It All Rides on the Resurrection

Day 1

12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?
1 CORINTHIANS 15:12 (CSB)

Commentary

It's made clear in this verse that some in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. If we look back to verses 1-4 and verse 11, we see Paul stating that they had believed the Gospel that he and the others had preached. So this is to say that these likely had salvation, believing in Jesus' resurrection, but not in the promise that all believers will be resurrected to eternal life.

1Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand2and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you ​— ​unless you believed in vain.3For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-4 (CSB)

11Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:11 (CSB)

Somewhere along the way, they were either taught by unstable teachers or brought with them their own understanding due to lack of spiritual maturity and/or influence from the culture.

Consider in our time how much secular science influences some Christians’ understanding of God's creation days in Genesis or how Christian cults twist Scripture to fit their desires. If you're not reading and studying Scripture regularly, you're going to fall into these traps.

While the Gospel message must be believed for salvation, other doctrines can be debated. However, when Scripture clearly teaches on a subject, it would be foolishness to deny yourself that wonderful and joyful knowledge. It could even be spiritually dangerous if it's tied into the Gospel as we're going to see Paul explain.

Soul Search

Is there anything in Scripture that I have trouble believing? Have I ask the Lord to help me understand?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, may I be looking to Your Spirit daily to guide me through Your Word. That I may be well-fed and well-taught, not ignorant of these wonderful things which You have promised Your children. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 2

13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. 15Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ ​— ​whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised.16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.18Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:13-18 (CSB)

Commentary

By the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul rebukes their way of thinking on this matter. Demonstrating that resurrection is central to Christianity. Scripture clearly teaches it throughout the Old and New Testaments.

25But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end he will stand on the dust.26Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh.27I will see him myself; my eyes will look at him, and not as a stranger. My heart longs within me.
JOB 19:25-27 (CSB)

20You caused me to experience many troubles and misfortunes, but you will revive me again. You will bring me up again, even from the depths of the earth.
PSALMS 71:20 (CSB)

2Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt.
DANIEL 12:2 (CSB)

31Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God:32I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
MATTHEW 22:31-32 (CSB)

25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.
JOHN 11:25 (CSB)

As Paul argues, if there is no resurrection, then Jesus wasn't resurrected, and if so, then our faith is worthless, and there is no hope for anything.

You see how this could ruin the joy of a believer? When we fail to learn from the Bible, we miss out on important details and understanding. Instead, we start to rely on what others say about Bible doctrine. People make mistakes, some purposefully mislead. Ninety-five percent truth mixed with five percent lies is just as, if not more dangerous, than a flat-out lie.

This ignorance toward the doctrine of resurrection is so dangerous that it could upend the Gospel message in a person's mind.

Soul Search

Does the thought of being resurrected into a body with no pain or death bring me joy?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Your plan is perfect and You have revealed it to anyone who will seek to know about it. May my joy always be complete in You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 3

19If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:19 (CSB)

Commentary

Verse 19 is a bold and brutally honest statement. How insignificant would Jesus' death be if it were only to give us some kind of better life now? In fact, many believers don't have better lives — by the world's standards — but instead are dealing with persecution they once didn't, because of their faith in Jesus.

If God sent His only Son to the earth for these measly 70-80 years of life alone, how hopeless would that be? This world is perishing, and God promises a new creation for us to eternally live in.

11Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness12as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.13But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
2 PETER 3:11-13 (CSB)

Many Jews of Jesus' day did not believe because they were hung up on the idea that He was supposed to free them from Roman rule and take up His throne in Jerusalem. What they failed to do was understand Scripture. Had they had paid attention to what God revealed to the prophets, they'd have known Jesus would come once to die for our sin, then a second time to be King over the earth.

The best promises of God are not for now, but are for our eternity with Him. This fallen world would only serve to cheapen those wonderful things if they were meant for the here and now. As Paul states in the following passage, if there is no resurrection, then we may as well live it up and indulge ourselves in everything we desire.

31I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”34Come to your senses and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:31-34 (CSB)

Soul Search

Have I ever been too engaged in trying to make this life the best, rather than looking to the joy of eternity?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I know that You want good for me. May I understand that in this life there is a lot of bad, and things won’t always be as I’d like. But that You are with me always, until the end, seeing me through. That resurrection into eternity with You is my true and awesome reward. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 4

20But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.22For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.23But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-23 (CSB)

Commentary

Just as Adam was our forerunner into sin and death, Jesus is our forerunner into righteousness and eternal life. Scripture tells us that when we're resurrected and perfected at the catching away of the Church, we will be like Jesus, because we will be able to see Him as He is. (1 John 3:2)

In human flesh, Jesus destroyed our sin and the death sentence that was upon us. He has made the way to eternal life, and it all goes through Him alone.

He is the resurrection and the life, and so we have such a tremendous hope for the future. Why do you think the enemy comes in with falsehoods against this? Because the promise of resurrection to eternal life is our greatest hope.

51Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.53For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.54When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.55Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-58 (CSB)

Soul Search

Am I staying grounded in God’s Word, so that I can tell people of the hope of Christ?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me the love and courage to stand boldly on Your Word, not veering off to the left or to the right, but always staying grounded in the Truth that You have revealed to us. May my light shine brightly the hope that is found in Christ Jesus. It’s in His name, I pray. Amen

Day 5

24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.25For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet.26The last enemy to be abolished is death.27For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception.28When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:24-28 (CSB)

Commentary

This isn't new knowledge. Paul is reiterating what Old Testament Scripture already clearly teaches. One only needs to read the breadth of the Bible to see all these things revealed. The New Testament serves to clarify and solidify what God has already revealed to those who will let the Holy Spirit guide them through His Word.

1This is the declaration of the LORD to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
PSALMS 110:1 (CSB)

2in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
TITUS 1:2 (CSB)

At the time of writing this epistle, the book of Revelation had not been given to John. So the Holy Spirit would reveal or provide more detail on the future events through the Apostles.

However, you and I have the full and complete canon of Scripture. Just like Paul did here, we too can take doubters through the Word and to the end. There is no more revelation from God, so taking people to the end of what Scripture teaches makes clear the message of hope the believer has in Jesus.

The doctrine of resurrection is clearly taught in the Old Testament and is reinforced in the New, with the last book of the Bible — Revelation — continuing to teach on the subject.

6Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
REVELATION 20:6 (CSB)

As we study Scripture, we learn that the resurrection of the believers who died in the Tribulation, along with those who were resurrected prior in the snatching away (Rapture) of the Church are part of the first resurrection, the resurrection to eternal life in Christ.

Don't let anyone rob you of your hope and joy with messed up teaching from the pit of Hell nor allow yourself to become ignorant to the Word of God. I encourage you to read through the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 15, which is all about our resurrection in Christ.

Soul Search

When the world tries to destroy my belief, am I staying focused on Jesus?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for this wonderful gift of eternal life, which You died for. You defeated my death sentence so that I can be with You for eternity. Help me keep my focus on You as this world attempts to grind away at my faith more and more as we approach Your return. In Your mighty name, I pray. Amen