The Hope of Easter: New Creation, New Life!
I Corinthians 15:20-26
Introduction: In the mid-third century
Cyprian of Carthage wrote in a letter,
This seems a cheerful
world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden, under the shadow of these
vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the wide lands,
you know very well what I would see–brigands on the high roads, pirates on the
seas; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please applauding crowds; under all
roofs misery and selfishness.
It is really a bad world, Donatus, an
incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst
of it I have found a quiet and holy people.
They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any
pleasures of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care
not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians —
and I am one of them.
The
effects of the Fall are all around us, but our sure hope gives joy for the
journey! Question: Is the hope believers have reasonable, or is it just wishful
thinking? After all, there is so much suffering in this life, and believers are
clearly not exempt (just look at our prayer list if you have any doubts!). Even
so, we have hope, even so, we trust Him. Why? Because Jesus is Lord, and our
hope is based on history and anchored in the faith that God is in control and
that He will bring His story to pass
as He has promised. One over-arching theme of Scripture is that God is
good, and the Bible reveals His steadfast commitment to bring His design in
Creation to pass.
Paul began this great 15th chapter of First Corinthians by talking
about the Good News about Jesus and the historical witness to His resurrection (1-11).
The believers in Corinth believed this, it was at the heart of the gospel Paul preached
to them, but they were apparently struggling with the idea of a future
resurrection for believers. Greek philosophy saw the body as inherently evil
and the physical world as something from which we needed to be delivered. We often
are just like the Corinthians in this sense. We talk about “heaven” but we
seemingly forget the hope of a future resurrection and the new life for which we
were created in the New Earth. Jesus’ resurrection is the guarantee of the promise
of our future resurrection!
“But in fact Christ has been raised…” The promise of resurrection
and New Life is our hope, and that hope empowers us to live joyfully now as
pilgrims in a fallen world. It means we can live victoriously today, in this life,
enjoying the blessings God gives us now—“just
a foretaste of glory divine”—knowing the best is yet to come!
The present age is
Eastertime! It began with the resurrection of the Redeemer, and will culminate
in the resurrection of the redeemed and the restoration of all things. Between
is the spiritual resurrection of all who have been called into new life through
faith in Christ. So we live between two Easters, and in the power of the first
Easter we look toward the last Easter! (Erich
Sauer, Triumph of the Crucified.)
The Maine* Idea: The Resurrection of
Jesus gives us a firm foundation for our faith and a sure hope for our future.
Because He lives all fear is gone!
I.
Resurrection Faith: Jesus’ victory over death is the foundation of our faith
(20,21). The tomb is empty, He is alive! Herman Bavinck’s systematic theology
is titled in its English translation, Our Reasonable Faith. Our
faith is reasonable, because it is based on the irrefutable historical fact of
the resurrection of Jesus!
20 But in fact
Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has
come also the resurrection of the dead…
Paul begins this paragraph answering the
hypothetical questions he asked in the preceding context (15:12-19). He
said there that IF Christ is not raised, IF the
resurrection never happened and tomb wasn’t empty, THEN our faith would be
useless, we would still be dead in our sins. The false teachers in Corinth struggled
with the idea of the resurrection. Sound familiar? Many today question the historicity of the
resurrection. If the resurrection is not true, we have no hope. IF! But,
as 15:1-11 shows emphatically, He is alive! Verse 20
states forcefully, “But now Christ HAS BEEN raised from the dead…” The ESV
translates, “BUT IN FACT Christ has been raised…” That is Paul’s
point here: the resurrection is a fact of history (as Ignatius
proclaimed in a letter, heading to his execution, in AD 107, just a few years
after the death of the last of the apostles). The eyewitnesses in the
Biblical record, and also those from the end of the apostolic era, people like
Ignatius, who spoke to the eyewitnesses of the resurrection, all of this is
compelling testimony that would be convincing proof in a court of law.
