Raised - Undeniable Series

Raised – Undeniable

Open to 1 Corinthians 15 – we will be there for the next four weeks.

All Scripture is inspired but there are some chapters in the Bible that are especially meaningful – 1 Corinthians 13, Romans 8, Philippians 4, Hebrews 11 and certainly 1 Corinthians 15 would make the short list of great chapters in the New Testament.

A little background on Corinth.

Paul had been there for 18 months.

Corinth was a significant city in the region and an important location for a church.

Corinth had a lot of issues.  It is the soap opera church on the New Testament. Sex, lawsuits, rivalry, idolatry, charismatic gifts – Corinth had it all and Paul had a lot of teaching to do.

I think they are trying. They seem to be in contact with Paul even though he has now in nearby Ephesus. There seems to be correspondence between the church and Paul as indicated by these verses:

1 Corinthians 7:1 (NIV) — 1 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

1 Corinthians 8:1 (NIV) — 1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

1 Corinthians 12:1 (NIV) — 1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.

1 Corinthians 16:1 (NIV) — 1 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.

They seem to have sent Paul questions that he responds to in each one of these sections.

But in addition to responding to questions, Paul also has some things he wants to add – some things that he knows are important and maybe will be able to help them with these other issues. One of these is the great chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13 – in the midst of answering questions on spiritual gifts Paul urges them to seek the most excellent way of love. Another matter he feels he must address is our chapter we are looking at – 1 Corinthians 15.  He has a reminder for them. Let’s look at how this great chapter starts:

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 (NIV) — 1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

I want to remind you of the gospel – what it really is all about. All these other issues are important but let’s not forget what the real issue is. What is at the very center of the gospel? What is it that you believed in at first? What is it that you really stand for?  We can lose sight of that, can’t we?

Churches can get caught up in issues. Not that there aren’t some important issues we have to deal with, but sometimes we can be distracted with things that are not at the center of our faith. We can get distracted from what the gospel is all about. And it is this that we have to hold firmly to.

I have to admit, there are some things that I can go either way with. We even see this in 1 Corinthians. Paul say that eating meats offered to idols can be an individual matter. He even seems to think that getting married or staying single is an individual matter – you can serve God in either situation. But there are some things that are non-negotiable and Paul is going to talk about one of those things.

Let’s continue reading on:

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (NIV) — 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

First importance – isn’t that a curious phrase? Some teachings are more important than others. Some teachings are not up for grabs. Some truths are absolutely essential. There are some beliefs that define the gospel. And here it is:

Christ died for our sins – we were lost without him. His death atoned for our sins. We have forgiveness only because he die. He was the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sins of the world. Scripture is all about this. Paul may be thinking of Isaiah 53:

Isaiah 53:4–6 (NIV) — 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.