INTRODUCTION: I wish we had more time! We could take a week to
study 1 Corinthians 15, but we have a little less than an hour, so
let's get moving on the topic of our eternal destiny!
I. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
A. Did you forget something important
this week? What do you
use to help you to remember things?
1. Are you more
likely to forget little things than big
things?
Or are you an "equal opportunity" "forgetter?"
2. What is the
worst thing that has ever happened to you
because you
forgot something?
B. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Have
the Corinthians
forgotten something? (Paul says he wants "to
remind" them.)
1. What have they forgotten?
C. Paul says it is the "gospel" that may have
slipped their
mind. Of the things that can slip your
mind, where does the
gospel rank as to importance? (Verse 3: "first
importance."
Nothing is more important to remember than
the gospel.)
1. Why? (It is
a matter of life and death (v.2 "you are
saved"). Otherwise
all of your "Christian" beliefs are
held "in vain."
(v.2))
D. If the Corinthians forgot something, they
needed to be
reminded. Remind me what Paul says constitutes
the gospel of
"first importance?"
(1. Christ died for our sins (v.3);
2. He was buried (v.4); and,
3. He was raised on the third day (v.4).)
E. Do you really think the Corinthians "forgot"
this, like you
might forget to buy ketchup? (Think this is
more like you
might say to your children, "Have you forgotten
the rule about
picking up your clothes?")
1. Staying with
the analogy to children for just a
minute, sometimes
you "remind" your children of a rule
that they never
agreed they would follow. Is this a
situation in
which the Corinthians at one time had
"bought into"
the gospel? (Yes. v.1 "on which you have
taken your stand."
Paul is saying, "You heard it, you
accepted it,
and now you seem to be forgetting it!)
F. Did you notice that Paul ties the "events"
of the gospel to
"as the Scriptures said" (v.3) and "as the
prophets foretold"
(v.4). He also tells us in vv. 5-8 (which
I will not read) all
the people who saw Jesus after He arose from
the grave.
1. Why does Paul
do that? (Paul approaches this like a
lawyer.
In any litigation you have to deal with the
"facts" and
the "law." You lose unless you are "right" on
both of them.
In Paul's "argument" he first tells us
that the topic
is of first importance, and then he
explains why
his view of the "facts" is absolutely
accurate.
It was not only foretold, it has literally
hundreds of
eye witnesses -- including him! These people
once accepted
this truth, but now Paul feels the need to
"reconvince"
them of the point. What we really want to
look at is his
"law argument," so let's move on to that
now.)
II. THE LOGIC OF THE RESURRECTION
A. Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. After
reading this, what do
you think caused Paul to suggest that the
Corinthians had
forgotten the gospel? (Belief in the resurrection
is a central
point of the gospel.)
B. What does Paul say (v.12) is the argument
made by "the
other side" on this issue? (There is (v.12)
no "resurrection
from the dead." Apparently some were
concluding, as a
theological matter, there was no resurrection.)
C. Paul says this "no resurrection" theological/legal
argument
has enormous practical consequences for the
gospel and our
faith. What are the logical consequences
that Paul describes
in these verses? Let's set this up as a series
of "If/then"
statements. Identify, so I can put them
on the blackboard,
all the "If/then" statements made by Paul
in these verses:
(IF there is no resurrection of the dead,
THEN Christ was not raised from the dead.
IF Christ was not raised from the dead,
THEN your witness and your faith are worthless.
IF Christ was not raised from the dead,
THEN we are a bunch of false witnesses.
IF Christ was not raised from the dead,
THEN your sins are not forgiven!
IF Christ was
not raised from the dead,
THEN your friends who have died are lost (and, come
to think of it, so are you!))
D. As you look over these "If/Then" statements
made by Paul,
do you agree with the logic of each?
Does each one logically
follow?
1. Have you
ever said that the Christian life is
worthwhile even
if it turns out we are wrong about who
Jesus is?
a. Would Paul agree? (No. When Paul says (vv.14&17)
your faith is "futile" or "useless," he means your
faith in what Jesus has and will do for you. That
does not undercut the superior lifestyle argument.
However, when he says (v.19) that if we are wrong
we are to be "pitied," he is saying much more.
Perhaps we do not see the "downside" of false faith
because we have not completely given up the world.
Perhaps we are doing what we would do anyway, and
we just slap the label "Christian" on ourselves to
make us feel better. Notice v.32. Fighting wild
beasts (Christians thrown to the lions) is the
ultimate in being unselfish: giving up your life.
Living for the moment and ignoring others ("Let us
each and drink, for tomorrow we die") is the
ultimate selfishness. The more unselfish you are,
the more pitiful your life if your faith is a false
hope.)
E. Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-26.
1. What does Adam have to do with this?
a. Does your answer have anything to do with calling
Jesus (v.20) a "firstfruit?" (A "firstfruit"
conveys the idea of more coming. Because of the sin
of Adam and Eve, they were the first of many
sinners. Jesus is the first of many who are
saved.)
b. Because all became sinners "automatically"
became sinful through Adam, are all "automatically"
saved through Jesus? (Note v.23 says that the group
of those Jesus saves are "those who belong to
Him.")
