INTRODUCTION
• It was so good to be able to celebrate another Resurrection Sunday last week with so many people.
• Last week we looked at the foundation of the gospel message, that foundation is the resurrection of Jesus.
• Today as we continue in 1 Corinthians 15, I want us to consider why we need the gospel.
• Last week we examined the ramifications of Jesus not being raised. This week I want us to see why our acceptance of the gospel is the most important choice we need to make in our lives.
• If we accept the fact that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and that He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, we have a decision to make. You cannot just give lip service to the resurrected Jesus, you need to give Him your life and in return, He will bless you beyond your wildest imagination.
• I would ask that you turn to 1 Corinthians 15:20-28.
• READ 1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-28
SERMON
We need the gospel because of:
I. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS (20-21)
A. First Fruits
• In verse 20 we see that Paul tells us that Jesus has been raised from the dead. He says that Jesus is the “first fruits” of those who are asleep.
• Paul has told us that he is a witness to the fact that Jesus was raised, and that His resurrection was a physical one.
• What does Paul mean when he says that Jesus is the “first fruits” of those who are asleep?
• In the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus in chapter 23, the Israelites were told they had to dedicate the first part of the harvest to God by giving it to the priest so he could offer it up to God. This had to be done BEFORE they could harvest their crops. This was called the “first fruits”. They could not grow a special patch of crops for this the first fruits had to be taken from the field they were going to harvest from.
• In return for dedicating their “first fruits” to God, God would promise them there was more to come or a good harvest.
• When Jesus is called the “first fruits” Paul is saying that Jesus is the first of many to be resurrected. The harvest to eternal life could not happen until Jesus, “the first fruits” was offered up to God the Father.
B. Death
• In verse 21 we are told that through a man came death, and by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
• There is some dispute over what kind of death is being spoken of here, physical or spiritual. At least with verse 21, the context tells us it is physical death. Adam brought physical death to the world. Genesis 3:19 confirms this, “By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return. "
• God told Adam that if he ate the fruit from the tree, he would die. (Genesis 2:16-17) Adam was lived for 930 years and he died. (Genesis 5:5)
• Physical death entered the word because of Adam, not spiritual. Verse 21 tells us that through Jesus, there would be resurrection from the dead. The verse says that ALL will die and ALL will be raised.
• 2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
• Man was created not to die, but because of the sin of Adam we all will die. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
• Adam represented all of mankind when he sinned, so even if we do not sin in the same manner of if we never sinned (which we cannot do) we would still die because of the curse Adam put upon us. ROMANS 5:14 says, “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”
• As we said last week, the resurrection of Jesus authenticates who He is and what He preached and taught. The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Son of God.
• We need the gospel because of the implications of Jesus being raised from the dead.
We need the gospel because of:
II. OUR FUTURE RESURRECTION (22-23)
A. All die, all made alive.
• Verse 22 tells us that in Adam ALL die. We already talked about this a minute ago. Death is something that we will not be able to cheat, it is a debt that we all owe and will pay unless Jesus returns during our lifetime.
• The word “die” is a present tense verb which literally means that all are in the process of dying. Adam passed on this to us. The word “all” is inclusive.
• Now in the second part of verse 22 says that also in Christ ALL will be made alive.
• What does this mean? It means that ALL of us will be resurrected one day. The term “made alive” does not speak of eternal life or of a spiritual resurrection. The context dictates this meaning. Also since the “all” in the first part of the verse means ALL INCLUSIVE, the “all” at the end of the verse means the same thing.
• If Paul were speaking of eternal life in this verse, he would be saying that EVERYONE would be saved. He is saying that ALL, the saved and the lost will be raised. The statement “made alive” is in the future tense meaning this “making alive” will take place at some later time.
• In Paul’s defense before Felix he states in Acts 24:14-15, "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
• 2 Corinthians 5:10 says we will ALL stand before the judgment seat.