In the first 11 verses of I Corinthians 15 Paul presents powerful eyewitness
testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. Remember the apostles in the days
before Jesus arose. They were scattered when the Lord was arrested in the
Garden. Peter three times denied that he even knew Jesus! And then after the
resurrection these same men stood before the crowds and the authorities and
preached boldly that He is Lord, and that He had risen from the dead.
When arrested, threatened, imprisoned, and beaten, they said they could not
stop preaching what they had seen and knew. They were eyewitnesses! How do
you explain that transformation? The only reasonable explanation is
that they spoke what they knew to be true, they had seen the resurrected
Jesus! As Ignatius said, “These are facts of history!”
In I Corinthians 15:6, “Then he appeared to more than five hundred
brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen
asleep…” Do you see what Paul is saying? He is saying, “I am a
witness, as are the other apostles, but there are also hundreds of others who
saw the resurrected Jesus.” As he is writing this letter he says, some have
died, but most were still alive. “If you doubt me, if you still need to be
convinced, talk to them, ask them if this is true!” “But now Christ HAS
been raised from the dead...” The tomb is empty, Jesus is alive!
Note too that Paul is also pointing out the humanity of Jesus, “For as by
a man came death, by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead...” (I Cor 15:21). We need a
balanced, biblical understanding of who Jesus is. The Eternal Word, God the
Son, did not just appear to be human.
He actually took upon himself a human nature. Why would He do that? As Adam
sinned, and as the representative head of the race brought all humanity under
the curse, so also Jesus, the last “Adam,” did not sin, he
said “NO!” to the tempter and “Yes” to the Father, so that all who trust in
Him, all who are “in Christ,” have forgiveness and new life. Such
grace, such love, for God to become a man, knowing exactly what would
happen, what had to happen for the Father’s plan to be
fulfilled. And he did it! Hallelujah! And so, He has been raised from the dead
and became...
“…the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…” (I Cor
15:20,23). In the Old Testament, the first part of the harvest, called the
firstfruits, was set apart and given as an offering to the Lord. It
was part of the harvest and connected with it in that sense. It guaranteed that
the rest of the harvest would follow. Jesus’ resurrection is connected
here with the future resurrection of believers. As certainly as Jesus was
raised from the dead, so also the rest of the harvest will follow. That
is talking about us, and every other person throughout history who has
trusted in Him!
“For as by a man came death, by a man has come
also the resurrection of the dead…” It doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to recognize that all is not right in the world. We pick up the
newspaper and immediately we read about the chaos and suffering in so many
places and so many lives. We are constantly reminded that hurting people are
all around us—and believers in Jesus are by no means exempt from that. It
all started with Adam and Eve. Paul said in Romans, “By one man sin
entered into the world and death through sin, and death spread to all men
because all have sinned…” It wasn’t that way in the beginning. God
created the universe and called it “good.” Humans were uniquely made in the
image of God, the pinnacle of God’s good creation. But then Adam sinned, and
the consequences of his fall have been passed down through the ages to every
human. This is part of the reason it was necessary for Jesus to come in
human flesh. Eternal God took upon himself a human nature so that he
could be our substitute. Tested and tempted, yet without sin, He bore our sins
in His body on the Cross. But Jesus did not stay dead, the tomb could
not hold him, he arose! The resurrection of the Redeemer, the firstfruits
of the resurrection harvest, is the basis of our hope as we live in that
victory now, and look ahead to the resurrection of the REDEEMED… The
Resurrection of Jesus gives us a firm foundation for our faith and a sure hope
for our future. Because He lives all fear is gone! Our “Resurrection Faith,” leads
to our...
II.
Resurrection Hope: In the power of the first Easter we go to meet the last
Easter! That is our hope, and it is expressed here in two phases. First, we
hope in…
The Resurrection of the
Redeemed (22,23). In Christ we will be made alive!
22 For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But
each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who
belong to Christ.
