Today we gather joining Christians across the world to commemorate the single most important day in the history of the world. It is the event that marked the end of the greatest enemy to human existence, namely death. It is the day when darkness disappeared giving way to light. Like the first day of creation full of darkness and void, the Lord commanded: let there be light! On this new creation day, spiritual darkness was trampled upon giving way to the Light of the world himself.
Three days have passed, and the disciples are in despair and hopelessness. All their prospects for the promised coming Kingdom have been dashed, for their King and Savior lays dead in the tomb.
Just as in the story of creation light replaces darkness on the first day, so in the new creation light replaced the darkness on the first day. The Messiah is risen indeed.
This Christ who bore our griefs, who had carried our sorrows. The one whom we rebelled against, the one who we considered smitten and afflicted by God. The one who was pierced for our transgressions and was crushed for our iniquities. This King was oppressed and was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, he opened not his mouth.
This Lord was taken away by oppression and judgment from the Father. His generation considered him forsaken by God. This meek and lowly man had endured all forms of wickedness. This Christ was considered broken and defeated.
But darkness was to linger only for a little while…
For this Lion of the tribe of Judah was to rise again on the third day. Yes, God himself raised Christ from the dead. Christ triumphed over the darkness and you and I can sit here 2000 years later to proclaim at the top of our voices. He is risen and risen indeed.
This triumph was what was promised in Genesis 3:15, finally, the seed of the woman had crushed Satan under his feet. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
His resurrection is proof that he was the promised Messiah whom the prophets had foretold. It is the one great sign which he named to the Jews when he was asked to give convincing evidence of his divine mission. For elsewhere in scripture it says, my chosen one will not see corruption.
Congregation, this was indeed the Wondrous work of God, a recreation that brought life out of death, far more marvelous than the creation of the heavens and the earth.
The Son of GOD came in the likeness of sinful flesh, in the form of a servant, to surrender Himself throughout all His life to the wrath of God, in order to atone for the sins of His people.
The Son of MAN came as the Shepherd to lay down His life for His sheep, even when this involved separation from God in the anguish of hellish torments, crying out in the amazement of His complete isolation under the righteous judgment of the God of heaven and earth.
Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, willfully submitted to the power of death; first dying our spiritual death during the three hours of darkness on the cross, and then entering into our physical death by surrendering His spirit into His Father’s hand and commanding death to take His body as its prey. He took His place among the dead of all ages. He set the stage so that He could march triumphantly before the eyes of the whole world through death into heavenly life.
As a reward for His accomplished work on the cross, God raised Him up in the early hours of the third day.
As the mighty Conqueror the Son of God arose from the shades of death and entered into a new, heavenly, spiritual, immortal life in His resurrection body.
He lives. We know He lives, for we have the testimony of God’s infallible Word informing us of His resurrection, and we have the seal of the Holy Spirit by faith in our hearts.
As the creed goes,
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, our Lord, Who . . . suffered . . . was crucified, dead and buried, descended into hell. On the third day He arose again from the dead.
You ask me about evidence, yes every skeptic asks about evidence, and evidence shall surely be given.
Christ was seen first by women, then by one man, then by two men. Then he was seen by the ten disciples in the evening in a room, then by eleven disciples again in a room, and afterward on five different occasions, at one of which no less than 500 people were present, he was seen by James his brother, he was seen by many, even those who doubted him and lastly as to one untimely unborn, he appeared to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
Never before had anyone risen from the dead in a new, heavenly body. Enoch and Elijah had gone into heaven without passing through the anguish of death. Others had been raised from the dead to return to this life, only to be faced with that last enemy for a second time. All of these served to foreshadow the resurrection of our Lord. But the Lord Himself passed through death into everlasting life. Christ’s body was sown in corruption and was raised in corruption; it was sown in dishonor and was raised in glory; it was sown in weakness and was raised in power; it was sown a natural body and was raised in a spiritual body.
