1 Corinthians 16:1-22 Ministry, Money and many other Matters

 

TEXT : 1 Corinthians  16: 1-22

TITLE:   Ministry, Money  and many other Matters

Date :  22/04/2012

Today,  we conclude  this series of expositions in 1 Corinthians   which I began in February 2010, and which now comprises  a total of 53 messages . 

Chapter 16 concludes  with  a number of matters :

(i)       Concerning collections of money for the  poor  church in Jerusalem (1-4)

(ii)           Concerning Paul’s travel plans (5-9)

(iii)          Concerning  Timothy  (10-11) and  Apollos (v12)

(iv)         Closing exhortations   (13-18) and final greetings (19-23)

1.       Concerning collections of money for the  poor  church in Jerusalem ( 1-4)

Paul is responding to yet  another  question   from the church. [1]  v.1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. After the stoning of Stephen a great  persecution  broke out against the church (Acts 8:1ff). The church  was shunned  and marginalized by the Jews.  Social welfare for the Christian poor, widows and orphans seized to be; properties of Christians were confiscated. In addition  a  famine in Judea, prophesied by the prophet Agabus (Acts 11:28), caused great hardship.  So, the  church in Jerusalem was struggling, and Paul encouraged  the  churches  in the Christian diaspora , in Asia minor, to  do some serious, planned giving for this cause.  Here is  his advice on how they were to do it:  

v.2 : On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. On Sunday , the  first day  of the week , the Christian Sabbath   and day of worship , the members of the churches in Asia Minor were encouraged to  put aside money for the church in Jerusalem.  They are encouraged  to store it  up ,  each  “as he may prosper “  proportional  giving! ”    And then? What  is this collection for?

v.3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.  The Corinthians were encouraged   to select trustworthy people  to deliver  that  money personally to Jerusalem.  There will also be other  men, representatives chosen by the other churches. Luke names some of them in Acts 20:4.

Commentary :  What can we learn from this portion of Scripture?

·  Christian compassion for the genuine  poverty in other parts of the Christian  church is an obligation. We at Eastside Baptist Church (apart from being sensitive to the real  needs among us)  must  remain sensitive to this in a country in which there is  gross economic disparity and where most of our churches  represent the sub economic divide!

·        Planned giving is better than spontaneous (emotional)  appeals.

·       The giving was to happen on Sundays, the day of worship. It was part of worship!

·   After the money was collected and Paul had arrived, the church was encouraged  to send trustworthy representatives  with Paul. Why? 

3 reasons

  

(i)  for the sake  of security, for they would carry  a sizable amount of   coins.  

(ii) Accountability:  Corruption  was a part of  the ancient church as it is today.  Judas- like preachers  were helping themselves  to the money bags  as  is also common today.  

(iii) the pleasure  of delivering their  gifts  in person to the church at Jerusalem, while at the same time  also  being able to  encourage the church  in Jerusalem. Sending money or gifts impersonally  is one thing. Delivering  the money or gifts personally   makes for double joy – like  that joy which our people have just experienced  when they took your gifts  to  our poorer brothers and sisters  to the Baptist  church in  thje southern town  of Lüderitz, Namibia.

2.       Concerning his travel plans (5-9)

 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.  

Remember that  Paul is an apostle.  He is not  a pastor –teacher,  settled permanently among God’s people. As an apostle  He was an itinerant  minister of the gospel. His main  aim was  to preach Christ  in every city where He was not as yet known, with the purpose of planting churches among those  received the gospel. In this instance however  he is intending  to re-visit churches that he had already planted in  northern Greece i.e. in  the province of Macedonia. Examples  of these churches  are Philippi and Thessalonica.  From these northern parts he then hopes  to come  south, to  Corinth for the winter. Verse  8 tells us  that  Paul is writing this letter from Ephesus where  he  tells us,  “a wide door for effective work has opened to me.” He intended to stay there until  Pentecost (50 days after Resurrection Sunday, and the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2). You can read all about that work in Acts 19. It is a glorious  chapter, full of gospel power and triumph, but  it  is also  a city  full of demonic  religions and resistance  to the gospel. This is what he means  by “…and there are many adversaries.” (v.9)

  

3.       Concerning  Timothy and  Apollos  (vv 10-12)  

10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.  

Timothy  is  Paul’s child in the faith  ( 1 Tim 1:2 ;  2 Tim 1:2;2:1). He is   a fellow traveler with Paul on his apostolic journeys ( 2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1 1Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1). To him 2 letters (Pastoral epistles)  are personally addressed. He became the pastor of the church in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3). He is  mentioned   26 times in the NT.  Paul would  sometimes  send Timothy to churches that he had  planted. In this instance  it appears that Paul had sent Timothy to Corinth, because of the tensions  that had arisen between  Paul and  Corinthian members. You can read about this in  1 Corinthians  4:14-21.  This church has had a real problem with Paul’s authority, and so it is no wonder that   Paul says, “let no one despise him.”(v.11)  What a  formidable mission  for a young man  to  deal with such a  difficult church situation! Timothy needed  Paul’s encouragement  at times for this task ( 1 Tim 4:11-16 ; 2 Tim 1:3-14) . Every young pastor needs a Paul - a mentor.

