If Christ Has Not Been Raised

1 Corinthians 15:12-22

Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without foundation, and so is your faith. In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified about God that He raised up Christ—whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Therefore those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. If we have placed our hope in Christ in this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

But now Christ has 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 also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.[1]

L

et’s admit one great truth. If there is no resurrection, there is no Christian Faith. Either Jesus raised from the dead, or there is no validity to the Christian Faith. Communists can journey to London and visit the tomb of Karl Marx, trek to Moscow to view the preserved corpse of Lenin and queue up in Beijing to see the decaying body of Mao. Buddhists know where the tomb of Buddha is located, and Muslims know where Mohammed is buried. Travel to Jerusalem, however, and the tomb of Jesus is yet empty. There is no explanation for this empty tomb other than that provided by the testimony of those who witnessed those events two millennia past.

Three “E's” are key to proving the resurrection—early testimony, eyewitness testimony and the empty tomb. The disciples believed Jesus raised from the dead. Those who knew Him best testified that they saw Him after He had risen. Mary Magdalene saw Him, and He spoke to her, calling her by name [John 20:11-18]. Earlier, Mary Magdalene, together with Mary the mother of James and other women, had witnessed that the tomb was empty. They reported that angels had spoken to them, rebuking them for their lack of faith [Luke 23:55-24:8]. Peter and John also witnessed the empty tomb [Luke 24:9-12].

The apostles were together in one spot on multiple occasions when the Risen Son of God appeared to them [John 20:19-31, 26-29; 21:1-14]. Later, Paul claims to have met the Risen Saviour as he travelled to Damascus [Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-21]. Even scholars who say there is not a single eyewitness writer in the Gospels will grant that Paul's testimony is eyewitness in at least this sense—that Paul believed he saw the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. Evangelicals believe there's a lot of eyewitness testimony in the New Testament. Paul relates that the Living Christ had appeared to His own half-brother, James [1 Corinthians 15:7], an event which resulted in belief for James who became the pastor of the Jerusalem church. The Apostle also relates that Jesus had appeared to over five hundred believers at one time [1 Corinthians 15:6; Matthew 28:16, 17; Acts 1:6-10], most who were still living and capable of disproving the claim if they were so inclined.

Even the Jews acknowledge that something astonishing happened. Those religious leaders concocted a story to explain how seasoned Roman guards were overpowered while frightened Jewish Christians stole the body of the crucified Jesus [Matthew 28:11-15]. It is clear that some event of momentous magnitude occurred in Jerusalem, and that the tomb in which Jesus of Nazareth had been buried was left empty. The majority of critical scholars also believe there was an empty tomb.

In our text, the Apostle Paul leaves us some very important hints on how you can put a historical case together for the resurrection. And, if the resurrection is true, the gospel is true. When you say, “I do,” to the Lord, you are saying, “I do,” to the Jesus of the gospel. Here's what the resurrection says: There is an answer, even if I do not know what it is. The resurrection says it's not over.

If Christ has not been Raised, Our Preaching is Without Foundation. The consistent apostolic message was that Jesus is alive. There was no question but that He had been crucified. Hung as a common criminal, this man had died on a cross. To ensure that He was dead, a Roman guard thrust a spear upward into His chest, piercing His heart. If He was not dead, this action ensured that He was dead.

The eleven were energised by the knowledge that He did not stay dead, but that He had conquered death and was risen from the tomb. They, together with the other one hundred nine disciples gathered in that upper room awaiting Pentecost were convinced of one truth—Jesus was alive. He had appeared to them, eaten with them, talked to them and walked with them. His cousin John would later write of Him in stunning words.

What was from the beginning,

what we have heard,

what we have seen with our eyes,

what we have observed,

and have touched with our hands,

concerning the Word of life—

that life was revealed,

and we have seen it

and we testify and declare to you

the eternal life that was with the Father

and was revealed to us—

what we have seen and hear

we also declare to you.

[1 John 1:1-3a]

The first Christian sermon following the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb concluded with the stunning assertion that Jesus was alive.

He was not left in Hades,

and His flesh did not experience decay.

God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this [Acts 2:31b, 32].

From that point, the centre of the Good News concerning Jesus Christ is that He is risen from the dead. Listen to the preaching of Peter, the great preacher of Pentecost. You denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked to have a murderer given to you. And you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this [Acts 3:14, 15].

Rulers of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man—by what means he was healed—let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing here before you healthy [Acts 4:8b-10].

We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging Him of a tree. God exalted this man to His right hand as ruler and Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him [Acts 5:29b-32].

