1 Cor. 15:12-34

One of the central planks of our faith is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. As we said the last time, if we are to stand in our faith, then we need to stand for this truth. If it did not happen then it undermines everything that we believe. In the early verses of this chapter Pauls runs through the basic creed of the church, the things of “first importance” (v.3). “Christ died for our sins, he was buried and he was raised on the third day.”

After this Jesus appeared to over five hundred eye witnesses. I think I may have said to you before that this was key in my coming to faith. I came to the point of saying to myself if Jesus rose then I need to believe in him and follow him. If he did not rise then it totally undermines everything that Jesus said. He said he would rise but if he did not then why waste time with him and his teaching. A dead saviour is no saviour, but a living saviour who has conquered death is an entirely different matter.

If you sit here tonight and you have not made up your mind on this I encourage you to look again at this important doctrine and come to a settled conviction. For those of us who do believe in the resurrection I hope that this talk will further reinforce the importance of this doctrine.

I want to divide this sermon into two parts. In the first part I want us to see 7 essential things that Paul says will be undermined or ruined if there is no resurrection. Then in the second part I want to look at some further reasons today why belief in the resurrection is so important in impacting how we live. If you like, the first part concentrates on the theological underpinning of our faith and the second part concentrates on the practical and ethical consequences as we live out that faith day by day.

A. Seven essentials of our faith that are undermined if no resurrection.

1. If there is no resurrection then Christ has not been raised (v.13,16).  Some in the Corinthian church point blank refused to accept that resurrection could happen for ordinary  people at all. They said it was just something that cannot occur. If it is an impossibility and there are no exceptions then Paul argues that Christ has not been raised; this is the logic of their position. Maybe they would not have meant to deny that Jesus had been raised but this is the logic of their position. You cannot say there is no resurrection on the one hand and Jesus did rise on the other. They contradict each other. Paul is seeking to show them that if they believe Jesus rose you cannot say human beings in general will not rise. That has to be possible- for Jesus had a fully human nature.  Today there are people who deny that resurrection can happen so that immediately prevents them from believing in the possibility that Jesus did rise.

2. Our preaching is in vain (v.14). Paul was a preacher of the gospel and he is saying that if there is no resurrection then all his preaching and teaching is totally pointless. Also all the stoning, persecution, suffering that he has experienced has been pointless and to no avail. Not only is Paul’s preaching pointless but so is mine, so is every preacher through history and listening to it is a monumental waste of time – if there is no resurrection and if Christ has not been raised. This is no secondary matter therefore it goes to the heart of all that we do.

3. If there is no resurrection your faith is in vain (v.14). This of course follows. Take away the gospel that Jesus has died and rose again and you take away the central hope of Christianity. Our faith is based on a risen saviour. Take that away and we have no faith.

4. If there is no resurrection we are misrepresenting God. (v.15). If the dead are not raised then God does not raise the dead and we are misrepresenting him in a big way. If God did not raise Christ and we say that he did then we are lying and propagating something untrue about God, if there is a God. Thus Jesus was just a human being, an imposter and not from God at all.

5. If there is no resurrection then we are still in our sins. Mankind’s greatest problem is sin. The Christian faith claims to deal with that problem through the cross. The resurrection is proof and vindication that Jesus dealt with sin effectively at the cross. Take that away and you take away the Christian remedy for sin. “The wages of sin is death” the Bible tells us. If Jesus stayed dead either he was not the sinless person everyone thought him to be and his death marked his final separation from God, or, if he was without sin his attempts to deal with sin and unite us to God failed and did not please God. Either way we are still left in our sins and with our problems if Christ has not been raised.

6. If there is no resurrection and if Christ has not been raised those who have died in Christ have perished (v.18). The people who believed on Jesus and died trusting in him trusted in a vain hope. If Christ is still dead then we have failed also to conquer death and its sting. Those who trusted in him were misled.

7. If there is no resurrection then we are of all men to be pitied because it is such a central part of our faith system. If there is no resurrection much of what Jesus said falls to the ground and he is a liar. If he is not raised from the dead then he is not Lord, he is not Lord of anything.

As we have looked at these one by one we have seen how important the doctrine of resurrection is to our faith. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was just a good teacher who did not rise. It is back to the inexorable logic of CS Lewis – Jesus was either mad, bad or God. To say that you will rise and you don’t is not a good thing, it means either that you are deluded and deceived – you are mad; or else you have deliberately lied and you are bad. The third option is that you speak the truth and it did actually happen. There are no other possibilities.

The change in the attitude of the disciples was so profound - they went from cowering to courageous in a matter of days. Why was this? Something happened to change them from fearful to fearless, from being timid disciples to those who were prepared to stand in temples and street corners and proclaim the gospel. The best explanation for this was the fact of the resurrection.   James Denney says “The NT preaches a Christ who was dead and is alive, not one who was alive and is dead”.

And so in v.20 Paul comes to one of the best “buts” in the bible. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”. Here Paul has outlined seven implications if Christ has not been raised but he has, therefore resurrection does occur, Jesus proves it, our preaching is not in vain and our faith is not in vain; we are not misrepresenting God, we are not still in our sin for it has been effectively dealt with, those who have died trusting in him are with him in glory and instead of being pitied we are to be envied for we have the truth.

Paul speaks about Christ being “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep”. In other words he is the model, he is the example, he is the first of a new generation, of a new race, a new humanity. Jesus is the second Adam who came to reverse the results of the Fall. We will still physically die but we live spiritually and pass through death to be with him. At a later time what happened to Jesus will happen to us – a reuniting of soul and body in a resurrected body. Paul will deal in more detail with this body in the latter half of this chapter which Gareth will lead us through next week. But here Paul wants to establish the pattern - what happened to Jesus will happen to us, we will rise. Not three days after we die but at some time when all things here are wrapped up. Verse 23 gives us the sequence in turn – Jesus rises first and that has already happened, then when he returns from glory those who belong to him will rise again and the end will come.

Paul emphasises Jesus as the victor, the one who will reign over death and all other dominions and powers that would seek to hold back the kingdom of God coming fully. Col.1:18 says “And Christ is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”

We do not need to be reminded of the power and hold that death has over us. Death is described as the last enemy and there would be few who would disagree. It hangs over us like a black shadow and reflects the ultimate statistic – one in one die. We cannot get around it and we would rather not think about it. But here Paul affirms that death will be put under Christ and in subjugation to him. But in v.28 we also see an interesting theological point about how God the Father and God the Son relate to each other. God the Son is equal to the Father, he is of the same essence, yet functionally is subordinate. Jesus has a subordinate role to the Father and will submit himself in his obedient manhood to the Father. This is the final reversal of Adam’s curse and failure – the second Adam will submit himself to the Father and all will be as it should be and God the Father will be shown to be supreme and sovereign in all things.

Just as a last word on theology -  v.29 has confused a lot of people. What does Paul refer to here? What does it mean to be baptised for the dead? Commentaries say there could be up to thirty explanations of this. Were people being baptised for relatives that had died previously? We do not know. Paul is simply saying that if people were doing this in the understanding that their friends would be rising again it was pointless if there is no resurrection.

B. What are the consequences for us today of believing in the resurrection?

So here we have the theological underpinning of our faith. But let’s move from theology to practice –how does this belief affect us today in how we live. It is one thing to know that we will rise again but should that make a difference to how we live? Well Paul is one who says what we think and what we believe doctrinally impacts how we live practically. All his letters begin with theology and then there is a therefore – if this is what we believe therefore this is how we should live.

1.We see it here also in v.30-34. We see that this doctrine leads to courage. It was because Paul believed in the resurrection that he endangered himself each day. In other words he took risks knowing that it was worth risking his life for a greater purpose. You see if you believe that this life is all there is then you will go to great lengths to preserve yourself in this life, get the most out of this life but without taking too many risks. But if you know that there is more than this life and that the next is better and that we can invest in the next life by how we live here then maybe we will take a few more risks – even the risk of dying, or of being killed for the faith.

Paul; lived a risky life, a courageous life but at the back of it all he thought if I die at least I know I go to something better. The risk is worth it. If I fight wild beasts, and this may be a figurative term for human opponents rather than actual wild animals, he knows that it is worth it. Why put yourself through such pain for merely human reasons?

Listen to The Message – “Why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected messiah Jesus?...Not on your life. It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection that undergirds what I do and say.”

Now this should give us boldness as well. Few of us in this country are at risk of losing our lives for standing for the gospel. At most we tend to risk embarrassment and yet this doctrine should embolden us and give us courage.

2. The resurrection affects how we view death generally.  When we believe in resurrection we should not fear death as others do. Paul elsewhere reminds us “that we do not grieve as others do who have no hope. We believe Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep In  him.” (1 Thess.4:13-14).  When we have a hope that is real and tangible then we look upon death differently. All of us fear uncertainty and the uncertainty of what happens at death affects many. But we should have a hope that carries us through that uncertainty and this means that death is not the worst thing that can happen to us. Ask most people what is the thing to be most feared, or the worst thing that can happen and they say “death”. But that was not Paul’s perspective and it was not Jesus’ perspective either. Jesus said do not fear those who can kill you as much as the one who determines your eternal destiny. In Luke 12:4 “do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes I tell you, fear him.”

When resurrection is true it has implications for how we think of death. If we are a believer it means we do not need to fear it as much as others, and we do not need to grieve as much for others who know Christ. But it also means that for those who do not know Christ then there is more to grieve and there is more to fear. The grieving is worse for the bereaved if there is no assurance of faith for that person who has died.

The ultimate destination of people is God’s business and it is God who determines the heart and final destination. But sometimes we have to ask what is the evidence for someone to say that “so and so is at peace now” when there was no evidence of that peace in their heart when they were living.  You see the resurrection cuts two ways – believers are resurrected, but unbelievers are also resurrected. But one is to life and the other is to eternal separation.  The resurrection profoundly affects how we view death.

3. The resurrection means we live more moral lives. Paul contrasts those who believe in resurrection from those who do not. Those who do not had the attitude eat, drink, be merry for tomorrow we die and we will not have to give account for our lives. Lack of a proper understanding of resurrection leads to bad behaviour (v.33-34). To live for this moment and not consider the implications of your life for eternity is a big mistake. Having a correct belief of resurrection impacts us in that we know that there is more than this life and there is a God to whom we are accountable. It also means we should make our lives count and do something significant with them and not waste them in trivialities and bad behaviour. Life is in a sense a preparation for eternity and we should make it count.

4. Belief in resurrection provides an ultimate hope but it will not remove all the pain and hurts we have to experience in a fallen world. When we come to Christ and when we believe in resurrection it still means we have to live through the normal pains that come in this life. Christians and non Christians sometimes have to cope with the same problems. Resurrection does not remove the problems – we live in the long Saturday of Holy Saturday. Jesus was in the tomb three days. We spend longer from when we first believe to when we die and we see Christ. We live between the now and the not yet.  However resurrection gives us hope, and we can see some meaning through the suffering. It gives us perspective, but it does not remove the pain completely – that is part of living in a fallen world and with fallen bodies. It provides ultimate answers more than immediate answers.

5. Resurrection reminds us that we believe in a material resurrection. We will explore this point more fully next time, but we need to remind ourselves that we are talking about the soul and body reuniting and living a real, physical existence on a real earth. God intends that we live on earth again, not strumming a guitar or a harp on a cloud. The resurrected body of Christ was real and physical although it had changed properties. So when we talk about the afterlife today it helps me to think that as I am explaining it to someone it is not completely different to the life we experience now. People can relate to this earth and the best things of this earth and the new earth I like to think of as the best bits of life without the worst bits. This I think helps us with our evangelism. Frankly the thought of strumming a harp on a cloud does not do much for me. Playing a harp beside the Grand Canyon or the Niagara Falls or even Glenariff does. Walking beside a river, climbing a mountain watching, kingfishers flit over a river, or hearing a beautiful singing voice does things for me. The best thing of course is that Jesus is there. But the resurrection is material, physical.

So the final thing I want to say is that instead of it all being airy fairy and intangible we are talking of something very tangible here. If I can put it this way – the doctrine of resurrection is not about pie in the sky when you die, it is about steak on the plate while you wait! It really helps us to live our lives here and now. It provides nourishment and hope and perspective and all the things we need to live in a fallen messed up world.

Some quotes to close:

Someone once said that the best news the world ever had came from a graveyard.

Martin Luther - “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.”

Thomas Watson – “We are more sure to arise out of our graves than out of our beds.”

CS Lewis  - “Jesus has forced open a door that had been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought and beaten the King of death. Everything is different because he has done so.”

I agree. Everything now is different because he has done so. Jesus is risen – he is risen indeed.

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