1 Corinthians 15:1-34 - Part A

Because the resurrection is not just Jesus resurrection, but because of Jesus resurrection that guarantees our resurrection part and parcel of the gospel is the redemption of our physical bodies. The apostle Paul wrote to the church to straighten out a lot of spiritual matters. One was the resurrection of Jesus today on connect with skip-Skip explores these fascinating truths not just about Christ's resurrection was to want to tell you about a resource that will encourage you to be a part of cultivating loving church than ever before. The United States got the devastating civil to overcome a deeply defining issue was of Jesus and people who represent his life. We can help one another deal with this topic today Skip hi thinking Tony Clark speak to white evangelical pastors about how churches we can create spaces for black and brown voices to be heard in a loving atmosphere. Certain atmosphere. The turkeys find this moment because he racism is a safe is a sin in the eye. Now it's our job began to die down to have a biblical mindset and also having sympathy and those who are trying to live out this Christianity and their skin may be a little bit darker than yours cultivate the entity that comes from gaining a biblical perspective on racism your copy of this conversation between Pastor Skip and Tony when you get $20 or more today will also send you Pastor Skip's booklet the church and racism, call 892 1888, or get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer chapter 15. If you know anything about the chapter of the book of first first of all know it's very long and are 58 verses in it now.

I originally came here thinking, do 15 and 16 of discriminant finish it up. I'm a realist. At this point, as I said before you in all honesty, and I often realize that my intentions never or rarely are seen to fruition. When it comes to how much territory I can cover on Wednesday night know if we had a couple hours of Bible study. Perhaps I could do that but we don't. So we have under an hour or so working a look at the 15th chapter and we like to be able to finish it but you know how that goes. Will just go through until we are. Time is up. If you had to pick a list of the 10 greatest chapters in the Bible. I believe you would need to put first Corinthians 15 on that list because of its doctrinal content because it is the definitive chapter on the resurrection, our resurrection Jesus resurrection of the resurrection as it pertains to the whole gospel message. It is just one of the greatest chapters in in Scripture.

As you know the Corinthians were a group of people at church in a city that was riddled with problems and Paul writes first Corinthians as a polemic as a corrective to adjust their errant perspective on the number of behavioral and doctrinal issues and evidently they were confused in regards to the resurrection and perhaps that's why Paul made it so long is because this was so vital, so important that he wanted to take his time belabor the issue because the resurrection is not just Jesus resurrection, but because of Jesus resurrection that guarantees our resurrection part and parcel of the gospel is the redemption of our physical bodies, and thus he writes about the resurrection know why. Was there confusion in the Corinthian church about this issue. By the way, I find there's a lot of confusion today in church in churches regarding the resurrection regarding life after death.

I done a lot of funerals over the past several decades, and I listen to people I listen to churchgoing people as they talk about the death of a loved one, and I know the comments may be emotional comments and I think that there probably well intended comments, but inaccurate comments. Nonetheless, well I know George is up there right now playing golf really you think that's what heaven is. What about people who hate the game of golf that sounds like hell. Not heaven to them, especially if you have a bad game, but nonetheless, I digress. Really he's up in heaven so there's his body in that casket and yet he's up there point out now how is he playing golf. If his body's here a while. Is he has a new body you think so and do you think that in the future. That body is just going the way of all the earth and or does God have plans for that body. If that's a saved individual. What will become of that body. Well, if you're a Bible believing Christian. There's only one way you can answer that.

That body will one day though it is in the process of de-carrying and decomposition and will turn to dust at some point will be raised. There will be a resurrection, but I find that even believers are very sketchy when it comes to the details of this like the Corinthians, but back to the question why were the Corinthian so confused about the resurrection answer, they lived in a great culture. The Greeks abhorred the idea of a resurrection. Paul had been in Athens and when he was in Athens which is a city just a few miles away from Corinth and he was on the Areopagus on Mars Hill part of Paul's message was the resurrection from the dead and they laughed at him. They thought that was so bizarre because to a Greek of the idea that you would ever want this body to come alive again was absurd because the Greeks taught and thought that the body was a tomb for the spirit, death, and liberated the spirit and so why would you ever want to be shackled and imprisoned entombed again in a physical body. That's how they saw. So they did not believe in nor entertain the thought of a resurrection.

That's the culture of current Greek culture also. It was culturally a Roman province and the Romans did not believe in a resurrection.