Paul’s message throughout the first missionary tour was the same as that of Peter. Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have [Jesus] killed. When they had fulfilled all that had been written bout Him, they took Him down from the tree and put Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and He appeared for many days to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are not His witnesses to the people. And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our forefathers [Acts 13:28-32].

This is the message we yet proclaim. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved [Romans 10:9, 10, 13].

If Christ has not been Raised, we are False Witnesses about God—we are liars. Peter, John, Paul—indeed, all the disciples misrepresented God. More than that, they lived a lie and died a lie, even as they induced others to believe a lie. Think about that! Can you actually believe that anyone will knowingly suffer and die for a lie? Yet, each of the Apostles was hounded and persecuted throughout the days of their lives, and all, except for John, died a horrifying death.

Permit me a moment to observe the cost to these Apostles. According to church tradition, each of the apostles was persecuted because of the Faith. All, save John, were murdered because of their faith. All, save Judas the traitor, remained faithful to death.

Simon, to whom Jesus gave the surname Peter, was crucified with his head downward. Tradition has it that he did not consider himself worthy of dying the same death as His Master, and he was granted his request to be crucified upside down.

James, son of Zebedee and his brother John (who were surnamed Boanerges) were likewise persecuted for the Faith. James was beheaded in Jerusalem and John was exiled to Patmos where he died of natural causes.

Andrew, brother of Simon, was crucified on an X-shaped cross, from which he preached until he died. His death was said to have occurred in Greece.

Philip was also crucified in Syria.

Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, was flayed alive in India.

Matthew, also known as Levi, suffered martyrdom being hewed with an axe in Ethiopia.

Thomas was lanced by idolatrous priests in the East Indies.

James, son of Alphaeus, was beaten to death in Jerusalem.

Thaddaeus (Judas Lebbaeus) was shot to death with arrows.

Simon the Zealot was crucified in Britannia.

Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem.

Of the evangelists, Mark is supposed to have died in Alexandria after being dragged through the streets. Luke was hanged from an olive tree in the land of Greece.

Paul was beheaded in Rome under Nero. His companion, Barnabas, was stoned to death in Salonica.

Dare we believe that this ancient lineage was composed of people who were all deranged? Did they all suffer and die for nothing? Have those who die daily because they are Christians died in vain. Licia Corbella, in the Calgary Sun cites reports which state that each week of this current year over 3,000 Christians will be killed by Muslims. This is a 09/11 every week of the year, committed by Muslims because of their hatred of Christians.[2] Mrs. Corbella cites the communications director of the Canadian office of Voice of the Martyrs concerning the conditions under which Christians live under Islam. Christians in most Muslim countries around the world must either convert, submit, leave or die. Are all these people dying for nothing? There is a resurrection, and the evidence is that Christ our Lord has conquered death.

Not even the Lord Himself has been raised, if the apostolic message is false. Without the resurrection, we are bereft of hope and without peace in a broken, fallen world. Those who die—especially those who die because of their faith—die in a false hope, having believed a lie, if Christ has not been raised.

Moreover, if Christ has not been raised, then nothing written in the Word of God makes sense, being based upon a lie. If this hope is a lie, then we should live for our brief moment called now and cease living with a view to pleasing God. We should become Epicureans. The Apostle deals with this situation in 1 Corinthians 15:30-32.

Why are we in danger every hour? I affirm by the pride in you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord: I die every day! If I fought wild animals in Ephesus with only human hope, what good does that do me? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we die.”

If Christ has not been Raised, Your Faith is Worthless. This is the necessary corollary to the first proposition. If Christ has not been raised, the message we declare is false and of necessity, since you have believed a lie, your faith is worthless. This is a serious charge, for if your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins, those who have died have perished, and we are a most pitiful people.

You are still in your sins, as you well know. The statistics on death are rather striking—one out of one die. There is no reason for death. From a biochemical standpoint, the body has so many failsafe mechanisms that there should never be an incident of death due to old age. Perhaps we can allow for trauma—accidental or intentional—as a cause of death, but there is no reason anyone should die due to ageing. There exists an astonishing array of backup systems designed into the body and multiplied repair mechanisms to address damage to the components of life. In spite of these provisions, death comes to old and young alike.

Death is one thing, but we who are Christians are convinced from the Word of God that the wages of sin is death [Romans 6:23]. Death is simply compelling evidence that we are sinners. We die because our race is contaminated with a deadly malady which we call sin for want of a better term. We are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. We are born in sin and we live sinful lives. The best individuals among us are compelled by the weight of evidence to confess that we have sinned and that there must be a Righteous and Holy God.

