GOOD ADVICE TO A GROWING CHURCH _____________________________________________
Why I Follow Jesus - 1 Corinthians 15:1-58
Introduction:
Paul wrote the epistle to the Corinthians to accomplish at least two purposes:
1. Correction—The Corinthian church was full of carnality (chapters 1-6)
2. Instruction—The Corinthian church was full of questions (chapters 7-14).
It seems that everything comes to focus in this chapter – especially in v.58.
1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Today… I’m going to be teaching out of the New Living Testament. I’ve been using this version more and more in my studies.
1 Cor 15:58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. (NLT)
Look at the words:
Steadfast
Immovable
Always abounding (enthusiastic about the work of the Lord)
Knowing that you labor is not in vain (keep serving God)
The word “therefore now points back to v.1. Why is it “there for?”
1. BECAUSE THE GOSPEL STILL SAVES (V. 1-11)
We can’t water it down by removing parts from it…. His death, burial, bodily resurrection, and His return to Heaven.
1 Cor 15:1 Now let me remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then and still do now, for your faith is built on this wonderful message.
1 Cor 15:2 And it is this Good News that saves you if you firmly believe it--unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
1 Cor 15:3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me--that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.
1 Cor 15:4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. (NLT)
1 Cor 15:2 And it is this Good News that saves you
The Greek word here is an ongoing work. God continues to save me. He is always helping me.
The resurrection is an important theme for our faith…
That is what makes us different than different religions. Their gods came and died. Period.
God sent His son who died and rose again.
Resurrection is mentioned 108 x’s in the NT.
Christianity bases its entire claim upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the rock to which we hang our faith on.
If the resurrection did not occur, then the Bible and everything that we believe in is discredited.
Our faith is “in vain.” (v.2 – NKJV)
Paul takes great pains to prove that the resurrection actually took place.
He appeared 17 times after He was raised, once to 500 people (five are revealed in the passage) - vv. 5-7.
Notice….
1 Cor 15:5 He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles.
1 Cor 15:6 After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died by now.
1 Cor 15:7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. (NLT)
He also appeared to a “hostile source” – Paul himself.
Paul was a hateful persecutor of the things of Christ when Jesus appeared to Him on the Damascus road.
Historians agree that when a hostile source agrees with a friendly source - it must be true.
Now notice v.8… With utter humility and simple honesty, Paul describes his witness of Christ’s resurrection.
1 Cor 15:8 Last of all, I saw him, too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time.
1 Cor 15:9 For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God.
1 Cor 15:10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me--and not without results. For I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.
1 Cor 15:11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach. The important thing is that you believed what we preached to you.
How Can I Be Sure That I Have Not Believed In Vain? - vv. 8-11
(v.2 – NKJV) “vain...” empty
Have you ever asked that? Is what I am doing worth it or not? Am I just wasting my time.
Four signs will help you determine this
1. A marked sense of humility - vv. 8-9
“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle…”
I recently read of a Navy commander who dealt quickly and wisely with a subordinate ranked P-4. The sailor refused to clean his room because it was beneath his newly acquired rank.
The Commander asked, "What rank should clean rooms?"
"None above a P-3," replied the sailor.
"You are now a P-3," the Commander replied. "Now, go clean your room."
2. A genuine appreciation of grace - v.10a
“But by the grace of God I am what I am…” (NKJ)
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me… (NLT
A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates.
St. Peter says, "Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."
"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."
"That’s wonderful," says St. Peter, "that’s worth three points!"
"Three points?" he says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service."
"Terrific!" says St. Peter, "that’s certainly worth a point."
"One point? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."
"Fantastic, that’s good for two more points, " he says.
"TWO POINTS!!" the man cries, "At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!"
"Come on in!"
3. Humble admission of accomplishments - v.10b
For I have worked harder than all the other apostles, yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. (NLT)
4. An honest acceptance of others - v.11
1 Cor 15:11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach. The important thing is that you believed what we preached to you.
We are all part of a team. We must all continue to share the good news with anyone that we can.
II. BECAUSE THE RESURRECTION IS CERTAIN (12-34)
Euripedes, the ancient Greek poet, was right when he wrote: Death is a debt we all must pay. Death is inevitable - it will come! This is confirmed in our minds everyday.
But what if death ended everything? Supposing that were true - What difference would it make? What would be the outcome?
This last week I had to deal with this very issue. I lost a friend to death. I lost my pastor…. Don Long.
One of the problems that the Corinthians had was that of the resurrection. They just didn’t understand how it could happen.
1 Cor 15:12 But tell me this--since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?
If There Is No Resurrection… Vv. 13-19
1. If there is no resurrection, Christ is still dead- v.13
1 Cor 15:13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.
If the possibility of resurrection does not exist, then Christ did not rise. If resurrection is not possible, then Christ’s resurrection isn’t.
If His resurrection occurred, then so can ours.
2. If Christ is still dead, then the Christian message is invalid –vv. 14-16
V.15 says that we would all be liars.
