The Significance of the Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:1-58

Adapted from a David Owens sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=126633

“Overcoming Obstacles That Obstruct Obedience”

The story is told of an old man named Fred who had been a faithful Christian and was in

the hospital, near death.

The family called their preacher to come stand with them.

As the preacher stood next to the bed, Ol’ Fred’s condition appeared to deteriorate and he motioned frantically for something to write

on.

The preacher lovingly handed him a pen and a piece of paper, and Ol’ Fred used his last bit of energy to scribble a note, then he handed the note to the preacher, and a few minutes later,

he died.

The preacher thought it best not to look at the note at that time, so he placed it in his jacket

pocket.

At the funeral, as he was finishing the message, he realized that he was wearing the

same jacket that he was wearing when Ol’ Fred died.

He said, “You know, Ol’ Fred handed me a note just before he died.

I haven’t looked at it, but knowing Fred, I’m sure there’s a word of inspiration there for us

all.” He opened the note, and read, “Hey, you’re standing on my oxygen tube!”

In case you didn’t know it – all of us are going to die someday.

You and I are terminally ill.At this very moment, you and I are in the

process of dying.It’s just a matter of time, unless Jesus returns

before that moment.Hebrews 9:27 ESV And just as it is appointed

for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

The only exceptions have been Enoch and Elijah.

I don’t say that to depress us this morning, but to encourage us.

“What are you saying?How can the subject of death be

encouraging?”The subject of death is encouraging because death is not the end, it is just the beginning of

something so much better and more wonderful.

We, Christians, should not let death take us by surprise, nor should we let death worry us.

Death is a reality that we know is coming, but what happens after death is just as much a

reality that we should look forward to.

In 1 Corinthians 15, we see the last of the major issues that Paul addressed at Corinth –

the resurrection of the body.

Unlike some of the other issues Paul has addressed, this one is not about behavior but

about belief.

Paul is deeply concerned about their beliefs about the resurrection.

Without the proper understanding of these things, their belief and our belief is truly in

vain.

So let’s take a look at the wonderful truths that Paul lays out in this chapter about Jesus’

resurrection and ours as well.

1 Corinthians 15:1 ESV Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast

to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of

first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the

Scriptures,

The Gospel Account

4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom

are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the

apostles.

8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of

the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them,

though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 12 Now if Christ is

proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is

in vain.

15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he

raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead

are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised,

your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have

hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

In the 1740s, Lord Lyttelton and Gilbert West went to Oxford.

There, they agreed to discredit Christianity by disproving Paul’s conversion and Christ’s

resurrection.After examining the facts, both these men

confessed their faith in Jesus.Lyttleton concluded that the most ardent

persecutor of the church would have required a personal confrontation with the resurrected

Christ in order to be turned from his opposition to him.

Lyttelton wrote a lengthy text titled "Observations on the Conversion and

Apostleship of St. Paul. in a Letter to Gilbert West, Esq."

How wonderfully ironic that the most extended discussion of the doctrine of Christ’s

resurrection and its implications for us would come from the pen of a man who once

ridiculed the claim.

Paul begins chapter 15 by reminding the Corinthians that the doctrine of the

resurrection is at the heart of the gospel that he had preached among them and that they

had believed and received.

His concern for them was that they hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you

believed in vain.

The preaching of the gospel revolves around these facts.

15:3b-4 Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the

Scriptures,The gospel (which means “good news”) is not a set of behavioral responses imposed on us

by God.Rather, it is a message of love, grace and

peace.

By means of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, God is wooing and

winning our hearts by the lengths to which He has gone for our sakes.

In emphasizing that the death, burial, and resurrection occurred “according to the Scriptures,” Paul was appealing to OT

prophesies concerning the event.

Additionally, Paul also cited numerous eyewitness reports of the resurrection,

including his own.Now we certainly would like to have more

details about some of these appearances of Christ.

Certainly, in that day, these accounts were widely circulated and well-known.

By mentioning the fact that many of the eye witnesses were still alive, Paul was

challenging the Corinthians to check out these stories for themselves.

In beautiful humility, Paul commented on his own experience with the risen Christ.

Paul admitted that he did not deserve Christ’s appearance to him, because he had been a

persecutor of Christ.But the appearance of Christ to him was a matter of divine grace, and that grace had enabled and inspired him to serve Christ.

Paul and his fellow apostles had preached and are preaching the same gospel with equal

emphasis on the centrality of the resurrection.

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

But it appears that some there at Corinth were denying a general resurrection of the dead.

Paul insisted that such a doctrine was inconsistent with the gospel.