• In Romans 5:18 we have the same line of thought.
• ROMANS 5:18 says, “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” Justification of life means that we will get back what we lost because of Adam. Put another way:
• I am not sure where he got this, but my Romans professor, Gareth Reese has said concerning this passage, “What we lost in Adam through no act of our own (our physical life), we gain in Christ through no act of our own.”
• All of us will be raised one day even if we do not accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
B. The order of things
• In verse 24 we are given a general order of the resurrection.
• We are given this to show the resurrection has not passed the people by.
• We are told that Christ, who is the first fruits will be raised first, and then those who belong to Him will be raised. There is no specific mention in this passage of those who do not belong to Jesus. This is not a problem since Paul is trying to let the believer’s know of the benefits for them because of the resurrection.
• Matthew 13 and John 5 give us a picture of one harvest or resurrection.
• John 5:28-29 says, "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
• These passages also fit in with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. READ
• We need the gospel because we all are going to be resurrected. John tells us we will either go to the resurrection of life or the resurrection of judgment.
We need the gospel because of:
III. THE DAY OF RECKONING (24-28)
• When Jesus returns, their will be a day that all accounts will be settled, a day of reckoning.
• Paul tells us that Jesus will reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. This phrase was a picture of what happened to the king of a losing battle. The wining king would put the losing king under his feet to signify his dominance over the losing side.
• The last enemy is death. Death will not be fully defeated until we are all resurrected. All of God’s other foes will be subdued before this last foe is finally defeated in full.
• After all this is done, Jesus will deliver over the kingdom to God the Father.
• The Kingdom refers to the church in the New Testament, but here it most likely refers to all those who are saved.
• According to the Great Commission, the Father gave ALL AUTHORITY to Jesus.
• MAT 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
• Once the final foe is defeated, Jesus ministry of reconciliation or His ministry of mediator between God and man will be completed.
• Jesus will hand the kingdom over to the Father and He will return to His place of glory that He had. In JOHN 17:5 Jesus "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit will reign forever!
• The issue for us is this; we want to be a part of the kingdom that Jesus hands over to the Father.
• READ PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11
• We will all bow down to Him one day, one way or another.
CONCLUSION
• D. James Kennedy, in a message entitled, "Message from an Empty Tomb,” says:
• For many centuries the men and women in Europe looked out upon the western sea, what we call the Atlantic Ocean, and they saw the sun coruscating (SHINING) upon the glittering surface of the waters and they wondered. They wondered if there was anything beyond. Scholars said that you could sail off the edge of the world--there was nothing out there at all. In fact, inscribed on the coat of arms of the nation of Spain was its national motto, "There is nothing beyond."
• One day Columbus went westering on the shiny waters. He sailed off into the sunset as people waited expectantly, and finally after a long time the sails reappeared and the crowds were exultant. They shouted with joy, and Columbus announced that there was a land beyond the sea that was rich beyond their dreams. It was a glorious paradise. The king of Spain changed the motto of that land until it reads as it does today, "There is more beyond."
• For many centuries innumerable people stood beside the dark hole that we call a grave and watched the remains of their loved ones lowered into the earth, and they wondered: Beyond the dark waters of death, is there anything beyond?
• Then one day, a young explorer went westering into the setting sun and descended into the blackness of the pit. He sailed off the edge of the world and crashed into hell. People waited expectantly. Finally on this Resurrection morning, as the sun arose in the east, the Son of God stepped forth from a grave and declared, "There is something beyond. There is a paradise beyond your greatest expectations. And there awaits a heavenly Father, waiting with outstretched arms to wipe away every tear from your cheek."
• Do you want to experience that wonderful place that awaits those who belong to Jesus! Do you want to have the peace of God in your life? Do you want to experience joy beyond your belief? Come to Jesus today.
• One day we will all stand before Jesus, do you want to face Him as a vanquished foe or as a son or daughter.
• The choice belongs to you.