Remember when Paul stood in Caesarea and he preached to Festus and he talked about the resurrection from the dead. He spoke about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and that I believe in the resurrection of the dead. He said, and Festus interrupted him and said Paul you're much learning has made you mad dude you have been hitting the books reading so much just drove you nuts and mean that's crazy. That's absurd.

So the Greeks didn't believe in resurrection. The Roman certainly didn't believe in resurrection and a whole group in Judaism didn't believe in the resurrection, the Sadducees, the Pharisees debit the Sadducees.

There were pure materialists. They did not believe that there were angels or spirits, and they didn't believe in the resurrection back. They came to Jesus one time with a trick question.

Is it you know we had this guy and he was married to a gallon but she couldn't produce any children for him, so he died in she married his brother. According to Old Testament law and then he died and couldn't didn't produce children and then she married another that when another Maasai had she had like seven husbands.

They all died. And then they thought they had Jesus in the resurrection whose wife will she be that what they were trying to do is point out the absurdity of one sure dad to have that body come back and I love Jesus answer. He said your ignorant was not always that he didn't put a period at the end of his at your ignorant not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Scriptures say there's a resurrection and the power of God guarantees the resurrection.

Not hard for God to resurrect a dead body and bring it back to life and reorganize all of the atoms no matter where they are anymore. There was for God to create life to begin with so that's why Paul when he stood before King Agrippa Lisa King Agrippa. Why do you think it's an incredible thing that God raised the dead. If it's God raising the dead. Is it hard for the God who creates life to begin with so there was confusion in Corinth and so Paul introduces the topic of the resurrection. First of all, Jesus own resurrection as a premise for our resurrection and you'll see how they tie them together. I can almost guarantee I won't get to the whole chapter of chapter 15 I bet it it's it's important enough that will slow down and and get a comprehensive view of it, maybe two parts, maybe, but nonetheless it is so important that in the book of Romans chapter 10 in verse nine, Paul said, if you confess with your mouth.

Listen, the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

In other words, you can't be saved. You're not a true believer a saved person. If you deny the resurrection part and parcel of the historic Christian gospel.

So again in chapter 15. The first few verses he is laying the foundation showing is evidences of Jesus resurrection why because Jesus resurrection is the firstfruits that the word he will use or the template for our physical resurrection one guarantees the other. So moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel gospel means the good news which I preached to you, which you also receive I preached you heard it.

You then received it.

You internalize it you made it your own and in which you stand. By which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. Evidence number 14 Jesus resurrection number one. The fact that there were believers in Corinth that in this pagan city.

There were some who believe the message that Paul preached, and in believing the message that Paul preached, which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ totally transformed their lives is the first evidence is the existence of Christians in Corinth because he says you also received it in which you stand.

By which you are saved, if you hold fast that word to which which I preached you unless you believed in vain.

So the fact that there are people in Corinth who were Gentiles who believe the message of Christ death, burial and resurrection, which is the gospel. As you will see, that's the first line of evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. He believed the gospel inherent in the gospel is the resurrection of Christ from the dead, you see a dead Savior can't save a dead Savior. Does no one any good. The idea that Jesus lived a good life. He was a good person. He taught some wonderful things that he died.

He's dead and never came back. So what. So that's a philosophy that's not transformative what is transformative is that guy who died got back up, which means he can conquer death if he can conquer death, and by the way he's addicted that I was going to happen no man takes my life from me.

I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay down and take it again. Anybody yet that has the power to do that is the power to do anything else.

He promises so if he promises he can transform your life than he can and he will if you let them.

So that's the first line of evidence existence of Christians in Corinth. Evidence number two. The prediction of the resurrection found in the Scripture verse two or verse three for I delivered to you. First of all that which I also received when it Paul received that when Depaul received the gospel first. Well the Damascus Road was his moment of transformation he had heard from Stephen about Jesus. But when he really embraced the gospel was the Damascus Road he he he received.

Then he spent three years in Arabia, sort of working through the theological implications of that internalizing it before he went out and and shared with the rest of the world so he he heard it he received it.

He was transformed by it right to liberty. First of all that which I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures Scriptures predicted the suffering of the Messiah. Isaiah 53 graphic detail the suffering servant.

Actually the end of Isaiah 52.

The rest and then Isaiah 53 and in graphic detail wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him by his stripes we are healed.