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there

is no resurrection of the dead?

The reasoning that Paul lays out is extremely precise in logical terms.

He does so in the hope that it would shock them into rejecting such a view of the

resurrection.

Paul led them down this logical road – If there is no general resurrection, then the following

things are true:

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Paul and the other apostles were bearing false testimony about the workings of God.

15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he

raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead

are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

The faith of the saints at Corinth was in vain and had not delivered them from sin.

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Deceased Christians have simply perished, for they have no hope of being raised from the

dead. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in

Christ have perished.

Anyone serving Christ is foolishly wasting their time and should be pitied.

19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

That certainly is a powerful indictment of any position which denies either Christ’s personal resurrection or a general resurrection of the

dead.Would the Corinthians really be horrified to see what this false doctrine being taught by

some really meant?Paul hoped so.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen

asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in

Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his

coming those who belong to Christ.

Christ Arose

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying

every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his

enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For "God has put all

things in subjection under his feet."

But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who

put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God

may be all in all. 29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the

dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are

we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in

Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not

raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." 34 Wake up from your

drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God.

I say this to your shame.

Against the denial of the resurrection by some, Paul proceeded to affirm the doctrine of the

resurrection with bold assurance.20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen

asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. Paul said to them, “Yes, Christ has been raised!

This doctrine is at the heart of the gospel you have embraced.

More than that, it is the promise of your own victory over death.”

We know that death became the common fate of all humans through the sin of Adam.

But now we have been assured that resurrection from the grave will be the shared fate of all through the resurrection of Christ.22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ

shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming

those who belong to Christ.

At the second coming of Christ, “the end” will be written to the drama of human activity on planet earth. The curtain will come down on

history as Christ’s final enemy (death) is destroyed and the kingdom is delivered up to

the Father.24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the

kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is

excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him,

that God may be all in all.

Some have speculated that chapter 15, verse 29 is perhaps the most obscure and difficult

verse in the entire Bible.29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being

baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on

their behalf?What was going on here?

Were the Corinthians practicing some sort of vicarious baptism on behalf of people who had

died unimmersed?

It is not inconceivable, although we have no historical evidence of such a practice in the

first century.

It would seem strange for Paul to refer to such a custom without denouncing it, for it stands

against everything that signifies personal responsibility in salvation.

Was Paul making some obscure reference to the baptism which now-deceased Christians

had received in hope of their future resurrection? We don’t know.

We must admit that it is beyond our ability to formulate a definitive interpretation of this

verse, because we simply don’t have enough information.

But although we do not know what being “baptized for the dead” refers to, we can know

the significance of it to Paul’s argument.If there is no resurrection, then nothing done

on the behalf of the dead is of value.

Paul then asks why he would expose himself to such dangers for the sake of the gospel if

there is no resurrection.

Why carry the burden of daily ministry for the church if there is no resurrection?

In fact, if Christianity has no sure hope of a future life, we would be better advised to live

by the pagan motto, 32b “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I

have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I

fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow

we die.” We know that there is a resurrection, and so Paul counsels those who share the hope of

the resurrection to avoid the corrupting company of those who deny the resurrection

and thus avoid their sin of false teaching.

33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say

this to your shame.

35 But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they

come?" All of us have wondered about our resurrected

bodies, haven’t we?What will they be like?

What of a cremated body?What about someone eaten by a wild animal

or buried at sea?Questions of this sort seem to be without end.

How did Paul respond to the questions?

Our Resurrected Bodies

36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other

grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

The Corinthians with such knowledge and insight should have been able to discern the answer to these questions from the events of

nature.Paul employed several analogies to illustrate

the resurrected body.First, he offered the seed analogy – the new

body will be related to and in some ways similar to the seed from which it came, but

certainly not the same.

Second, he offered the different flesh analogy – each creature has a body appropriate to its nature and environment. Third, he offered the

heavenly bodies analogy – God gives all things in creation a body which reflects the

proper “glory” of its estate. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals,

another for birds, and another for fish.

40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the

stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is

sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is

raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural

body, there is also a spiritual body.

All this amounts to saying that our resurrection bodies will be like Christ’s resurrection body.Such a change in bodily form is necessary to

share in the eternal kingdom of God.45 Thus it is written, "The first man Adam

became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual

that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth,

a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.

48 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. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the

man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of

God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery.

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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. 53 For this perishable body must put on the

imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

How exciting!Whether a person dies before the Lord returns or is alive at His coming, the earthly body will

need to be changed into the form which is appropriate for a never-ending existence.

When all this is accomplished, death will have been defeated.

Death will have neither “victory” nor “sting.”

Sin is the cause of death, and the occasion of sin is our failure in relation to divine law.

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on

immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in

victory." 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where 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.

The ultimate offense against God – at Corinth or in our present situation – is in being blind to our lostness, hopelessness, and helplessness.But when our helplessness apart from Christ is acknowledged, God’s mercy reaches us and

redeems us.He gives us what we could never have

achieved – redemption and righteousness through Christ that is validated through the

resurrection.

Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of our own.

What should be the believer’s response to all this?

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your

labor is not in vain.

Does the resurrection matter?

Of course it does.

A person who does not accept it can neither believe in nor live by the tenets of Christianity.

A sound faith and a righteous life go hand in hand.

Conclusion

I have officiated a lot of funerals.

It is always an honor and a privilege to minister at the time of a person’s death.

God has given us such hope about the afterlife.

I know that God cares, and I know that God has wonderful things in store for us in eternity.

Many years ago, when quite young, Paul’s father had one of the first telephones in their

St Louis neighborhood.Paul was too little to reach the phone, but he would listen with fascination when his parents

talked into it.Then Paul discovered that somewhere inside this wonderful device there lived an amazing person; her name was "Information, Please"

and there was nothing she did not know.

"Information, Please" could supply anybody’s number and the correct time.

Paul’s first encounter with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day while his mother was visiting a

neighbor.

Playing at his father’s tool bench in the basement, Paul banged his finger with a

hammer.

The pain was awful, but there was no use in crying because there was no one home to give

sympathy.

He walked around the house sucking his throbbing finger, when he thought of the

telephone!

Paul ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the telephone.

Climbing up, he lifted the receiver and held it to his ear.

“Information, Please,” he said into the mouthpiece.

Then a small clear voice spoke into Paul’s ear: “Information.”

“I hurt my finger,” Paul wailed into the phone.“Isn’t your mother home?” the operator asked.

“Nobody’s home but me” Paul blubbered.

“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.“No,” he replied. “I hit my finger with the

hammer and it hurts.”“Can you open your icebox?” she asked.

He said he could.“Then take a little piece of ice and hold it to

your finger,” said the voice. After that, Paul called “Information, Please” for

everything!He asked her for help with his geography and

math homework.

Then came the time when Paul’s parakeet died.

Paul called and told her the sad story.She listened, and said the usual things grown-

ups say to soothe a child, but Paul was inconsolable.

He asked her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of

a cage?”

She sensed his grief, and said quietly, “Paul, always remember that there are other worlds

to sing in.”Somehow he felt better.

When Paul was nine years old, his family moved from St Louis to Boston.

Paul missed his telephone friend very much.“Information, Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home, and he somehow

never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall at his new

home.

As he grew into his teens, he appreciated the memory of how patient, understanding, and kind the information lady was to have spent

her time on a little boy.A few years later, on his way west to college, Paul’s plane landed in St Louis. He had about

an hour between flights.He spent 15 minutes on the phone with his

sister, who lived there now.

Then without thinking about what he was doing, Paul dialed his hometown operator and

said, “Information, Please.” Amazingly, he heard the small, clear voice he

knew so well: “Information.”He hadn’t planned this, but he heard himself

asking, “Could you please tell me how to spell predicament?”

There was a pause, then came the soft spoken answer, “I guess your finger must have

healed by now.”

Paul laughed. “So it’s really still you,” he said. “I wonder if you have any idea how much you

meant to me during my childhood.”“I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much

your calls meant to me. I never had any children, and I used to look forward to your

calls.”Paul told her how often he had thought of her over the years and asked if he could call her again when he came back to visit his sister.“Please do,” she said. “Just ask for Sally.”

Three months later Paul was back in St Louis, on his way home for Christmas Break.

A different voice answered, “Information.” He asked for Sally.

“Are you a friend?” She asked.“Yes, a very old friend,” Paul answered.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sally has been working part-time the past few

years because she was ill. She died five weeks ago.”

Before he could hang up she said, “Wait a minute. Is this Paul?”“Yes,” Paul replied.

“Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to

you.”The note said: “Tell Paul I still say there are

other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean."

(Story found in “Life Everlasting” by Robert Leroe)http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?

SermonID=66730

Brothers and sisters, our God has another world for us to sing in, and what great singing

we will do there, along with whatever other wonderful things God has in store for us.Christ indeed has risen and so will we.

Let us live every day with the hope of the resurrection keeping us faithfully serving the

Lord.And let us remember that our labor in the Lord

is not in vain!