1 Cor 15
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, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also...
Why is the resurrection so important?
WHY IS THE RESURRECTION IMPORTANT TO CHRIST?
1. THE RESURRECTION IS important to Christ because it is A fulfilment OF PROPHECY.
Acts 2:22-32 on the day of Pentecost ... Peter said:
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him: (quotes from psalm 16)
“‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
Christ’s resurrection was prophesied because it was crucial to the redemptive plan of God.
Through our faith in the resurrection we’re are saved.
2. THE RESURRECTION of Christ is important because it ESTABLISHES THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST.
Matthew 28:18 when Jesus had risen from the dead, he said to his disciples: All authority....has been given to me....
In Acts 2:32-36 Peter says:
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
In Philippians 2:6–11 Paul says that since Christ emptied himself and was obedient unto death, THEREFORE God has highly exalted him and given him a name above every name.
Jesus rising from the dead means that he is Lord. We are saved by believing and confessing this.
3. THE RESURRECTION is important .....ENABLED CHRIST TO BRUISE THE HEAD OF SATAN.
Gen. 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers; he will bruise your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
1 John 3:8
For this purpose the son of man was made manifest...to destroy the works of the devil one.
The Resurrection allowed Christ to overcome death and Satan.
Rev 1:18I am the alpha and omega...hold the keys of death and hell
The word is hades....place of departed spirits...so Christ is in control of every sphere
He was in control of his own death
Keys speak of control and authority, possession and power
He has the power to release from death those who receive his gift of eternal life
II. WHY IS THE RESURRECTION IMPORTANT TO THE CHURCH?
1. THE RESURRECTION IS CONNECTED WITH the believers ENTRANCE INTO THE CHURCH.
ROM. 6:3-6 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Through this new life we Exeter into the Body of Christ. We become partakers of his life.
2. THE RESURRECTION ASSURES THE CHURCH OF VICTORY.
We are part of a kingdom that never will be destroyed or overcome.
When Jesus said in Matt. 16:18 upon this rock I will build my church...he was making reference to:
Dan. 2:44 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
See also
Heb. 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”
III. WHY IS THE RESURRECTION IMPORTANT FOR THE CHRISTIAN.
1. CHRIST’S RESURRECTION, Means THAT CHRIST WAS RAIsed FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION.
The resurrection is inextricably linked to our salvation.
I believe because of the Word. Because of The testimony of John, Peter, Paul, and those willing to die for what they saw.
Today, as a result of our faith in Christ, He is alive in us...in you...in me....
We can say like Paul: It’s no longer I who lives...
Rom. 10:9 declares, “…if you believe in thy heart that Jesus rose from the dead, you will be saved.”
1 Corinthians 15:17, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins."
Why is the resurrection said to be responsible for our sins being taken away. Is it not the death that does that?
You see, The resurrection of Jesus is the reward of his sacrifice. And if the reward was not given, it would be because the sacrifice was deficient. And if the sacrifice is deficient, we are still in our sins.
In Hebrews 13:20–21a it says, "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will."
Christ was raised through his own blood!
His sacrifice was perfect. And his sacrifice so perfectly secured his covenant promises for his people that God the Father rewarded him with resurrection to carry those promises into eternal force.
In Hebrews 10...it tells us that he sat down. His work was complete.
Isaiah 53: 10 The Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief;
if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days [that's the resurrection!—"if" he gives himself as an offering], and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
2. CHRIST’S RESURRECTION ASSURES CHRISTIANS OF THEIR OWN RESURRECTION.
1 Cor. 15:20-24
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
See 1 Cor. 15:50-56
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
......Christ is the down payment, the pledge, or guarantee of the Christian’s own resurrection.
3. A third thing the resurrection does for the Christian is that it gives us a living hope - which provides comfort.
1 Pet. 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Thess. 4:13-18
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
In our resurrected bodies we will sit around the table, at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We will sit elbow to elbow with the saints. We will enjoy
Conversation with Enoch, Noah, David, Joseph, Daniel, Elijah, Paul, Peter, Jude, Samuel, Sampson, James. Stephen, Phoebe, Aquila, Lydia, Dorcas... etc
Hebrews 2:14-15...through death he might destroy him who has the power of death...and release those who through fear of death were all their lives subject to bondage.
4. A FOURTH THING, THE RESURRECTION GIVES THE CHRISTIAN POWER.
Phil. 3:10 I want to know Christ...in the power of his resurrection
Because of this power Paul says: Phil. 4:13 I can do all things through Christ
Read Acts 1:8.
This power is to perform miracles...to save souls, to change lives.
To preach with boldness and courage.
This power is to overcome the flesh.
To love those who persecute us.
John Bunyan's wrote a poem:
Run, John, run, the law commands
But gives us neither feet nor hands,
Far better news the gospel brings:
It bids us fly and gives us wings.
The gospel bids us fly—it commands us to forgive those who have wronged us. But it also gives us wings to do what it commands. The gospel gives us power.
IV. FOURTH, WE HAVE Looked at WHAT THE RESURRECT MEANS TO CHRIST – TO THE CHURCH – TO CHRISTIANS – AND NOW WHAT THE RESURRECTION MEANS TO A NON-CHRISTIAN.
Acts 17 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
Ecclesiastes 12:
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Dan 12
At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
One day we will all stand before God to give an account.
If you are not ready for that, you can be. You can be ready by coming to Christ. By asking him for forgiveness and by having your sins washed away.
Christ’s can give you a fresh start. A new beginning.
If you desire this, come to the front. We will pray for you and with you as you make your life right with God.
