The Reality & Results of the Resurrection

Good morning. Before we go any further, let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your living Word. Help us by your Spirit to understand it, take it to heart and live it out. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We’re looking at 1 Corinthians 15.12-34. My title is ‘The Reality and Results of Resurrection’. Have you heard the radio quiz show called The Unbelievable Truth? It’s currently in its 30th series. That’s true. The contestants take it in turn to tell an amusing pack of lies on a particular topic. But they sneak in amongst the lies a few statements that sound unbelievable and untrue, but which in fact are true. The other panellists get points by spotting them. The resurrection is like that. It sounds incredible and untrue – an unbelievable claim, but it becomes believable as it dawns on us that it is true. And in this passage, the apostle Paul wants to persuade us that it’s true. But he does a kind of mental experiment to make his point. So he’s asking, “What if there were no resurrection? What then?” And the reason he’s talking like that is because that’s precisely what some people were saying – that resurrection simply cannot happen. After all, they well knew 2000 years ago that dead people stay dead. The immensity of the resurrection claim was clear and there were those who simply couldn’t stomach it. So, take a look at 1 Corinthians 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?

It seems they were saying they believed that Jesus was raised and yet, they were denying the resurrection of everyone when Christ returns. He wants to drive home to them that their thinking is inconsistent and illogical. It seems to me that’s what he’s doing as well in the difficult 1 Corinthians 15.29 later on, which says this:

Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

This could mean that people were getting baptised so that after death they would see their lost loved ones again. More probably, I think, it could refer to a practice of being baptised for some reason on behalf of believers (maybe family members or friends) who had not yet been baptised before they died. Either way, Paul’s purpose was not to comment on the wisdom or otherwise of such a practice, but to make them see that what they were doing was contradicting what they were saying about the impossibility of resurrection. Paul wanted to drive home to these resurrection-deniers just how wrong they were and just how serious and deadly their mistake was. So what we’ve got here in 1 Corinthians 15.12-34 is a kind of resurrection sandwich. In the filling in the middle (in 1 Corinthians 15.20-28) he talks about the Reality of the Resurrection, and either side of that (in 1 Corinthians 15.13-19), and then (1 Corinthians 15.29-34) he talks about the Results of the Resurrection through that mental experiment asking ‘What if there were no resurrection?’

So, Paul comes up with a series of ‘ifs’ followed by a massive BUT there at the start of 1 Corinthians 15.20:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead…

And that’s what I want to look at to start with. So:

1. The Reality of The Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15.20 sums up what he’s going to say. He then fills it out in 1 Corinthians 15.21-28. 1 Corinthians 15.20:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So the resurrection of Christ not only happened, it is the pivot of the whole of history. Everything hangs on it. And then that’s expanded in 1 Corinthians 15.21-28; this is an extraordinary passage that puts in a nutshell the whole of human history from creation to eternity, with the resurrection at the heart of it. I think we can see nine steps in the staircase of history that Paul identifies. Let me read this, and see if you can begin to pick out those steps and put them in order in your mind. From 1 Corinthians 15.21-28:

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. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection”, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

So let me identify those nine steps. I’m going to shoot through this, so hang on tight:

Step 1. Adam – the first man – sinned and died.

The start of 1 Corinthians 15.21:

For as by a man came death…

Last week we thought about how death in the Bible has three stages: spiritual, physical, and eternal. And that three-part death came into the world through Adam and his sin. Romans 6.23:

The wages of sin is death…

Step 2. Following after Adam, all people die.

The beginning of 1 Corinthians 15.22:

For as in Adam all die…

Step 3. Christ died for our sins and was raised.

The second part of 1 Corinthians 15.21:

…by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

And that refers back to the start of the chapter that we looked at last week.

Step 4. Christ reigns as King of kings, defeating his enemies.

Down in 1 Corinthians 15.25:

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

Step 5. Those who belong to Christ and who have faith in him are raised from the dead when Christ returns.

The second half of 1 Corinthians 15.22-23:

…so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Step 6. Christ destroys all the powers that oppose him.

The end of 1 Corinthians 15.24 describes Christ’s work when he returns:

…destroying every rule and every authority and power.

Step 7. Christ destroys death itself.

Here’s this glorious 1 Corinthians 15.26:

The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The blanket of death that hangs heavy over all the world is lifted off and burned in the fire; Death dies.

Step 8. Christ delivers the Kingdom to God the Father.

1 Corinthians 15.24:

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father…

And there’s more on that in 1 Corinthians 15.27-28:

For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” [That’s from Psalm 8] But when it says, “all things are put in subjection”, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him [that’s God the Father], then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Those verses could really do with a seminar to themselves, because Christ the Son of God is both fully man, and also fully God. As man, he is subject to God. As God, he is not and cannot be subject to God, because he is God. As Augustine put it, commenting on this verse in his great book On the Trinity:

So there need be no hesitation from anyone in taking this to mean that what the Father is greater than is the form of a servant, whereas the Son is his equal in the form of God.

That’s not easy to get our minds around. But just hang on to this step 8, that Christ delivers the Kingdom to God the Father.

And finally Step 9. God is all in all.

This is what the whole of history has been driving towards. 1 Corinthians 15.28:

…that God may be all in all.

As someone has put it:

God’s will will be supreme in every quarter and in every way.

The resurrection is real and true and it is the centre of all history. That’s Paul’s great ‘BUT’ at the start of 1 Corinthians 15.20. He’s been doing his mental experiment about what the consequences would be if there were no resurrection. And then it bursts out of him:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

That is the reality of the resurrection. What are the consequences of that reality?

