March 6, 2025 • 35 mins
In a swirling world filled with doubts and distractions, understanding the resurrection becomes crucial in solidifying our faith. In our latest episode, we dive deep into Paul's impactful message in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, examining how the resurrection stands at the core of Christianity. Paul confronts the Corinthian church's confusion and division, reminding them—and us—of the life-changing power of the resurrection.
Throughout the episode, we unpack the significance of acknowledging Christ's victory over death, which brings not only hope for the afterlife but also a transformative outlook for our present lives. Paul passionately invites believers to stand firm, affirming that our labor for the Lord has eternal value, and emphasizing that the resurrection is the ultimate evidence of God's power and love.
Join us as we explore the practical implications of living out a faith that hinges upon this glorious truth. We highlight the urgency of living differently in a world that can feel overwhelmingly chaotic, encouraging listeners to embrace their identity in Christ and engage with the world around them with conviction. Don’t miss this opportunity to strengthen your faith and gain insights that can change your perspective on life’s challenges! Be inspired and encouraged to share this episode and dive into the rich truths waiting for you in God's Word!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
So today we're going to find ourselves in 1
Corinthians, chapter 15, andthere's going to be a whole lot
of scripture that I'm going toread at some point.
And I've come to therealization, and I think, that
I've always known this.
But one of the things cominginto this year that I've kind of
challenged myself to do is toreally just focus heavy on text,
(00:24):
because the scripture ispowerful in and of itself.
I recently joined adiscipleship training group that
meets once a month, and one ofthe gentlemen in the group and
they're kind of going throughhow to do proper Bible study.
And one of the things that hesaid and it's kind of stuck with
(00:45):
me is you know, when it comesto the Word of God, we have all
these people who have writtencommentaries and they have their
opinions on what this textmeans and what that text means.
And if you walk in my office,I've got like five bookshelves
full of books, right, and it'snot necessarily a bad thing,
(01:06):
because a lot of times thosecommentaries can help us engage.
But what he said was he saidprior to all of their opinions.
For thousands of years the wordof god has been changing lives
in and of itself, so there'snothing wrong with other
people's opinions, he's like but, but truly at the heart of the
believer, what changes theirlife, is the God-given
(01:27):
scriptures that you and I havebeen given.
So to spend time in the text,to let the text speak for itself
oftentimes is far moreimportant than my opinion of it.
Not only that, but it goes backto the transformation part.
A lot of times, what the Wordof God says, we stand on as
truth.
My opinion about it isirrelevant, especially if my
(01:51):
opinion doesn't agree with it.
And so Paul is talking to thischurch in Corinth.
And if you have any historyabout the church in Corinth, the
church in Corinth is messed up.
This is not his first letter.
He actually writes two, andsome scholars think there's
actually a third letter that hewould eventually write.
(02:13):
But the church in Corinth isreally kind of confused.
They're confused about whothey're following.
There's a point in the textearly on when they're giving,
you know, credit to certainapostles or certain teachers
that have come along and youknow, some follow Paul, some
follow Paul, some follow Peter,right.
(02:34):
So they're confused and they'resaying that one person's better
than the other, although thegospel is still being preached
the same.
There's a lot of sin that's kindof run rampant in the church
and they're allowing things tohappen.
There's a conversation Paul hasearly on.
There's actually a dude that'slike sleeping with his dad's
(02:55):
wife, which we assume is hisstepmom, and Paul is like this
just cannot be happening.
So we see a lot of corruptionthat's kind of come in, and part
of that is because Corinth waslike a port city and there was a
lot of other gods and othercultures.
There's a point in theScripture where they're like
(03:16):
sleeping with temple prostitutesas worship and Paul's like what
are you guys doing?
And so his letters are reallykind of direct and he has some
harsh conversations but he alsohas some really positive things
right.
So 1 Corinthians 13 is the lovechapter and if you've ever been
to a wedding you've probablyheard it read.
(03:37):
Paul talks about what it is tolove and the importance of
loving, and so when we get tothe end of the book near the end
of the book chapter 15, paulhas addressed kind of all of
these concerns and how they'reliving and the decisions they're
making, and he's trying tobring them back to the focal
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point.
In the same way that he wrotein Romans, he's trying to help
the church understand that whatreally matters is their
relationship with Jesus and theway that they've chosen to live
that out.
And so I feel like it's fittingas we get into this final
(04:19):
therefore, statement and I'mjust going to share this real
quick because I think that thisis where we're going, this is
we're going to land.
This ship okay said uh.
First, corinthians 15, verse 58,paul is writing to them.
He says, therefore, my dearbrothers and sisters, stand firm
, let nothing move.
(04:41):
You always give yourself fullyto the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor in theLord is not in vain.
So he's writing to this churchand he says, therefore, stand
firm in what you've been taught,stand firm in the work that
you're doing, because yourealize that your work for God
(05:06):
is not in vain.
So, before he gets to thistherefore statement, paul's
going to take the entirety,almost the entirety, of verse
Corinthians 15 to talk about theresurrection of Jesus.
And if you are a follower ofGod, if you are in Christ, the
resurrection is what we stakeeverything on.
(05:27):
Jesus coming back from the dead, overcoming death, not only
gives us hope for the future,but it establishes and it should
that he has the power toovercome sin.
It should that he has the powerto overcome sin.
So Paul starts in 1 Corinthians15, verse 1.
(05:50):
He said Now, brothers andsisters, I want to remind you of
the gospel I preached to you,which you received and which you
have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved ifyou hold firmly to the word I
preached to you.
Otherwise you believed in vain.
For what I received, I passedon to you as of first importance
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that Christ died for our sins,according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he wasraised on the third day,
according to the Scriptures, andthen he appeared to Cephas and
then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to morethan 500 of the brothers and
sisters at the same time, mostof whom are all still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
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Then he appeared to James, thenthe apostles and, last of all,
he appeared to me also as to oneI'm normally born For I am the
least of the apostles and do noteven deserve to be called an
apostle because I persecuted theleast of the apostles, and do
not even deserve to be called anapostle because I persecuted
the church of God.
So, prior to this moment Paulis referring back to when the
(06:52):
early church kind of got started.