Acts 2:23-24 says that “God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
The mighty Conqueror entered into the stronghold of Satan and took Satan and his whole host captive. He marched triumphantly through our physical death and the grave, arose on the third day, paused on His way for forty days, just long enough to show us the wonder of His triumph over death, and then ascended before the eyes of His disciples into the cloud of glory, where He was greeted by millions of angels who accompanied Him as the Victor to the throne of the Ancient of Days, the Eternal God, where He was given all power in heaven and on earth with a Name above all names. Daniel 7:13-14.
Indeed!
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and has redeemed us to God by his blood to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing. Amen.
I invite you to look with me through the words of our Risen Christ, The infallible, inerrant, all-sufficient word of God as we seek to gain more confidence in what has been attained through the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:12-22
1 Corinthians 15:12-22
Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For as by man came death, by man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall be made alive.
What is your greatest need right now? What is your greatest most wicked enemy? If I gave you a billion-dollar cheque, a successful career, a big title, a beautiful wife or a charming/handsome husband, two kids, a dog, and two fish, would there be something else to worry about? Will there be something else to live for? Will your dreams come true? Is this all there is to life?
I hope to convince you through this passage that with the resurrection, everything changes. Everything absolutely everything changes.
Context (15:1-11)
In the immediate context, Paul handles the historical verifiability of the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is concerned with the apologetic for the Christian faith. The single most important fact that authenticates the Christian faith.
When the apostle Paul wrote this passage, the believers in the church at Corinth were confused about the concept of the future physical resurrection of Christians who had already died. They didn’t doubt the resurrection of Christ. They believed in this wholeheartedly! (See verse 11 and previous verses for the content of the teaching that the Corinthians had received and believed.) But the concept of a bodily resurrection for believers was hard for them to grasp.
Apparently, they didn’t have any problem with the idea of the spirit living on in some other world, because the immortality of the soul was part of the prevalent Greek philosophy. But the resurrection of the body was a revelation for them – and it was a mind-blower!
From verses 12-58, he will proceed to make a case for the resurrection of Christ with its implication to our own bodily resurrection.
Notice that he uses negative statements to make positive assertions about the implications of the resurrection of Christ.
- Verse 14: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.” This to say, since Christ has been raised, our preaching is much gain.
- Verse 14: ” . . . and your faith is in vain.” This to say, since Christ has been raised, our faith is much gain.
- Verse 15: If Christ has not been raised, “we are found to be misrepresenting God [meaning, we are false witnesses], because we testified of God that he raised Christ.” That is to say, Since Christ has been raised, the apostles are not false witnesses about the work of God, in other words, they are not misrepresenting God.
- Verse 17: “If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” That is to say, since Christ has been raised, Our faith is fruitful, we are not still in our sins.
- Verse 18: If Christ has not been raised, then “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” That to say, since Christ has been raised, the dead in Christ have not perished.
- Verse 19: If Christ has not been raised, then “we are of all men most to be pitied.” That is to say, since Christ has been raised, we are of all men most honored.
What is the scripture telling us here? What is it that has been achieved because of the resurrection? The following three things have been achieved: (The forgiveness of sins, The bold proclamation of the gospel and hope in future resurrection)
- The forgiveness of sins
Verse 17: “If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”
…, and your faith is in vain. (14b)
What has Christ’s resurrection to do with our sins? Wasn’t Christ’s death enough for our sins?
Wait a minute!
Are you saying, if I trust in Jesus’ death on the cross, if there is no resurrection it means I am trusting in an ineffective sacrifice, and I remain in my sin?
Are you saying, if Christ has not been raised from death, his sacrifice on the cross was not enough to earn resurrection, not enough to pay for my sins, and not enough to deliver me from the clutches of the hell my sin deserves?
Oh Yes! Absolutely yes!
In verse 17, Paul says, If Christ has not been raised, then two things are happening:
- Your faith is futile, it is in vain
Consequently
- You are still in your sins
The opposite of being in your sins is being in Christ
Meaning that if indeed Christ has been raised, your faith is fruitful since you are not in your sins but in Christ
Romans 6:20–23 (ESV): 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we are “in Christ,” we get what Christ can do for us, namely, eternal life. When we are “in [our] sins,” we get what sins can do for us, namely, eternal condemnation and death.
Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised . . . you are still in your sins.” We are still bearing our guilt, still under condemnation, still alienated from God, still unforgiven.
Now, there is something important I would love for you to get.
The question is:
If it’s true that “every debt that you ever had has been paid up in full by the blood of the Lamb” (not the resurrection of the Lamb, cf. Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7), then why are we still in our sins if the Lamb does not rise from the dead?
What Paul is saying in 1 Cor 15:17 here is the resurrection is God’s reward for Christ’s sacrifice. It is proof that the sacrifice was sufficient.
In Romans 4:25, Paul states that Jesus was “delivered up [crucified] for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
What does Paul mean by raised for our justification?
When God raised Christ from the dead, it showed that he accepted Christ’s suffering and death as full payment for sin.
You see, at the cross, God had directed his wrath against Christ, now in the resurrection, God showed favor to Christ and to all who would believe.
So we can say because of the resurrection, we are no longer in sin but we are in Christ. There is a relationship between the resurrection and our union with Christ. Since we are no longer in sin, the most logical way of thinking would be we are in Christ. Meaning you are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to Christ, the new and better Adam.
Romans 6:5-11
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
A question for you!
Do you bear the weight of sin so heavily? Are you laden with a pang of guilt so dark? Are you suffocating in the reality of your rebellion? Come to Christ! Ring all your burdens to him. He says, come unto me ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest! You must come to him for only in him will you be made alive. Only in Him will your sins be forgiven. He will wipe away your offenses like a cloud and your sins he will remember no more. As far as the East is from the West, he will remove your transgressions from you! He will write his law upon your heart and teach you the way of obedience. Christ will turn your heart of stone into flesh. But you must come! You must throw away every effort to please him, you must come. You must say with Augustus Toplady
Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross, I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.
What are we saying: Because of the resurrection, our faith is not futile, our faith is not in vain because we are no longer still in sin, but we are in Christ.
1. A bold proclamation of the Gospel
Verse 14: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain.” This to say, since Christ has been raised, our preaching is much gain.
Verse 15: If Christ has not been raised, “we are found to be misrepresenting God [meaning, we are false witnesses], because we testified of God that he raised Christ.” That is to say, Since Christ has been raised, the apostles are not false witnesses about the work of God, in other words, they are not misrepresenting God.
Verse 19: If Christ has not been raised, then “we are of all men most to be pitied.” That is to say, since Christ has been raised, we are of all men most honored.
To many in the context on Corinth, the preaching of the gospel was foolishness. For in their eyes, it was regarded as foolishness. This is one of the problems facing the church in Corinth, men who are wise in their own eyes seek to despise the gospel. Paul explains this for us in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16 in detail.
1 Corinthians 1:21–25 (ESV): 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Later in 1 Cor 15: Paul returns to addressing this by pointing to the resurrection of Christ in verse 14,15 and 19.
If we are to restate his negative statements, we would say
since Christ has been raised, our preaching is much gain.
Since Christ has been raised, the apostles are not false witnesses about the work of God, in other words, they are not misrepresenting God.
since Christ has been raised, we are of all men most honored.
I have a question for you who labor in the preaching of the Gospel, you who labor in teaching younger women, you who labor to teach children, you who are constantly in the streets evangelizing! Do you feel your labor to be in vain? Do you see your efforts bearing no fruit? Do you feel dishonored? Look to the Risen Christ! Look to the risen Christ and determine to teach nothing, to preach nothing but Christ crucified.
We live in a society that celebrates pragmatism, that celebrates self-centeredness, and meism, that celebrates ‘relevance’. Do not buy into the fad of seeker sensitiveness. Preach the gospel! Be faithful! Because Christ is risen and is risen indeed.
We will come back to this at the end as we look at Paul’s implications for his discourse in verse 58.
Not only is our sin forgiven, not only is our preaching of the gospel affirmed, but because of the resurrection, there is hope for a future resurrection.
