1 Corinthians 15:12-34

The Power Of The Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15: 12-34 Lesson 15
Key verse 15:24 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF

"Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has
destroyed all dominion, authority and power."

In verses 1-11, we learned the contents of the Gospel; first, Jesus died for our sins; and second, Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. We learned that this Gospel is good news of great joy to all people for it is the solution to all problems of life and ministry. So often we think that our problems are due to “surface” issues. But there are core factors that keep us ensnared and entrapped. When all is stripped away we discover that that our core problems are actually sin and death problems. Paul was convinced that the gospel wonderfully solves these two problems, when a person accepts the gospel by faith. That is why Paul was so eager to share the Gospel as a most precious gift. In this passage we will learn; first, why the resurrection of Christ is absolutely necessary (12-19); second, what the Risen Christ's power is like (20-28); and third, a short warning, "Do not be misled." (29-34) Paul teaches us about the power of the Risen Christ, power to change lives, to heal, to save and to raise us from the dead. When our lives are transformed by this powerful gospel we can stand as witnesses of the Risen, living Christ. May God make each of you into a witness of the Risen Lord Jesus to the students of your respective campus’. Let’s see…

Part l: “How Can Some Of You Say There Is No Resurrection Of The Dead.” (12)

Apparently there were some in Corinth who did not believe the resurrection of the dead. Look at verse 12. "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" These people were Christians, within the church. Surprising isn’t it. You would think that Christians would automatically believe in the resurrection. They did not deny the resurrection of Christ. How could they? They had the apostles, eyes witnesses to the resurrected Jesus, living among them. Their own lives have been changed by the living, Lord Jesus. Some of them may have been among the 500 brothers (6) that the Risen Jesus revealed himself to in the 40 days that he appeared and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. (Acts 1:3) To these people, the resurrection of Jesus was not the primary issue. What they denied is the bodily resurrection of believers.

Why would Christians ever deny the bodily resurrection of believers? Among popular religions there was belief in the resurrection of a person’s soul, but not necessarily of the body. Most Greeks did not believe that people's bodies would be resurrected after death. They saw the afterlife as a reality of the soul alone. The soul was the real thing, imprisoned in a physical body, and at death the soul was released. To them, there is no immortality for the body, but the soul entered into an eternal state. The church at Corinth was immersed in Greek culture. So we can understand why Corinthian believers had a difficult time believing in a bodily resurrection.

But even today there are many, even within the church, who don’t believe in the resurrection from the dead. It is because believing in the resurrection of the dead has repercussions. It means that our hope has to be in the kingdom of God and if you have this hope then you necessarily have to live with this hope. You can no longer live your life as if living in this world was the only life worth living for. Believing in the resurrection seems impractical to our everyday lives. We can easily believe in Jesus’ love and forgiveness. We can accept his moral teachings. Our ears perk up when we hear of God’s blessings. All of these things involve making our lives a little better in this life. But what about the resurrection? Belief in the resurrection appears to bring only disruption and reminds us that we are going to die one day. But we will discover that the resurrection of the dead is absolutely true and necessary to our Christian lives.

But in Christianity, we believe in a bodily resurrection. Paul declares the necessity of the resurrection, the power of the resurrection. As we proceed through this passage, Paul exposes their logical fallacy and explains how Christ's resurrection relates to the resurrection of all believers. Let’s see…

Part ll: The Necessity Of The Resurrection (13-19).

In these verses, Paul assumes, for the sake of argument, that there is no resurrection of the dead. What would the implication be if that were true? Well, there would be some serious repercussions. There are serious consequences to our faith and our lives if Jesus has not been raised. Let’s think about some of them. Let’s read verse 13 & 14, “If there were no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ had been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” If there was no resurrection then our preaching of our Christian faith would be useless. There would be others more useful things to apply our lives to. We would also be inviting students to sacrifice some study time, sleep time and socializing time in order to do something useless.

Even worse, preaching Christ's resurrection would make us liars. Let’s read verse 15, “More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.” Not only would we be liars, propogating fairy tale, but we would also be preaching a about a weak God who has been overcome by the power of death, rather than a victorious God. Who wants to give their lives to a weak, limited God? But this is not the case for us. We are not liars and our God is all powerful. The God of the Bible, the God who raised Christ from the dead is living. He is the Almighty God. He is our God and we are telling the truth about him when we preach the Gospel.

