The Centrality of the Resurrection (3)

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-Let me invite you to turn in your Bibles...

…to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15.

It isn’t often that we break away...

...from our typical verse-by-verse exposition of a book of the Bible...

…to do a topical sermon...

But, on certain occasions...

...When season or circumstance warrants it...

…we’ll certainly do that.

And, I definitely think...

(as I hope you’ll see from this sermon)

…that the commemoration of our Lord’s Resurrection...

…is both a season, and a circumstance, that...

…warrants such a departure from our typical way of doing things.

-So, this morning’s sermon...

…is going to be different in a couple of ways:

We’re not going to be in Luke’s Gospel.

I won’t be expounding any one particular text.

Instead, we’re going to be doing...

…something of a Biblical Survey...

…that I hope will remind us anew...

…of just how “Central” the “Resurrection of Jesus Christ” is...

…to the Christian Faith.

There’s a reason why today is our most sacred annual Holy Day (Holiday).

There’s a reason why we commemorate this day, every single week, as well.

EVERYTHING depends on it.

EVERYTHING is affected by it!

And Lord-Willing, in an hour from now, you’ll...

Understand why I say that

Be able to add your own “amen” to it!

-So, we’re going to read the text on the screen...

…and use it as a launching point...

…from which to begin our survey.

Please follow along as I read.

This is the Holy, Inspired, and Inerrant...

…Word of the Living God!

1 Corinthians 15:1–8 (ESV)

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,

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.

Skip Down to Verse 14:

1 Corinthians 15:12–23 (ESV)

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

And down to Verse 17:

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.

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

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Pray

-We don’t have to look very far...

…to see the centrality of the Resurrection...

…being clearly affirmed in the Scriptures.

There’s a particular focus on it...

…throughout the Chapter that we just read.

Notice what Paul said:

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)

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,

(Focuses the next 50+ verses on the Resurrection!)

-We also read statements, such as these...

…that illustrated what it would have meant...

…if Christ had not risen from the dead:

1 Corinthians 15:14 (ESV)

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

1 Corinthians 15:17 (ESV)

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

(We’ll flesh that out a little later)

-We also see the primacy of the Resurrection...

…in the way the Apostles stated it...

…as the central tenant of their testimony of Jesus.

For example, In considering who was supposed to replace Judas...

Peter said:

Acts 1:21–22 (ESV)

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

Do you see the primacy in that?

They were preaching the whole Gospel...

But, the Resurrection was the central focus of their testimony to the world!

(And there are many such statements in the book of Acts)

-Now, why is this the case?

Why is the Resurrection so central...

…to “the Faith, once for all delivered to the Saints” ?

Well, Charles Hodge gives this explanation:

“If Christ did not rise, the whole scheme of redemption is a failure...

...and all the predictions and anticipations of its glorious results for time and for eternity, for men and for angels of every rank and order, are proved to be chimeras.

‘But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.’

Therefore the Bible is true from Genesis to Revelation.

The kingdom of darkness has been overthrown, Satan has fallen as lightning from heaven, and the triumph of truth over error, of good over evil, of happiness over misery is for ever secured.” — Charles Hodge.

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-Now, as much as I like his statement...

…it means nothing if it can’t be supported from the Word of God.

So, what I want to do...

…is to take us through a survey of the Scriptures...

…in order that we could see...

…some of the manifold ways...

…in which Jesus’ bodily Resurrection...

…serves as the most inescapable and unavoidable...

…tenant of the Christian Faith.

-And, we’re going to begin where Hodge did...

…with the “predictions and anticipations” . . .

…found in the Old Testament.

Now, the Old Testament...

…is full of Messianic predictions...

…some of which...

…require a bodily resurrection for their fulfilment.

For example:

Psalm 2:7 (ESV)

7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.

If He’s already the Son...

…how can He be begotten?

How can he have a point of origin...

…if He is the eternally existent Son of God?

The Resurrection!

Colossians 1:18 (ESV)

18 ...He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead . . .

(A New Order of Creation began with the Resurrection of Jesus!)

And that isn’t just my interpretation of it:

Paul said, in...

Acts 13:32–33 (ESV)

32 ...what God promised to the fathers,

33 this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “ ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’

-We have a similar thing in the 16th Psalm.

David wrote:

Psalm 16:10 (ESV)

10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Yet, Peter said this on the day of Pentecost:

Acts 2:25–27 (ESV)

25 For David says concerning him...

27 ...you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

Acts 2:29–32 (ESV)

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,

31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

Jesus is the greater Son of David...

…whose flesh did not see corruption!

-Paul, made a similar statement in Acts 13...

And, Jesus himself, made this summary statement: (and we’ll move on):

Luke 24:46–47 (ESV)

46 . . . “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

The Cross and The Resurrection...

…fulfill the OT promises of God!

And their fulfillment is impossible any other way.

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-Now, similar to this...

…we see that, the Resurrection was also necessary...

…in order to prove, that...

Jesus was who he claimed to be...

What he said, was true:

And this is the criteria...

…that Jesus HIMSELF set forth.

He both predicted His bodily Resurrection...

…and gave it as the ultimate proof for his truth claims.

For example:

Matthew 12:38–40 (ESV)

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

39 ...no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Meaning What?

Well, in John’s Gospel, he said this:

John 2:19–22 (ESV)

19 . . . “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” . . .

21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Do you see how...

...the Resurrection was the Quintessential Sign, that...

Jesus’ Words were true...

And He was who he claimed to be?

-Paul said this about Jesus, in...