2. The Results of Resurrection

We can see these in the top and bottom of this resurrection sandwich, first in 1 Corinthians 15.13-19, and then in 1 Corinthians 15.30-34. And you’ll no doubt be relieved to know that there are a mere seven of these!

i) Because Christ has been raised, the dead will be raised.

Here’s 1 Corinthians 15.13:

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

And he emphasises the point in 1 Corinthians 15.16:

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

So he’s got two resurrections in view here: the resurrection of Jesus, and also the resurrection of all believers on the Last Day. And he’s making the point that the two are very closely connected: You cannot have one without the other. Why is that? Because the resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the resurrection of us all. In 1 Corinthians 15.20 we heard how Paul calls the resurrection of Christ the firstfruits. It is the first and early sign of a great harvest to come. Last year we planted a plum tree in our garden – a Victoria, in fact. We got nothing edible from it. But this year, the tree has grown amazingly, and there are loads of plums ripening. One of the branches has even broken with the weight of them. Last week I tasted my first plum from our tree. It was the firstfruits – and a sign of masses more to come.

So it is, on a vastly greater scale, with the resurrection of Jesus. When the one bodily resurrection of Jesus happened, the rest inevitably followed – a far, far greater explosion of life that will come to full fruition with the bodily resurrection to eternal life of all those trusting in him. Because Christ has been raised, the dead will be raised. Then:

ii) Because Christ has been raised, our evangelism is effective.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15.14:

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain…

But it’s not in vain because Christ has been raised. Paul’s preaching of the cross and resurrection was not in vain. To prove the point, if you’re a believer all you have to do is take a look at yourself! 2000 years on and the apostle’s God-given gospel has reached you and brought you to saving faith in the living Lord Jesus. You are the result of the resurrection, and that makes suffering for the gospel worthwhile. 1 Corinthians 15.30-32:

Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?

It would all be pointless if there is no resurrection. But in fact, Christ has been raised; Our evangelism is effective.

iii) Because Christ has been raised, our faith is fruitful.

1 Corinthians 15.14:

…if Christ has not been raised…your faith is in vain.

And 1 Corinthians 15.17:

…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile...

But in fact Christ has been raised! So our faith in him is neither in vain nor futile. It’s neither fruitless nor useless. All our sacrifice and service for Jesus and his Kingdom may at times seem hard and show little or no good results, but the fruit will come. And that makes all the effort of Godly living worthwhile. Down in 1 Corinthians 15.32-34:

If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

And when we get to the end of this whole chapter the apostle is going to leave us with these words ringing in our ears – this is 1 Corinthians 15.58:

…be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Our evangelism is effective. Our faith is fruitful.

iv) Because Christ has been raised, our debts are dealt with.

1 Corinthians 15.17:

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.

Even the death of Jesus without the resurrection was not enough on its own. The wages of sin is death, and death was conquered when Jesus rose from the dead. Without the resurrection we would still be “in our sins” – still under condemnation. I bought a birthday present for Vivienne on Amazon. I paid for it when I bought it. Then a while later, the email came through confirming my order and that the bill had been paid. Then I got the notification that the gift was on its way to Vivienne. When Jesus died, the debt that we owe our heavenly Father because of our sin was paid once and for all. When he was raised on that third day, it was like the invoice arriving with written on it in black and white, “Paid For”. Nothing to pay. The gift is on its way. Our debts are dealt with.

v) Because Christ has been raised, our faithful dead have not died.

1 Corinthians 15.17-18:

And if Christ has not been raised...Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

Or to turn that on its head, because Jesus has been raised, those who have died trusting in Jesus have not perished. They’re safe with Jesus. Their bodies have died, but even that is only temporary. They are waiting with Jesus for the resurrected, eternal bodies that they’ll get when Jesus comes back again.

vi) Because Christ has been raised, the apostolic faith is God’s truth.

Take a look at 1 Corinthians 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.

That is, “If Jesus is still dead, then I, Paul, would be lying through my teeth when I say that I saw Jesus alive. And what’s more, I’d be making God out to be a fraud, because I say that God has raised him. But God is no fraud, because it really happened.” So this gospel that the apostles preached to the world, and that we read in the pages of the New Testament, is God’s truth. We can have confidence in it. We can rest the whole weight of our lives on it. Finally:

vii) Because Christ has been raised, we have hope not just for now but for all eternity.

This is 1 Corinthians 15.19:

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Those are really strong words. Paul knows that the Christian life is hard. He was himself bashed and beaten and pushed from pillar to post all through his Christian life, until in the end he was executed. And yet he was full of joy. Why? Because of his hope of resurrection through the risen Jesus. We need to be clear that Christian hope is above all future hope. Yes, we experience great blessings in this life. But without that massive future hope, present hardships would outweigh present blessings. If Jesus was not raised, we’re living deluded lives. But he was raised, so our hope is sure.

There’s a new documentary film out this week about the amazing Apollo 13 mission to the moon. It features the voices of those involved, from the time. On its way to the moon, there was an explosion in the Apollo 13 Command Module that caused it to stop functioning. The three astronauts had to get back to earth using the landing craft that was designed to take them down to the moon. They went through an extraordinary series of crises. Their living conditions became almost intolerable. But one thing kept them going. The hope that they would get safely back down to earth. For them, it wasn’t a certain hope. But it was enough. Life following Jesus can be hard. He never promised otherwise. But we do have a certain hope. The hope of a new creation. The hope of bodily resurrection. Jesus has given us that hope, because he has been raised from the dead. Hallelujah! Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, thank you that you raised your Son Jesus to life on the third day. And because of him, we too will one day share in his resurrection life. While we wait, teach us, we pray, to keep going and to keep trusting, in the sure and certain hope that our faith and our labours are not in vain. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.