Again, if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sins (17). The way to get out of our sins is to repent of our sins and receive the forgiveness of God. We place all of our hope in the kingdom of God and have a new, clear life direction. We have power and a reason to come out of our sins and make a new beginning in Jesus. And God is there to help us each step of the way, (if we are willing.) To still be in our sins, means that we are not forgiven of our sins; that we are living with unrepentant sins. We are suffering day to day, chewing the wages of our sins. One day will stand before the judgment seat of God while still in our sins. There will be no hope for us.

Also, if there is no resurrection then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost (18). We like to say of our loved ones, “They are going to a better place.” or “I will see them again in heaven.” But if there is no resurrection then these are just kind words that are not true. Also, if there is no resurrection then Christians are to be pitied more than all people (19). Many believers sacrificed everything to participate in the suffering of Christ. Some even became martyrs. But if there is no resurrection, then all is lost and believers are the most foolish people on earth, deceived by a false hope. We are the most pitiful, sacrificing Sunday after Sunday to prepare for worship service. Julie and I are so foolish to maintain both a house and a Bible house over these last seven years. We are so foolish to commute to Chicago and Triton and DuPage to co-work with other chapters to promote a Gospel that is not true. But we are not foolish and the gospel of Jesus is absolutely true and the most precious thing in this world. We are offering up our lives to worship Jesus, who has indeed been raised from the dead. He rules from heaven and one day we will follow him there. Our preaching is vital and necessary and changing the course of history and our faith is more precious than pure gold and is life-giving.


Third, The Power Of The Resurrection (20-28).

Christ's resurrection is a fact, an event that happened in history. Look at verse 20. "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." There are so many reasons to show that the resurrection of Jesus is a fact. There is the empty tomb. There is evidence of the burial clothes folded up upon itself in the tomb. There is no grave of Jesus. There are over 500 eyewitness accounts of the Risen Jesus. There is also the most compelling evidence, the changed lives of believers who have met the risen Jesus very personally. They have testimonies of how their lives have been touched, and are transformed, day by day, by the living Lord, Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can do the things that have occurred in their lives. Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus is connected to the resurrection of believers. To explain this, Paul calls Christ the "firstfruits." If we think about a fruit tree, the firstfruits is the first apple or the first orange of the season. When we see this first fruit then we know one thing for certain, there are many more fruits to come. Christ's resurrection is a sign of the resurrection of all believers. It gives us great hope that we, too, will be raised like Christ.

Some may wonder how they can be sure of their resurrection based on one person's resurrection. Paul answered in verse 21. "For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man." This is simply a premise of the Bible. Sin came into the world through one man Adam. Death came into the world because the wages of sin is death. We are born in this world filled with sin and death. It is our inheritance. That is just the way it is. Thank you, Adam. (Just joking.) When we are in Adam we are ruled by the power of sin. We did not commit Adam's sin, yet we are ruled by Adam's sin. Likewise, one man, Christ, sets us free. Look at verse 22. "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." John 5:24 reads, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me will not be condemned, He was crossed over from death to life.” John 1:4 reads, “In him was life and that life was the light of men.” There is no reason to live in the death, and be ruled by the elements of sin and death any longer. The Risen Christ has the power to make us alive with him forever, starting now! Christ rules us with life-giving power and will resurrect us in glory when he comes again (23). We can be resurrected from the deadness of our hearts right now, if we only believe.

The power of Christ's resurrection is not limited to giving life to believers. It also brings an amazing change to the whole universe. Let’s read verse 24, “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.” Jesus' resurrection destroys all the power of darkness and restores God's righteous reign in life. All forces that have opposed God and have kept this world mired and suffering in the darkness will be destroyed. After Jesus has subjected everything, he himself will submit to God the Father and God will be all in all (28). Then believers will rule together with Christ and the new heaven and new earth will come. Perfect paradise will ultimately be restored through the resurrection of Christ.

Part lV: Practical Resurrection Faith (29-34).

In these verses Paul teaches what kind of life we should live. Paul said, "I die every day" (31). In order to follow Jesus, Paul died to himself every day. He died to his desire for comfort, and for worldly honor. He died to his sinful desires. He died to serve others sacrificially. He was ready to lose everything for Christ. How could he do so? Paul lived by resurrection faith.

On the other hand, those without resurrection faith ultimately turn to a pleasure seeking lifestyle. Look at verse 33. Their motto is, "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die" (33). If life on earth is the end, we naturally seek to maximize our pleasure. When we get into our 30’s or 40’s we think, “I am getting older. I need to enjoy myself before it is too late” And so we embark on adventure after adventure, enjoying pleasure after pleasure, until they are too old, too weak or too poor to do anything else. Then they become very sad and long for death. But those who have faith in the resurrection have a heavenly hope. They are happy and content to follow Jesus and live by the truth of God’s word. They are happy to serve others with the love of God. They find great satisfaction giving their hearts to God’s mission in their lives. This is the opposite of a pleasure seeking lifestyle, but it is indeed a life of spiritual pleasure.

Paul had resurrection faith and with this faith Paul sacrificed temporary pleasure for eternal benefits and goodness. He was willing to fight the enemies of the gospel, through prayer and preaching and disciple-raising, though it was like fighting wild beasts. (32) I am going to share something about Apostle Paul, not to scare you, but to show you the power of the resurrection manifest in his life. In the book of Acts Paul was preaching in Iconium. Some Jewish religious leaders came from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowd, They stoned Paul, and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But Paul was not dead. What did do? After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went in to the city. He continued to preach the gospel. (Acts 14:19-20) His body may have been black and blue and bloodied, but he was more than alive. His spirit was undaunted. He was full of power and zeal because of his resurrection faith. He suffered in so many ways. Listen to his own description in 1 Cor 11:23b-28, “…I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” How could he do this? Well, we get a clue from his words in the last passage. “No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Cor 15:10b) It was not only the grace of Jesus, but also his faith in the resurrection of Jesus. With this faith Paul gave his life for Jesus and the gospel and experienced great joy and spiritual victory when he did so.

He encouraged the Corinthian believers to watch their hearts in verses 33-34 by watching who they associate with. "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning..." (33-34). Who are bad company? Surely it is not the people of the world, for if we did not make friends with them, we could never introduce them to our living Lord and Savior Jesus. Bad company are those who call themselves Christians but who deny the resurrection or who do not live with resurrection faith in their hearts. Rather they live by the principle, “Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” Those who sin like this are ignorant of God. We must come back to our senses and stop sinning. We must live by resurrection faith and “die” every day, to ourselves, in order to serve God’s purpose in our lives. We must hold onto our heavenly hope and our lives should follow suit. In this way we will truly experience spiritual power and overflowing heavenly joy.

How can resurrection faith be practical in our own lives? I am not saying to look for opportunities where you can be stoned to death and be shipwrecked in the open sea. No. But there are practical aspects to our own life of faith. There are times when we feel that we cannot carry on in our school, in our family, at our job or with our own inner spiritual struggles. But with faith in the resurrection we can get up off the floor, brush ourselves off and try again and again with renewed vigor. We don’t have to be depressed thinking that we are running out of time in life and opportunities are passing us by. We can rest in the thought that we will be raised with Jesus and have already won the final victory, everything else is gravy. There are times when the hardships of life and the people of this world push us to ignore Jesus and enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle. But with hope in the resurrection we can know for certain that picking up our crosses and following Jesus is the best thing to do. We are not running out of time, we have eternal life. We do not need earthy pleasures, all the time, to satisfy our hearts. We have heavenly joy poured out on us from Jesus who went on before us.

In this passage we learned the absolute necessity of the gospel of Jesus death and resurrection. We need the gospel to come out of our sins and the repercussions of our sins. We need the Gospel to have eternal life. Our hope, our mission and reason for our existence is intimately linked to the Gospel of Jesus. Faith in the resurrection fills our hearts with the life of God and resurrection power. May your life and ministry reflect the awesome power of the resurrection.