We long for freedom from sin. Every cemetery testifies that we are a sinful race. Every hospital reminds us that we are fallen and sinful. Every care home confronts us with our wicked condition. We cannot escape. The evidence of our dying condition conspires to steal any hope that we may somehow escape the condemnation of Holy God.

However, consider this stunning truth. If there is no resurrection from the dead, we are still in our sins! How else can we account for death? The death of a loved one is simply an application of the second law of thermodynamics, and we cannot provide a reason for their existence, much less account for why they needed to die.

Those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. Here is the horrifying corollary: those of our loved ones who died in the Faith have perished. We shall never see them again. The poet was wrong when he wrote:

There is no death. The stars go down

To rise upon some other shore;

And bright in Heaven's jewelled crown

They shine for evermore…

Although with bowed and breaking heart,

With sable garb and silent tread,

We bear their senseless dust to rest,

And say that they are dead—

They are not dead. They have but passed

Beyond the mists that blind us here,

Into the new and larger life

Of that serener sphere.

They have but dropped their robe of clay

To put a shining raiment on;

They have not wandered far away,

They are not “lost” or “gone.”[3]

I expect to see so many of my loved ones. My father died in my first year in Canada. I miss him and long to see him without the pain resulting from his war wounds. My paternal grandfather and grandmother passed into eternity and I expect to see them one day. My favourite aunt died in the Faith; I led her to Jesus. I expect to see her.

I have an aunt whom I never met. She died of a ruptured appendix before the discovery of penicillin and when she was but eighteen years of age. My dad related how on her deathbed she suddenly started, and straining to lift from the bed she cried out to her father, my granddad. “Daddy, do you hear them? Can you hear them? They are the sweetest voices I have ever heard and they are singing. Good-bye, Daddy, good-bye. I’ll see you again.” And with those sweet words, she closed her eyes and left this life behind. I’ll see her at the resurrection of the just.

If there is no resurrection from the dead, then my family is dead. Neither my dad, nor my Aunt Wilma, nor my Aunt Jessie, nor my granddad, nor my grandma shall ever be seen again. What of your loved ones who died in the Faith? What of the words of encouragement I have given to others as their loved ones passed beyond the veil of this life? If there is no resurrection, they are simply gone. The best we can do in that case is to encourage people to forget and move on with their lives. But how can we forget those we love? We need the hope of the resurrection.

In San Francisco, our family adopted an elderly widow as a surrogate grandmother. Sally Martin would occasionally ask me to drive her to Colma, a vast cemetery situated next to Daly City. All the burials for the San Francisco peninsula take place in Colma.

We would wend our way through the vast cemeteries until we have arrived at a certain spot. She would ask me to wait while she walked to a certain plot. There she would stand, her head bowed until she would lift her head and smile.

I asked on one occasion, who’s grave did she visit. Obviously, it was someone dear to her. As a young man, the pain of separation had not yet intruded deeply into my life, and so I innocently asked.

“Here lies the remains of my Johnny,” she would say.

She related that throughout the long years of marriage, Johnny had never come to faith, but he had encouraged her to attend church, if she so desired. He was a good man. He worked hard to build a business in Daly City—a grocery store. Alas, time took its toll and the day came that Johnny Martin was compelled by reason to old age to sell the store. He and Sally hoped to have time together, but he was diagnosed with a condition which would soon mean that he must leave this life.

As he was dying, Johnny had at last put his faith in the Saviour. He grieved most that he had waited so long, but he did believe that Jesus had died for his sin and that He had raised from the dead. Though he was dying, he was saved by God’s grace.

Now, Sally would go to the grave where Johnny’s body was laid, and she would remember all the good things of his life.

“Mike,” she told me, “I like to think that one day Jesus will come while I am standing at the side of the grave. When He comes, He will call for the redeemed to come forth. I would like to be there when my Johnny comes forth. That is why I often come and wait. I long to see him changed into the likeness of Jesus.”

We should be pitied more than anyone. If the dead are not raised, we are a most pitiful people. Our loved ones have died living a fool’s dream and we ourselves have no hope. How pitiful are we who call ourselves Christians if there is no resurrection from the dead. If there is no resurrection from the dead, why should we encourage others to join us in this pilgrimage called the Faith? Why, if there is no resurrection, should we seek to please God? Why subject ourselves to a fruitless hope, if there is no resurrection?