12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. 

Here is an interesting situation! In Chapter 3:4ff  there was an ‘Apollos party’  in the church. They  loved Apollos, and would have far sooner have had him there than Paul. He was apparently an eloquent,  dynamic speaker (Acts 18:25). Please note  that Paul did not see himself in competition to Apollos. He was happy to send Apollos to  them, but  for some reason  Apollos had  declined  to go, and might come another time. 

4.       Closing exhortations   (13-18) and greetings ( 19-23)

Paul begins this  section  with  five commands: Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love. We can only comment very briefly on them:

     a.       Be watchful:  Why?  Because of what had already happened  among them: Pride  and self centeredness  had crept in among them and was threatening to destroy  their unity in Christ. The church must constantly watch out for  these things! 

     b.       Stand firm in the faith.  i.e. in the  gospel which you have received  (15:1-11) which is  Christ at the center of their faith. The temptation is always   to substitute the gospel of Jesus with big names, our big spiritual gifts, our  big events.  The Corinthians were beginning to waver on  gospel essentials. Some were beginning to doubt the doctrine of the resurrection.  

    c.        Act like men. ( Gr. andrizesthe)   i.e.  “to be brave - act with courage.”  Take  up your cross , deny yourself. Follow  Christ ! This is far harder than giving into oneself. Real men aren’t bullied  or  beaten into submission when truth is assaulted.

    d.       Be strong. This follows and amplifies what was said before. It takes manly courage to stand against the  tide of ungodliness,and  popular, man centered opinion. Christians need to be strong in the face of  secular  challenges and the fear of man   that  threatens to engulf them.

     e.       Let all that you do be done in love: 1 Corinthians 13  is the key!  

15 Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints— 16 be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such men.  

We finally meet some of the members:   Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus  were  respected members  and leaders of the church.  They were   among  Paul’s first converts in Corinth(province Achaia). They appeared to be faithful to Paul’s teaching, and  had stood with Paul in this crisis.  Hence  he admonished the church to  subject and recognize these men   and their authority.   

Final greetings  to them come from the churches in the  greater area (Asia)  and  from two Christians who used to be members of the Corinthian church (Acts 18:2): 19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings.  He also sends a personal greeting:  Paul dictated his letter. Now he signs off  with his own hand. 21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.

If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!  

Verse 22  expresses Paul’s deep  affection  for the church.  He does not suffer fools and heretics  and those that cause  disturbance in the church  lightly, and this may sound harsh , but understand, that it is His greater love for the health of the church that drives him to say this.  However ,  he does close with  a blessing: 23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.   These two words, grace and love  sum up the Christian’s experience.  The understanding  of the Grace which we receive from God  removes the basis for our  arrogance. Grace makes us grateful  to God, and indebted to Him and others. It is by knowing  this grace that we can truly love.  

CONCLUSION :

1 Corinthians  is  an important epistle,   for it shows us what can happen  very easily  and very quickly when a church  loses her focus  on Christ.  Within 5 years of being founded, this church was in serious trouble.  Doctrinally  and  experientially  these people had  begun to drift  spiritually because they had failed to watch their life and doctrine closely (1 Tim 4:16). There are other examples of such  rapid spiritual  declines in Scripture. 

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he writes: “I am astonished that you are  so quickly deserting Him who called  you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel…” (Gal 1:6).  

 We also see this  in  Revelation 2 & 3.  5 of the 7 churches in Asia Minor   had  lost their focus and needed to receive a warning. They  had lost  their first love  in Christ, and mercifully  Christ   speaks to them  through  his servant John, exhorting  them   to repent and return [2], otherwise  the   Lord of the church would remove His lampstand from among them (Rev 2:5). The church that loses the sense of the  presence of God  may go on a while, but only for a while! The church without  God at the center  is bound to destroy itself!   

Backsliding  happens faster than we think , and for this reason we can never be  too easy and comfortable  in this world.  For this reason, Paul exhorts the Corinthians to be “watchful, stand firm in the faith, and act like  men  and be strong.”    

 Backsliding (faithlessness , apostasy)   is  a sin warned against  throughout the entire Bible, and  the Lord  God had  used His servants the prophets at  many times and in many  ways  to  warn and rebuke  Israel, and  the church and individuals. This letter has been, I trust,   a sincere warning to  our church.   

May  everyone  here  be spared to hear the words  with  which Paul closes this epistle,  “ If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed“ ( a reflection of what Jesus said in  Matt 7:22,23), and may all  here be the recipients of the grace and love of our Lord  Jesus. Amen!

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[1] See also 7:1,25; 8:1;12:1

[2] Rev 2:5, 16,21-22; 3:3,19

1 Corinthians 15:35-58 : OUR RESURRECTION !

TEXT : 1 Corinthians  15: 35-58

TITLE:   Our Resurrection !

