Made New: The Resurrection

1 Cor 15

Next week we will start our Advent Series that we are simply calling “At Just the right time”

I am really excited to walk though the Christmas story with all of you....

But today is a bitter sweet day because whenever I kind of close a file on a book of the Bible it is both releasing like...

Ahhhh…Done with that…But its kind of sad but you dont see this…

Behind the scenes as I am preparing through the weeks I am reading a stack of biblical scholars and its kind of sad to put them away…Its like…Good bye friends....you did a good job

BUT! I have one or maybe two more podcast episodes coming out soon that is going way deep into things like judging angels and other weird stuff that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians

So I was thinking as we dive into chapter 15 this week...

If there was one thing that I would want you to know about this whole series it is this:

In this series we looked at a number of moral issues

Sexual immorality

Lawsuits among believers

disunity

distinctions between rich and poor

Food sacrificed to idols

In a number of ways Paul has to remind the church of what it looks like to be a good moral witness in the world.

He has to remind them what allegiance to Jesus requires in their lives

That allegiance to Jesus isn't just a mental exercise but it has actual tangible affects on your life.

But I think Paul is making the point at the end of the letter....Hey…This isn't just about being good moral people...

I am not just writing you about being good people and moral living

In fact there is a new reality that is ushered into the world

Because true reality Himself has stepped into the world.

True reality is here

Live in it!

Its about having a relationship with God himself and living in that reality...

When you live in the reality of the resurrection then its not about trying your best to be moral…Its about knowing God and though that relationship having him transform all who you are...

Paying tribute to God through your morality is just another form of false religion

But the gospel is a new reality, that shapes us into new kinds of people! Jesus shapes us into New creations.

A new world that is birthed through Jesus death and life

The resurrection has fundamentally changed the world and when we live in the reality and power of Jesus’ resurrection

When the world changes

We all know what it is like when the world changes

For you personally it could be when you got married or had kids or when you watched your spouse of 50 years take their last breath…Your world fundamentally changes

Or collectively when we all experienced 9/11…The world was different after that…The world changed

Every now and then there is one person who fundamentally changes the world.

Obviously Jesus…In our calendars we have BC & AD…why ? Because the world so fundamentally changed that everyone on earth goes by the birth of the king of the universe

In 1914 Gavrilo Princip. A guy that probably very few of you have ever heard of

A Serbian national who was upset with Austria-Hungarian empire so on June 28, 1914 he fired one shot that would result in world war 1, WWII, The Cold War…Vietnam, definitely the instability in the middle east and probably 9/11.....when he Assassinated the archduke Frans Ferdinand....

One historian said that when Gavrilo Princip shot the Arch Duke it was a bullet in the head of the old world...

And the world has never been the same

There is a quote

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

― Vladimir Lenin

My point is that there are these moment where the world is flipped upside down

And the same is true with the resurrection of Jesus...

What we dont realize is that in a three day span when Jesus died on the cross the first creation died with him and on the third day when he rose again a new creation was born

Paul had to remind the church that look…its not about trying really hard to live good moral lives

It is about living in the new world of the resurrection....Where God reshapes and remolds you into the kind of person who will naturally follow God’s will

So Lets get into 1 Corinthians 15...

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 NIV

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. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 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. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 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. 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. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

I love this very clear articulation of the gospel.

We need that every once in a while

And we need the clarity because in an attempt to reach more people for Christ the church for a number of years moved into what is called the seeker sensitive movement and it shortened the gospel...

The gospel became, “We are sinners, Jesus died on the cross so that you can be saved and go to heaven.”

Now trust me…this isn’t wrong, its just not the full deal....Its like…okay keep going!

It redefines salvation as something that takes place years from now after you die

Jesus is essentially your “get out of hell free” card

The seeker friendly way of the gospel is to actually re-define salvation as heaven.

Now dont get me wrong, Heaven is a very serious matter and if your there your saved...

But is salvation for only after you die? or is it for here and now?

If your articulation of the gospel is missing the resurrection then you are missing half of the story

And this is what was happening at the church in Corinth.

They liked Jesus…Thought he was amazing, but this whole resurrection business seems crazy....do we actually believe this?

See what Paul says is the gospel includes the resurrection…and then Paul spends the most time on the resurrection…In fact 1 Corinthians 15 is the third longest chapter in the entire new testament! IT is 100% about resurrection....

Why is it so impotrant that we dont miss the resurrection.

Because we don’t worship a dead and defeated guy…We worship Jesus who is alive

The resurrection means that Jesus is alive now and has power now and that we can be made new right now

It means that salvation is for here and now and after you die

So In verse 2, Paul says…1 Corinthians 15:2

1 Corinthians 15:2 NIV

By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

What does it mean to be saved

In the seeker friendly movement it very clearly meant heaven

In Fact, Famed preacher from the hour of Power, Robert Schuler issued tickets to heaven for anyone who would say “yes” to Jesus.

Now you might think that is absolutely crazy…and it is because Schuler wasn't the great judge who sits on the throne…But in Revelation 2, when Jesus is talking to the church in Ephesus, he says to those who are victorious he will give a white stone....And that is essentially a not guilty verdict…And the white stone is like the ticket to heaven in a sense...

But my point is that heaven is not salvation, it is a rest and reward where you get to know the fullness of God!

By the way, starting in February of 2024 I will be doing a series on Revelation....So buckle up its going to be long and in depth

So what is salvation?

Salvation is this

Salvation doesn’t mean, “going to heaven after you die” but being raised to life in God’s new heaven and earth

Now don’t hear me wrong on this. After you die Here on earth, heaven is a reality but that is your reward and rest for a life lived with God here and now....

But your salvation is for right now…It is for life here and now…it is for living in a different kingdom and reality than the rest of the world.

Salvation is when heaven and earth meet in your life.

Being saved doesn’t mean going to heaven after you die, but getting something of heaven into you now.

Being saved means you meet Jesus right now and everything changes…you are no longer the same

This is why Paul says: Hey I persecuted the church, I was messed up! But because of the grace of God I am a changed man...

Paul was changed when the resurrected Jesus showed up to him!

By the power of Jesus resurrection, Paul became a new man

Jesus is far more interested in you going to heaven before you die then after you die

To put it simply your salvation is that you are made new by Jesus…by his resurrection

Just as the first creation died with Jesus on the cross…Your old life needs to die a death too! And it is both painful and joyful....

And Just as the resurrection of Jesus was the first day of the new creation....

The day you give your allegiance to Jesus is the day that you begin your life as a new creation!

Paul would actually write about this more in 2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

See the point of the resurrection is that

1. Jesus is alive here and now, we dont worship a dead guy, we worship the one who died and who rose again

2. You can be made new too! Your past doesn’t have to define you any longer

let’s keep reading

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 NIV

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? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 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. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

The Corinthian church was confused about the doctrine of the resurrection

They were trying to say…well we can have Jesus but this whole resurrection stuff is strange

Paul says that without the resurrection then our faith is futile

There is no christian without the resurrection

The resurrection is the core doctrine of the church

And Paul then en the end of all of this says, this is our hope! our hope is the resurrection of Jesus

See as christians we can fall into the rut of just talking and thinking about Jesus on the cross, taking away our sin.

And that is impotrant

But we have to keep going with the story of God and talking about the resurrection

Because without the resurrection then Jesus is just dead

Some of you might know the philosopher Fredrick Nietzsche

And for those of you who don’t, he is is very impotrant Philosopher

I could argue that where we are in our society today is as a direct result of people applying his philosophy really widely

He is one of the father’s of postmodernism. He did not believe in Absolute truth

He heavily critiqued Christianity

He created the idea of the Übermensch.... His idea of the Übermensch (or Overman/Superman) as an idealized individual who creates their own values and transcends conventional morality has inspired discussions on personal empowerment and self-actualization....Adolf Hitler was big on this philosophy

But what he is most famous for is

This is what Nietzsche said, right…His big quote was that “God is dead”

And here is what I think Paul’s point is....The resurrection means that Jesus is alive!

A great modern thinker named Carl Truman in his book, “A strange new world” says this about the effects of Nietzsche’s proclamation that God is dead!

Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution The Nature of Morality

Nietzsche’s thought this way: freed from the burden of being creatures of God, human beings must rise to the challenge of self-creation, of being whoever they choose to be. Put perhaps even more bluntly: be whoever or whatever works for you. You should feel no obligation to conform to the standards or criteria of anybody else

Do you see how that thinking is basically alive and active in our world today?

If God is dead then your not made in his image and your free to form yourself into whatever mold you want

But we don’t worship a God who is dead, we worship a God who is alive!

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 NIV

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Since death came through a man, Life also comes through a man

Adam caused the loss of eternal life and through Jesus, eternal life has become available again.

And that starts right now

Because of Jesus resurrection we now know that the new Era of God’s plan has opened up

A glimpse of Paul’s Eschatology

Right now because of what is happening in our world the topic of “end times” comes up a lot and a lot of people are interisted in this sort of thing

The Jewish people of Paul’s day talked about the present age and the age to come, these were common phrases

The Jews in Paul’s day believed that in the age to come everything would be made right and that the dead would raise

And Paul had to tell them that this is sort of an overlapping reality

We live in a “Now” but “Not Yet” Reality...

What Paul is telling them is that, The age to come has been launched with the resurrection of Jesus

BUT!

1 Corinthians 15:24 NIV

Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

The End will come:

Now for Paul what do these words mean? Now we read this and you must think of movies where an astroid blows up earth and everything is gone

But what Paul is talking about with the “End” is the end of sin and death

For Paul the end is the general resurrection when the dead in christ are raised.

This is what Jesus talked about

John 5:28–29 NIV

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Jesus talked about the resurrection of all believers

Do you know that our great hope in Jesus is that we will be raised to live with Jesus and we will rule with him in a new heaven and a new earth?

This is our great future hope...

And yes when we die, we do get to experience life in heaven with God, an eternal rest as Hebrews calls it…

But the bigger picture is that We get to experience resurrection!

Then Paul talks for a moment about the return of Jesus says, He must reign until he has put all evil under his feet...

Paul had to tell them that this is a now but not yet reality

Its the now but not yet kingdom

Some people think that with the darkness that we face and brokenness and war in this world then obviously Jesus isn’t on the throne yet…But Paul is clear here

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

So Jesus is reigning and all things are coming under his rule....

He will come again in Glory to judge the living and the dead

But as we continue to bring Jesus into this big conversation on resurrection

We know what Paul has been saying

That All things are coming under the dominion of Jesus and the end will come when everything is under his dominion

But jesus has something to say too about when the end will come

Matthew 24:14 NIV

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

So Jesus is saying…In this theology of the resurrection

we have a mission

and that is to preach the gospel to all nations!

This is so key and we can’t forget that

The new reality:

So as we close the book on Paul’s letter to the corinthians…He wanted the church to remember

Jesus is alive: Jesus doesn't treat us as our sins deserve

The grace of Jesus is available to you

You have a mission