Paul was the one who waspersecuting them and killing
them, and he actually had avision in which he saw Jesus and
Jesus established him in hisministry.
And so Paul's kind of doing acallback to this moment,
reminding them that God has alsocalled me an apostle, although
in Paul's mind he doesn'tdeserve it.
(07:12):
So verse 10 says but by thegrace of God, I am what I am,
and his grace to me was notwithout effect.
I worked harder than all ofthem, not I, but the grace of
God that was with me.
Whether, then, it is I or they,it is what we preach and this is
what you believe.
But if it is preached thatChrist has been raised from the
(07:33):
dead, how can some of you saythat there's no resurrection of
the dead?
There's no resurrection of thedead and not even Christ has
been raised.
And if Christ has not beenraised, our preaching is useless
and so is your faith.
More than that, we are thenfound to be false witnesses
about God, for we have testifiedabout God that he raised Christ
from the dead, but he did notraise him.
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In fact, if the dead are notraised.
For if the dead are not raised,then Christ has not been raised
either, and if Christ has notbeen raised, your faith is
futile, you are still in yoursins.
Then also those also who havefallen asleep in Christ are lost
, if only for this life, we havehope in Christ.
We are all of all people mostto be pitied.
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But Christ has indeed beenraised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who havefallen asleep.
For since death came through aman, the resurrection of the
dead comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die, so inChrist all be made alive, but
each in turn Christ, thefirstfruits, then, when he comes
, those who belong to him.
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Then the end will come when hehands over the kingdom to God,
the Father, after he hasdestroyed all dominion,
authority and power, for he mustreign, and so he has put all
his enemies under his feet.
Now, when it says thateverything is put under him, it
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is clear that this does notinclude God himself.
He put everything under Christ.
When he has done this, then theSon himself will be made
subject to him and puteverything under him, so that
God may be in all.
Now, if there's no resurrection,what will those do, who are
baptized for the dead.
If the dead are not raised atall, why are people baptized for
them?
And as for us, why do weendanger ourselves every hour?
(09:19):
I face death every day.
Yes, just as surely as I boastabout you in Christ Jesus, our
Lord.
If I fought wild beasts andephesians with no more than
human hopes, what have I gained?
If the dead are not raised, letus eat and drink for tomorrow
we die.
Do not be misled.
Bad company corrupts goodcharacter.
Come back to your senses, asyou ought, and stop sinning, for
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there are some who are ignorantof God.
I say this to the shame.
But some will ask how are thedead raised?
With what kind of body willthey come?
How foolish.
What you sow does not come tolife unless it dies.
When you sow, you do not plantthe body that will be, but just
the seed, perhaps of weed or ofsomething else.
But God gives it to a body ashe's determined, and each kind
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of seed he gives to his own body.
Not all flesh is the same.
People have one kind of flesh,animals have another, Birds
another and fish another.
There are also heavenly bodiesand there are earthly bodies.
But the splendor of theheavenly bodies is one kind and
the splendor of the earthlybodies is another.
The sun is gone as one kind ofsplendor, the moon another and
(10:26):
the stars another.
Stars differ from stars insplendor.
So will it be with theresurrection of the dead.
The body that is sown isperishable.
It is raised imperishable.
If it's sown in dishonor, it'sraised in glory.
If it's sown in weakness, it'sraised in power.
If it's sown in a natural body,it's raised in a spiritual body
.
If there's a natural body israised in a spiritual body.
There's a natural body, there'salso a spiritual body.
(10:47):
So it is written.
The first man, adam, became aliving being, the last Adam, a
life-giving spirit.
The spiritual did not comefirst, but the natural and after
that the spiritual.
The first man was of dust, ofthe earth.
The second man is of heaven, aswas the earthly man, so those
who are of the earth, and as isthe heavenly man, so those who
are of heaven.
And just as we have borne theimage of the earthly man, so
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shall we bear the image of theheavenly man.
So once again, I realize that'sa ton of text.
Paul was a theologian amongtheologians and he's dealing
with a couple arguments here.
There was some debate thatpeople weren't.
The resurrection of the deadwasn't possible.
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There was some debate.
They were stuck on what's goingto happen after you die, what's
your body going to look like?
And Paul is talking to them andsays listen.
You are focused on the wrongthing Because he says, listen.
You are focused on the wrongthing Because he says if Jesus
has not been raised from thedead, then everything you and I
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do is in vain.
But he starts off this chapterby saying but Jesus, when he was
resurrected from the dead,appeared to over 500 people and
most of them are still living.
You know one of the things aboutwhen you go to the writing of,
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if you understand a little bitof Jewish culture prior to being
able to write everything down,they were storytellers.
So their oral history is howthey would transfer information
from one culture to the next.
They're not the only ones, bythe way.
A lot of cultures were likethat before writing became a
thing, so they would tell thesestories and they would share
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these events, and they would doit with great accuracy.
It's actually kind offascinating, and part of the
reason it was so accurate isbecause they took it so
seriously, right?
So if you were growing up inthe Jewish culture and someone
was telling a story of an eventthat happened in the past and
you were wrong, they wouldcorrect you in the moment.
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They did everything they couldto make sure that the story
stayed consistent, because tothem that's their history it was
necessary, right?
So then we get to a point inhistory where things are
starting to get written down.
Now, if you pay attention to anyRoman writings around the time,
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if you've ever read anythingabout Alexander the Great,
there's a strong possibilitythat most of that is not true.
The Roman authors were verygood about only including the
information they wanted toinclude and kind of ignoring the
rest of history, because theywanted to paint a really good
picture of their leaders, right?
(13:40):
And?
And if you watch a couple ofdocumentaries on the history
channel, you can kind of see howthis unfolds.
So, so in the moment that jesusis resurrected, 500 people see
him.
The gospels so matthew, mark,luke and john were all written
within 30 to 40 years after hisascension in heaven, which means
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that most of the people who hadseen the resurrection of Christ
were still alive.
So as the Gospels are beingwritten, there's an entire
population of people who believein oral history, who see what's
being written and ifsomething's wrong they would
correct it because their historywas that important to them.
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So the writings we have ofJesus were written and edited by
people who had actuallywitnessed the events that took
place.
But, interestingly enough, wedoubt the Scriptures.
