What is the resurrection?

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

My wife and I love to cruise, so much so, that I watch videos and documentaries about how cruise ships are built, how they operate, and other facets of cruise ship life. I learned something recently about cruise ships and how they operate. Each cruise ship has an optimum speed for efficiency and the Captian will always try to operate at that speed as much as possible. Operating at an inefficient speed even by just a fraction for even short distances can mean the difference between good and bad fuel economy which for a cruise ship is often the difference between profit and loss. When ships don’t have far to go between ports they will often leave port and get into a safe current and then drift for hours. Once they are ready to get back under way the captain will reorient the ship and head to the new port with all systems aligned perfectly.

That is somewhat where we find the church in Corinth, drifting and needing the Captain, aka Paul, to get them reoriented.

Let’s pray and then we will get started.

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 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.

Backstory

Corinth was a prominent city in Greece along the coast. Due to the city location it was a major trade and travel center. The city had roughly 700,000 people during this time. A city like this was not only important for commerce and government but also for church planting. A church here could help with further church planting throughout the area. Paul visited the first time in AD 51, staying for approximately eighteen months. First Corinthians was written to the church there about 4-5 years later. The purpose of this letter was to correct and encourage the believers in Corinth. Paul has spent the first fourteen chapters addressing church issues around sin and worship. However, in chapter fifteen we reach the crescendo and land on a topic that all people must determine for themselves. That is what we will discuss today, the gospel and the resurrections place in it.

The Resurrection is the crescendo of the gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”

The gospel is not the gospel without the resurrection.

Jesus incarnate, the God of creation leaving heaven and coming to earth, living the perfect life, dying on the cross, is miraculous and is sacrificial but the crescendo is that Jesus was placed in that grave for three days and on Sunday morning conquered death and rose to life.

V3 Scripture foretold the death of Christ - Isaiah 53, let’s look specifically at,

Isaiah 53:5 “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.”

V4 Scripture foretold his burial and resurrection.

Isaiah 53:9 “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

Psalm 16:10 “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”

I would encourage you to study the scriptures for stories of three days and the salvation that occured in that time frame.

We all know that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days, foreshadowing Christs’ resurrection, but what about

In Genesis Joseph detains his brothers and on the third day he releases them and tells them what they must specifically do to be saved.

In Exodus, the Moses and the Israelites at Mt Sinai and Moses instructs the nation to consecrate themselves and then on the third day God comes in the thick cloud with thunder, lighting and trumpet blasts.

In Esther, she goes before the king on the third day after three days of prayer and fasting.

Lastly, Hosea 6:2 “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”

The Resurrection is historical.

1 Corinthians 15:5–7 “and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

Christ first appeared to Cepahs, Simon Peter.

the Twelve - this would have been the original eleven plus Matthias who was added in Acts 1:26 “And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

500 people, most of which are still alive, this is significant due to the volume of witnesses, far too many to fake, fool, or otherwise doubt.

James, this is believed to be the half brother of Jesus, James the disciple would’ve been included in “The Twelve” so there would be no need to name him seperately. James became a believer and and was highly regarded by Jewish Christians due to his reverence for the law.

Paul finishes verse seven by telling us Jesus then appeared to all the apostles, to qualify as an apostle you must have seen Jesus resurrected. This was the exclusive group of church leaders that were not only preaching and teaching but also eye witnesses.

The Resurrection is for EVERYONE!

1 Corinthians 15:8–11 “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 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. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”

Paul puts his past right out there for everyone to see. He was a murderer that persecuted the church. He stood by holding the overcoats for those stoning the first martyr, Stephen.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” this reminds us that we are all sinners and no one

When I was a child the church I went to put on a spectacular Easter play. This play was truly special as the church was large and had the resources, both finances and talent, to make this thing the talk of the town. Each version always had one component that was the same. The man playing Jesus would walk down the center aisle carrying a cross. He would walk with a limp, he was covered in dirt and fake blood, he looked the part, especially to me sitting there as young boy. He would make his way to the stage but they would lay the cross down out of sight and then a sledge hammer could be seen swinging into the air and nothing but the sound of metal hitting a railroad spike could be heard. That was all you could hear until the screams of the actor started and then the tears and sobs of the audience. I remember sitting there with my stomach aching as I imagined the pain of railroad spikes going into your hands and feet. As impactful as that seen was it didn’t strike me until years later when I made the full connection that it wasn’t the roman guard hammering Jesus to the cross it was my sin, my actions, my disobedience to God. I am the guilty one, Jesus is the innocent one.

Thankfully, God didn’t leave me there.

Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is God’s grace. My favorite definition of grace simply states,  unmerited action of love and compassion originating from within and by the will of the giver.

I can do absolutely nothing to deserve that grace, even more, I can’t even do anything to influence the giving of the grace. No matter how good I am or how bad I am, God is the sole giver of grace.

If any part of this could rely on me then I could boast about my salvation, that I was better than someone else.

And just as God’s grace was given to me and Paul it can be yours too.

What is the effect of that grace?

1 Corinthians 15:10 “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.”

Paul openly admits, I am what I am.

What is Paul? Paul is a child of God. He is no longer what he used to be.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Paul now tells us “his grace toward me was not in vain” ; Paul literally could not stop preaching the Gospel. He was compelled by the Spirit to labor.

What will you do with the resurrection?

Will you believe in light of all the evidence? Will you trust in Jesus, his life, his death and HIS resurrection?

If you’ve already done that, will God’s grace be in vain for you? Will you sit on the sidelines content with knowing Jesus but not sharing Jesus? Many scholars talk about one of the things, from a purely practical standpoint, that helped the early church grow so fast were the revolutionary Roman roads and advanced shipping. These developments made travel much more accessible than it would’ve been even just a few hundred years earlier. Languages were known and translatable. Writing was more common and reproducible. Of course, we must ask ourselves, if what they had from a technology and infrastructure standpoint made them so effective; what is our excuse? I’m currently taking some courses online from Southeastern Baptist Seminary in Wake Forest and one of the porfessors had a quote, “I don’t believe God has changed you until He uses you to help change others.” Have you allowed God to change you to the point that you are not just willing to spread the gospel in an attempt to change others but you are compelled like Paul to do this? Matthew 9:37–38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”” What must we do to pass from the sidelines to get into the game?

In closing, if you haven’t repented and placed your faith in Chris alone, then today could be your day.

If you have done this, what is keeping you on the sidelines. What do you need to do today to be so changed by God that you are no longer content to sit on the sidelines but rather say... Put me in coach, I’m ready to play.