1 Corinthians 15:13-19
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Turn in bibles to 1 Corinthians 15:13-19
This week, i want to set the foundation for next week.
To set it up, we are putting a lot of emphasis on the passage where Paul says, the resurrection is crutch to our belief.
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.
Something you need to understand.
What you believe matters.
At times, Paul seems to be so harsh with the church at Corinth, but they seemed to fail to understand this principle.
Of all the sins going on, crazy stuff, the failures weren’t by accident.
They had a belief problem that was showing up as behavior problems.
The passage tonight proves this to be true.
Now ultimately, a sin issue is a Lordship issue.
(I want to say this with a lot of grace for sin struggle)
Foundationally, a sin struggle in your life is a part of your life that you, whether realizing it or not, have denied Jesus lordship of.
Whether you do not think he can handle it or whether you do not want him to handle it.
Either way, pride says you can do it better, thus a sin problem.
I would argue that this was going on here.
But theres even more belief issue in Corinth than just lordship beliefs that leads to sin issues.
But thats probably a safe assumption: a real chaotic body of christ probably has a variety of wonky and unbiblical beliefs
Paul lays this passage out kind of funny.
They are not necessarily arguing that Jesus didn't come back to life, they are just saying there is no resurrection.
We all have rogue or “grey” views that may or may not be true, but we do not think much about them.
Bad luck superstitions
Are state fans going to heaven?
Are ole miss fans going to heaven?
Views on cigarettes or casinos or tattoos
Are hymns more spiritual or are praise songs more spiritual
statements like:
cleanliness is next to godliness
Views on deeper things:
Does a person need to be dunked under water to go to heaven?
explaining and understanding the trinity
Is jesus really the only way to heaven?
Now we have varying degrees of seriousness within that list,
And depending on how you were raised, how much you have been exposed to any particular teaching,
and how much time you have spent wrestling with the bible,
You may take some more serious than others,
AND IT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE THE ACTUAL SERIOUS ONE THAT YOU ACTUALLY TAKE SERIOUS
It is tempting to look at the church in Corinth and go
WAIT!!! WHY ARE YOU DENYING THE RESURRECTION.
DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND HOW BAD THAT IS?
and the answer is no, obviously they do not.
That is why paul is taking so much time to walk through this.
I think we see this in churches today.
We see a church that begins to do some pretty seriously bad stuff, whether its things like ordaining people that are openly living in hell bound serious sin
or whether its a church that has major power struggles,
beneath the scenes is a major theology problem.
Many times you begin to see these churches and Christians deny things like miracles and resurrection-type events.
They may think, this is no big deal. This stuff sounds crazy anyway and i am intelligent and will not get caught up in silly goofy tales.
But it matters.
It matters to believe in these stories (the bible)
Because what you believe matters.
look at
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.
Paul has to remind them
if you start denying the hard things in the bible,
Then that means the hard things cannot even apply to God (the one that nothing is impossible)
Once you do that its a slippery slope to brokeness.
This event, the resurrection is the main event that secures the possibility of ALL THINGS IN THE BIBLE.
If you are up against someone that denies hard things in the bible, like Jonahs fish or the parting of the red sea,
let the resurrection be your safe place for your mind to return to.
If the resurrection happened, its all possible.
The evidence we will look at next week should be the anchor and rope for your soul to live and thrive among harsh denials of the scriptures.
look at
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.
So what if we are wrong?
What if the Bible isnt true?
We just lived a good life and then its over, oh well,
Right?
No Paul says theres more at stake here than that.
Paul says that if resurrection cant happen or doesn't happen,
than what they preached is wrong, how they interpret the scripture is wrong, and how they represent God is now wrong.
There is similar language in Acts.
39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
Its bad to be wrong, but its even worse to be found in opposition to God.
So whats the point? Why would this matter.
Stay with me, lets look at something that is probably foundational to your belief and you do not even know it.