(1) Do you belong because of what He did or
because of what you did? (You are eligible to
belong because of what He did. But I think the
parallel (plus the reference to (v.25)
"enemies") infers that we must chose Him to be
saved. It is not "automatic" and not all men
will be saved.)
c. Is there more than one "firstfruit?"
F. Notice the timing of what is described in
v.23. How does
this impact on those who suggest that we go
to heaven before
the resurrection? (It sets up a clear order.
First Jesus arose
and went to heaven, then the rest of the "firstfruits,"
then
"when He comes" the rest.)
1. Does v.23
create a problem for those who suggest that
no one goes
to heaven until a final general resurrection?
(This tells
us that there are "firstfruits" in addition
to Christ.)
a. Do you know of any? (Moses, Jude 1:9, Matthew
17:3-4; Those raised at Jesus' resurrection,
Matthew 27:52-53)
III. SO HOW DOES THIS WORK?
A. Read 1 Corinthians 15:35. I have a general
rule to never
watch horror movies, but some movie comes
on the various TV
channels from time to time that has dead people
walking
around. I think, but am not certain, it is
a "cult" film
called "Night of the Living Dead." Am I right
about that? In
any event, that film creates the picture that
is at the heart
of this verse. What question do the Corinthians
ask Paul about
this "resurrection idea?" (Part of the attack
on the
"resurrection idea" was apparently the argument
that the
person resurrected would come out of the ground
in his same
old worn out body. Sort of stagger about like
"the living
dead.")
B. Read 1 Corinthians 15:36-44. What illustration
does Paul
use to teach us what kind of a "resurrection
body" we will
have? (Seed.(v.37))
1. Does the seed
process make any sense? Can you explain
how part of
a dead plant becomes a new, healthy plant?
(Maybe somebody
can, but I think I'm in the same boat as
the Corinthians!
We have no clue how this happens. But
the fact that
this improbable miracle happens all the
time is Paul's
strongest practical argument that
something like
this (the resurrection) will happen to
those who believe.)
2. Why does Paul
talk about the sun, moon and stars and
their "bodies"
(v.40-41)
a. Do you understand his point? What relevance do
the stars have to our bodies? (This is a very
exciting idea. Paul seems to say that we now have a
"perishable body" (v.42), but the body that is
raised will be a body like the sun, moon and stars!
(vv. 41-42) We go from a perishable body of flesh,
to a "splendid" body like the stars! We will have
"star-power!" How do you like that idea?)
C. Read 1 Corinthians 15:50-57. When will we
be changed?
(v.52 -- "the last trump." Can the idea
that we have a
conscious "spirit" that goes to heaven at
our death be squared
with this text? If I suddenly transformed
into a spirit, that
would be a very big change for me. If
you agree this is a big
change for you too, the idea of becoming a
spirit at death
means the change takes place before the "last
trump." This
says the change is at the "last trump" --
the second coming.)
1. Is the "spirit"
perishable or imperishable? (An
immortal spirit
is obviously imperishable.)
2. Is your body
perishable or imperishable? (Mine seems
very perishable
lately. I drive one of the world's
biggest, heaviest
cars (in part) for safety's sake, yet
this week I
was nearly run over by an impatient driver
while I was
walking across my street! Dying that way
would be ironic!)
a. What does v.53 tell us takes on imperishability
and immortality? (The perishable and the mortal!
This does not "fit" the idea that an immortal
spirit takes on (a formerly) perishable body.
Instead, Paul seems to teach that our mortal body
takes on immortality at the second coming.)
b. The great majority of Christians believe that an
immortal spirit (soul) leaves the body at death and
goes to heaven (or somewhere a little warmer).
Nelson's Bible Dictionary (see, "resurrection")
affirms that this "spirit/body" dichotomy is an
idea out of Greek philosophy and not the Old
Testament. The evidence of the Bible is that
Christ had a bodily resurrection without His
"spirit" going to heaven. (John 20:17 ("I have not
yet returned to the Father.")) Since those grieving
are comforted by the idea that a loved one has gone
to heaven, and since the Bible give us evidence
that God has resurrected "first fruits" prior to
the general resurrection, I refrain from arrogantly
suggesting a specific location for a "departed"
loved one. Maybe they are one of the few heroes of
faith (like Moses) who get "collected" (body and
all) by God prior to the general resurrection.)
D. For those of us not in the "Moses" class,
what gives us
comfort about our future after death? (v.57
-- Praise God, He
has defeated death and will give us everlasting
life. Whether
my everlasting life starts shortly after death
or at the
second coming, the "sting" of death is gone.
Whatever the
timing friend, Jesus offers you and me the
opportunity to live
forever: as immortal stars! Will you
accept His offer?)
IV. NEXT WEEK: Praise and Promises. We wrap up our study of 1
Corinthians!