Christ has been Raised from the Dead! But now Christ has 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 also comes through a man. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive [1 Corinthians 15:20-22]. Only in Jerusalem can one visit the tomb of a founder of a world religion which is now empty. The tomb of Jesus is empty, as even His enemies confessed. No wonder the Apostle exults as he practically shouts out the glorious truth!

He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. The Bible presents Jesus as firstfruits [1 Corinthians 15:20]. If we understand the concept of firstfruits, we can make an application to Jesus and discover the comfort which is ours as result of His resurrection. According to Larry Walker,[4] firstfruits are the choice examples of a crop harvested first and dedicated to God. The firstfruits are the best God has to offer in a particular harvest. They are the promise of abundance to follow as they are presented to God.

Israel is described as God’s firstfruits [Jeremiah 2:3]. The Holy Spirit, given to us who believe, is spoken of as a firstfruits [Romans 8:23]. Believers are a kind of firstfruits [James 1:18]. The saved remnant within Israel is referred to as a firstfruits [Romans 11:16]. The first converts of an area were designated firstfruits [Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15]. In the text, Christ in His resurrection is described as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [1 Corinthians 15:20].

In other words, if Christ is risen from the dead, His victory over death serves as God’s standing promise that there shall be a resurrection of the righteous. Jesus is established as the powerful Son of God by the resurrection from the dead according to the Spirit of holiness [Romans 1:4]. If He is the Son of God and if He has conquered death, then we may be assured that we also shall conquer death. This is the reason the Apostle exults.

O Death, where is your victory?

O Death, where is your sting?

Now the sting of death is sin,

and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God,

who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ!

[1 Corinthians 15:55-57]

I often find myself lost in wonder at the gracious words which John penned. So now, little children, remain in Him, so that when He appears we may have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know this as well: everyone who does what is right has been born of Him. Look at how great a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure [1 John 2:28-3:3].

When you came to faith in Christ the Lord, you placed your faith in a living Saviour. He is alive, having conquered death and having broken the bounds of the grave. In His life, we also live. Jesus has promised, because I live, you will live too [John 14:19]. If I have believed in a God who is dead, then I have no hope. However, if this Jesus lives, then I also shall live. His resurrection is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

I have often spoken of how the Christian Faith has changed our language. Before Christ, people were laid to rest in graves. The pagan peoples placed their loved ones in “graven” places—hence our word graveyard.

Christians, on the other hand, saw the bodies of their loved ones, and in death they looked at peace and as though they were asleep. Thus, the early Christians spoke of their loved ones as having fallen asleep. In the text, Paul speaks of those who have fallen asleep [kekoimhmevnwn—perfect, passive, participle, masculine, plural, genitive of koimavw]. That verb is related to our English word coma, or comatose. The loved ones of the Christians were placed in a koimêtêrion, a sleeping chamber, a burial place.[5]

The origin of death demands the resurrection. Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man [1 Corinthians 15:21]. Death was the result of disobedience of our first father, Adam. All living beings, certainly all mankind, are under the adamic curse, and some die solely as result of that curse. Those innocent ones, infants and those with wounded minds from birth, die without rebelling against grace. They die because our first father sinned, and only because of that sin. They have not rebelled against grace or lived in open defiance of Holy God. They are what we would speak of as innocent. On the basis of this passage, we can say that those innocent ones, though not saved are kept safe in Christ; and He shall ensure that they will be raised to life at His coming.

The rebellion of our first father demands that the Second Adam must conquer death through His resurrection. The innocence of those who have died without rebellion against divine grace demands the resurrection. God has promised by His Holy Word that there shall be a resurrection to set right that which was ruined in the Fall of our first father. There shall be a righting of all that is wrong; and the resurrection is that righting.

Those are indeed powerful words which Paul penned to the Thesslonian church. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words

[1 Thessalonians 4:13-18].

Those words anticipate what he would pen years later to Titus. The grace of God has appeared, with salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ [Titus 2:11-13].

The impact of His resurrection says we are either in Christ or outside Christ. Just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive [1 Corinthians 15:22]. When Christ comes, it will spell the conclusion of all that we have known as normal—the supernormal will then prevail. This is what Paul has in mind when he says of Christ’s coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when He abolishes all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy He abolishes is death. For “He has put everything under His feet” [1 Corinthians 15:24-27]. The Apostle sweeps forward to the conclusion of the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus.

Do you know how that reign will end? Are you aware that it concludes with Christ as Judge of the wicked and the dead? Listen to the awful words which John wrote. Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire [Revelation 20:11-15].