2. Hope in the future bodily resurrection
Verse 18: If Christ has not been raised, then “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” That to say, since Christ has been raised, the dead in Christ have not perished.
What do you tell a terminally ill Christian facing death in a few hours? What do you tell a family member looking down into the casket of a loved one? What do you tell those who mourn the death of fellow Christians? What are we to say to ourselves when we recall the void left by the loss of a close friend or family? What event must we look back to? Ooh how we must look to the resurrection.
If your loved ones believe in Christ then even though they have “fallen asleep” they have fallen asleep “in Christ” (1 Cor. 15:18). And since they are united to this resurrected Christ, they have not perished but their soul has gone to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23), and they await that day when they will receive their resurrected body. As Paul tells the Corinthians, Christ’s resurrection is the first fruit of that great harvest to come. Though death came by the first Adam, in the second Adam “shall all be made alive” (15:22).
Jesus does more than give life. He is life and that is why death has no power over him. We who believe in Jesus Christ will personally experience resurrection because by having the life Jesus gives we have overcome death.
Apart from the resurrection of Christ, we have no future hope. As Paul says in no uncertain terms, if Christ has not been raised then we, out of all people, are to be “pitied,” for our hope in Christ fails to extend beyond this present life (1 Cor. 15:19). But since Christ has been raised, we are those who can look death in the face knowing that it has no final victory, no lasting sting (1 Cor. 15:54-55).
We can burst into a victorious song proclaiming:
Death is swallowed up in victory
O death where is your victory
O death, where is your sting?
This is the Glory of Christ in his resurrection, He has defied the greatest opposition namely death.
Beloved, I want you to see the sudden shift from Paul’s use of negative statements to his positive assertions from verse 20 of 1 COR 15.
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead
What a glorious relief! All those previous deductions are swept away with this one great truth.
- There are no more if’s, there are no more speculations. The fact remains, Christ has been raised from the dead.
Application
What is Paul getting in this glorious chapter on the resurrection? Why did he write it? What practical implication did he have in mind? We have seen the theological implications namely forgiveness of sins, confidence in the gospel, and future hope in the resurrection. But what were the Corinthians to do with this message in their situation? It seems Paul was addressing a very pertinent issue in their context and it is clear that this is what the scriptures are telling us today.
For many of us in this room, we have faced many hardships and trials in the line of Christian duty. The world has continued to be a hostile place for Christians. In fact, this has been the case since 200 years ago. Jesus talking to his disciples in John 16:33 ESV
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
In our efforts to see the gospel preached, many of us have sustained economic, mental, physical, and social troubles. We are looked at by the world and regarded as nothing but the scam of the earth.
For Paul and his companions, it was much suffering and persecution.
2 Corinthians 4:7–12 (ESV): But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
What is Paul’s answer to those who labor seemingly in vain?
1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV): 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.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is fuel for our labors in Christ
Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, millions of Christians have willingly traded their earthly lives in martyrdom as some of you will.
It will be said of such in Revelation 12:11
And they have conquered him (the enemy) by the blood of the lamb and by their testimony. For they loved not their lives even unto death.
Because Christ is risen, we, as those who are in Christ, have every assurance that our labor in sharing this gospel of the risen Christ is not pointless or without purpose, but will matter for all eternity.
Let me ask you the following questions:
Will you willingly lay down your life for the light of the world to be worshipped on every hill and mountaintop?
Will you count your life as nothing to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth?
Will you throw away your small dream for a billion-dollar salary, a good career, and a dog and good food for a grander and bigger vision of seeing people from every nation and tongue come to him through a mission? Will you through away your small purpose to get a big house and a car for something greater, namely the salvation of the lost?
Will you join Isaac, Peninah, Macharia, Maggie, Oswal, Luke, Ally, and many others who have counted all things as loss compared to the surpassing worth of not only knowing Christ but making him known to the lost by proclaiming his resurrection?
Look to Christ in His resurrection and you will definitely make your life count.
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.
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