Its called Paschals wager
“Let us then examine this point, and let us say: ‘Either God is or he is not.’ But to which view shall we be inclined? Reason cannot decide this question. Infinite chaos separates us. At the far end of this infinite distance a coin is being spun which will come down heads or tails. How will you wager? Reason cannot make you choose either, reason cannot prove either wrong.”
“Yes, but you must wager. There is no choice, you are already committed. Which will you choose then? Let us see: since a choice must be made, let us see which offers you the least interest. You have two things to lose: the true and the good; and two things to stake: your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness. . . . Since you must necessarily choose, your reason is no more affronted by choosing one rather than the other. . . . But your happiness? Let us weigh up the gain and the loss involved in calling heads that God exists. Let us assess the two cases: if you win you win everything, if you lose you lose nothing. Do not hesitate then; wager that he does exist.”
Im guessing that much of our reasoning for God comes from Paschal.
We say, “ I cannot prove God exists, you cannot prove God doesn’t exist. So if im wrong, i havent lost anything, but if you are wrong, then you’ve lost a lot. Im going to wager on God.”
Im not saying this is inheritently wrong.
But what i hear Paul saying here is that its worse than just “i haven’t lost anything.”
If you are wrong, you have led many astray and they lay in the ground hopeless too.
You need to be sure on this. Its life or death.
If this God is not the one, and he cannot overcome death,
then you have literally kept someone from finding the true God that can save them.
Paul takes this responsibility extremely seriously.
BUT He says!!!!!
The resurrection did happen.
There may be lots of other miracles in scripture. Some can be proven, some can’t.
But this one is different because it involves Gods ability to back up his claims that he can defeat death as well as historical literal proof that he did.
Next week, we will look at some solid reasons why you can trust the resurrection story!
Exegete
Exegete
1 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, 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. 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.
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.
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. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
1 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.
Reminder to myself that even though Paul has been so harsh with them, or had to be so harsh with them, he still considers them brothers or christians.
Paul seems to be shifting the conversation back to foundational things. His last statement was about having practices of worship in order. Now that we have chased that tangent, lets find foundation again.
He seems to be anchoring everything to the Scripture. The gospel he preached, straight from scripture, is the anchor for more than just practice but also belief.
He preached the gospel, they recieved it, they stood on it, they are being saved by it, and they need to hold fast to it. So if you do not hold fast to it, your belief is in vain.
This reminds me of Jesus’ parable about the sower and the soils.
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,
Its not that Paul is saying, this is first then there is other things. No, Paul is saying this doctrine is primary and of utmost importance.
What are the references here for “according to the scriptures” that Paul is referring to?
EBC’s guesses
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
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.
17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
I have read Isaiah 53 many times, but in this context, it is very thought provoking and eye opening to the clarity of scripture about Christ and His work on the cross.
EBC says that there is reference to two intities or witnesses to the truth of the gospel - the scriptures and eye witnesses
This is where i begin to part ways with Andy on his unhitching from the OT. Paul sure emphasizes the importance of both the scriptures and the experience. It is very important, of utmost importance that the resurrection happened, but its of just as much importance that the scriptures speak of it.
The truth in scripture is assured by the experience and the experience is assured by the truth in 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. 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.
So appeared to:
Cephas (Peter)
The twelve
500 brothers
James
All apostles
Then Paul
Although Pauls life didnt coordinate to know Jesus while he was alive, Jesus made it happen to appear to Paul. I see a comparison here to the fullness of time of Jesus coming and to the unfullness of time of Paul coming. Doesnt matter either way, Jesus made it happen.
For Jesus, the time is right, for Paul, the timing is wrong, yet Jesus still shows grace.
EBC says that this list is not exhaustive. Paul is simply bringing together a quick list of the roster of witnesses.
I have no idea if that is important, but i cannot think of a good reason why it would be important enough to take the time to dig into it. The who’s listed is important, the criteria for whos listed, not so much, except that they are indeed a witness.