1 Cor 15:14 And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless.
1 Cor 15:15 And we apostles would all be lying about God, for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave, but that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.
1 Cor 15:16 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.
My preaching is in vain. Your faith is in vain.
3. If the Christian message is invalid, then we are all still sinners – vv. 17-19
1 Cor 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless, and you are still under condemnation for your sins.
1 Cor 15:18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ have perished!
1 Cor 15:19 And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.
Someone once asked… “Why does man find feel so sad in the 20th century? Why does man feel so bad in the very age, when, more than any other age, he has succeeded in satisfying his needs and making the world over for his own use?
Very simply, because 20th century man has largely abandoned his belief in a God who created, became incarnate, lived, died, and rose again.
Did Jesus Christ really rise from the dead and does it matter whether or not He did?
There is something called the Jesus Seminar. It consists of a group of biblical scholars who are allegedly searching for the true Jesus Christ.
90% of the group has already concluded that there was no such thing as a virgin birth.
Here is what they conclude about the resurrection: “The Bible’s account of the event ... is a poetic rendering of a devout wish but certainly not an authentic record” (Time Magazine, “The Message of Miracles”, 4/10/95).
The typical liberal view of the resurrection is that it “... never happened, because accounts of Christ’s rising from the dead are meant to be metaphorical.... meaning… that Jesus was resurrected in the lives of his followers; that the body of Christ is the church not a constituted physical body” (Time, 70).
Concerning all of the miracles of Christ one liberal scholar, Alan Roulston, responds, “Whether those actions actually occurred is somewhat irrelevant. It is the spirit of the message that is more important” (Time, 67).
Those who comprise the Jesus Seminar, along with liberal theologians, are radical skeptics who question all knowledge.
They are motivated by a presupposition of unbelief that cannot be persuaded by any amount of evidence.
They start with the beginning belief that miracles can not happen and that it is impossible for someone to rise from the dead.
We live in a world that has pretty much rejected the possibility of absolute truth and has adopted the erroneous and dangerous position that one’s belief has little or no relationship to the rest of his life.
Often we hear someone say, “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you really believe it.”
Or in a Christian context, “Doctrine is not important. Faith and love are all that really matters.”
I want to assert, not simply suggest this morning, that doctrine is important; that what you believe does have impact on your life; that there is such a thing as absolute truth.
I Corinthians 15 offers an apologetic for the resurrection to believers. The resurrection of Jesus Christ has determined and defined our existence and purpose for all time and eternity.
Your belief has implications and ramifications. Belief has consequences.
Paul draws out the implications of belief both negatively and positively.
LET’S FOLLOW HIS ARGUMENTS… IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION.
a. Our Faith is vain. Faith in a dead Christ can produce no real fruit. Faith is only as good as the object of faith.
b. We are yet in sin. This is a disturbing ramification. To be yet in our sin means that we are still under sin’s power, guilt, and condemnation.
c. Those who have died already, have perished.
There is no hope for them. They are all in hell.
d. Christians are to be pitied for they have given everything to proclaim a falsehood.
e. Not only the future, but the present is lost. Take Christ away and we have nothing.
HOWEVER… IF THE RESURRECTION IS TRUE THEN ALL THE NEGATIVES BECOME POSITIVES:
4. Jesus is alive.
5. Our Preaching has content and power.
6. Faith has substance.
7. We are not liars, but witnesses to the truth.
8. Faith is valuable.
9. Those who have died in Christ are not perishing.
10. The world need not pity us for we have an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled,
reserved for us in heaven.
IF CHRIST IS RISEN… VV. 20-28
1. I have a new promise (vs. 20)
1 Cor 15:20 But the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead. He has become the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again.
The resurrected Christ stands as the First fruits of those who have died.
Lev. 23:9-11; 15-17 explains this… It is where the Israelites took the first sheaf of the harvest to the tabernacle and offered it to God, consecrating the whole to Him, in faith believing that the rest was coming.
Jesus is the first fruits that we shall all be raised to life again.
What greater guarantee do we have of a better future?
2. I have a new position (vs. 21-22)
1 Cor 15:21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ.
1 Cor 15:22 Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life.
If Christ is dead, then I am identified only with the first Adam and his death.
If Christ is alive, then I am alive in Him - whatever is true of Christ is true of those in Christ.
V.22 says that all of who believe will be given new life.
I don’t know about you… but I want to be connected with the second Adam and life.
3. I have a new prospect (vs. 23-28)
1 Cor 15:23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised first; then when Christ comes back, all his people will be raised.
1 Cor 15:24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind.
1 Cor 15:25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.
1 Cor 15:26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Cor 15:27 For the Scriptures say, "God has given him authority over all things." (Of course, when it says "authority over all things," it does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
1 Cor 15:28 Then, when he has conquered all things, the Son will present himself to God, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.
Because of the resurrection… I am now able to participate in his regaining of all that Adam lost.
Adam’s sin temporarily disrupted God’s purpose in this universe. Satan became the ruler of this world; death became the enemy of every man and woman.
This insures our victory.