But then we have writings aboutAlexander the Great that took
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place 100, if not 200 yearsafter his life and we take them
as historical fact.
You see the problem right?
So when Paul is saying listen,this resurrection that you are
denying, there was a ton ofpeople that saw it happen.
So why would we lie when therewere so many witnesses to back
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up the evidence?
Not only that, but Paul says wefind ourselves facing death
every day because of what webelieve and what we're teaching.
What man would die for a lielike that?
I read once and it was anatheist who wrote this and I
can't remember the guy's nameand I wish I could, but he said
(15:30):
that in his opinion the accountof the resurrection had to be
true and he said and he pointsto it and he to is like.
I can prove that he's like,because the the Watergate
scandal that happened was likethe 60s 70s.
He said the Watergate scandalthat happened.
Was it Watergate?
Yeah, is that the Reagan?
(15:51):
Yeah, okay, so the scandal thathappened proves that it had to
be true.
Nixon, nixon, okay, that's not.
I'm know my history that well,I know a lot about me proves
that it had to be true.
Nixon, nixon, okay, I know myhistory that well, I know a lot
about Nixon, sorry, reagan.
So he said the Watergatescandal proves that there has to
be some truth to the Scripture.
He's like because that group ofmen couldn't keep the story
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straight for 24 hours.
He's like the moment pressurehit, it all blew up and unfolded
.
He's like so you mean to tellme that this group of men, this
group of apostles, continue tolie about the resurrection up
until the point of death?
He's like what person in theirright mind would stick to
something that's a lie if it wasgoing to cost them their life?
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They said to me that just showsyou how true it is.
They were willing to die forthis.
And so Paul is saying to themlisten, the resurrection of
Jesus is everything that youstand on.
Your entire existence as achurch, as followers of Christ,
depends and hinges on theresurrection of Jesus from the
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dead.
And then he gets into 1Corinthians 15, verse 50.
It says I declare to you,brothers and sisters, that flesh
and blood cannot inherit thekingdom of God, nor does the
perishable inherit theimperishable.
It says listen, I tell you amystery.
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We will not all sleep, but wewill all be changed In a flash,
in the twinkling of an eye, atthe last trumpet, for the
trumpet will sound, the deadwill be raised imperishable and
we will be changed, for theperishable must close this self
with imperishable and the mortalwith immortality.
When the perishable has beenclothed with the imperishable
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and the mortal with immortality,then the saying that is written
will come true death has beenswallowed up in victory.
Where O death is your victory,where O death is your sting, the
sting of death is sin and thepower of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, he givesus the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
And then he says therefore, mydear brothers and sisters, stand
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firm, let nothing move.
You Always give yourself fullyto the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor to theLord is not in vain.
Because you know that yourlabor to the Lord is not in vain
.
(18:29):
Paul is talking to a churchthat's lost their way.
They've allowed the world tocreep in.
They've allowed petty argumentsto divide them.
They've allowed sin to comeback in to their midst.
And Paul comes to the end ofhis letter and he says listen,
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the resurrection of Jesus iseverything we stand on.
There's proof.
There's proof, there's evidence, there's witnesses that saw it
happen.
We are out here dying for thecause of Christ.
It says stand firm ineverything that you do, because
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you know that your work for theLord is not in vain.
You know, we live in a world, welive in a culture sometimes,
that feels like it's adamantlyagainst us, that it doesn't like
the church.
It doesn't like the church.
It doesn't like when we standon truth.
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It doesn't like when we standon biblical principles.
We live in a world that Satanhas corrupted things and he
distorts it.
By the way, our fight is notagainst people.
It's a spiritual battle thatwe're facing.
We live in a world that makesus feel sometimes like we're
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inferior.
Why do we need church?
Why should we stand for truth?
Why can't I just be and accepteveryone?
Why can't I just accept allthings and listen?
That's such an easy road tofind ourselves down.
But when we look at Scriptureand the way that it calls us to
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live and the transformation thatPaul talks about in Romans 12,
you and I are supposed to bedifferent.
We're set apart.
Our goal is to be so set apart,in fact, that we actually help
other people become set aparttoo.
I had this conversation withsomeone this morning.
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I know that I've said thisbefore and you know, when people
talk about they don't want tofollow jesus, they don't want to
give up.
You know, name it sex, partying, drugs.
You know I, I can't be who Iwant to be.
I've got to give up all thisstuff and listen.
I've been a follower of Jesussince I was 15, and the gospel,
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the scriptures, have never, god,has never asked me to give up
anything.
That wasn't bad for me anyway,like giving my life and trying
to be more like Jesus has nevermade me worse Ever.
And so the world gets stuck on.
Well, I can't.
Well, why would God Listen?
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For whatever reason, the one whomade us knows the best way for
us to live.
Imagine that.
Imagine the one who created youcan look at you and say, hey,
stop living that way, don'tallow sin to ruin your life,
don't.
You'll be transformed by yourmind, the way you approach, the
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way you talk.
All of this comes with knowingme, and all of it hinges on the
resurrection of Christ, becauseif there is no resurrection of
Jesus, then all of this isfutile.
You and I are living fornothing.
And Paul says at his church inCorinth but you, you were not
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taught that, some of you mighthave even been witnesses to this
moment he says, therefore,stand firm, as you know, the
work for the Lord, the work thatyou've put into all of the
effort, all of the energy to belike Christ, is not in vain.
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Nc Wright says this.
He's talking about Paul'sletter to the corinthians.
He says the present flesh andblood will decay and die, but
god intends to create a worldand in jesus he has decisively
inaugurated the project in whichdecay and death are
accommodated, are notaccommodated, but defeated.
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We shall be transformed.
It will happen in a flash, in agreat act of new creation,
echoing around the cosmos likethe blast of a great trumpet.
When this happens, the ancientstory which the Bible told in a
thousand different ways willcome true the story of creation
reaching its intended goal, thestory of enemies being defeated,
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the story of God's victory, theCreator's victory over all the
forces of chaos and destruction.
Can we not agree?
We could all use a little lesschaos and destruction.
Seriously, this world, there'sso many things happening and it
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feels so overwhelming, but thereis coming a moment in time that
Jesus is going to return andrestore everything exactly how
it was supposed to be Perfection.
