The Reality of the Resurrection
Truth Taught- Because Jesus was raised from the dead so we too will one day be raised from the dead.
What Paul is addressing is the fact that there were some within the Church of Corinth denying the fact that there will be a future bodily resurrection of all believers.
1. Personal Proof of the Resurrection: The Gospel Changed Their Lives (15:1-4)
15 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, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
They heard the Gospel now notice what God did as a result of the true Gospel being preaching…
They received the Gospel– A past effect. They heard, understood and received. This Gospel contain the truth of the resurrection and they were born again.
They are standing on the Gospel– a present effect. They are currently standing as Christians believing the Gospel that contains the resurrection.
They will be saved by believing the Gospel– This is present and future. Salvation is now and is being completed and will be finalized when Jesus returns. The Gospel they believed and that will ultimately and finally save them contains the Resurrection.
So, Paul’s point here is that believing the Gospel is their very existence as Christians. To not believe is to be lost. The Gospel Paul preached was summarized in verses 3-4 and it contains the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
You cannot deny the resurrection because the Gospel message you believed and were changed by the Holy Spirit in hearing it has as a central part, the resurrection of Jesus.
So, the proof of the resurrection is found in the complete and utter change that took place in their lives. Liars tell the truth, thieves become givers, etc.
There is truth for all of us here. We too must receive, stand on, and be saved by believing the Gospel. We must continue to believe, we read here hold fast to the Gospel.
Are you holding fast to the Gospel? Are you persevering to the end?
2. Objective Proof of the Resurrection: Jesus Appears to Many (15:5-8)
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.
It wasn’t only that Jesus rose from the dead but that He appeared to many after His resurrection.
Here’s where I’d like to have you think logically with me. The proof of the Resurrection of Jesus is not found because the tomb was empty. It was empty but notice Paul does not use the empty tomb as proof.
The empty tomb itself proves nothing. There could be many explanations as to why the tomb was empty. Pilate stole the body, the disciples stole the body, Jesus wasn’t embalmed properly so they were doing it again. Do you see, the empty tomb does not prove the Resurrection.
I remember one time in Bible College we lived on campus and I drove home quickly to get something I’d forgotten ran into the house grabbed it went out to get back into my car and it was gone. I wasn’t inside for more than 3-4 minutes. My neighbor was standing outside he was working on his car and I said…Okay, where is it? He said, where’s what? My car…
He didn’t take it. What happened? It rolled down this long hill through an opening in the tree line and back up halfway and eventually stopped at the bottom.
The point is, just because the car was missing…my driveway was empty did not prove where my car was.
What does Paul use here as proof of the Resurrection of Jesus? His appearances after His death.
Jesus was raised and He was seen by others. Jesus was seen by many on different occasions.
So, the reality of all life and all logic is that Christ has risen from the grave, their lives testify to this and there is more than enough eyewitness proof that Jesus has been raised.
Remember Thomas?
John 20:24–29 (ESV)
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
What was Thomas’ response to seeing the appearance of the risen Lord? He falls down on his knees and exclaims, my Lord and my God!!
3. Apostolic Proof of the Resurrection: Paul, Himself (15:9-11)
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.
Not only did the Gospel change the 1st Century believers that made up the Church of Corinth but the Gospel changed Paul.
Acts 9:1–2 (ESV)
9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
He embarked on multiple missionary journeys, spreading the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire. His epistles to various churches form a significant portion of the New Testament, providing theological insights and practical guidance for Christian living.
Paul’s transformation is a testament to the power of God’s grace and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. His life exemplifies the profound change that occurs when one encounters the risen Christ, moving from a life of opposition to one of fervent dedication to the Gospel.
There is no human explanation for this massive and immediate transformation. Paul met Jesus and his world changed forever.
The Gospel has transforming power. To believe in the true Gospel will change you. To believe in the Resurrection changes you. That’s how we know the Resurrection is real because of its transforming power.
Paul explains these absolute truths about the Resurrection of Jesus…
You know there is a Resurrection because you are transformed by it.
You know the Resurrection is real because of all the times Jesus appeared after His death…eyewitness accounts.
