1 Corinthians 15:50–58

 1 Corinthians 15:50–58

This passage is one of the mountain vistas of scriptures. It is a beautiful, hopeful, and powerful description of what we have in the resurrection. Paul is setting the picture of the resurrection to counter the false teachers who were saying there wasn’t a resurrection; see verse 12. The Greek understanding of the afterlife was profoundly dispiriting. The Greek mythology that likely inflamed and motivated the false teachers saw the afterlife as an existence, but only barely. It was an existence of shadow, powerlessness, madness, and frustrated anger. In this existence there was the shell of a person with all of their vitality, joy, and beauty removed. Paul holds up the magnificent picture of our resurrection as a reminder of our future.

Living or dead when Christ returns we will be changed. Rather than the degrading Greek mythology offered, we will be amplified and enhanced in Christ’s return. Rather than disembodied spirits floating around or shadows and wraiths, we will become more of who we are. The mortal life that is over and finished is covered by, overwhelmed by, an undying immortal life. That which decays is embraced by that which cannot decay; that is our future. Sin and resulting death that have been our terrors since the fall are utterly powerless. Death and sin, rather than monsters, are seen as powerless as a scorpion with no stinger, like a bandit suddenly so weak he cannot stand and his weapon not a sword but rather a rotten thread.

Why turn to follow these teachers that will tell you that you will be degraded into nothing when the truth is that in the resurrection you will throw off every weakness and frailty? We will regain everything that was lost in the Garden of Eden and gain even more. Death, rather than intimidating us, is in fact overwhelmed by the resurrected saint. Less powerful than a boring, mindless tyrant, it’s hardly worth noticing.

Paul concludes with a practical application of this amazing truth. He tells us to be steadfast; this is from the word “to be seated”; be at home in the truth. Next we are to be immovable; don’t relocate. We do not need a theological or spiritual moving van. Then he adds “abounding” in the work of the Lord. The word abounding means “overflowing to exceed the ordinary or expected.” Because our work in the Lord is of eternal significance, it is not building a shadow life to come but a real life.

“Lord help me to live and serve in the hope of the resurrection. AMEN”

1 Corinthians 15:29-49

 1 Corinthians 15:29-49

There had apparently been teachers at Corinth that taught that there was no resurrection. They had reduced Christianity to the level of one of the Greek philosophies. Sometimes we hear things that seem wise, profound, and insightful, and we drift toward these things. But when confronted with a counter perspective, we find those arguments are a little more than dust in the wind. 

Paul calls us to the belief in the resurrection with three arguments. First, there is in all humanity a haunting of the afterlife. The only alternative to believing in the resurrection is radical and extreme atheism and an absolute denial that we are anything more than evolved beasts. Belief in some sort of afterlife is nearly universal in man. In verse 29 Paul refers to a splinter group that baptized for the dead. While not an Orthodox group, Paul acknowledges that even these confused people believe in the afterlife. Paul’s life was so driven by the idea of the resurrection that it shaped everything about him. The hardship of the work, the glory of leading people to Christ, and the planting of churches were all about and driven by the resurrection. If there is no resurrection, then the reasonable thing to do is to live a life of ultimate selfish fulfillment. Hard on the heels of saying this, Paul quotes the Greek playwright, “Bad company corrupts good character.” We typically use this to warn children or friends about their bad friends. This is true, but what Paul is saying here is if you keep allowing these false teachers to influence you, it will ruin the church and all of its parts.

No doubt these false teachers had cynically said something like, “So you will have a resurrected body and will have bellies but no eating; you’ll have sex organs and no marriage. Oh, you are in for a grand time.” Paul responds to their unstated question with, “Boy, you clowns are dumb. The difference between a seed and a plant, an acorn and a great oak tree, the difference between a fish and a man, between the sun, moon, and stars, is nothing compared to the difference between our physical bodies and our resurrected self”. The false teacher’s failure didn’t come from the questions of the resurrection being too big or too hard. It came because their understanding of God was too small. That condition had even crept into the church. And in verse 34 Paul rebukes it harshly. Paul’s solution to the problem and question with the resurrection was to stop being stupid and send them to look to the power of God and the marvel of the incarnation. The false teachers thought that God was too small. The problem is entirely theirs.

“Lord, give me the wisdom to trust You. AMEN”

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

 1 Corinthians 15:20-28

Paul has been arguing for the belief in the resurrection. In this passage he links the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to resurrection at the end of time. It is interesting that some people will look to the end or have some picture of a paradise in the future without linking it to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. There is no future bliss unless it grows out of the historical past event of His resurrection.

Paul makes three points that are profound but so subtle that if we are not careful, we will miss them. First, Jesus is described as the ‘first fruits.’ This phrase refers to the first offering of the year’s produce. It was an expression of thanks but also a request for much more, for a great harvest. There needs to be a hope-filled expectation of many ‘little Christs’ to come. This is an indirect call to evangelism. However, first fruits carried another implication. It was seen as a sort of entrance fee or cover charge. The meaning here is that without being part of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, we are barred from admission. So how do we participate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ?

There is a military word that is used in verse 23 that has great implications for us. We see, “each in his own order, Christ the first fruits…”. The word ‘order’ is only used here in the NT and refers to a military formation. Those who march behind their commander are like him. In the rank and file of a formation, there is a certain uniformity. The implication here is that we are like Christ; by our conversion, we are remade and express the likeness of Christ. Military formations are not the place for self-expression.

The third implication of the resurrection is the transfer of the Kingdom. We are told that Christ’s Kingdom shall have no end, and here we are told that Jesus will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father after all contrary authority and powers have been abolished. Here is our point: it is all about God. We are moving toward His fully and directly expressing  His love for us. This love is expressed in the consummation of all things at the end of the ages. It is unhindered and unveiled by time, sin, death, or distraction. But ultimately all things, and the love He has for us, is that in no way is it about us; it is only about Him. 

“Lord, help me to pattern my life after Christ because of the resurrection. AMEN”

1 Corinthians 15:1-19

 1 Corinthians 15:1-19

The church at Corinth was deeply divided, and as a result, they were susceptible to the deadly attack of the enemy by means of the denial of the resurrection of Christ. The Corinthians had heard, received, and taken their stand in the saving message of the resurrection. But now they were apparently leaving, or were about to leave, the faith having “believed in vain.” In verse three Paul begins to outline the single core and most important foundational doctrines of the faith, what is “of first importance.” If we could only have one passage of scripture, this would not be a bad choice. He presents the fact of the death, burial, and resurrection, showing it was the eternal intent of God by the statement “according to the Scriptures.” Paul talks about our salvation by reference to Jesus‘s death for our sins. Verses three and four are a near complete picture of the gospel. But Paul is not just telling a story; he is relating history, and he offers a diverse group of witnesses to the fact of the resurrection.

Having addressed the historical fact, Paul points to the idiocy of a resurrection-less faith. Both Sadducees and various Greek philosophers rejected the possibility of any resurrection. They taught that the only reality for man is material; you see, materialism is no new ideal. If there is no resurrection, then not even Jesus has been resurrected. If that were true, then the list of disasters is almost endless. Paul begins pointing out various disasters associated with a resurrection-less religion. Number one: faith is worthless, and we are guilty and worthy of wrath because we are still in our sin. Number two, the dead have perished; they may exist no more. The best the Greeks had to offer was an existence of ghost-likeness as a ghost in the gloom of the underworld. But they are certainly not alive in a vibrant sense. Point of fact, atheism is more comforting than a resurrection-less Christianity.

There is no doubt that Christianity is the best worldview for a strong moral ethic by which we can live. But the cost of being a disciple is so high that if it is lived faithfully, it is too expensive a price to pay for just a good moral life. To be a disciple means persecution and a level of sacrifice too great for any earthly reward. If there is no resurrection life to be enjoyed, then it would be wiser to satisfy the passions and pleasures of this life and pursue hedonism or epicurean philosophies. But the hope of the resurrection is so great that it makes any sacrifice a fantastic bargain.

“Lord, thank You for the hope of the resurrection. AMEN”

Bonus Devotion coming out in an hour