Listen, you and I can't processthat.
I cannot understand perfect,because I've never experienced
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perfect as good as things havebeen in my life.
I've never experiencedperfection.
Revelation 21, verses 1 through7, says this Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for thefirst heaven and the first earth
had passed away and there wasno longer any sea.
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I saw the holy city, the newJerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as abride beautifully dressed for
her husband, and I heard a loudvoice from the throne saying
look, god's dwelling place isnow among the people and he will
dwell with them.
They will be his people and Godhimself will be with them and
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be their God.
He will wipe away every tearfrom their eye.
There will be no more death ormourning, or crying or pain for
the old order of things haspassed away.
He who is seated on the thronesaid I am making everything new.
Then he said write this down,for these words are trustworthy
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and true.
He said to me it is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will givewater without cost From the
spring of the water of life.
Those who are victorious willinherit all of this and I will
be their God and they will be mychildren.
And going back to Paul's letterto the Romans, in Romans 8, it
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says that in Christ all of thisis accomplished.
For those of us who are inChrist, paul says in Romans 8,
chapter 18 through 25, Iconsider that our present
sufferings are not worthcomparing to the glory that will
be revealed in us, for thecreation waits an eager
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expectation for the children ofGod to be revealed.
The creation was subjected tofrustration, not by its own
choice, but by the will of onewho subjected it in hope that
the creation itself will beliberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into thefreedom and the glory of
children of God.
We know that the whole creationhas been groaning as in the
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pains of childbirth right up tothe present time.
Not only so, but we ourselves,through the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as wewait eagerly for our adoption of
the Sonship, the redemption ofour bodies, for in this hope we
are saved.
But hope that is seen is nohope at all.
Who hopes for what they alreadyhave?
But if we hope for what we donot yet have, we wait for it
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patiently In Christ.
You and I still live in thisworld.
That's hard, because we stillhave to deal with the sin and
the disease and the sicknessthat's here in this place.
But in Christ we have somethingthat's coming that is going to
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be perfection.
We have something that's comingthat is going to be perfection.
That is why we do what we do.
A place where death has nosting, a place where there's no
more mourning, no more crying,no more being hungry, no more
cancer, no more sickness, nomore children dying.
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None of it, none of it, none ofit will exist in the place that
is coming.
And Paul says to this church inCorinth, and he says it to us.
So stand firm in what you aredoing, because everything you're
doing for the Lord is not invain.
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Living for Jesus will neverreturn empty.
Giving your life to Christ willnever not be worth it.
Because even in this life wherewe struggle, there's something
that is coming that's going tochange everything a new creation
, a new transformation that iscoming, that's going to change
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everything.
A new creation, a newtransformation.
That church is what we stand on, because if Christ is not
resurrected, then none of thismatters.
But if he is, it changeseverything.
It means that death willsomeday not be a burden for us.
It means that someday we willbe back in the presence of God.
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I was thinking about this thisweek and there's nothing in the
text about it.
But if you go back to Genesis,when Adam and Eve were walking
in the garden and God gives themstipulation, you can have
everything you need, but don'ttouch this.
And they did.
They ate of the fruit.
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They were deceived, and thensin entered into the picture.
They were kicked out of thegarden, toil became hard Work
became hard Labor and childbirthpains became common for women.
I mean that alone I'd be likethat's not right.
Right, but I always wondered ifthere was ever a moment when
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Adam and Eve were together.
Were they ever in a moment ofquietness?
They're like oh man, I misswhat we had.
I wonder, if they wrestle withthat, if I could just go back
and not do what we did becausewe had no idea what was coming.
And then you see generationafter generation suffers,
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generation suffers.
They lose a child to murder byhis own brother, and you see
Israel suffer again and again.
And all of this comes becauseof that moment where they
decided that they knew betterthan God.
And then you get to the NewTestament.
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Jesus comes in.
He's healing people.
He's healing people, he'steaching people and ultimately
he finds Himself dying on across.
He dies, he's buried, he'sresurrected, and then he offers
that resurrection, and that samepower of the Holy Spirit that
raised Him from the dead is thesame power for those who believe
and give their life to Him.
And so I sit here and I wonderin this moment how many people
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get to the end of their life andthey think, man, I just wish I
would have followed Jesus.
I wish I would have made thatdecision, I wish I would have
given my life to Him, but forwhatever reason, I waited.
That's the beauty of this isyou don't have to wait.
You don't have to wait untilyou're at death's door to give
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your life to Jesus.
The sacrifice, the resurrection, the salvation comes now, today
.
It's here, it's available, andfor those of us who have
accepted it and have beenbaptized into Christ and we've
talked about this and Paul talksabout this in Romans 6,.
Paul says that just in the sameway that you were baptized into
Jesus' death, you experiencedJesus' life, and not only in
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this world.
Not only am I being transformednow and things are changing for
me, but I look forward to theday that I die, that when I die
and my eyes close for the lasttime and I open them, it's going
to be perfection.
For me, and I've said thisbefore the only thing I can take
into heaven with me are thepeople who I love.
(31:35):
That's it.
Nothing else is going with me.
But if I can get them to acceptChrist, if I can get them to
see just how important he is, ifI can get them to understand
that His resurrection was realand that he overcame death, then
they will get to experience theexact same thing I do when I
die.
I don't fear death, because Iknow death is not my end.
(32:01):
Church, when Paul is talking tous, he says stand firm in
everything that you're doingbecause the resurrection of
Christ has happened and it's inthat truth that we do everything
(32:22):
on.
Therefore, go into all theworld, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, son and theHoly Spirit and teaching them
everything that I have taughtyou.
Therefore, be transformed bythe renewing of your mind.
Therefore, stand firm, becauseeverything we do at the end of
(32:44):
this life, you and I win becauseGod already did end of this
life.
You and I win because Godalready did.
Someone asked me one time togive them an abridged version of
the book of Revelation.
If you've ever studiedRevelation, it's complicated.
There's a lot of imagery there.
Here's how I view Revelation.
(33:04):
God's won, so do we.
That's what we stand for.
There's coming a day when wedie, when Jesus comes back.
New creation, new heaven, newearth, and all of that is
available for those who will puttheir faith and trust in the
one who resurrected from thedead.
