Evidence Of The Resurrection - The Scriptures (Part 1)

EVIDENCE OF THE RESURRECTION

EXHIBIT B: THE SCRIPTURES

(PART 1)

I Corinthians 15:1-2

The Bible was written over a period of about 1,500 years by some forty different authors. Some were Prophets, some were Apostles, and some were faithful servants who served the Lord in various other capacities. All of these authors were human instruments that wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter said, “no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21). The Apostle Paul said, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16)

The men whom God used to write the Bible lived in different times, quite a few of them did not know one another, and many were separated by several generations. However, the harmony and agreement of all sixty-six books of the Bible is absolutely astonishing.

Though some may think it foolish, I believe every single verse from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. Though I may not understand it all, I trust every word from “In the beginning” to “Amen”. The majority of people in the world today reject the truths that are recorded in the Bible. One reason for this is that most of what is recorded in the scriptures are things that are “spiritually discerned”.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:11-14, “So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned”.

I certainly do not understand everything that I read in the Bible, and it would be dishonest for me to pretend that there have not been times when doubt has filled my mind concerning certain promises and prophecies that are recorded therein. Some of the prophecies that have been fulfilled occurred thousands of years before I was born. Furthermore, many other prophecies refer to things that are still in the future. However, on those rare occasions when I deal with doubt, a brief survey of Biblical prophecy and human history serves to ease my troubled mind.

- One of the most fascinating aspects of the Holy scriptures is the timeline of prophecies concerning the Birth of the Messiah (Jesus Christ)

The birth of Christ was promised some 4,000 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. After man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, God said to Satan, (in the presence of Adam and Eve) “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Jesus is that “Seed of the woman” who would defeat the serpent (Satan).

2,000 years prior to the birth of Christ, God made His covenant with Abraham and promised the arrival of the Messiah. (Ref: Genesis 12)

1,400 years before the birth of Jesus, through Moses, God promised Israel that God would “raise up a prophet” like him from among their brethren. Again, this was a prophecy concerning the Messiah.

1,000 years before Jesus was born, God made a covenant with King David and promised that He would raise up his seed after him and establish his kingdom forever. This is another prophecy that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Almost 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Isaiah prophesied that “the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

These are just a few of the many prophecies that are recorded in scripture and each of them find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. We are able to open the Gospels and see ample evidence that Jesus is indeed the Promised One of God. With thousands of years of prophetic fulfillment, I am confident that the scriptures are trustworthy.

We are currently studying I Corinthians 15 and listening as Paul defends the literal, future, bodily resurrection of those who are “in Christ”. In the process, Paul submits a fantastic defense of the biblical doctrine of Jesus’ own resurrection. Thus far in our examination of the “Evidence For The Resurrection” we have seen Exhibit A: The Church. The inception and endurance of Christ’s Church is indeed vivid proof that our Savior lives! As we move further into this passage, I would like to submit: