The Resurrection Series

The Resurrection

Jeffery Anselmi / General

Core 52 / Resurrection / 1 Corinthians 15:14

We are in trouble if the resurrection did not happen

INTRODUCTION

- What is one thing that most people fear as they get closer to the end of their life?

- For me, it was the thought of not existing.

- We get to live this incredible life and experience many great things; one day, it is over.

- I used to dwell on this even when I was young.

- The thought of dying and it all being over had always bothered me.

- To me, it seems like such a waste to live life, and then it is all over; you die and no longer exist.

- In the end, life will be void of meaning and purpose.

- Death would seem to be the end, the final part of life.

- How is that thought for some encouragement today?

- Today, we will come to the final message in our Beyond Belief mini-series.

- We saved the best for last; our subject is the resurrection.

- What is death is not the end, but rather a new beginning?

- What if death is not the final journey but the beginning of a new eternal journey?

- When we start looking at things that can be beyond belief, the claims the Bible makes that Jesus rose from the dead may be one of the most difficult for folks to believe.

- How many of us have seen someone raised from the dead?

- The resurrection of Jesus is also one of the most attacked events in the Bible.

- That is understandable; the event is incredible in itself, and if you are a follower of another religion or if you are a god unto yourself, the resurrection would have to make you think about your position.

- The resurrection of Jesus is one of the Bible's foundational truths and is a central part of our faith.

- We see serious implications if the resurrection did happen and if it did not occur

- The resurrection is a foundational truth of the Christian faith that has the power to transform lives.

- Without resurrection, there would be some serious implications for humanity.

- Context of 1 Corinthians 15:14 - Paul's letter to the Corinthian church addresses the importance of resurrection.

- We are in trouble if the resurrection did not happen.

- Let's turn to our main passage today.

1 Corinthians 15:14 (NET 2nd ed.)

14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty.

SERMON

I. The reality of the resurrection.

- In the first four verses of Chapter 15, Paul argues that the resurrection is a central part of the gospel message.

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand,

2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,

4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures,

- Verse four punctuates the point of the importance of the reality of the resurrection of Jesus.

- In verse 1, we are told that this GOSPEL, which when received and stood upon saves us!

- The message was that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day, according to the scriptures.

- Verses 5-8 list a few of the appearances of the resurrected Jesus!

1 Corinthians 15:5–8 (NET 2nd ed.)

5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

6 Then he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.

- 1 Corinthians was written around 57 AD. Jesus died and was raised in 30 AD, and it had been over 25 years since the resurrection.

- Some people, for whatever reason, most likely due to societal pressures, were starting to doubt the possibility of resurrection.

- Paul wanted the people to remember that many saw Jesus after the resurrection!

- These were objective appearances, the figment of someone's imagination.

- Paul offers a list of those who would have been known to the Corinthian church, and these are not all who saw Jesus, but a fraction of the appearances.