So why do we do what we do?
(33:27):
Because I want heaven to befull, all right.
So today we're going to find ourselves in 1
Corinthians, chapter 15, andthere's going to be a whole lot
of scripture that I'm going toread at some point.
And I've come to therealization, and I think, that
I've always known this.
But one of the things cominginto this year that I've kind of
challenged myself to do is toreally just focus heavy on text,
(00:24):
because the scripture ispowerful in and of itself.
I recently joined adiscipleship training group that
meets once a month, and one ofthe gentlemen in the group and
they're kind of going throughhow to do proper Bible study.
And one of the things that hesaid and it's kind of stuck with
(00:45):
me is you know, when it comesto the Word of God, we have all
these people who have writtencommentaries and they have their
opinions on what this textmeans and what that text means.
And if you walk in my office,I've got like five bookshelves
full of books, right, and it'snot necessarily a bad thing,
(01:06):
because a lot of times thosecommentaries can help us engage.
But what he said was he saidprior to all of their opinions.
For thousands of years the wordof god has been changing lives
in and of itself, so there'snothing wrong with other
people's opinions, he's like but, but truly at the heart of the
believer, what changes theirlife, is the God-given
(01:27):
scriptures that you and I havebeen given.
So to spend time in the text,to let the text speak for itself
oftentimes is far moreimportant than my opinion of it.
Not only that, but it goes backto the transformation part.
A lot of times, what the Wordof God says, we stand on as
truth.
My opinion about it isirrelevant, especially if my
(01:51):
opinion doesn't agree with it.
And so Paul is talking to thischurch in Corinth.
And if you have any historyabout the church in Corinth, the
church in Corinth is messed up.
This is not his first letter.
He actually writes two, andsome scholars think there's
actually a third letter that hewould eventually write.
(02:13):
But the church in Corinth isreally kind of confused.
They're confused about whothey're following.
There's a point in the textearly on when they're giving,
you know, credit to certainapostles or certain teachers
that have come along and youknow, some follow Paul, some
follow Paul, some follow Peter,right.
(02:34):
So they're confused and they'resaying that one person's better
than the other, although thegospel is still being preached
the same.
There's a lot of sin that's kindof run rampant in the church
and they're allowing things tohappen.
There's a conversation Paul hasearly on.
There's actually a dude that'slike sleeping with his dad's
(02:55):
wife, which we assume is hisstepmom, and Paul is like this
just cannot be happening.
So we see a lot of corruptionthat's kind of come in, and part
of that is because Corinth waslike a port city and there was a
lot of other gods and othercultures.
There's a point in theScripture where they're like
(03:16):
sleeping with temple prostitutesas worship and Paul's like what
are you guys doing?
And so his letters are reallykind of direct and he has some
harsh conversations but he alsohas some really positive things
right.
So 1 Corinthians 13 is the lovechapter and if you've ever been
to a wedding you've probablyheard it read.
(03:37):
Paul talks about what it is tolove and the importance of
loving, and so when we get tothe end of the book near the end
of the book chapter 15, paulhas addressed kind of all of
these concerns and how they'reliving and the decisions they're
making, and he's trying tobring them back to the focal
(03:59):
point.
In the same way that he wrotein Romans, he's trying to help
the church understand that whatreally matters is their
relationship with Jesus and theway that they've chosen to live
that out.
And so I feel like it's fittingas we get into this final
(04:19):
therefore, statement and I'mjust going to share this real
quick because I think that thisis where we're going, this is
we're going to land.
This ship okay said uh.
First, corinthians 15, verse 58,paul is writing to them.
He says, therefore, my dearbrothers and sisters, stand firm
, let nothing move.
(04:41):
You always give yourself fullyto the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor in theLord is not in vain.
So he's writing to this churchand he says, therefore, stand
firm in what you've been taught,stand firm in the work that
you're doing, because yourealize that your work for God
(05:06):
is not in vain.
So, before he gets to thistherefore statement, paul's
going to take the entirety,almost the entirety, of verse
Corinthians 15 to talk about theresurrection of Jesus.
And if you are a follower ofGod, if you are in Christ, the
resurrection is what we stakeeverything on.
(05:27):
Jesus coming back from the dead, overcoming death, not only
gives us hope for the future,but it establishes and it should
that he has the power toovercome sin.
It should that he has the powerto overcome sin.
So Paul starts in 1 Corinthians15, verse 1.
(05:50):
He said Now, brothers andsisters, I want to remind you of
the gospel I preached to you,which you received and which you
have taken your stand.
By this gospel you are saved ifyou hold firmly to the word I
preached to you.
Otherwise you believed in vain.
For what I received, I passedon to you as of first importance
(06:11):
that Christ died for our sins,according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he wasraised on the third day,
according to the Scriptures, andthen he appeared to Cephas and
then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to morethan 500 of the brothers and
sisters at the same time, mostof whom are all still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
(06:32):
Then he appeared to James, thenthe apostles and, last of all,
he appeared to me also as to oneI'm normally born For I am the
least of the apostles and do noteven deserve to be called an
apostle because I persecuted theleast of the apostles, and do
not even deserve to be called anapostle because I persecuted
the church of God.
So, prior to this moment Paulis referring back to when the
(06:52):
early church kind of got started.
Paul was the one who waspersecuting them and killing
them, and he actually had avision in which he saw Jesus and
Jesus established him in hisministry.
And so Paul's kind of doing acallback to this moment,
reminding them that God has alsocalled me an apostle, although
in Paul's mind he doesn'tdeserve it.
(07:12):
So verse 10 says but by thegrace of God, I am what I am,
and his grace to me was notwithout effect.
I worked harder than all ofthem, not I, but the grace of
God that was with me.
Whether, then, it is I or they,it is what we preach and this is
what you believe.
But if it is preached thatChrist has been raised from the
(07:33):
dead, how can some of you saythat there's no resurrection of
the dead?
There's no resurrection of thedead and not even Christ has
been raised.
And if Christ has not beenraised, our preaching is useless
and so is your faith.
More than that, we are thenfound to be false witnesses
about God, for we have testifiedabout God that he raised Christ
from the dead, but he did notraise him.
(07:54):
In fact, if the dead are notraised.
For if the dead are not raised,then Christ has not been raised
either, and if Christ has notbeen raised, your faith is
futile, you are still in yoursins.
Then also those also who havefallen asleep in Christ are lost
, if only for this life, we havehope in Christ.
We are all of all people mostto be pitied.
(08:15):
But Christ has indeed beenraised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who havefallen asleep.
For since death came through aman, the resurrection of the
dead comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die, so inChrist all be made alive, but
each in turn Christ, thefirstfruits, then, when he comes
, those who belong to him.
(08:36):
Then the end will come when hehands over the kingdom to God,
the Father, after he hasdestroyed all dominion,
authority and power, for he mustreign, and so he has put all
his enemies under his feet.
Now, when it says thateverything is put under him, it
(08:57):
is clear that this does notinclude God himself.
He put everything under Christ.
When he has done this, then theSon himself will be made
subject to him and puteverything under him, so that
God may be in all.
Now, if there's no resurrection,what will those do, who are
baptized for the dead.
If the dead are not raised atall, why are people baptized for
them?
And as for us, why do weendanger ourselves every hour?
(09:19):
I face death every day.
Yes, just as surely as I boastabout you in Christ Jesus, our
Lord.
If I fought wild beasts andephesians with no more than
human hopes, what have I gained?
If the dead are not raised, letus eat and drink for tomorrow
we die.
Do not be misled.
Bad company corrupts goodcharacter.
Come back to your senses, asyou ought, and stop sinning, for
(09:42):
there are some who are ignorantof God.
I say this to the shame.
But some will ask how are thedead raised?
With what kind of body willthey come?
How foolish.
What you sow does not come tolife unless it dies.
When you sow, you do not plantthe body that will be, but just
the seed, perhaps of weed or ofsomething else.
But God gives it to a body ashe's determined, and each kind
(10:05):
of seed he gives to his own body.
Not all flesh is the same.
People have one kind of flesh,animals have another, Birds
another and fish another.
There are also heavenly bodiesand there are earthly bodies.
But the splendor of theheavenly bodies is one kind and
the splendor of the earthlybodies is another.
The sun is gone as one kind ofsplendor, the moon another and
(10:26):
the stars another.
Stars differ from stars insplendor.
So will it be with theresurrection of the dead.
The body that is sown isperishable.
It is raised imperishable.
If it's sown in dishonor, it'sraised in glory.
If it's sown in weakness, it'sraised in power.
If it's sown in a natural body,it's raised in a spiritual body
.
If there's a natural body israised in a spiritual body.
There's a natural body, there'salso a spiritual body.
(10:47):
So it is written.
The first man, adam, became aliving being, the last Adam, a
life-giving spirit.
The spiritual did not comefirst, but the natural and after
that the spiritual.
The first man was of dust, ofthe earth.
The second man is of heaven, aswas the earthly man, so those
who are of the earth, and as isthe heavenly man, so those who
are of heaven.
And just as we have borne theimage of the earthly man, so
(11:11):
shall we bear the image of theheavenly man.
So once again, I realize that'sa ton of text.
Paul was a theologian amongtheologians and he's dealing
with a couple arguments here.
There was some debate thatpeople weren't.
The resurrection of the deadwasn't possible.
(11:31):
There was some debate.
They were stuck on what's goingto happen after you die, what's
your body going to look like?
And Paul is talking to them andsays listen.
You are focused on the wrongthing Because he says, listen.
You are focused on the wrongthing Because he says if Jesus
has not been raised from thedead, then everything you and I
(11:52):
do is in vain.
But he starts off this chapterby saying but Jesus, when he was
resurrected from the dead,appeared to over 500 people and
most of them are still living.
You know one of the things aboutwhen you go to the writing of,
(12:13):
if you understand a little bitof Jewish culture prior to being
able to write everything down,they were storytellers.
So their oral history is howthey would transfer information
from one culture to the next.
They're not the only ones, bythe way.
A lot of cultures were likethat before writing became a
thing, so they would tell thesestories and they would share
(12:35):
these events, and they would doit with great accuracy.
It's actually kind offascinating, and part of the
reason it was so accurate isbecause they took it so
seriously, right?
So if you were growing up inthe Jewish culture and someone
was telling a story of an eventthat happened in the past and
you were wrong, they wouldcorrect you in the moment.
(12:56):
They did everything they couldto make sure that the story
stayed consistent, because tothem that's their history it was
necessary, right?
So then we get to a point inhistory where things are
starting to get written down.
Now, if you pay attention to anyRoman writings around the time,
(13:18):
if you've ever read anythingabout Alexander the Great,
there's a strong possibilitythat most of that is not true.
The Roman authors were verygood about only including the
information they wanted toinclude and kind of ignoring the
rest of history, because theywanted to paint a really good
picture of their leaders, right?
(13:40):
And?
And if you watch a couple ofdocumentaries on the history
channel, you can kind of see howthis unfolds.
So, so in the moment that jesusis resurrected, 500 people see
him.
The gospels so matthew, mark,luke and john were all written
within 30 to 40 years after hisascension in heaven, which means
(14:00):
that most of the people who hadseen the resurrection of Christ
were still alive.
So as the Gospels are beingwritten, there's an entire
population of people who believein oral history, who see what's
being written and ifsomething's wrong they would
correct it because their historywas that important to them.
(14:24):
So the writings we have ofJesus were written and edited by
people who had actuallywitnessed the events that took
place.
But, interestingly enough, wedoubt the Scriptures.
But then we have writings aboutAlexander the Great that took
(14:46):
place 100, if not 200 yearsafter his life and we take them
as historical fact.
You see the problem right?
So when Paul is saying listen,this resurrection that you are
denying, there was a ton ofpeople that saw it happen.
So why would we lie when therewere so many witnesses to back
(15:09):
up the evidence?
Not only that, but Paul says wefind ourselves facing death
every day because of what webelieve and what we're teaching.
What man would die for a lielike that?
I read once and it was anatheist who wrote this and I
can't remember the guy's nameand I wish I could, but he said
(15:30):
that in his opinion the accountof the resurrection had to be
true and he said and he pointsto it and he to is like.