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.
Apparently there are people in the Corinth church that deny that Jesus was resurrected.
Paul starts out soft. He says hey if people are proclaiming it and the scriptures proclaimed it, that Jesus would and did raise back to life, then how come you so there is no resurrection?
Basically, he’s arguing that the scriptures and people wouldn't lie. Not a strong argument.
Captain obvious - if there is no such thing as resurrection, then Christ couldn’t have done it.
Duh, you seem to be arguing that something cant happen yet you seem to forgot that we said Jesus did it.
It seems like the original objection to resurrection is separate from any mention of God. They were not arguing that Jesus couldnt do it. Paul is going to take them on a journey to show that if Jesus can, its possible for anyone to be raised from the dead.
Paul then connects this to doctrine. He says, be careful here what you argue. Even though this may sound crazy, we are saying Jesus did it. If Jesus didn’t do it, then it crumbles every one of our arguments.
This makes me think of other slippery slope arguments.
These types of passages are the backbone foundation of fundamentalism.
Why does it matter for you to be technical and exact on what you believe?
Because the foundation is pretty secure until you start removing pillars.
Its ok to rely on things as paradoxes and to write them off as paradoxes, but this is why atheists work so hard to look for contradictions. What you believe matters.
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.
Paul says that if resurrection cant happen or doesnt happen, than what they preached is wrong, how they interpret the scripture is wrong, and how they represent God is now wrong.
There is similar language in Acts.
39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
Its bad to be wrong, but its even worse to be found in opposition to God.
Paschals wager
“Let us then examine this point, and let us say: ‘Either God is or he is not.’ But to which view shall we be inclined? Reason cannot decide this question. Infinite chaos separates us. At the far end of this infinite distance a coin is being spun which will come down heads or tails. How will you wager? Reason cannot make you choose either, reason cannot prove either wrong.”
“Yes, but you must wager. There is no choice, you are already committed. Which will you choose then? Let us see: since a choice must be made, let us see which offers you the least interest. You have two things to lose: the true and the good; and two things to stake: your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness. . . . Since you must necessarily choose, your reason is no more affronted by choosing one rather than the other. . . . But your happiness? Let us weigh up the gain and the loss involved in calling heads that God exists. Let us assess the two cases: if you win you win everything, if you lose you lose nothing. Do not hesitate then; wager that he does exist.”
Im guessing that much of our reasoning for God comes from Paschal.
We say, “ I cannot prove God exists, you cannot prove God doesn’t exist. So if im wrong, i havent lost anything, but if you are wrong, then you’ve lost a lot. Im going to wager on God.”
Im not saying this is inheritently wrong. But what i hear Paul saying here is that its worse than just “i haven’t lost anything.”
If you are wrong, you have led many astray and they lay in the ground hopeless.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 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.
Not only does his victory over death seal the deal for us with our physical death, but its the power to give us spiritual life to live by faith. Just having faith in him and being a christian lives and dies with his ability to overcome death. If he cant overcome physical death, he has no power over spiritual death and cannot be trusted to give us faith and grace.
Paul argues from a theist view here. He has no concept of “no god.” Google shows evidence that there is historical evidence that it was around as early as 400s bc. So it would have been around. Who knows when mankind began to deny God. it doesn't really matter.
What matters is that Paul says you need to be sure on this. This is not an eternal wager with your soul and the souls of others.
If this God is not the one, he cannot overcome death, then you have literally kept someone from finding the true God that can save them.
Paul takes this responsibility extremely seriously.
He says!!!!!
The resurrection did happen.
There may be lots of other miracles in scripture. Some can be proven, some can’t.
But this one is different because it involves Gods ability to back up his claims that he can defeat death as well as historical literal proof that he did.
Claims it happened
Claims it happened
18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
Prophesy that it would happen
Prophesy that it would happen
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
8 He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol;
I shall redeem them from Death.
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is hidden from my eyes.
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 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.