[:en]SCRIPTURE: 1 CORINTHIANS 15
“For what I received I passed o to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
“For Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20)
“Do not be misled ‘Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
“We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thank be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)
“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST (vs. 1-11)
The gospel that Paul received and passed on to the Corinthian church was this: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve and to more than five hundred brothers, most are still living and some have fallen asleep. He also appeared to James and then to all the apostles, and last of all, He appeared to me also” (vs. 3-8)
Paul persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God, he was being called. And now he was working hard to preach the gospel.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD (vs. 12-33)
When Paul preached about Resurrection of the dead, the Greeks did not believe because they considered that their body was the prison of the soul, so death will set the soul free. Therefore, they could not conceived of a body that will continue to exist after death. Paul wrote this to prove that there is resurrection for the believers:
- History proved that Christ had been resurrected by testimony of witnesses and the conversion of Paul. Since they believed the resurrection of Christ with a glorified body, and the believer had union with Christ, then believers must also have a glorified body one day (vs. 1-11)
- The gospel is a message of hope and eternal life. Therefore, Christian faith has hope of being alive after death (vs. 12-19)
- Paul argued that since death came into the world through the “First Adam”, Christ was the “Last Adam” to receive it through the resurrection of the death. He will establish a future kingdom for the believers. If the dead are not resurrected, then God’s promise for the future is null and void. (vs. 20-28)
- The church of Corinth practice baptism which signifies death, burial and resurrection. This ordinance will be useless without the resurrection of the dead. He said: “If the dead are not raised, “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (vs/ 29-34)
THE RESURRECTION BODY (vs. 35-58)
Paul used nature to illustrate that there is no life apart from death. The seed that is planted dies and bears fruits and the fruit is different from the original seed. The resurrected body is not the same as the physical body but it identifies with the buried body. The physical body decayed but the resurrected body will not decay. It retains the personal identity and individuality of the believer but it is a different body that bears the image of the heavenly.
In closing, Paul reassured the second coming of Christ. When Christ returns, some have already died but some will still be alive. The dead shall be raised first, the living caught up with Him and all will be changed in a twinkling of an eye. Christ’s resurrection power has given us the victory of life and hope. All that we labored for Christ will not be in vain. Our work will count for eternity.[:]