Year 2, Week 44, Day 3 Bible Reading Observations

Year 2, Week 44, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of 1 Corinthians 15.

Today’s reading continues the Book of 1 Corinthians. Paul helped start the church at Corinth while on his second missionary journey. The Book of 1 Corinthians consists of Paul’s response to reports about the church there: “For it has been reported to me” (1Corinthians 1:11); but also in response to a letter that the church had written to him: “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote” (1 Corinthians 7:1a). 1 Corinthians 15 takes on the next matter that the Corinthians sought Paul’s counsel—the resurrection of the dead. There was some discussion among the members of the church at Corinth as to whether God would raise believers from the dead. Paul affirms that believers are promised a future resurrection and that resurrection is tied to Christ’s resurrection: “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised” (1 Corinthians 15:12-13). In unpacking the certainty of a believer’s resurrection, Paul closes his discussion with an admonition to faithfully live in the present in light our the resurrection: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is the clarity to which Paul states the certainty of Christ’s resurrection: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22). Since Christ really has been raised, God will raise those who belong to Christ and thus destroy death. Adam is the covenantal head of the old humanity, and Christ is the covenantal head of the new humanity. Every human begins under Adam, and those who believe the gospel belong to Christ: “But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1Corinthians 15:23). Adam disobeyed God with the result that those in him die; Christ obeyed God with the result that those in him live. Paul explains that there is a gap between the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of all who belong to Christ: “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). Death is the last enemy that will be defeated. What Christ has already accomplished by His death and through His resurrection guarantees that God’s plan to conquer death on behalf of His people, will unfold at the time determined by God. The victory has been secured, the full implementation of the victory is still to come: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

In fact, Paul reminds the believers at the church in Corinth that the message of the resurrection is an essential component of the Gospel that they received: “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The content of the gospel established that God raised Christ from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is essential to the gospel, and it is the foundation for the believer’s resurrection. In fact, if Christ has not been raised from the dead, there there absolutely is no resurrection for anyone: “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:14,17).

So crucial is the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection to the truthfulness of the Gospel and the hopefulness of those who are trusting in Christ, Paul outlines the testimony of many witnesses: “he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Paul includes six distinct occurrences either before individuals or groups of individuals as proof that the Gospel message’s inclusion of Christ’s resurrection is valid. Since the Gospel message involved events that occurred in history, Paul added overwhelming testimony as to the factuality of such history. And it is the factuality of Christ’s resurrection that sets in motion, the reality of the resurrection of Christ’s people: “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe