[:en]THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST (vs. 1-11)
Some people did not believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Paul reinterated the Jesus died, was burried and raised on the third day. And He appeared to Peter, to the twelve, to more than 500 brothers, to James and to all the apostles. He last appeared to Paul himself. Paul persecuted the church of God before, but by the grace of God, he was an eyewitness of the risen Christ because Jesus appeared to him in the road of Damascus.
Paul was humble enough to say that “I am the least of the apostle and do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God” (v. 9). He acknowledged God’s grace and worked hard to proclaim the gospel.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD (vs. 12-34)
According to Greek philocophies, the soul was the real person imprisoned in a physical body and at death the soul was released. There was no imortality for the body but the soul entered an eternal state. Christianity on the other hand, affirms that the body and soul will be united after resurrection. Since the church at Corinth was of Greek culture, the believers had difficulty in believing the bodily resurrection. Paul wrote this matter to clear away their confusion.’The center of the gospel message is the resurrection of Christ. He affirmed that Christ had been resurrected because if He had not been raised, their preaching was useless and their faith futile. Because He rose, our sins are fogiven, death has been defeated and there is hope of eternal life.
In Paul’s time, Christians were often been persecuted and ostracized from family. There were few benefits for being a Christian in the society. So if Christ had not been resurrecred, there would be no hope of eternal life. Since death came through a man, the resurection of the dead came also through a man. For as in Adam, all died, so in Christ, all will be made alive. (vs. 21-22)
God the Father and the Son are equal. Each has a special work to do in the area of sovereign control. Christ’s work is to defeat all evil on earth by death on the cross. And in the end, He will defeat Satan and all the evil. The world today is still full of evil but when the Father will send Jesus again to earth, He will make it a perfect new world.
If dead ends it all and there is no resurrection, so enjoyment will be the best option. “Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die” (v. 32) But the reality is that our life on earth is only temporaty. There is an eternity in the future. So, do not indulge in sin. Avoid being with bad company because they will corrrupt good character. (v. 33).
THE RESSURECTED BODY (vs. 35-58)
The resurrected body will be perfected without any infirmities. It will be very different form our eathly body as it will be a spiritual body full of beauty and glory. Comparring the present natural body with the resurrected spirtual body, the present body is perisable, sown in dishonor and weakness. But the spirtual body is imperishable, raised in glory and power. (vs. 42-43) When Christ comes, He will give us a transformed eternal body without disabilities and suited for our eternal life. Death has been swallowed up in victory and we will be victorious through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s last exhortation: ” My dear breathen, 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” (vs. 58)
Let us continue to serve the Lord even if we do not see any results. Don’t be discouraged in doing God’s work because we have hope in the resurrection of our body.
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