I can prove that he's like,because the the Watergate
scandal that happened was likethe 60s 70s.
He said the Watergate scandalthat happened.
Was it Watergate?
Yeah, is that the Reagan?
(15:51):
Yeah, okay, so the scandal thathappened proves that it had to
be true.
Nixon, nixon, okay, that's not.
I'm know my history that well,I know a lot about me proves
that it had to be true.
Nixon, nixon, okay, I know myhistory that well, I know a lot
about Nixon, sorry, reagan.
So he said the Watergatescandal proves that there has to
be some truth to the Scripture.
He's like because that group ofmen couldn't keep the story
(16:12):
straight for 24 hours.
He's like the moment pressurehit, it all blew up and unfolded
.
He's like so you mean to tellme that this group of men, this
group of apostles, continue tolie about the resurrection up
until the point of death?
He's like what person in theirright mind would stick to
something that's a lie if it wasgoing to cost them their life?
(16:33):
They said to me that just showsyou how true it is.
They were willing to die forthis.
And so Paul is saying to themlisten, the resurrection of
Jesus is everything that youstand on.
Your entire existence as achurch, as followers of Christ,
depends and hinges on theresurrection of Jesus from the
(16:55):
dead.
And then he gets into 1Corinthians 15, verse 50.
It says I declare to you,brothers and sisters, that flesh
and blood cannot inherit thekingdom of God, nor does the
perishable inherit theimperishable.
It says listen, I tell you amystery.
(17:18):
We will not all sleep, but wewill all be changed In a flash,
in the twinkling of an eye, atthe last trumpet, for the
trumpet will sound, the deadwill be raised imperishable and
we will be changed, for theperishable must close this self
with imperishable and the mortalwith immortality.
When the perishable has beenclothed with the imperishable
(17:40):
and the mortal with immortality,then the saying that is written
will come true death has beenswallowed up in victory.
Where O death is your victory,where O death is your sting, the
sting of death is sin and thepower of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, he givesus the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
And then he says therefore, mydear brothers and sisters, stand
(18:07):
firm, let nothing move.
You Always give yourself fullyto the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor to theLord is not in vain.
Because you know that yourlabor to the Lord is not in vain
.
(18:29):
Paul is talking to a churchthat's lost their way.
They've allowed the world tocreep in.
They've allowed petty argumentsto divide them.
They've allowed sin to comeback in to their midst.
And Paul comes to the end ofhis letter and he says listen,
(18:54):
the resurrection of Jesus iseverything we stand on.
There's proof.
There's proof, there's evidence, there's witnesses that saw it
happen.
We are out here dying for thecause of Christ.
It says stand firm ineverything that you do, because
(19:20):
you know that your work for theLord is not in vain.
You know, we live in a world, welive in a culture sometimes,
that feels like it's adamantlyagainst us, that it doesn't like
the church.
It doesn't like the church.
It doesn't like when we standon truth.
(19:41):
It doesn't like when we standon biblical principles.
We live in a world that Satanhas corrupted things and he
distorts it.
By the way, our fight is notagainst people.
It's a spiritual battle thatwe're facing.
We live in a world that makesus feel sometimes like we're
(20:04):
inferior.
Why do we need church?
Why should we stand for truth?
Why can't I just be and accepteveryone?
Why can't I just accept allthings and listen?
That's such an easy road tofind ourselves down.
But when we look at Scriptureand the way that it calls us to
(20:25):
live and the transformation thatPaul talks about in Romans 12,
you and I are supposed to bedifferent.
We're set apart.
Our goal is to be so set apart,in fact, that we actually help
other people become set aparttoo.
I had this conversation withsomeone this morning.
(20:46):
I know that I've said thisbefore and you know, when people
talk about they don't want tofollow jesus, they don't want to
give up.
You know, name it sex, partying, drugs.
You know I, I can't be who Iwant to be.
I've got to give up all thisstuff and listen.
I've been a follower of Jesussince I was 15, and the gospel,
(21:07):
the scriptures, have never, god,has never asked me to give up
anything.
That wasn't bad for me anyway,like giving my life and trying
to be more like Jesus has nevermade me worse Ever.
And so the world gets stuck on.
Well, I can't.
Well, why would God Listen?
(21:29):
For whatever reason, the one whomade us knows the best way for
us to live.
Imagine that.
Imagine the one who created youcan look at you and say, hey,
stop living that way, don'tallow sin to ruin your life,
don't.
You'll be transformed by yourmind, the way you approach, the
(21:50):
way you talk.
All of this comes with knowingme, and all of it hinges on the
resurrection of Christ, becauseif there is no resurrection of
Jesus, then all of this isfutile.
You and I are living fornothing.
And Paul says at his church inCorinth but you, you were not
(22:11):
taught that, some of you mighthave even been witnesses to this
moment he says, therefore,stand firm, as you know, the
work for the Lord, the work thatyou've put into all of the
effort, all of the energy to belike Christ, is not in vain.
(22:33):
Nc Wright says this.
He's talking about Paul'sletter to the corinthians.
He says the present flesh andblood will decay and die, but
god intends to create a worldand in jesus he has decisively
inaugurated the project in whichdecay and death are
accommodated, are notaccommodated, but defeated.
(22:56):
We shall be transformed.
It will happen in a flash, in agreat act of new creation,
echoing around the cosmos likethe blast of a great trumpet.
When this happens, the ancientstory which the Bible told in a
thousand different ways willcome true the story of creation
reaching its intended goal, thestory of enemies being defeated,
(23:19):
the story of God's victory, theCreator's victory over all the
forces of chaos and destruction.
Can we not agree?
We could all use a little lesschaos and destruction.
Seriously, this world, there'sso many things happening and it
(23:41):
feels so overwhelming, but thereis coming a moment in time that
Jesus is going to return andrestore everything exactly how
it was supposed to be Perfection.
Listen, you and I can't processthat.
I cannot understand perfect,because I've never experienced
(24:05):
perfect as good as things havebeen in my life.
I've never experiencedperfection.
Revelation 21, verses 1 through7, says this Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth, for thefirst heaven and the first earth
had passed away and there wasno longer any sea.
