An Embodied Easter

Text: 1 Cor 15:12-21

CIS: What difference does bodily Resurrection make? Not only is it required for our salvation it actually happened.

CIT: Bodily Resurrection is the Christians promise grounded in Christ. Praise God for he is Risen.

SO: Prove: The Resurrection is real and will come again . 1 Our hope for it is connected to our original state. 2 To doubt the Jesus’ Resurrection is to dismiss a tremendous amount of evidence. 3 God promises a new earth/body and a reuniting with our loved ones.

ME

Growing up, Easter always kind of snuck up on me. Birthdays and Christmas were big. But Easter not as much...

I didn’t understand the significance of it besides it was time we did egg hunts and got Easter baskets.

Even though it was something I enjoyed, when I remember it, I miss understood it.

WE

Do certain things/celebrations sneek up on you?

We all are likely have forgotten the significance of the the things we know.

This is true even with the things of God. We need to be reminded of the significance of what God has done and its meaning for us.

Today, we are going to look a reminder given to the church just a few years after the first easter. Let’s see if there are any lessons we can take away ourselves.

Pray

Read

God

1 Corinthians 15:12–19 ESV

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.

Paul is writing to the church at Corinth that had begun to accept to errant theology.

A significant concept in ancient Greco-Roman spirituality was the concept of the Immortality of the Soul and inferiority of the material/body

The reason why the church says there is no resurrection of the dead is likely because they believe that the material was bad.

But Paul is trying to show them that if that errant theology was true than Jesus’ Easter miracle made no difference.

With out the resurrection of the dead the believer believed in vain without any hope.

But there was hope!

1 Corinthians 15:20–21 ESV

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.

Jesus actually did come back from the dead

Resurrection from Death means salvation.

So Paul answers the Corinthians question: What difference does bodily resurrection make? Not only is it required for our salvation. Jesus actually did it.!

You

So what do you think? What do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead bodily?

There might be reason you would doubt

Its an incredible claim (People don’t raise from the dead)

The World we live has similar beliefs about resurrection (immortal soul impure bodies)

Its too good to be true.

But you ought to believe

Man’s longing for longevity and life after death is connected to our original intent. The very desire to for life is due to the way we were designed

There is a tremendous amount of evidence to believe in the Resurrection of Christ.

Eyewitness accounts

Non-Christian Testimony of the claims and miracles of Christ.

Archaeological Evidence that substantiates the story of the Gospels.

If Jesus resurrected, we can trust his promise of Resurrection for the faithful. Death is not the note. But new life with our loved ones and God on a new earth.

Bodily Resurrection is the Christians promise grounded in Christ. Praise God for he is Risen.

We

So what happens when the really believes in the bodily resurrection.

We have boldness to be effective witnesses

Threats against our livelihood can not stop us from obedience to Christ.

We use our bodies according to the plan of God, not in a libertine or ascetic way.

The world around us will see the new life in us on Easter and everyday live in presence of the world needing resurrection.