. 32. "If the dead rise not,…let us eat and drink: for tomorrow we die.""If we have only hope in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied."
The point here would be that if our hope is nothing more than the world’s empty hopes, without any basis in the God of hope, then such hopes are only wishful thinking. I am following a will-O’-the-wisp that will land me at last in darkness and despair. But Paul does not leave Christians with such dreary suggestions. Paul wrote extensively, about the abundant life Christ gives the Christian in this life. He strongly argued, however, that if Christian hope is limited to earthly life it is no hope. If this life is all people have, believers’ sacrifices and self-denial are based on an illusion, and the future toward which Christians look is a cruel joke.Vs. 20 is the verse in which Paul brought the first readers back to reality. Notice the beginning but now. Paul had not been describing what was real but what would be true if Christ had not been raised from the dead. He described the nightmare conditions if that were true. Now he reminded them that none of those things in Vs. 14-19 were true because Christ has been raised from the dead: "But now is Christ risen from the dead."
His resurrection is a reality. Because he conquered death, He became the first fruits, of them that slept. Firstfruits referred to the first of the harvest. Thus when Jesus was raised from the dead, He became the first of many who would follow Him in resurrection. Christ is risen and His resurrection is the earnest of ours. By-and-by will come the day when all His own will be called forth from the grave. When all His own will be called forth from the grave. We then shall be like Him, our blessed, glorious Lord. We too shall have resurrected bodies.
Before His resurrection, Jesus had accepted the human limitations of time and space. He experienced human suffering and hardships. After His resurrection, Jesus had a resurrected body. He could appear and disappear at will. While His hands bore the prints of the nails with which He was crucified, He no longer experienced pain or injury. While he could eat and rink with the disciples, proving He was not a ghost or spirit, He suffered no hunger.
Christ was the firstfruits in that He was the first to be resurrected in a glorified body never to die again. After the resurrection when Christ returns, every believer will join Him and receive a new glorified body not limited by time, space, suffering, pain, or death.
If theology remains theory, it lacks the power to influence people’s lives. The Gospel gives hope—not only for this life but also for the life beyond. Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to have confidence in the doctrine of the resurrection, and he wanted them to know that in the risen Christ they had the hope (assurance) of resurrection. Ultimately, the issues of life and death are personal. People want to know more than what might happen to some one else after death. They want to know what will happen to them.
NEXT SUNDAY WE BEGIN A FOUR SESSION STUDY OF SOME KEY PASSAGES IN THE BOOK OF AMOS. "DOES GOD STLL JUDGE PEOPLE TODAY?"
YOU MAY WISH TO READ 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-58 AS A CONCLUSION TO TODAYS STUDY ON "ANTICIPATING RESURRECTION."
A.V. DAUGHERTY 3-31-02.
and it was news of a Risen Lord. Then in Vs. 3, he summarized the content of the good news of salvation. He then focused on the death and resurrection of saints.