Then you have Psalm 22, which uncannily describes death by crucifixion hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented by the Persians and adopted by the Romans and and you have a list of these things that are predicted in the Scriptures so evidence number one change lives in current evidence number two fulfilled Scripture from the Old Testament predicting the death of Jesus. The burial of Jesus. Also, Isaiah 53 says he would be buried along with the rich and then it says and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Now we have something interesting because you need to ask where exactly does the Old Testament predict the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day. Well you could like Peter. Look at Psalm 16 that's what Peter did on the day of Pentecost. He reached back to Psalm 16, according what David said in Psalm 16 David said you will not allow your holy one to see DK or corruption and Peter makes the point that David wasn't talking about himself because he died and his tomb is here in Jerusalem and his body did DK so when he said you won't allow your holy one to see decay. Peter said he wasn't talking about himself. He was talking about the son of David, the ancestor of David Jesus the Messiah who did not see decay. He was in a tomb, and rose again so he quotes Psalm 16 still you don't have three days.

Jesus himself goes back to the book of Jonah and announces beforehand, for as Jonah was in the belly of the whale or the great fish three days and three nights. The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days, 39 so Jesus points to Jonah. However, there's nothing in Jonah that announces the burial and residing of Jesus or the Messiah in the tomb for three days prior to a resurrection, but interesting in the prophet Hosea Hosea said that God spoke through the prophets in similitudes or in parables, so that's why we believe and we know that there are types in the Old Testament that are fulfilled in the new, so let me throw something out at you in Genesis chapter 22. There is a story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac or almost sacrificing Isaac because the Lord to take now your son, your only son Isaac to a place that I will show you a mountain that I will show you the mountain of Mariah and you will sacrificing there for me another's interesting wording because Abraham didn't have a single son and only son. He had two sons. He had Ishmael and then he had Isaac. So when God said, take now your son, your only son Isaac. Abraham to set up pardon me God. First of all, your premise is all wrong. I have two sons. Not one, but the point is God didn't recognize the son of the flesh, the work of the flesh, only recognize the son of promise, Isaac, but the wording is interesting. Take your only son sounds a lot like John 316 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son take now your son, your only son, whom you love the very first time the word is low of love is used in the Bible its use there in Genesis chapter 22 and it's remarkable because the first time in the Bible the word love is use its use of a father sacrificing his only begotten son on a certain mountain. The mountain of Mariah.

Fast forward a few thousand years Jesus was crucified on Calvary golf. If Mount Moriah okay so Abraham goes probably use down and had run. He goes toward Mount Moriah, which would become Jerusalem eventually and he sees the amount of offices on the third day Abraham looked up and saw the mountain that he was sacrifices on what is that mean it means that for three days. Isaac was dead in the mind of Abraham.

Take your sign, your only son, kill him, and he said okay I'll do it.

So he's taking his son and he travels to Mariah for three days or three days his son was dead to him. He knew that he was going to kill his son but Abraham had a little bit of a quandary did need because God promised him that true that son Isaac. All of the promises of God would be fulfilled throughout history. So if I kill them. How is Goggin fulfill the promise will the book of Hebrews answers that question.

It says Abraham by faith took his son Isaac to sacrifice him so opposing that God could and would raise him from the dead. So he's taking his son. His son is dead to him and for three days he takes his son he's going to follow through. Is he has the knife lifted up, but by faith. He believes a Medi-Cal. My son then God's and a resurrected so he goes his senses. Dad got the wood got the fire. Where's the sacrifice listen to the answer of Abraham. My son, God will provide himself a sacrifice not provide for himself as a God will provide himself sacrifice many says in the mountain of the Lord, it shall be seen. I was a prophet, a prediction in the mountain of the Lord Mount Moriah dog at the Calvary it was seen so once again back to first Corinthians 15 he was he died. He was buried according to the Scripture.

He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, plural.

So line of evidence.

Number one, the resurrection of Jesus Christ saved people in Corinth.

Number two the prediction of the Scripture. Evidence number three post-resurrection appearances, Jesus appeared to people after he had risen verse five and he was seen by Cephas that is Peter then by the 12. After that, he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep with a message from the series expound you Skip to tell you about how you can keep encouraging messages like this coming your way as you help connect others to God's truth.

The Bible tells us that every day draws us closer to the return of Jesus. One day the Lord will return and that means our time to reach others with the gospel is urgent.

People need to hear the good news that changed your life and mine. So today I'm asking for your help to reach more people around the world with these teachings from God's word. Here's how you can partner with this ministry to make that happen.

You can give online@connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1888, 800-922-1888. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzigs of shares about the evidence. Paul gave for Jesus resurrection explaining why you can trust in God's promises and power. Look at these post-resurrection appearances. He was seen by sleep number Jesus thought that it was important that he had a special with Peter after the resurrection. Peter snoring