Preached by Gregory W. Lee
4 May 2008
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15
12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
-- the story is told about this man and his wife who were visiting the Holy Land with the wife's mother -- while they were over there, her mother got extremely sick -- and despite all the doctor's best efforts, she eventually died
-- the man's wife was understandably distraught, so the husband went to the funeral home to see what could be done for his mother-in-law's body
-- the funeral home director told him that it was very expensive to ship a body back to the United States -- and that it would cost at least $5,000 -- but, if the man wished, he could bury her in a special graveyard there in the Holy Land for just $150
-- the man thought about it for only a second and said, "No, I don't care how much it costs -- we want her shipped home" -- the funeral home director said, "You must have loved your mother-in-law very much, considering that you would want to spend all that extra money to ship her home when you could just have buried her here"
-- "No," the man said, "it's not that. You see, I know of a case many years ago when you buried a dead man here in Jerusalem, and He came back to life on the third day. I just can't run the risk."
-- now I have a good relationship with my mother-in-law, so I can get away with telling jokes like that -- but it does bring us to mind the next topic in our series on the Apostle's Creed
-- this morning we are going to be looking at the next line in the creed, which states, "I believe in the resurrection of the body"
-- the doctrine of the resurrection is foundational to our Christian faith -- our religion hinges on this doctrinal truth -- without the resurrection, we have no religion -- without the resurrection, our faith is in vain -- without the resurrection we have no hope and we are wasting a perfectly good Sunday morning because we are here for no reason at all
-- Gerald O'Collins put it this way: "Christianity without the resurrection is not simply Christianity without its final chapter. It is not Christianity at all."
-- we believe that Jesus died on the cross at Calvary for our sins -- we believe that God raised Him from the dead three days later -- and, because of this, we believe that we will all be raised as well
-- so, this morning, let's spend a few minutes discussing the doctrine of the resurrection
II. Scripture Lesson
-- as we turn to this passage again in 1 Corinthians 15, let me remind you of a truth that you may have forgotten -- the idea of the resurrection did not originate with Jesus -- it wasn't an invention of the early Christians
-- many, many Jews, especially those belonging to the Pharisees, believed in the resurrection long before Jesus began preaching and teaching in Israel -- orthodox Jews still believe in the resurrection today, although they do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah
-- and, of course, many pagan religions teach something similar to a resurrection -- they teach the immortality of the soul
-- so, what makes the teaching of the resurrection by the Christian church so distinct?
-- if you would, look at verse 1 in this passage
1. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
2. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5. and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.
6. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
8. and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
-- here's the difference -- the resurrection that the Pharisees and the others believed in was a spiritual resurrection -- not a physical resurrection -- they believed in the immortality of the soul -- that at some point in the future, there would be a resurrection of the spirit and that all those who died would be resurrected -- some to eternal life and others to eternal punishment
-- all the way back in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 12:2, we see an indication of this belief -- "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."
-- no one seemed to have believed in the physical resurrection of the body
-- but for Peter and James and all the other disciples and apostles, the resurrection ceased to be theory and became a fact -- their faith had been given sight
-- in other words, they believed in the resurrection of the body because they had seen a dead man raised -- they knew, without a doubt, that Jesus was dead -- they had witnessed His crucifixion -- they had seen His body taken down from the cross -- they knew He was a dead as dead could be -- and the thought that He might physically come back to life again never even crossed their mind
-- but Jesus had risen from the dead -- not as a disembodied spirit -- but as a living, breathing person who spoke with them, ate with them, and let them touch Him
-- as Peter said in Acts 2:31, "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. "
-- the early Christians believed in the resurrection, not because they had been taught about it from a book, but because they had witnessed it with their very own eyes
-- but questions naturally arose, "What does Jesus' resurrection mean to me? -- Just because He rose from the dead, does it mean I will, too? -- And if I'm resurrected, will it be a physical or a spiritual resurrection?"
-- these are the questions that Paul is addressing in this passage -- evidently, there were some in the church of Corinth who were teaching that there was no resurrection of the dead and others who were teaching that the resurrection was not bodily
-- look at verse 12
12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
-- Paul's point here in these verses is that Jesus' death and resurrection are proof that the dead will be resurrected at the last days -- if we preach and believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, how can you say that there is no resurrection? -- if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus, then you have to believe in the resurrection of all -- because, if there is no resurrection, then Jesus was not raised, either -- no where in the Bible does it say that only the Messiah will be raised from the dead -- it's either all or none
-- in John 11, Jesus is talking to Martha after the death of her brother, Lazarus -- in verse 23, Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." -- Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." -- Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
-- Jesus tells us that the resurrection is for all -- Paul tells us that Jesus' resurrection is proof that it will happen
-- now Paul addresses the question of why the resurrection is important -- look at verse 14
14. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
-- Paul is saying that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we have no chance at being raised -- if the resurrection didn't happen, then those who die, even if they believe that Christ was the Son of God -- even if they believe He paid the penalty on the cross for them -- even if they trust Him for eternal life -- it doesn't matter -- it all ends at death -- and there is no future in heaven for any of us
-- the resurrection of Jesus proved the truth of His claims -- it confirmed that He was Lord and Savior -- that He was Messiah -- and if the resurrection didn't take place, then our faith is built on lies -- all that we believe about Christ is not the truth -- it is wishful thinking
-- our faith becomes futile -- we believe in nothing -- and our sins are not forgiven -- if the resurrection didn't take place, we are not saved by grace, we are still condemned by the law
-- Do you see why I said that the resurrection of Christ is the most important aspect of Christianity? -- Do you see why the early Christians didn't preach about the cross but emphasized the fact that Jesus rose from the dead?