You know the Resurrection is real because I have been also transformed from the greatest sinner to God’s missionary.
Proof has been given. Paul is not seeking to bring evidence but wants to show us all what the world would be like without the Resurrection.
4. The Corinthians’ False Teaching (15:12-19)
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.
Some in the Corinthian Church were teaching that there is no Resurrection. They specifically meant there was no resurrection of believers at the Last Day.
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 Gospel proclaimed to you contained the Resurrection and by believing this Gospel you were changed.
This is a universal negative. In other words, the way Paul addresses them is to first show them that if their statement is true then, as he writes,
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
The universal negative means there is no resurrection of the dead, no exceptions. So, he wants them to understand from pure logic what they are saying. If there is no resurrection then it stands to reason then even Jesus was not raised.
Then he begins showing them how absurd this idea really is. He begins to make his case. A very common mode of argumentation found in the ancient world was what’s called a Ad Homonym form of argumentation. What is that? It’s when you grant your opponent for a moment their faulty premise. There is no Resurrection of the dead. Then by example you show them that if their premise were to be true what absurd ramifications would transpire.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
Paul tells them, his preaching is in vain. He can preach his entire life the Resurrection of Christ but if it didn’t happen then all his efforts are vanity.
Paul was in Athens conversing with the different philosophers of the day…
Acts 17:18 (ESV)
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
Acts 17:29–34 (ESV)
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
Paul’s preaching was not in vain.
He tells the Corinthians, if there is no Resurrection of Christ, then our faith is in vain. What God has called us to believe for eternal life is not true then our belief is vanity.
Paul tells them that if their premise is true then we misrepresent 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.
What’s the next logical conclusion to their faulty premise?
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.
Beloved if the Resurrection of Christ is not true then we are still in our sins. We are still guilty of sin and every sin you have committed will bring God’s judgement upon you. We will pay for our sins. We will go to hell. We will be cast into the Lake of Fire. We will experience eternal torment…if Christ has not been raised.
Oh, and by the way, all your loved ones who died believing have perished and they are suffering eternal judgement.
19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Since the dead are not raised and that’s what we have set our entire trust in then we are to be pitied.
5. But, In Fact, Christ Has Been Raised (15.20-22)
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.
Now, back to reality…Jesus has been raised and because He has been raised, there is a resurrection of the dead and you too will be raised one day.
Salvation is real because He lives!!
Romans 4:25 (ESV)
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
The resurrection of Christ has set in motion a sequence of events that will lead to our own resurrection. All who are in Christ will be raised from the dead by the power of God. Those who have fallen asleep have not perished (all our loved ones who have died in Christ, are destined for the resurrection).
Jesus is the Firstfruits. This term is directly taken from the Levitical Thanksgiving Offering or the Offering or Feast of Firstfruits.
Firstfruits was a Jewish feast held in the early spring at the beginning of the grain harvest. It was observed on Nissan 16, which was the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Firstfruits was a time of thanksgiving for God’s provision.
Paul goes on to teach us that in Adam all die. All people are in Adam from their birth. Because it was through Adam the human race fell into sin and the result of sin is death so all who are in Adam die.
Adam brought death to humanity due to his sin. We are all sinners as a result of Adam. All are in Adam. This is the doctrine of original sin. He as our representative head of the human race brought death to all people.
Christ is the Second Adam. He brought forth resurrection of the dead. His resurrection undoes the death that Adam’s sin and our own sin brings.
By believing the Gospel we are taken from being in Adam to being in Christ. Adam was our representative head but now, by faith we now have a different representative Head, Jesus Christ. All who have trusted in Christ for salvation have Him as their representative and all believers will experience a resurrection like His.
Believe the Gospel and be saved from your sins.
Trust the authority and truthfulness of God’s Word when we are told that Christ appeared to many after His death.
Believe that the Gospel transforms us.
Believe that our preaching and faith are not in vain.
Believe that we are not still in our sins and our loved ones are not still in their sins either
But Christ has been raised and our sins have been paid for and we are justified by His resurrection…
Resources
Sermon by R C Sproul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr3PkGXYRvI
1 Corinthians by Gordon Fee
Words of grace
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