Introduction:
I want to share with you a story about a little boy named Philip. Philip was born with Down’s Syndrome. He was a happy child, but there was a lot of difference between him and other children his age. Philip went to Sunday School faithfully every week. He was in the third grade class with nine other eight-year-olds. You know how eight-year olds are. Philip, with his differences, was not readily accepted. He wasn’t really a part of the group.
His teacher had an idea for his class one Sunday. You know those things that L’Eggs pantyhose come in, the containers that look like great big eggs? The teacher collected ten of them. He brought them into the room and gave one to each child. It was a beautiful spring day, and the assignment was for each child to go outside, find a symbol for new life, put it into the egg, and bring it back to the classroom. They would then open their eggs and share their symbols one by one.
So, they went wild and ran all around the church grounds, gathering their symbols, and returned to the classroom. They put all the eggs on a table, and then the teacher began to open them as the children looked on. He opened one and there was a flower. He opened another and there was a little butterfly. He opened a third and there was a leaf.
The teacher opened the next one, but there was nothing inside. The children, as eight-year olds are prone to do, said, “That’s stupid! Somebody didn’t do it right."
Then the teacher felt a tug on his shirt, and he looked down. Philip, the little boy with Downs Syndrome, said, "It’s mine.” And the other children said, "You don’t ever do anything right, Philip. There’s nothing there!"
Philip said, "I did so do it right! I did do it right. It’s empty. The tomb is empty!"
Philip died soon after that. And when he did, at his memorial service, nine eight-year old children marched up the front, not with flowers but with an empty egg -- an empty plastic pantyhose egg.
Philip was right. There is no greater symbol of new life than the empty tomb.
When you think of men dying on a cross, you probably think immediately of Jesus Christ. But, over the years, there have been many men who have died by crucifixion. In 519 B.C., for example, the Persian king Darius crucified 3,000 Babylonians. In A.D. 66, the Romans crucified 3,600 Jews which started a revolt. By the time order was restored, the executioners had run out of wood for crosses.
It is not merely that Jesus of Nazareth died by crucifixion which makes people look to him for salvation. It is the fact that three days later, the tomb stood empty. Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
During his earthly ministry, Jesus said that he would be resurrected. "From that time Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." (Matthew 16:21). Even his enemies told Pilate, "Sir, we remember, while he was still alive, how that deceiver said, ’After three days I rise.’" (Matthew 27:63).
According to Jesus, the resurrection would be the single greatest sign to mankind about who he truly was. When the Pharisees asked him for a sign in Matthew 12, he referred them back to Jonah being in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights and said that that was how long he would be in the heart of the earth.
If it had not been for the resurrection, the ministry of Jesus would have ended, his claims would have been ignored, he would have been merely another religious martyr, and he would have been forgotten long ago.
So it is essential that we come to a decision in our own minds in regard to the resurrection of Christ. Either he rose from the tomb, or he didn’t. That doctrine is central to the Christian faith. And the Corinthian Christians had accepted that truth. In the first 10 verses of I Corinthians 15, Paul goes over some of the evidences for the resurrection not so much as a proof but as a reminder because he says in verse 11, "So we preach and so you believed."
The fact of that resurrection formed the basis of Paul’s argument in this chapter: Because Christ was raised, our resurrection from the dead is obviously possible. The two resurrections stand or fall together; there could not be one without the other.
It seems strange to us that some of those Christians could have accepted one part of the truth without the other. No doubt, they had been influenced by the pagan philosophies and religions from which they had come. The people of that day, just as our own, had many erroneous ideas of what happens to human beings after death.
Some religions have taught soul sleep, in which the body dies and disintegrates, while the soul or spirit rests. Materialists believe in utter extinction, total annihilation. Nothing human, physical or otherwise, survives after death. Death ends it all. Some religions teach reincarnation, wherein the soul or spirit is continually recycled from one form to another -- even from human to animal or animal to human. Others believe in what is generally described as an absorption, in which the spirit returns to its source and is absorbed back into the ultimate divine mind or being.
In all of those views, human individuality is forever lost at death. Whatever, if anything, survives is no longer a person, no longer an individual, no longer a unique being.
Furthermore, a lot of Greek philosophy was based on dualism -- the idea that everything spiritual is good and everything physical is bad. That was the view of the Gnostics that John was dealing with in I John. To anyone holding that view, the idea of a resurrected body was a repugnant idea. For them, the very reason of going to the afterlife was to escape all things physical. They considered the body a tomb, or a corpse, to which, in this life, their spirits were shackled. For those Greeks, their bodies were the last things they wanted to take along to the next life.
They believed in the immortality of the soul but they were strongly opposed the idea of a resurrection of the body. Paul found this out when he preached at Athens: And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked." (Acts 17:32).
It’s possible that even some Jewish members of the Corinthian church doubted the resurrection. Despite the fact that the resurrection is taught in the Old Testament, some of the Jews, such as the Sadducees, didn’t believe in it.