Date    :  15^th April 2012

This is the first Sunday after Resurrection Sunday. Last week   we saw and affirmed  the resurrection  to be  a central doctrine  and a foundation stone  for our faith  (1 Cor 15:3-11). Paul reminds us  that because Christ  lives  we , who hope in Him,  shall also live  even  if we must first die.  Christ is the first-fruits of those that are resurrected from the dead (15:20-23). So , we cannot leave this  15^th  Chapter without saying something about our own resurrection  since, in fact, Paul addresses this  specific  subject of  our  bodily resurrection of  in verses 35-58.

Why is the subject important? Because  it is something that you,  dear believer  will experience in the future! It is as certain as your death.  Paul connects  your death and resurrection as  inseparable twins : “ For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive .” [1] (v.22)  

Before  we work  through our text, I want to make a vital connection of the resurrection  with the other doctrines  that lead to our salvation. In Paul’s letter to the Romans he speaks  about  a process that leads up  to our resurrection . In Romans 8:30 he writes  (the  context : “our future Glory“  vv 18-30) : “And those whom He predestined He also called , and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”  God is involved in  the Christian’s  life from eternity unto eternity.  He begins the work of our salvation with our  predestination,  and our predestination  is made real in the effectual calling   with which we are first  called  and raised from our spiritual death (Eph 2:1) and    which then issues in our justification  (being declared righteous before God in Christ- e.g. Rom 8:1)   before we are glorified  (i.e. when we receive our resurrection bodies).

Exposition :  1 Corinthians  15:35-58

The question  is posed  by someone:  [35]… “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 

Now remember  that there has been some skepticism expressed  by some in the Corinthian  church concerning  the doctrine of the resurrection  (v.12). So there is that background to keep in mind , but it is shared  by many  in our day  who  find it equally  difficult to  believe  that  we can  be resurrected to life  from the dust  to which we return after  death.  

Here is  Paul’s  answer: [36] You foolish person! [literally  “ you mindless person” (Gr “aphron”  ) ] Not a very tactful response, but it shows   what an essentially stupid question this was in his estimation. This is elementary  stuff ; common sense! Here is his explanation   based upon  a common sense  illustration  from agriculture :  “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.”   The point is simple.  You put  a  seemingly dead seed taken from a plant that has died,  and you  put it  into the ground.  After a while  this little seed  springs up and produces  new life and fruit and  so Paul reasons , that  our  body which dies and is put into the soil will  soon  arise  to new life by the power of God. But Paul is not yet finished with this illustration! 

[38] But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. [39] For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [40] There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.[42] So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.    In summary:  Paul makes  the point   that  the resurrection body will be of a  human form. It will not  assume another form or different order. Mankind will remain mankind  in eternity.  This  puts the Hindu  idea of reincarnation, from one form into another  ( e.g. from a human being into an hippo)  out of question.    However, it is also clear  that  the nature of the resurrection body  will differ from the one that we have presently. From v. 42 onwards,  Paul  explains: the resurrection body will not be perishable, but it will be imperishable. It cannot die again.  There will be no dishonor  attached to the  resurrection body. It will have  no physical  weaknesses. It will  not be like our ‘natural body’ (v.44). It will be  a ‘spiritual body‘ . 

To understand this analogy we must  continue to follow Paul’s reasoning: 

 [45] Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Paul, remember, had already introduced the analogy between Adam and Christ, the two representative men, in vv. 21-22. Here he uses the same analogy to make his point about the superiority of the resurrection body over that body which we presently  have.  We are taught here that the completion  of the saving work  in Christ,  at the second coming  and  our resurrection  will  not simply restore mankind to the situation that existed in Eden before the Fall. We will not just be redeemed Adam and Eve’s!  We will  not bear the image  of the man of dust. We will  not have a body of earthly dust.  Paul says that  we shall now bear the image of the second man  from heaven. We shall   be constructed of  material of  which  the heavenly man is composed (v.49). Therefore  this carries us on to a  still higher and more wonderful life. In fact, our present bodies would not  be able to  live in the state of heaven.

Listen to how Paul continues this argument:

[50] I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [51] Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. [53] For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. [54] When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”[55] “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”[56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through  our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 

In vv.50 -58   Paul comes to a few important  conclusions:

(i)    v. 50 : the bodies we now have are not adequate for the life of heaven.

(ii)  v.51 There will also  be a generation  that will not experience physical death,  who will be alive  when Christ returns. These will  be changed  in an instant (a twinkling of an eye) and receive their resurrection bodies.

(iii)  v.52  The  dead will be raised at the sound of a trumpet and they will be raised imperishable.

(iv) v.53 explains this again: perishable bodies must become imperishable; mortal bodies must become immortal before they can go to heaven. As Philippians 3:21 explains, Christ will “transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.”

(v) vv.54,55  Death cannot be part of the future culture of heaven. Therefore death is defeated. This is  what the prophets foresaw in  Isa 25:8  and Hosea 13:14.

