1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Chicago Tribune journalist, Lee Strobel, had been on an incredible quest to disprove the resurrection of Jesus. A “just the facts” type of guy, Strobel figured debunking God would not be that difficult. This was a man who worked in a newsroom with a printed banner that stated, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”
Strobel had read just about every philosophical argument against God from renowned thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche and David Hume. He presumed that with reason and scientific evidence, God would be reduced to a myth. What he found was an unexpected discovery of quantitative facts and faith, which is a powerful testimony for the Easter season.
The recently released film “The Case for Christ” shows the profound path that led Strobel to believe in God. The film is based on Strobel’s best-selling book of the same name. We see a man with narcissism as one of his main flaws, but his conceit also elicits compassion. Strobel truly loves his wife, Leslie, and their daughter, Alison, but eventually finds that there is an even greater love beyond the scope his intellect. [Posted April 15, 2017,Jessica Johnson: ‘The Case for Christ’ makes case for Easter joy]
Strobel discovered the truth about the resurrection of Christ, which dramatically transformed his life.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a Sunday school story to be told once a year.
It is not just an event that took place April 5, 33.
It is not a holiday to celebrate every year.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is much more significant than all of this put together.
The resurrection of Jesus was a work of God established before the foundation of the world was set in place and has an enormous impact on our life today.
Paul says in Ephesians 1:4 – “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:”
That phrase “the foundation of the world” refers to before the world was created by God. God, being all-wise, did not create the world and then find out something went wrong.
God created the world and in that moment of creation included everything that could possibly happen and he prepared for it.
What I want to lay out this morning is simply this; the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the key factor in all of God’s creation. It was not a last minute fix for a problem he did not see coming. It has implications not only in this world, as I want to show you, but also throughout all eternity.
The resurrection was a point in time, but it has influenced throughout all eternity. This is something hard for us to really grasp.
I. The Resurrection Affects the Foundation of Christianity.
“If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing” (1 Corinthians 15:14).
Paul understood the importance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it affects all of Christianity.
It is the foundation upon which all of Christianity is built.
Christianity is not built upon rituals and creeds. That is the stuff of which religion is built upon. Christianity goes beyond rituals and creeds. You can believe the right thing and still not really be a Christian.
The impact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on a person is the transformation of that person into what the Bible calls “a new creation.”
Religion can change you, Christ can transform you.
The disciples believed everything Jesus taught. Even though he taught them about his resurrection, they did not quite grasp it because it really did not make sense to them. They knew what Jesus taught and yet when they came to the cross all of that fell apart.
It is not the cross that saves us.
The cross was where Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
How is this applied to individuals?
The disciples all deserted Christ around the cross and it was not until they encountered Christ in the upper room that they began to believe in the resurrection of Christ. When they were transformed by this resurrected Christ, they then went out into all the world and preached the gospel.
It was only after meeting the resurrected Christ that they really believe in who Jesus Christ really was and what he thought.
We have so many religions today and many of them have good aspects to them. The limitation of religion is, it can never transform a person and prepare them for heaven.
Only the resurrected Christ can do that.
As a Christian transformed by the power of God, everything I do builds upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is my strength for everyday living. That power enables me to overcome the elements that are of the world.
II. The Resurrection Affects the Formation of Christianity
Too many religious people are formed from the outside. They believe the right thing, they do the right thing and things on the outside begin to change.
The problem is, there is no change on the inside.
Under the right circumstances, a religious person will revert to his or her old life in the world.
Religion has benefited our society tremendously. I will grant you that much.
They have helped people overcome addictions and similar problems. They have clothed the naked, fed the hungry. They have housed the homeless.
All of these things are good, and ought to be done.
But the power of the resurrection transforms a person from the inside. We become a “new creature in Christ.” And that always begins on the inside.
It is the power of the resurrection of Christ that dramatically transforms me and little by little, that transformation comes to the outside of me.
The whole purpose of this power of the resurrection is to create in me Christ likeness. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is transforming me into his likeness.
Paul explains this in Romans 8:10-12,
“10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.”
The true Christian cannot celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ once a year. It is something he or she celebrates every day because that is what is forming and developing his or her life.
We are not being affected by the world around us, but rather by the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead within us.
III. The Resurrection Affects the Function of Christianity
By function it is meant, the action for which a person or thing is particularly fitted or employed.
For some reason, many Christians do not understand the true function of Christianity. They are so worldly mind that they cannot understand anything beyond this world.
The reason the resurrection is so important in my life as a Christian is because of that eternal function that God has for me. I am not made for this world. This world is lost and all you have to do is look all around, listen to the news and you will realize how depraved our world really is.
The world that refused to accept Jesus is also the world that refuses to accept Christianity.
In Jesus day…
The government refused to accept Jesus Christ and put him on the cross.
Religion refused to accept Jesus Christ and force the government to put Jesus on the cross.
Christianity is being persecuted all over the world today.
Even our country that boasts of religious freedom is persecuting Christianity.
I need to understand that my final destination is not a grave somewhere, but it is eternity. We do not know that much about eternity. There are books out on heaven, but we really do not know very much about heaven.
The functional element of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is to prepare for that which we are not fully aware of. We do not know what heaven will be like and we do not know what we will be doing there.
Many of the things God is doing in our lives as a Christian, is to prepare for that eternity destination.
Certainly much that he is doing in our life is to prepare us for ministry here and dealing with the world around us. But a lot of what is happening to us is God preparing God for that world to come, weaning us from this world and its values.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is working in our lives as Christians, to fully prepare us for that final destination.
We live in this world for just a moment. But eternity will be forever.
Many things that are happening in my life today I cannot explain. Even from a spiritual standpoint a lot of it does not make sense. However, my job is to trust God, especially when I do not quite understand what is happening.
It is quite easy to trust God when everything is going fine. It is when things turn upside down for no apparent reason that I have trouble trusting God. That is the time I really trust God. I must trust God in the dark because I cannot rely upon human instinct or human intelligence. I need to rely upon God.
Conclusion…
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the center of our lives as Christians. Nothing else so impacts our life now and in eternity than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Isn’t it interesting we do not know when Jesus was born, but we do have a good idea of his death burial and resurrection.
The crucifixion, according to some, happened April 5, 33.
The year is a little fuzzy, but the day is pretty consistent.
I need to understand the foundation of my Christianity. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ and out of that, he is forming the kind of life preparing me for my future in eternity.
The early church always greeted one another with,
“He Is Risen.” Which was followed by, “He Is Risen Indeed.”
The life I am now living, is it a real reflection of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or am I just am religious person?