But while the Old Testament teaching about the resurrection was limited and incomplete, the New Testament teaching is extensive. Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:44). To Martha he said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live." (John 11:25).
The foundation of apostolic teaching was that Christ rose from the dead and that all who believed in him would also be raised. As Peter and John were preaching in Jerusalem soon after Pentecost, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead." (Acts 4:1-2).
But, in spite of the fact that the resurrection of believers is taught in the Old Testament, in the teaching of Jesus during his earthly ministry and in the teaching of the apostles, many of the Corinthian Christians were having serious doubts about it. It is those doubts that Paul forcefully deals with in I Corinthians 15.
His first argument is simple and logical: "Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" (15:12). The Corinthian brethren believed in Christ’s resurrection. So how could they logically deny the general truth of resurrection? If Christ has been raised from the dead, obviously resurrection is possible.
"If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ is not risen." (I Cor. 15:13).
Paul’s readers would have said, "Yes, we agree that Jesus was raised from the dead; we just don’t think the rest of us will be." But Paul wants them to see to implications of what they’re saying. If the dead cannot be raised, then Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead. Had the Corinthians considered that fact? If you take away the resurrection, then Jesus remains in the grave.
But the resurrection of Christ was very much a reality. Peter told of David’s speaking "concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up." (Acts 2:31-32). In his vision to John on the isle of Patmos, Christ declared, "I am the First and the Last. I am he who lives, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore." (Revelation 1:17-18).
I. Consequences of Christ Not Being Raised
In verses 14-19, Paul demonstrates that the resurrection of Christ is essential to our faith. He gives here six disastrous consequences that would result if Christ was not raised from the dead.
A. Preaching of the Gospel Would Be Meaningless
"And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain..." (I Cor. 15:14a).
The first of there being no resurrection of Christ would be that the preaching of the gospel would be vain, completely meaningless.
As Paul had said earlier, the heart of the gospel is Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf. "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to Scriptures." (I Cor. 15:3-4).
Apart from the resurrection, Jesus could not have conquered death, and death would forever be man’s conqueror. Without the resurrection, the good news would be bad news and there would be nothing worth preaching. Without the resurrection, the gospel would be an empty hopeless message of meaningless nonsense. Unless our Lord conquered sin and death, making a way for men to follow in that victory, there is no gospel to proclaim.
B. Faith in Christ Would Be Worthless
"And if Christ is not risen, then....your faith is also vain." (I Cor. 15:14).
Just as no resurrection would make preaching Christ meaningless, it would also make faith in him worthless. Faith in such a gospel would be vain -- empty, fruitless, to no purpose. A dead savior could not give life. If the dead do not rise, Christ did not rise and we will not rise. We then could only say with the psalmist, "Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain." (Psalm 73:13).
If there were no resurrection, the hall of the faithful in Hebrews 11 would instead be the hall of the foolish. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David, the prophets, and all the others would have been faithful for nothing. They would have been mocked, scourged, imprisoned, stoned, afflicted, ill-treated and put to death completely in vain. All believers throughout all ages would have believed for nothing, lived for nothing and died for nothing.
C. All Witnesses to and Preachers of the Resurrection Would Be Liars
"Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up -- if in fact the dead do not rise." (I Cor. 15:15).
If there is no such thing as resurrection of the dead, then every person who claimed to have witnessed the risen Christ and every person who preached the risen Christ is a liar, including Paul and the other apostles.
To deny the resurrection is to call the apostles and every other leader of the New Testament church not simply mistaken but liars. There is no possibility, as some people claim, that such a mistake could have been innocent or naive. Those witnesses could not have been honest men who just were mistaken. If Christ was not raised from the dead, they were liars who conspired together for their lies to be consistent and harmonized.
And if the apostles, the prophets and the New Testament writers lied about the heart of the gospel why should they be believed about anything else? Why should their moral teachings be considered inspired and lofty if they so blatantly falsified their teaching about Jesus’ resurrection? All New Testament truth stands or falls together based on the resurrection.
Although Paul does not mention it specifically, it clearly follows that if the resurrection were not true, Christ himself lied, or at best was tragically mistaken. In either case, he could hardly qualify as the divine Son of God or the world’s Savior and Lord. Or, if the New Testament writers completely misrepresented what both Christ and the apostles taught, then the New Testament would be a worthless document that no reasonable person would trust.
D. All Men Would Still Be In Their Sins
"For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" (I Cor. 15:16-17).
If Christ was not raised from the dead, then Christians would be no better off spiritually than non-Christians. That sounds a bit strange at first because usually we think of the crucifixion being essential to the salvation of our sins, and here Paul says the resurrection is essential.
The reason is that if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then sin won the victory over him and therefore it will continue to be victorious over all men. If Jesus remained dead, then, when we die, we too will remain dead and condemned. "The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23), and if we remain dead, then death and eternal punishment are the only prospect for believer and unbeliever alike. If Christ was not raised, then he didn’t bring forgiveness of sins or salvation or reconciliation or spiritual life, either for now or for eternity.