Romans 1:1–4 (ESV)

3 ...was descended from David according to the flesh

(Think Psalm 2)

4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead...

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If he hadn’t risen from the dead, then...

…He couldn’t have been:

The Messianic King

The Eternal Son of God

But the fact that he DID...

…proves that He is BOTH!

-Now, the Resurrection not only proves his identity...

But, it also proves to us...

...something very important...

About his nature!

It proves His Righteousness!

-Why did that need to be proven?

Because he died on a Cross...

…under the Judgment of God!

And the Scripture says:

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

23 ...the wages of sin is death...

And...

Deuteronomy 21:23 (ESV)

23 ...a hanged man is cursed by God...

This is why Jesus’ words in John 10:18 are so important:

John 10:18 (ESV)

18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord...

And Peter echoed that idea on the day of Pentecost:

Acts 2:23–24 (ESV)

23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Why?

It had no claim on Him

He was not indebted to it

It owed him no “wages”

Why?

Because He was righteous

Because He had no sin of His own

Because he was judged and cursed...

For OUR Sin!

Here it is:

Galatians 3:13 (ESV)

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

So you see, because He was perfectly righteous...

…because He had no sin of His own...

…because He owed no debt to Divine Justice...

He COULDN’T stay dead!

And, the Resurrection is the Ultimate and final proof of that.

-Alright, moving on to the next:

The Resurrection Proves that Jesus conquered Sin and Death!

We read this at the beginning:

1 Corinthians 15:17–18 (ESV)

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.

Why?

Because the Resurrection was the final, decisive blow...

…that secured their defeat.

Colossians 2:13–15 (ESV)

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses . . . God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Christ was Victorious!

The Resurrection was the proof.

It was the Divine Affirmation of his Success.

-Look at the way Jesus described Himself, in...

Revelation 1:17–18 (ESV)

17 . . . “Fear not, I am the first and the last,

18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

He has won the battle...

And His Resurrection PROVES it!

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-Now, as a consequence of that...

We see in the Scriptures, that...

…the Resurrection also provides for...

...the certainty of our Redemption.

Paul said, in Romans 4:25 that, Jesus...

Romans 4:25 (ESV)

25 ...was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

(Define)

Peter said, this:

Acts 5:30–31 (ESV)

30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.

31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

And that exaltation...

…has ongoing effects:

Paul asked:

Romans 8:34 (ESV)

34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

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(Because He lives, He is able to forever plead our case!)

-Now, that moves us to yet another...

…matter of Resurrection Centrality:

The Resurrection (as a precursor to the Ascension)...

…was Necessary, to...

...Established Jesus’ Kingship and Kingdom!

The passages, here, are numerous...

…but for sake of time...

…we’re only going to look at two:

Philippians 2:8–11 (ESV)

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord...

Also, in Ephesians 1, Paul talks about...

…the Great Power of God...

Ephesians 1:20–22 (ESV)

20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,

-And, through this (His enthronement)...

…we see that the Resurrection also made possible...

The giving of the Holy Spirit to His people!

Peter said this...

…as the Spirit was being poured out at Pentecost:

Acts 2:32–33 (ESV)

32 This Jesus God raised up...

33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

Do you see the picture?

The King has conquered!

And to celebrate and prove that victory...

He distributes gifts from His royal bounty to His subjects!

-Now, here’s one that we mustn’t overlook:

Christ’s Resurrection makes possible OUR resurrection!

1 Corinthians 15:20–23 (ESV)

20 ...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.

Paul says it like this, in...

Romans 6:5 (ESV)

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

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-Now, as an extension of that principle...

We also see that the Resurrection of Jesus...

…actually began the “Restoration of All Things!”

The Prophets predicted that a day would come...

…where God would reverse the Curse...

…and create a New Heavens and a New earth...

…wherein righteousness would dwell.

At the end of the book of Revelation...

John saw this:

Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...

Now, watch this...

…and watch how it all comes together:

Revelation 21:3–5 (ESV)

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more...

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” . . .

Remember:

Colossians 1:17–18 (ESV)

17 And he is before all things...

18 And… He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead...

How can both be true?

His Resurrection, began the New Creation!

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-Now, here’s a final aspect...

…for our consideration today.

It’s probably the least emphasized...

…and the most sobering!

That the Resurrection of Christ...

…guarantees that there will be a final judgment.

Paul told the Areopagus:

Acts 17:30–31 (ESV)

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.”

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-Here’s what I think that tells us:

As certain as is the redemption...

…of those who receive the “sign of Jonah”...

(Believe in the reality of the Resurrection)

(Put their trust in the Christ who was raised)

So also, is the certainty of the condemnation...

…of those who reject that same sign.

Guys, Christ has risen...

…for all the world to see.

It is, by far, the most attested to event...

…in all of antiquity.

God won’t be giving a greater sign for us to believe on...

...than the Resurrection of Christ.

We mustn’t reject that light.

Because God WILL execute his righteous judgment!

(His nature demands it)

You and I will either stand and face that Judgment...

...while pleading our own merits...

…and be justly condemned to eternal torments...

…Or, we will stand before Him...

Trusting in Christ

Pleading HIS merits

Having had our sin already paid for by Him

Being clothed in His Righteousness.

And as a consequence of that...

being granted eternal life!

And the Resurrection of Christ...

…forces us all...

…to reckon with these terms.

-Now, I want to finish by simply reading this benediction...

…from the author of Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:20–21 (ESV)

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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Amen?

Let’s Pray