The Reality of the Resurrection

Introduction

1 Corinthians 15

It’s so good to be back!

The church is such a resilient thing, isn’t it?

Through history, it’s survived persecution, wars, famines, and even a few viruses.

No matter how hard anyone or anything tries to stop it, God’s people continue to gather.

This isn’t usually the way things go!

I love history, specifically American history. As I read and listen about different parts of history, over and over, you see different groups, organizations, societies, pop up…and they start strong, do well, gain support…then, inevitably, something causes these once powerful groups to disband.

This has NOT happened to the church.

While we are grateful to gather today, having been limited by the coronavirus for a short time, we have brothers and sisters around the world who will CONTINUE to struggle to meet, knowing that persecution awaits them.

But in the face of this, and a million other things, the people of God continue to gather.

Today, I want to talk about why.

What makes what we do here different from any other gathering in the world?

What is it that unites us, that leads to a stronger, more resilient bond than any other?

In 1 Corinthians 15, we are given an answer; we are united around the reality of the resurrection of Jesus.

What we’re going to see is that it’s the truth of who Jesus is, and what he’s done, that unites us; and flowing from THAT truth, is where everything else we do as a church comes from.

1 Cor. 15

The church is resilient, like I said; one of the biggest things that it has withstood is not any attacks from the outside, but attacks from within; so many churches take their eyes off Jesus, and end up in conflict with each other.

This was a fear of Paul’s for the Corinthian church. So much of this book is spent helping them avoid that pitfall.

Then, in chapter 15, In v. 1-2, Paul says he’s now going to remind them about the Gospel that he preached to them. The Good News that they heard, believed, and were saved by.

1 Corinthians 15:1–10 ESV

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.

Why does the church survive? When so much else fails, why do we press on? I think there are 3 things we see here that make the church what it is.

It is built upon the TRUTH of the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Then, in v. 3-4, we see the Good news.

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,

THIS is of FIRST IMPORTANCE!

THIS is the basis of our unity. This truth is what ALL of this is built upon.

“Church” isn’t about being good, or following rules, or anything else; it’s about the TRUTH that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

ALL the church is, all that it does, is based upon this truth.

Any church that forgets this will quickly end up being something it wasn’t supposed to be.

How many times has the church been more focused on other things?

Focused on

And it is, truth. Paul, who we know was writing this about 20 years after Jesus returned to heaven, wasn’t just asking us to take his word for it.

Look at verse 5-8

1 Corinthians 15:5–8 ESV

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.

Jesus died on the cross, then 3 days later, rose again; and he appeared to many, many people. Paul knows of over 500 that saw him, many who were alive when he wrote this.

He tells them, “listen, I’m not making this up; this isn’t a fairy tale, this isn’t just another religious story like all the other ones. THIS. IS. REAL! if you don’t believe me, go ask any of the hundreds of people who saw him alive.”

And then he reminds them, that he himself saw Jesus, who dramatically stepped into Paul’s life and completely changed the trajectory of it.

Look what he says in v. 9-