(vi)  vv.56,57    Paul reminds us again firstly ,  that death came upon mankind because of sin. Secondly,  the  utterly holy, righteous    law of God made it impossible for us to escape from our sin. Only  Christ  can help us  here!  Hence v.57  “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through  our Lord Jesus Christ. “

(vii)  v.58  Paul ends where he began in  Chapter 15: (paraphrase) Therefore … hold on to the gospel which you have received brothers  !  Wait for the resurrection, and because you know that it is  coming  you may continue  to  be steadfast , immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord , knowing that everything you do is not in vain !

APPLICATION

About the intermediate state  :  It is somewhat surprising  to note how little the Bible says about  the intermediate state -  that condition of existence  between a Christian's death and the resurrection of the dead when our soul is not yet reunited with our body.  Surprisingly, Paul says nothing about the soul after death and before the resurrection here.  But then , for him  the  great day is not our  day of death,  but the day of the  resurrection of the body.

We can say  therefore  that  the intermediate state  is not a ‘ natural state’ for us. We were not created for  a  disembodied existence. This is a temporal state.  We were created to be body  and soul, and therefore  after death  we will  not be complete until that time when  we will be clothed with our resurrection body.   The resurrection is  therefore  our glorification ( see Rom  8:30)   - the fulfillment and the completion of our salvation and the eternal life that we have in Christ.

How will we experience that intermediate state? Again , the Bible says very little about this.  Paul however  uses an interesting metaphor for  this period.  He speaks of those that ‘fall asleep‘ (1 Cor 15:18, 20, 51) [2]. Some [3] have for this reason have constructed  a  doctrine of ‘soul-sleep’   i.e. that we will be in a state of sleep like,  unconscious existence   between our  death and the resurrection.   The problem is that  this does not seem  to be   true  to Scripture. The dead  generally   appear to be very much alive!  A few examples will suffice:  Moses and Elijah  appeared  with Christ on the Mt. of Transfiguration in recognizable form (Matt 17:3) ;  The rich man  and Abraham recognized each other  and had a conversation after death ( Lk 16:19ff); Samuel   was recognized when he was called up by the witch of Endor  (1 Sam  28:12); The  dead in Christ  in Rev.6:9  who are seen by John as under the altar  are very conscious  of what is happening. The place of the dead  in the OT  (Sheol) is a  state of conscious existence – although not a happy one!  ‘Sleep’ is therefore used  metaphorically , just like the  reference to  the  human body  being ‘a seed’   that is sown back into the earth.    We must not get too hung up  about this  period of existence , because Paul doesn’t . His big point is  that  human beings which God had created, were designed by Him  to have  bodies.  The body ‘now’ is called a natural body; the body then  is called a spiritual body. The identity is your body . You are a body and your body is you. And if Christ saves you, then He saves not only your soul, but your body also.

This  leaves us obviously  with a number of  further questions, and I am not sure that we can answer  any of them  with  utter  certainty  :  What will my appearance be like?  Will  I look precisely  the way that I look now ? Will  we keep our identity ? Will we recognize one another ?  Jesus’ resurrected body is the model for ourselves.  He remained recognizable, but undeniably, the nature of  His body had changed.  It was not  subject to the laws  of nature.  For instance, He could appear and disappear as He pleased.

How old will we be?  The Bible doesn’t say .  All we can  say is   that time is no factor  in eternity .

What about marriage  ? Jesus  in response to this question  actually  told the  Sadducees in  Lk  20: 34-38,  that there will be  no marriage  in heaven and it seems that there will be no procreation in heaven , for no one can die  after the resurrection (Lk 20:36).

The Resurrection Day is also  the Judgment Day.  When Christ returns not only will  He resurrect  His people, but all people  ( the living and the dead- all that have ever lived  and who are alive  at Christ's coming )  will be raised  to eternal life .  This is what Jesus said in John 5:28-29: “an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” 

For those who die without Christ, the Resurrection Day is a day of despair.  It is the final judgment.  There is no second chance.  In their resurrected bodies, unreconciled  people must face the eternal wrath of God.  This  aspect of Christ's teaching  offends many and is often cited as  the primary reason  for many rejecting the gospel. However   we must keep in mind  that  all this is  also part of Jesus' teaching , and we  do not have the liberty to choose whatever we like and reject what ever we like  of His  teaching  about the eternal state and destiny of mankind.  He had certainly given  ample warning  and calls  of  repentance to mankind. 

So, hear this once again  !  Once your death comes, your eternal state is sealed .  There is no doctrine of a second chance after death . There will be  no  turning back then. Everything  is contingent  upon your attitude towards Christ now ! 

Hear what  John  3:16-18 has to say: Here is both an invitation and a warning  :

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

Where  are you  going to spend eternity ?

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[1] This text does not  encourage  “universalism” i.e. that all will be  ultimately redeemed and resurrected in Christ . The text teaches mankind’s union  in Adam , whose original  sin we all inherit  ;  Being made alive in Christ   refers to  the   calling/ election of believers  alone , and does not apply to all of mankind .  