(24:27):
I saw the holy city, the newJerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as abride beautifully dressed for
her husband, and I heard a loudvoice from the throne saying
look, god's dwelling place isnow among the people and he will
dwell with them.
They will be his people and Godhimself will be with them and
(24:48):
be their God.
He will wipe away every tearfrom their eye.
There will be no more death ormourning, or crying or pain for
the old order of things haspassed away.
He who is seated on the thronesaid I am making everything new.
Then he said write this down,for these words are trustworthy
(25:11):
and true.
He said to me it is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will givewater without cost From the
spring of the water of life.
Those who are victorious willinherit all of this and I will
be their God and they will be mychildren.
And going back to Paul's letterto the Romans, in Romans 8, it
(25:34):
says that in Christ all of thisis accomplished.
For those of us who are inChrist, paul says in Romans 8,
chapter 18 through 25, Iconsider that our present
sufferings are not worthcomparing to the glory that will
be revealed in us, for thecreation waits an eager
(25:57):
expectation for the children ofGod to be revealed.
The creation was subjected tofrustration, not by its own
choice, but by the will of onewho subjected it in hope that
the creation itself will beliberated from its bondage to
decay and brought into thefreedom and the glory of
children of God.
We know that the whole creationhas been groaning as in the
(26:18):
pains of childbirth right up tothe present time.
Not only so, but we ourselves,through the firstfruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as wewait eagerly for our adoption of
the Sonship, the redemption ofour bodies, for in this hope we
are saved.
But hope that is seen is nohope at all.
Who hopes for what they alreadyhave?
But if we hope for what we donot yet have, we wait for it
(26:41):
patiently In Christ.
You and I still live in thisworld.
That's hard, because we stillhave to deal with the sin and
the disease and the sicknessthat's here in this place.
But in Christ we have somethingthat's coming that is going to
(27:06):
be perfection.
We have something that's comingthat is going to be perfection.
That is why we do what we do.
A place where death has nosting, a place where there's no
more mourning, no more crying,no more being hungry, no more
cancer, no more sickness, nomore children dying.
(27:27):
None of it, none of it, none ofit will exist in the place that
is coming.
And Paul says to this church inCorinth, and he says it to us.
So stand firm in what you aredoing, because everything you're
doing for the Lord is not invain.
(27:48):
Living for Jesus will neverreturn empty.
Giving your life to Christ willnever not be worth it.
Because even in this life wherewe struggle, there's something
that is coming that's going tochange everything a new creation
, a new transformation that iscoming, that's going to change
(28:11):
everything.
A new creation, a newtransformation.
That church is what we stand on, because if Christ is not
resurrected, then none of thismatters.
But if he is, it changeseverything.
It means that death willsomeday not be a burden for us.
It means that someday we willbe back in the presence of God.
(28:38):
I was thinking about this thisweek and there's nothing in the
text about it.
But if you go back to Genesis,when Adam and Eve were walking
in the garden and God gives themstipulation, you can have
everything you need, but don'ttouch this.
And they did.
They ate of the fruit.
(29:00):
They were deceived, and thensin entered into the picture.
They were kicked out of thegarden, toil became hard Work
became hard Labor and childbirthpains became common for women.
I mean that alone I'd be likethat's not right.
Right, but I always wondered ifthere was ever a moment when
(29:23):
Adam and Eve were together.
Were they ever in a moment ofquietness?
They're like oh man, I misswhat we had.
I wonder, if they wrestle withthat, if I could just go back
and not do what we did becausewe had no idea what was coming.
And then you see generationafter generation suffers,
(29:45):
generation suffers.
They lose a child to murder byhis own brother, and you see
Israel suffer again and again.
And all of this comes becauseof that moment where they
decided that they knew betterthan God.
And then you get to the NewTestament.
(30:05):
Jesus comes in.
He's healing people.
He's healing people, he'steaching people and ultimately
he finds Himself dying on across.
He dies, he's buried, he'sresurrected, and then he offers
that resurrection, and that samepower of the Holy Spirit that
raised Him from the dead is thesame power for those who believe
and give their life to Him.
And so I sit here and I wonderin this moment how many people
(30:29):
get to the end of their life andthey think, man, I just wish I
would have followed Jesus.
I wish I would have made thatdecision, I wish I would have
given my life to Him, but forwhatever reason, I waited.
That's the beauty of this isyou don't have to wait.
You don't have to wait untilyou're at death's door to give
(30:52):
your life to Jesus.
The sacrifice, the resurrection, the salvation comes now, today
.
It's here, it's available, andfor those of us who have
accepted it and have beenbaptized into Christ and we've
talked about this and Paul talksabout this in Romans 6,.
Paul says that just in the sameway that you were baptized into
Jesus' death, you experiencedJesus' life, and not only in
(31:14):
this world.
Not only am I being transformednow and things are changing for
me, but I look forward to theday that I die, that when I die
and my eyes close for the lasttime and I open them, it's going
to be perfection.
For me, and I've said thisbefore the only thing I can take
into heaven with me are thepeople who I love.
(31:35):
That's it.
Nothing else is going with me.
But if I can get them to acceptChrist, if I can get them to
see just how important he is, ifI can get them to understand
that His resurrection was realand that he overcame death, then
they will get to experience theexact same thing I do when I
die.
I don't fear death, because Iknow death is not my end.
(32:01):
Church, when Paul is talking tous, he says stand firm in
everything that you're doingbecause the resurrection of
Christ has happened and it's inthat truth that we do everything
(32:22):
on.
Therefore, go into all theworld, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, son and theHoly Spirit and teaching them
everything that I have taughtyou.
Therefore, be transformed bythe renewing of your mind.
Therefore, stand firm, becauseeverything we do at the end of
(32:44):
this life, you and I win becauseGod already did end of this
life.
You and I win because Godalready did.
Someone asked me one time togive them an abridged version of
the book of Revelation.
If you've ever studiedRevelation, it's complicated.
There's a lot of imagery there.
Here's how I view Revelation.
(33:04):
God's won, so do we.
That's what we stand for.
There's coming a day when wedie, when Jesus comes back.
New creation, new heaven, newearth, and all of that is
available for those who will puttheir faith and trust in the
one who resurrected from thedead.
So why do we do what we do?
(33:27):
Because I want heaven to befull, all right.
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