Post by foxjj on Sept 7, 2023 7:28:49 GMT
First Corinthians 15:1-23 (NIV)
First Corinthians chapter fifteen covers the uniquely Christian doctrine of resurrection. Starting with the resurrection of Jesus, Paul proceeds to teach in regards to the resurrection of all believers. It is one thing to believe in the resurrection of Jesus however, not everyone believes they can also experience resurrection:
“1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
When Paul refers to Scripture he is referring to the Old Testament because, the New Testament had not as yet been compiled. That been said, Paul is referring to Scriptures such as Isaiah 53:5-6 where the prophet speaks of Messiah’s sacrificial death:
“5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
He may also have Psalm 16:10 in mind foretelling the resurrection of Messiah: “because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”
Paul continues by referring to the eyewitness of Christ’s Resurrection:
“5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
The following verse’s are a testament of the once enemy of the Church, changed through the Grace of God:
“9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve 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 to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them —yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”
Paul had spent the previous verse’s proving that Christ rose from the dead, now he will speak to the consequences of that resurrection for the followers of Jesus. He starts this section of his letter by stating a profound fact:
“12 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? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.”
The Resurrection of Jesus, along with the Resurrection of believers, is fundamental to the Gospel of Salvation:
“14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
These verses show the crux of Paul’s preaching - which is - because God raised Christ from death, there is hope of eternal life for all who believe and have been redeemed. If Jesus has not been raised then he, Paul, is a false teacher because, the resurrection is at the core of his preaching. When Paul preaches the resurrection of Christ he is proclaiming that Jesus was Devine as he wrote in Romans 1:4 where he stated that Jesus: “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.”
In the following verse’s of first Corinthians 15, Paul now makes a profound statement concerning the consequences of not believing in the resurrection:
“18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
If there is no resurrection, than all who have put their faith in Jesus have no eternal future. Paul, and the other believers who preach Jesus are to be pitied because, all that they have endured for the Gospel is in vain. On the other hand Romans 8:11 gives eternal hope: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Paul now states the facts concerning the Christian’s eternal hope:
“20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”
Verse 20 refers back to the offering of the first fruits of the harvest under the Old Testament Covenant in Leviticus 23. Paul is teaching that, just as the first sheaf of the harvest was offered as a token representing the whole harvest, so The Lord Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection in The New Covenant, of which you and I also have the blessed hope of participating.
Today, let us give praise to our God for the resurrection of Jesus.
John Joseph Fox.
First Corinthians chapter fifteen covers the uniquely Christian doctrine of resurrection. Starting with the resurrection of Jesus, Paul proceeds to teach in regards to the resurrection of all believers. It is one thing to believe in the resurrection of Jesus however, not everyone believes they can also experience resurrection:
“1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
When Paul refers to Scripture he is referring to the Old Testament because, the New Testament had not as yet been compiled. That been said, Paul is referring to Scriptures such as Isaiah 53:5-6 where the prophet speaks of Messiah’s sacrificial death:
“5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
He may also have Psalm 16:10 in mind foretelling the resurrection of Messiah: “because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”
Paul continues by referring to the eyewitness of Christ’s Resurrection:
“5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”
The following verse’s are a testament of the once enemy of the Church, changed through the Grace of God:
“9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve 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 to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them —yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”
Paul had spent the previous verse’s proving that Christ rose from the dead, now he will speak to the consequences of that resurrection for the followers of Jesus. He starts this section of his letter by stating a profound fact:
“12 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? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.”
The Resurrection of Jesus, along with the Resurrection of believers, is fundamental to the Gospel of Salvation:
“14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”
These verses show the crux of Paul’s preaching - which is - because God raised Christ from death, there is hope of eternal life for all who believe and have been redeemed. If Jesus has not been raised then he, Paul, is a false teacher because, the resurrection is at the core of his preaching. When Paul preaches the resurrection of Christ he is proclaiming that Jesus was Devine as he wrote in Romans 1:4 where he stated that Jesus: “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.”
In the following verse’s of first Corinthians 15, Paul now makes a profound statement concerning the consequences of not believing in the resurrection:
“18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
If there is no resurrection, than all who have put their faith in Jesus have no eternal future. Paul, and the other believers who preach Jesus are to be pitied because, all that they have endured for the Gospel is in vain. On the other hand Romans 8:11 gives eternal hope: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Paul now states the facts concerning the Christian’s eternal hope:
“20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”
Verse 20 refers back to the offering of the first fruits of the harvest under the Old Testament Covenant in Leviticus 23. Paul is teaching that, just as the first sheaf of the harvest was offered as a token representing the whole harvest, so The Lord Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection in The New Covenant, of which you and I also have the blessed hope of participating.
Today, let us give praise to our God for the resurrection of Jesus.
John Joseph Fox.