[2] see  also Jn  11:11 ( Lazarus ) ;  Acts 7:60 ( Stephen) ; 1 Thess 4:13-15

[3] E.g.  Seventh Day Adventists

1 Corinthians 15:12-28 - "What if Christ Wasn’t Resurrected from the Dead?"

 

1 Corinthians chapter 15  was penned by Paul against the background  of   the issue  mentioned  in 15:12: “Now if  Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can  some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”  As if this  church had not had enough problems … and now  some in the church are  beginning to  assault the very person  and work of Christ. 

In this 15^th  chapter the apostle  has to deal  with  something far more sinister  and dangerous  than  the awful behavior that we have seen in the church.  Here he  has to deal with false teaching  which strikes  at the  very heart of the gospel!  It is in fact  this  false thinking about the gospel  which produces this false  un- Christ- like   living!  May I remind you once again,  that   ungodliness such as was manifested in the Corinthian church,  arises essentially  from   false thinking about the gospel. You cannot trivialize, you cannot  take away  from the person and work of  Jesus Christ without this having far reaching effects. If we refuse to embrace  the person  and work  of Christ   as He had revealed Himself, and as  He was preached  by the apostles  (see 1 Cor 15:1-6), then  we  cannot say  that we are His disciples. 

We must stand on  upon the full gospel  of Christ (15:1) unreservedly, unashamedly, unapologetically! 

 

It is the gospel  which saves us, if we hold fast to the word that is preached  to us: Christ died for our sins; He was buried; He was raised on the third day  and He appeared to many  (15:3-5). 

If we do not live with this  full revelation of Christ, we serve an imaginary Christ, and our lives are not lived  under His Lordship, and therefore there will be no power for godly living – and the outcome  must  therefore of necessity  be an exposure of eventually being  called a false disciple (cf.  Matthew 7:21-23). 

• A biblical  Christian trusts  in  Christ  and His work; 
• A biblical Christian is an imitator of Christ.
• A biblical Christian  loves and seeks holiness  in life, because their Christ is a holy Christ!  
• A biblical Christian grieves and repents  when he / she discovers that they have sinned  against God and men, for they know that Christ died because of sin. 
• A biblical  Christian knows that  through Christ’s imputed righteousness alone they shall reach  their  heavenly rest.

And now  we must consider   Paul ‘s  response  to those who are in this precarious situation  - who  say  that there is  no resurrection of the dead.   

In 15:12-19 he   firstly  lists the logical consequences  of  this  denial    and in 15:20-28  he  reasserts the certainty of Christ’s  resurrection,  and thereby he is able to  ensure that  the believer’s  hope in a future  resurrection remains intact. 

1.THE LOGICAL  CONSEQUENCES OF DENYING THE RESURRECTION  (15:12-19)  

15:13 “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” Paul’s first argument is this:  If  there is no resurrection, then all  talk about Christ’s  resurrection is also  meaningless.

15:14: "And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." Paul’s second argument is this: If Christ has not been raised then  the apostle’s testimony about Christ  is  wrong. The gospel  upon which the Corinthians  had taken their stand   and  according to which they were living their lives and in which  they placed  their future hopes is meaningless. Their faith  is in vain. What a waste of time!

15:15 :  "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."  Paul’s third argument is this: If Christ has not been raised from the dead  (as we have preached)  then we are liars, and we are misrepresenting God. Do you see what is at stake?

15:16,17: "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." Paul’s fourth argument is essentially a repetition of that which he has said before, but with this addition: …  if Christ has not been raised, your faith in Christ’s person and work is futile, and therefore  there can be no talk of salvation: you are still in your sins!  You are still guilty before God.  We shall see  a little later  in 15:20  that  Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee  of our resurrection – and presently  Paul  says  that  “no resurrection”  means “no salvation“.  If you do away with the resurrection of Christ, then the whole work of Christ becomes futile, and the worst is that  “we are lost in our sins”.  This is the implication of verse 18.

15:18:  "Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished (Gr. apōlonto).   The Greek aorist  tense [ past punctiliar tense ] translates  “they have perished“ – “they are lost forever” – “they are destroyed”  is quite final. They are now in eternal misery.    The doctrine of salvation  stands and falls  with the resurrection.

15:19: "If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. If our life  is only about this life, then  the heart of the gospel is ripped out, for according to the promise of Christ ( e.g. John 14:1-3)  the best of our  life  is yet to be. We are  promised  a bodily future existence  with Christ,  free from sin  and  in eternal fellowship  in the  wonderful presence of God. If that all falls away (because there is no resurrection) then nothing is essentially left of what we call ‘hope ‘ and ‘faith’. Then  also we have  suffered for nothing;  we have denied ourselves  in  many  cases   for  nothing. If there is no resurrection   then the Epicurean philosophers were  right. This is the point that Paul makes  in 15:32  as he quotes one of their favourite sayings,

“Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die!” 

If  there is no resurrection  the best  we can do   is  to live according to  the Epicurean motto. And many do  this today.  They live  as if there were no tomorrow … no  resurrection … no appearing before the judgment throne of Christ…no eternal  heaven and hell. 