But the fact is that God did raise "Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification." (Romans 4:24-25). Because Jesus does live, we too shall live (John 14:19). "the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to his right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:30-31).
E. All Former Christians Would Have Eternally Perished
"Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." (I Cor. 15:18).
"Fallen asleep" was a common euphemism for death. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then every saint, Old Testament or Christian, who had died would have forever perished. Obviously the same consequence would apply to every Christian who has died since Paul wrote this letter. Paul himself, the other apostles, and every Christian of every other age would spend eternity in torment, without God and without hope. Their faith would have been in vain, their sins would have been unforgiven, and their destiny would be damnation.
F. Christians Would be the Most Pitiable People on Earth
"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable." (I Cor. 15:19).
In light of the other consequences, this last one is rather obvious. Without the resurrection, and the salvation and blessings it brings, Christianity would be pointless and pitiable. Without the resurrection, we would have no Savior, no forgiveness, no gospel, no meaningful faith, no life, and no hope of any of those things.
To put our faith in Christ and have nothing to look forward to would be to teach, preach, suffer, sacrifice, and work entirely for nothing. If Christ is still dead, then he not only cannot help us in regard to the life to come but he cannot help us now. If he cannot grant us eternal life, he cannot improve our earthly life. The Christian life would be a mockery, a charade, a tragic joke.
A Christian has no Savior but Christ, no Redeemer but Christ, no Lord but Christ. Therefore if Christ was not raised, he is not alive, and our Christian life is lifeless. We would have nothing to justify our faith, our Bible study, our preaching, our service for him or our worship of him, and nothing to justify our hope either for this life or the next. We would deserve nothing but the compassion reserved for fools.
But we are not to be pitied, for Paul immediately continues, "But now Christ is risen from the dead." (I Cor. 15:20).
II. The Fact of the Resurrection
"But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." (I Cor. 15:20-22).
Paul here calls Jesus the first-fruits of the dead. In the Old Testament, before the Israelites harvested their crops, they were to bring a representative sample, called the first fruits, to the priests as an offering to the Lord. The full harvest could not be made until the first fruits were offered.
That’s the image that’s used here. The fact that Jesus is the first fruits indicates that the rest of the crop is going to be harvested. His resurrection implies that there is more to follow. Again, those who have fallen asleep are those who have died, in this instance to the righteous dead whose bodies were still in the graves.
Just as Adam was the forerunner of everyone who dies, Christ is the forerunner of everyone who will be raised to life. Adam brought death into this world and all us will die. But Christ brought eternal life into this world, and all Christians will live through him.
There’s a story that’s told in Brazil about a missionary who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was friendly and was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population and people were dying daily. An infirmary was located in another part of the jungle and the missionary determined that the only hope for this tribe was for them to go to the hospital for treatment and inoculations. In order to reach the hospital, however, the Indians would have to cross the river -- something they were unwilling to do.
They believed that the river was inhabited by evil spirits. To enter the water meant certain death. If you were that missionary, how would you go about the difficult task of overcoming the fear of that tribe?
As the story goes, the missionary began by explaining how he had crossed the river and arrived unharmed. No luck. He led the people to the bank and placed his hand in the water. The people still wouldn’t believe him. He walked out into the river and splashed water on his face. The people watched closely, but still were hesitant. Finally, the missionary turned and dove into the water. He swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side.
Having proven that the power of the river was a farce, the missionary raised a triumphant fist in the air. He had entered the water and escaped. The Indians broke into cheers and followed him across.
Jesus came into this world and found a people enslaved by their fear of death (Heb. 2:15). He could have explained that the river of death was nothing to fear, but people wouldn’t believe him. He touched a boy and called him back to life, but his followers were still unconvinced. He brought life into the dead body of a girl, but the people were still cynical. He even let a dead man spend four days in a grave and then called him out. Was that enough? Apparently not.
For it was still necessary for Jesus Christ himself to enter the river, to submerge himself in the waters of death only to emerge after three days on the other side. Then and only then could we believe that death has been conquered, that Jesus has “destroyed him who had the power of death.” (Hebrews 2:14).
Conclusion:
As we stated at the beginning of this lesson, we must come to a firm decision in our minds about the resurrection, because without the resurrection, there would be no Christianity. Both the resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection in the future make all the difference in the world.
Dan Anders has written, "Man can tap great power -- a Saturn engine blasting to the moon, a laser beam biting through diamonds, a nuclear blast crushing a city. Man can destroy life, perhaps lengthen it, some say create it. But God’s power is greater still. Only he can raise the dead. Bringing Jesus from three days in the grave was the most powerful event of all time."
It was indeed. And through that great show of power, we find hope for the future. Something better lies ahead for all of us. If we have been raised with Christ in baptism, we are confident that we shall be raised with him for all eternity.
