March 18, 2002
LifeWay Family Bible Series for March 31
The resurrection of Christ brings hope for today
___1 Corinthians 15:1-26
___By Barbara Kent
___University Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___What does Jesus' resurrection mean to me? What bearing, if any, does it have on my faith?
___The Apostle Paul's letter to the church at Corinth can be organized around a series of problems. This church, set in the midst of the most heathen culture of its day, presented Paul the opportunity to deal with the problems. In chapter 15, Paul addresses the final and most significant of those problems--what they believed about the resurrection.
___Paul begins by calling attention to what he had preached to them, what they had believed from him: That Christ died for their sins, according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day (v. 3).
___Paul had been faithful to teach them what he had been taught by the believers who knew Christ before him. The Corinthians had accepted Paul's teaching and on the basis of it had been saved.
___Paul's words in verses 3-5 formulate an early creed or confession of faith which was common to the entire church. If the Corinthians now questioned the truth of what they had been taught and what they had believed, they were in danger of "having believed in vain" (v. 2). Paul's repeating of this early creed was to remind the Corinthians that the resurrection of Christ was genuine. Paul reminded them of the numerous appearances of the risen Christ, the last of which was to Paul himself (vv. 5-8).
___Verses 3-5 contain the heart of the Christian faith: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he was raised. The words "Christ died for our sins" indicate alienation between God and mankind because of rebellion and sinfulness. The just penalty for such rebellion is death. Jesus died in our stead.
___"He was buried" serves to verify that Jesus really died. Only dead people are buried. "He was raised on the third day" emphasizes he was indeed raised and remains raised from the dead. The importance of the resurrection to Paul cannot be stated too strongly. Can we dare to feel any differently?
___And now the problem: "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" (v. 12).
___Paul resorts to logic in part to answer their dilemma--if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ was not raised (v. 13). If that were true, then everything else is false--Paul's preaching as well as their faith (v. 14).
___He then reverses the circle and says that if the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised and their faith is in vain and they are still in their sins (vv. 16-17).
___If those who were saying Christ was not raised were correct, then all those who had died believing in the resurrection were lost (v. 18). If there is no resurrection and our hope is only for while we live with no promise of a future life, then we are to be pitied (v. 19).
___Did you ever have a teacher who posed rapid-fire questions to make a point? That is exactly what Paul does here. He adds questions layer upon layer to remove any doubt about the truth of what he has preached, what the church has believed, and indeed what the Corinthians themselves have believed.
___Paul then makes a dramatic and definite statement: "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead" (v. 20). He states that Christ was the first of the dead to be raised and clinches the argument of whether or not there is resurrection for us as well (v. 20).
___This is what the resurrection means to you and to me. This is why we celebrate Easter with joy, why we sing hallelujahs on this day. This is our hope, our surety.
___How should our lives be different because of the resurrection of Christ and the promise of our own resurrection from the dead? What difference should this truth make in the Mondays and Thursdays and, indeed, every day?
___Should we live with a sense of confidence, a sense of purpose, a sense of destiny, a sense of mission?
___Should we be proclaimers of this truth to those who do not know of it or those who do not yet accept it?
___Should we live with a profound sense of humility that it was while we were yet in sin that Christ died for us?
___To all these questions, the answer can be nothing less than a resounding, "Yes!"
___Today is the day to begin to live in a way that proclaims what the resurrection means.
___Questions for discussion
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