2.      BUT CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED (15:20 -28) 

15:20: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Please note that Paul here focusses on the resurrection of the righteous. He is not focusing on the resurrection of the wicked dead, although the Bible speaks of this often enough.  He  is focusing on the gospel – the good news. There is no good news for the wicked  in eternity.  

Paul says that  Christ  is  “the  first fruits of those that have fallen asleep”. The ‘first fruits’ of a harvest  (those fruit that ripen first)  guarantee that the rest of the harvest is on its way. This analogy   affirms the  relationship between Christ's resurrection  from the dead and our own resurrection from  the dead. Because Christ (the first fruit)  rose  from the dead we too  shall  rise. He is the   deposit, the down payment  the guarantee  to  our own resurrection. 

15:21 - 23:  “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die , so also in Christ shall all be made alive.23 But each in  his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming  those who belong to Christ.”  Here follows Paul’s profound application. He  connects  the works of Adam and of Christ respectively  (see also Romans 5). The  representative roles for Adam and Christ are central to the Bible's understanding of  the history of the fall of mankind and also for  our redemption. The death of mankind  and our alienation from our Creator  began with the disobedience of  Adam. It continues  as one generation succeeds another.  In the same  way  our restoration  (being made alive to God)  is  accomplished through  the man  Christ Jesus   (who is called  the  last Adam in 15:45). This  process continues  for all  those who come to Christ (or into Christ) and who are saved – who receive eternal life  and a future  in heaven. 

15:24 - 28: “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom  to  God the Father  after destroying every rule and every authority  and power…”  

The  work of Christ  in the salvation of His people  will be functionally completed  at the second coming.  

The work  of making atonement for sinners was  of course  actually finished on the cross. 

The  burial tells us that Christ  had  truly died.

The resurrection  tells us  that  life is greater than death. The resurrection of Christ is, as we have seen the guarantee of  our resurrection. 

BUT WHEN SHALL THIS RESURRECTION BE   OURS?  Paul says – at the end, when Christ  delivers the kingdom to God the Father,  when  all his enemies (including death)  lie crushed beneath Christ’s feet,  and when God will experienced by us as  “all in all”. 

This is the complete gospel – the complete Good News!

SUMMARY AND APPLICATION

Do you understand  Paul’s teaching?   In response to  the skepticism of some who do not believe in a resurrection,   Paul  uses  his  theology which  he  and the apostles  had  received from Christ    to show  these people  what is at stake if the resurrection  should  be a myth. 

In a nutshell he is saying  to them, “If the resurrection isn’t real, then you are wasting your time.  I am wasting my time; your faith is futile“ (15:17). As a result “we are of all people to be most pitied” (15:19); If the dead are not raised, let us  eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (15:32). 

Those are the implications!  Do you see what is at stake  if the resurrection is denied? 

There are, of course people who deny that there will be a  future  resurrection.

We  find them  in the Bible: 

• The Saducees  (Lk. 20:27)  
• Hymenaeus and  Philetus who had swerved from the truth in this regard and had upset the faith of some  (2 Tim. 2:17,18).  

We  find them in history: 

• Aristotle  (who unlike his teacher Plato)  disagreed entirely with the concept of life after death. He believed that humans do have a soul,  but he believed  that it dies along with the body at death.

We have many modern exponentsof this view. 

• Most famous of these is Richard Dawkins the atheist.  He does not believe that the universe was created by God. He is also a materialist. He believes that  there is no evidence for anything immaterial or non-physical. So, not only is there no God,  but there are no souls, and  there is no life after death. You are your body, nothing more. 

• Professor William Provine, Professor  at Cornell University (USA) said, “…There are no gods, no purposes, no goal-directed forces of any kind. There is no life after death. When I die, I am absolutely certain that I am going to be dead. That’s the end for me. There is no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning to life, and no free will for humans, either.”

These are intellectual  atheists  and their views  on the resurrection are clear. What concerns us however  are not   the  intellectual atheists,   but   the practical atheists among us.  

• They are  not  denying  Christ  and his  work  by writing  articles and by  delivering  speeches against Christ  and His work.  
• They  simply  live without much thought. 
• They live  as if there were   no life after death and  no judgment (Hebr. 9:27).
• They could not care  about  heaven or hell,  or whether  there  will be a resurrection from the dead.    

These are the people  who   Paul describes in  Philippians  3:18-21:

[18] For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. [19] Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. [20] But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Note,  how Paul fits the resurrection  in here).

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul is speaking to a church community.  But sadly, in church communities we  find many  who effectively hide their unbelief, who are never questioned by any, simply because they are ‘there’. 

• Are you clear  on the gospel?   
• Do you believe in the resurrection of Christ ? 
• Have you embraced Christ in His revealed totality? 