-- As Lee Strobel wrote, "The resurrection is the supreme vindication of Jesus' divine identity and his inspired teaching. It's the proof of his triumph over sin and death. It's the foreshadowing of Christian hope. It's the miracle of all miracles."
-- The resurrection of Christ confirms His deity. It proves that He bore the price of our sins on calvary. It proves that He has conquered satan and death. It proves that there is an eternal life after physical death. It proves that believers will one day be physically resurrected as well.
III. The Resurrected Body
-- now, if you notice, in the Apostle's Creed, we do not say, "I believe in the resurrection" -- but we say, "I believe in the resurrection of the body"
-- those three words -- "of the body" -- make up an important part of what we believe -- for they tell us how we will be resurrected
-- when the Apostle's Creed was prepared in 125 A.D., there were still a lot of non-Christian groups who believed in a resurrection -- however, as I mentioned before, they believed only in a spiritual resurrection
-- one such group who was very active in the early days of the church were the Gnostics -- this group believed that the material world was inherently evil -- and that we were nothing more than spirits trapped in a physical body
-- they taught that the reason Jesus had come was to free us from our physical body by making possible the resurrection of the spirit -- and they were steadfast in their beliefs that Jesus did not have a physical body when He was no earth and was not physically resurrected but that He only had the appearance of a physical body
-- this is the main reason why the Apostle's Creed and the other creeds we have were written -- they were prepared as an apologetic -- a defense of the true faith and beliefs of the church
-- these creeds were a means to counter false teachings about the various aspects of Christianity -- that's the same thing that Paul has been doing in this letter to the Corinthians -- he has been trying to defend the faith against false teachers who were coming and spreading their lies throughout the church
-- so in this chapter, Paul has proclaimed the teaching of the church regarding the doctrine of the resurrection -- he has made it clear that since Jesus was resurrected from the dead, that proves that Jesus was the Son of God and that He conquered sin and death and it proves that we will be resurrected as well
-- the question that still remained, then, was "How will we be resurrected? -- what form would it take?"
-- look down at verse 42
42. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
43. it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44. it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
-- Paul makes it clear here in these verses -- our resurrection is not a spiritual resurrection -- Jesus didn't die and be raised on the third day so that our spirits could be released from our physical bodies -- Jesus died that we might be resurrected to new life
-- and this new life includes a new body
-- Paul spends these verses comparing our old body with our new, resurrected body -- which he calls a 'spiritual' body -- now don't get confused with the term "spiritual" here -- Paul is clear that we are not going to be bodiless spirits -- we are going to have a body -- he is using the term "spiritual" here to distinguish it from our current, natural body
-- Paul says that our natural body is perishable -- that it is weak -- that it is corrupt and dishonored -- but when we are resurrected, we will be given a new body that will be imperishable -- it will be filled with the power of God and it will be perfected through the grace of God
-- our new body will be similar to the resurrected body of Jesus -- in 1 John 3:2, John wrote that "we shall be like Him"
-- Jesus did not come back after death as a spirit -- but He came back with a physical body -- a new, perfect and imperishable body -- the disciples were able to touch Him and He was able to eat, so it had substance
-- when we are resurrected, we will be like Jesus -- we will not be resurrected as spirits -- but we will have a new body
IV. Closing
Gilbert Haven was a Methodist Episcopalian Bishop known as an able writer, a zealous reformer, an earnest preacher, and an indefatigable laborer. He died on Saturday morning, January 3, 1880, in Maiden, Massachusetts.
In his last few hours of life, Bishop Haven's allowed many of his friends to see him one more time in this life. Many were near at hand. Others were summoned by telegram and by messenger, until groups gathered around that couch, touched with the light of immortal glory, to muse over the transition from death unto life.
A physician who was present said: "I never saw a person die so before." A clergyman remarks: "To me it did not seem that I was in the presence of death. The whole atmosphere of the chamber was that of a joyous and festive hour. Only the tears of kindred and friends were suggestive of death. I felt that I was summoned to see a conquering hero crowned."
His last words were: "Oh, but it is so beautiful, so pleasant, so delightful! I see no river of death. God lifts me up in His arms. There is no darkness; it is all light and brightness. I am gliding away into God, floating up into heaven." With a final breath he proclaimed: "I believe in the resurrection of the body!"
-- when we stand and say together, "I believe in the resurrection of the body" -- we are proclaiming our belief in Jesus -- we are proclaiming that we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior -- we are proclaiming that we believe that God raised Him from the dead on the third day -- and we are proclaiming that we will be physically raised from the dead just as He was raised from the dead
-- as I close in prayer, I want to invite you to look at your own heart and see if you can make this same statement of belief in your life -- and, if not, to respond to God's word as you feel led
-- let us pray
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