“All things have been put under His feet…” (v.27 – NKJV). NLT – God has given us authority over all things.
This means that… we will have a victory over…
the world
over Satan
over evil
over sin
over temptation
and over death ultimately
YOU AND I HAVE THE VICTORY TODAY.
III. I HAVE REASON TO LIVE FOR TOMORROW, TODAY - vv. 29-34
After taking a brief excursion, the Apostle Paul comes back to the original issue - the reality of resurrection. This issue was taken up in vv. 12-19.
He then asks us three different questions…
The question is “If the dead are not raised?” He then gives us three questions for us to consider.
1- Why baptize for the dead? - v.29
1 Cor 15:29 If the dead will not be raised, then what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?
It used to be the custom for people to volunteer to baptized for those who have already died.
Paul neither approves or disapproves of this practice. He simply states, ‘why do it?’
2- Why are we risking our lives every hour? - v.30
1 Cor 15:30 And why should we ourselves be continually risking our lives, facing death hour by hour?
If there is no resurrection - no future life - why are we living our life in jeopardy right now?
3- What does it profit me? - vv. 31-32
1 Cor 15:31 For I swear, dear friends, I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done in you.
1 Cor 15:32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts--those men of Ephesus--if there will be no resurrection from the dead? If there is no resurrection, "Let’s feast and get drunk, for tomorrow we die!"
It is the hope of the resurrection that gives the courage to endure adversities and persecutions. Without that hope, such difficulties would be meaningless to endure.
Three Exhortations
1- Don’t be deceived - v.33
1 Cor 15:33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character."
Because the philosophy of the world is basically temporal, a worldly lifestyle can easily be bred in our minds. We must not be led astray.
2- Stay alert - v.34a
1 Cor 15:34 Come to your senses and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t even know God.
To guard against being deceived, stay alert, wake up, discern the trends of the world around you.
3- Stop sinning - v.34b
1 Cor 15:34 Come to your senses and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t even know God.
If there were no resurrection, what reason would there be for spiritual and moral discipline?
Because we do have eternity in view, we must not tolerate a lifestyle anything short of purity.
IV. Because I’m Getting A New Body (v. 35-53)
A. Don’t spend so much time worrying about this body—put it in subjection, it is going to die anyway (v. 35-36).
1 Cor 15:35 But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?"
1 Cor 15:36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.
Our citizenship is not on earth. We are just passing through.
B. Our new body will be awesome as described in 37-53.
Kiss sadness goodbye. Kiss sickness good bye.
1 Cor 15:37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting.
1 Cor 15:38 Then God gives it a new body--just the kind he wants it to have. A different kind of plant grows from each kind of seed.
1 Cor 15:39 And just as there are different kinds of seeds and plants, so also there are different kinds of flesh--whether of humans, animals, birds, or fish.
1 Cor 15:40 There are bodies in the heavens, and there are bodies on earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the beauty of the earthly bodies.
1 Cor 15:41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their beauty and brightness.
1 Cor 15:42 It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die.
1 Cor 15:43 Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power.
1 Cor 15:44 They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies.
1 Cor 15:45 The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam--that is, Christ--is a life-giving Spirit.
1 Cor 15:46 What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.
1 Cor 15:47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.
1 Cor 15:48 Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam’s, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ’s.
1 Cor 15:49 Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the man from heaven.
1 Cor 15:50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These perishable bodies of ours are not able to live forever.
1 Cor 15:51 But let me tell you a wonderful secret God has revealed to us. Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed.
1 Cor 15:52 It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die.
1 Cor 15:53 For our perishable earthly bodies must be transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die.
Application
1. The body you have is the one God designed for you, so stop trying to change.
2. The difference between you and others is as God planned it, so stop comparing yourself to others.
3. The limitations and restrictions of your present body are as God predicted so stop condemning yourself.
V. BECAUSE DEATH CAN’T DEFEAT ME (V. 54-57)
1 Cor 15:54 When this happens--when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die--then at last the Scriptures will come true: "Death is swallowed up in victory.
1 Cor 15:55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
1 Cor 15:56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
1 Cor 15:57 How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!
I love the way John Bunyan describes death in The Pilgrim’s Progress.
Before Christian and Hopeful are able to enter the heavenly city, they must first cross the river which represents death.
Christian is afraid he will sink as he steps into the water, but Hopeful who is a few yards ahead says, "Be of good cheer, my brother, I feel the bottom and it is good."
I know that it is not pleasant to cross that river of death, but if we are a believer in Christ, we will not sink, the bottom is solid and good.
Ben Franklin wrote the following epitaph for his own tomb: "The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, Like the Cover of an Old Book, Its Contents Torn Out, Stripped of Its Lettering and Gilding, Lies Here, Food for Worms. Yet the Work Itself shall not be Lost; for it will, as He Believed, Appear once More in a New and More Beautiful Edition, Corrected and Amended by The Author."
So what are we to do until Jesus comes? See vv. 57-58
1 Cor 15:58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
My question to you today is… Do you know Jesus Christ? Are you prepared to meet your maker today?