1 Corinthians 15: 1-11 The Gospel in a Nutshell

 

TEXT : 1 Corinthians 15:1 -11         

TITLE:   The Gospel in a Nutshell

Date:   Lord's Day  12/03/2012  

We are coming close to the  end of this first  letter to the Corinthians, but  we  still have some important ground to cover  in Chapter 15 . It concerns the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ  - a matter which some ( not all)  in the Corinthian church had been questioning  (see v 12) .In a strange way we can thank God  that this had happened , for as a result  we now have   this  strong teaching  concerning  the resurrection of Christ. For Paul,  Christianity stands or falls with the resurrection. If you  could  prove that Christ  has not been raised from the dead , then  we shall see  that our preaching is  in vain  and our faith is in vain (v 14) , and we  would still  be  in our sin ( v.17)  , and therefore we  should be pitied , for we  would be of all people the most deluded .  Thank God then for the crises  (especially  theological  crises)  in the church  which have led us to  a sharpening of our focus  upon the person and work of Christ . Today is such a time !  I also thank God,  that in His providence we can   consider this text   which  is so appropriate  as we begin to  think  about   Easter in our church calendar  .

OUTLINE of Chapter  15

1.       The resurrection is central to the Gospel ( 1-11)

2.      The resurrection is questioned  and  the implications  of this  is worked out ( 12-19)

3.       The resurrection  is theologically explained  ( 20-28)

4.      The implications  of denying  the resurrection (  29-34)

5.       Questions about the  resurrection body  answered  ( 35- 58)

1.        The Resurrection  is at the heart of the Gospel  ( 15:  1-11 )

Vv 1,2 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.

This  group of people ( whom he calls ‘brothers’ – because they shared a common faith) had become the church  of God that is in Corinth, …those sanctified in Christ Jesus (1:2)   , when  Paul  had first preached   the gospel to them, which they had received , and by which they were being saved ( present continuous tense – indicating that salvation is at one and the same time an accomplished event and an ongoing  action ) . But you will note that  Paul immediately  adds  a conditional clause , -  “if you hold fast to the word ( the gospel) I preached to you ” . Their salvation – their claim to having received the gospel is  made conditional  upon their perseverance !  This deserves  a short comment .  This perseverance   must not be  ascribed to  an ability within ourselves. This perseverance  is  there because God  enables us  to persevere. If there is no perseverance , there is no indication that a deposit of faith has been made  into your account. So perseverance in our faith is a sign that  the grace  and power of God is indeed at work within us.

Notice then too  how Paul counsels this deeply flawed church . He counsels them with  great hope .  He  does not approach them  with  deep suspicion. No , no!  He   will believe the very best about them and the work of  God in their lives. Love requires that. He himself taught this principle in 1 Cor 13:4-7  , BUT  there can be no talk about true salvation , if   there is no holding on to the word – the gospel.  And when  the  essentials of that gospel are denied  , such as in this case  the  denial of  Christ’s resurrection,   then  the word preached  to a people   has been preached in vain !  Receiving the gospel means receiving Christ  in the fullness of His person and work .

So , there  are some  people  here in Corinth  ( and at Eastside) in danger of not holding fast to that word. 

We have  seen how  a lack of holding on to that  word  had led  to the development  of  factions and groups  , and  a  questioning  of his teachings and apostolic authority; we have seen  sexual immorality, taking each other to court  , idolatry, abuse  of the Lord’s supper  etc , but in this chapter the apostle  has to deal  with  something far more  dangerous  than  these  sinful  manifestations. He has to deal with false teaching  which strikes  at the  very heart of the gospel!  It is  this  false thinking about the gospel  which produces  false living . May I remind you once again ,  that  false living  or sinful behavior  is a secondary  matter . It points to a far more  serious issue !  Here was evidence  that there were a number of people in the church   had no grip on the gospel … it appears therefore as if they have believed in vain!   hey are beginning to manifest  as seed that had been sown on hard soil , shallow soil  , soil that ‘choked’ any hope  of  life out of them .  ( Matt 13:1-9)

Now note how Paul deals with this  danger ! He reminds them  of  the primary truths which he first had preached to them , and which they had accepted

Vv.3&4  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,….

Paul  affirms three  cardinal truths  ( of first importance – foundational truths )  : Christ died … Christ was buried … Christ was raised  on the third day .  This is the gospel  in a nutshell , and this is what we affirm when we are baptized  by immersion  in response to  our conversion : 

1.Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.   The Scripture  to which Paul refers here  are the OT scriptures .  Prominent texts  that point  to the  death of Christ of sinners are Isaiah 53    and Psalm 22  .   Both  passages speak of the suffering Messiah , who gives His life in exchange for His sheep. On the cross our Messiah-  Christ accomplished two things for  us : 

Firstly , He  provided forgiveness for our sins.  Because of our sin, we stood under the judgment of God.  You can't get away from this in the Bible. Our problem is sin and Christ alone  can  be  our Saviour.  There is no one else  who can justify us , because  there is no one  of such a stature . Because  of who He is  - a perfect man  , He  alone  can be a perfect substitute.  We should have  received  this just punishment  , but Christ  received it in our place. The punishment that should have been ours was  transferred to Christ.   This picture  is  seen  in  the Jewish sacrificial system.  When a person sinned, he could take an animal to the temple and have it sacrificed for his sins.  He would lay his hand upon the animal’s head symbolizing that he was transferring his guilt to the animal.  This is called the substitutionary atonement.  Just as the animal served as a substitute for the sinner, so Christ served as our substitute on the cross. (Theologians call this expiation)