We either hope in God, knowing that Christ has been raised from the dead, or we hope in our goodness that we can somehow bargain with God or coerce Him into doing what we cannot do. God has revealed that this Jesus is His Son with power through raising Him from the dead. Do we really think that we can bargain with such a God? What have we to offer? I would spare you that awful need to stand before His great, white throne.

We must come to Him as He demands. This is the Word of God calling us to life. If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Now everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ: certain that God is appealing through us, we plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Working together with Him, we also appeal to you: “Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.” For He says:

In an acceptable time, I heard you,

And in the day of salvation, I helped you.

Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation [2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2].

Our Lord shall come again, and that soon. The last enemy conquered is death, and the conquest in view is the conquest of death in its hold over the people of God. Therefore, we are either in Christ and alive, or we are outside Christ and dead. Easter calls us each one to life in Christ, for only in Him have we hope of the resurrection of the dead; but because He lives, we also shall live. Amen.

Permit me a moment to observe the cost to these Apostles. According to church tradition, each of the apostles was persecuted because of the Faith. All, save John, were murdered because of their faith. All, save Judas the traitor, remained faithful to death.

Simon, to whom Jesus gave the surname Peter, was crucified with his head downward. Tradition has it that he did not consider himself worthy of dying the same death as His Master, and he was granted his request to be crucified upside down.

James, son of Zebedee and his brother John (who were surnamed Boanerges) were likewise persecuted for the Faith. James was beheaded in Jerusalem and John was exiled to Patmos where he died of natural causes.

Andrew, brother of Simon, was crucified on an X-shaped cross, from which he preached until he died. His death was said to have occurred in Greece.

Philip was also crucified in Syria.

Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, was flayed alive in India.

Matthew, also known as Levi, suffered martyrdom being hewed with an axe in Ethiopia.

Thomas was lanced by idolatrous priests in the East Indies.

James, son of Alphaeus, was beaten to death in Jerusalem.

Thaddaeus (Judas Lebbaeus) was shot to death with arrows.

Simon the Zealot was crucified in Britannia.

Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded in Jerusalem.

Of the evangelists, Mark is supposed to have died in Alexandria after being dragged through the streets. Luke was hanged from an olive tree in the land of Greece.

Paul was beheaded in Rome under Nero. His companion, Barnabas, was stoned to death in Salonica.

There is no death. The stars go down

To rise upon some other shore;

And bright in Heaven's jewelled crown

They shine for evermore…

Although with bowed and breaking heart,

With sable garb and silent tread,

We bear their senseless dust to rest,

And say that they are dead—

They are not dead. They have but passed

Beyond the mists that blind us here,

Into the new and larger life

Of that serener sphere.

They have but dropped their robe of clay

To put a shining raiment on;

They have not wandered far away,

They are not “lost” or “gone.”

He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. The Bible presents Jesus as firstfruits [1 Corinthians 15:20]. If we understand the concept of firstfruits, we can make an application to Jesus and discover the comfort which is ours as result of His resurrection. According to Larry Walker, firstfruits are the choice examples of a crop harvested first and dedicated to God. The firstfruits are the best God has to offer in a particular harvest. They are the promise of abundance to follow as they are presented to God.

Israel is described as God’s firstfruits [Jeremiah 2:3]. The Holy Spirit, given to us who believe, is spoken of as a firstfruits [Romans 8:23]. Believers are a kind of firstfruits [James 1:18]. The saved remnant within Israel is referred to as a firstfruits [Romans 11:16]. The first converts of an area were designated firstfruits [Romans 16:5; 1 Corinthians 16:15]. In the text, Christ in His resurrection is described as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [1 Corinthians 15:20].

I have often spoken of how the Christian Faith has changed our language. Before Christ, people were laid to rest in graves. The pagan peoples placed their loved ones in “graven” places—hence our word graveyard.

Christians, on the other hand, saw the bodies of their loved ones, and in death they looked at peace and as though they were asleep. Thus, the early Christians spoke of their loved ones as having fallen asleep. In the text, Paul speaks of those who have fallen asleep [kekoimhmevnwn—perfect, passive, participle, masculine, plural, genitive of koimavw]. That verb is related to our English word coma, or comatose. The loved ones of the Christians were placed in a koimêtêrion, a sleeping chamber, a burial place.

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[1] Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Ó 2000, Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

[2] Licia Corbella, Killing of Christians an unspoken atrocity, Calgary Sun, March 19, 2002

[3] John McCreery, There is no death

[4] Larry Walker, Firstfruits (article), in Trent C. Butler (ed.), Holman Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Holman Bible Publishers, Ó1991) 493

[5] Henry Bosley Woolf, Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA, G. & C. Merriam Co., 1977) 179