Secondly ,  Christ appeased ( satisfied)   God’s  righteous  wrath.  The result is that God is no longer angry with you , the sinner  (Theologians call this propitiation cf.   Romans  3:22-26 )

2.“…that he was buried…”.  There was a real, dead   body in a real tomb on Easter Friday,  and that  same tomb was really empty on Easter Sunday morning!  Generally speaking we make more of the death and the resurrection  of our Lord . But Paul includes  among the ‘gospel facts’  that  Christ  was buried !  Why is this important ?  It tells us  that Christ was dead !  He did not  swoon or faint as Muslims would assert . Jesus was first  whipped  to near unconsciousness, so that  He could not carry His cross ; then He was crucified; and then  He died ;  He was also  stabbed by a soldier with a spear in the side  to make sure that He was dead  .  Paul says ,   “Christ died…. Christ was buried…” .The Old Testament  concurs : Isaiah 53:9 says, “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death”.  And so we see  that just as Christ’s burial authenticated His death, so also  it authenticated His resurrection. The fact  that he was buried is important. It makes his death and resurrection real !   He did not recover from a coma.  He rose  from the dead with a physical resurrection  body which was able to do amazing things , like … walking through doors that are locked (John 20:19)

3.“…that He was raised on the third day...” . This is the third crucial aspect of the gospel  message, and  it will be the one  that  Paul will  refer to  as he  will  address the false teaching concerning the resurrection which was making its rounds  in the church.  We shall consider more  of that  next time.  Right now we will consider  what Paul has to say  in this section  vv 5 -11  

Vv 5-11  : Historical  testimonies  to the  Resurrection   of Christ

Paul reminds us again,  firstly,   that  the  matter  of  Christ’s resurrection is  “in accordance with the Scriptures.”  Peter at Pentecost,  makes this point powerfully in Acts  2:24-28  , in which  he shows us that  this  is a direct fulfillment of what  David teaches us in Psalm 16:8-11.  And then he makes this comment in Acts  :  “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.  This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses”  (Acts 2:29-32).

Secondly,  Paul reminds us  that  there is a  host of witnesses  to the resurrection appearances of Christ: vv 5-7  “… 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.

Thirdly , Paul himself  testifies to seeing  the now  ascended  Jesus,  on his trip to Damascus. (Acts 9 ;  1 Cor  9:1 ) . He recalls (vv 8-11)   :  “ 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. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”  Paul  was apparently little regarded by some in the Corinthian church (cf. Ch’s  3 & 9) because  he wasn’t one of the original 12 . He admits  that he is in a sense  the least of all the apostles  because of his early persecution of the church , but  he also  firmly asserts  that  he is  an apostle  by the grace of God  , and not only that, but  due to the grace  of God (and not because of himself)  he  is probably the most effective apostle! This is not boasting . This is because God  enabled him to  accomplish  what  he was able to do !  But in the end all this really does not matter. He and the other apostles  all preach the same message –  the message which  the  Corinthian had believed, and  upon which  they had taken their stand .   

APPLICATION

1.    Our Gospel  has historical roots .  All this happened   approximately 2,000 years ago in  what is known today as  Israel / Palestine  and in a certain place (Palestine).   At that time   Jesus , the Son of God , the Son of man  , miraculously conceived and born  ,  living a sinless life  ,  claiming to be God,  speaking as no one did before , working miracles  as no one did before , gave His sinless life to  fulfill  the ancient calling  to be  an atoning sacrifice for  our  sins (i.e. those who believe  in Him).   If these events did not occur then  there is no gospel,  there is no salvation , there is no Christianity- in fact it would be a cruel joke!   But this is  not a  cunningly devised fable  (2 Peter  1:16) .  I am not sure that we always  appreciate  that  Christianity is an historical religion  and that it rests its message on events that happened in space and time. The history recorded in the Bible is real human history, beginning with Adam and Eve  and  culminating  with  the  death , burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus – and finishing with another historical event : the second coming !

2.      Our Gospel  has a simple message !  Jesus died for our sins; He was buried; He was raised from the dead.  This is what you must believe with all your heart , and you shall be saved . There is of course a lot of mystery  surrounding this , but you don’t need to have a PHD is to believe  in the Lord Jesus  and what He has  accomplished; a little child can understand this  and trust in Christ !  

3.       The Resurrection  of Christ  secures our salvation ! Christ died for sins. He was buried, and our sins were nailed to the cross  and we were buried  with Him. But it is the resurrection  that is the cherry on the top , because it speaks  of life. We are not simply saved from sin. We are saved  to  live sinlessly for eternity  with  the risen Jesus  as our King.  It is this  fact that is been challenged by some in the church – and it follows  that those who deny  the basic fact of the gospel  cannot be saved by that gospel. The wrath of God remains upon them.

4.      If you  can affirm  this  gospel with your whole heart , then I  ask you to come to the table prepared for  us this morning , as we also at this  time  recite the Apostle’s creed.