For as in Adam all die… Adam sinned as the first
man, the representative head of the human race, and all of his descendants by
birth and by choice are sinners. That includes us. There is none righteous, no not one. There are none that seek after God... All
have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:10,23). Paul wrote,
And you were dead in the
trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,
following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the
air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- 3 among
whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the
desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like
the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:1-3).
That
is the doctrine of “total depravity.” It doesn’t mean that we were as bad as we
could possibly be. It does mean that every part of our being is affected by
sin, our heart, our motives, our mind, all of it is fallen. Consequently, there is none who do good, no not one. There
are none who seek after God. That is a problem that we could not solve on
our own. In Adam all die. The wages of sin is death. That is why our
mission is so urgent. Every person in our sphere of influence, everyone in your
oikos, your extended family, is
either saved, or in darkness. That is not popular theology, but it is the
truth. We are His witnesses! So we must step up, and step out!
Popular “theology” would say, I am ok, you are ok. We all worship the same god,
we just call him by different names. People are basically good. Biblically,
apart from faith in Jesus, the only way to the Father, the only name under
heaven by which we must be saved, apart from Him every human is lost,
condemned, and headed toward hell. That is the human condition. We would have
no hope. “BUT GOD...” He didn’t leave us in our hopeless state. He made
a Way where there was no way.
The consequences of living in a fallen world are all around us. I’ve shared
before the story of my Hebrew professor, Al Groves, who died of melanoma that
metastasized to his brain. He blogged over his last months, sharing the lessons
God was teaching him and his family on the journey. His wife, Libby, wrote a
book about the experience called Grief Undone: A Journey with God and Cancer.
She wrote,
“God hates death even more than
we do. That’s part of the reason Jesus came. The wonderful news for us is that
Jesus broke death’s power by dying and rising from the dead. He did it not only
for Himself but also for all who are united to Him...”
He showed His love by coming to die. Adam
brought death to all; Jesus brings life, and the resurrection to true life,
to all who are His, all who believe. That is good news. It
means we are included in his story if we know Him. The present age
is Eastertime! It began with the resurrection of the Redeemer, and will
culminate in the resurrection of the redeemed... So, we live between two Easters, and in the
power of the first Easter we look toward the last Easter!
Secondly, our hope looks for the
Restoration of all Things (24-26). The Gaither song says,
“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone…”
24 Then comes the end, when
he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every
authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he
has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last
enemy to be destroyed is death.
God’s creation was all good in the beginning –
human rebellion brought sin and death. Finally, the day will come when sin will
be no more, and the rule of God will restore Creation to what it was designed
it to be, to the glory of God. When you read about the Garden of Eden
before the Fall, and then turn to the end of the Book of Revelation, you can’t
miss the idea that God will bring His design in creation to pass. And it is not
that we go to heaven forever living in a place that is all white like Flo in a Progressive
Insurance commercial! No, heaven comes to earth! Read Revelation 21:1-5,
Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from
the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will
dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them
as their God. 4 He will wipe
away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have
passed away." 5 And he
who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."
It is
not that we go to heaven forever to be with God, God brings heaven to earth,
and He restores everything to be the way He intended it in Creation, before the
Fall, when He said it was all “good.” That is the “big story,” and it is good
news!
There is a sense in which the kingdom is already
present, and yet we await the day when God’s rule will be established over all
– a day when God himself will wipe away our tears – and there will be no more
sin, no more sorrow, no more death. We live, now, in anticipation of the
fulfillment of that promise. Dallas Willard said,
Those who have apprenticed
themselves to Jesus learn an undying life with a future as good and as large as
God himself. The experiences we have of this life as his co-conspirators now
fill us with anticipation of a future so full of beauty and goodness we can
hardly imagine… (The Divine Conspiracy P.375).
Yes,
“The suffering of this present age is not worthy to be compared to the glory
that will be revealed in us...” That day is still future,
but it is not in doubt! As surely as the tomb is empty our hope is sure in
Jesus. “The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God…” (Gal 2:20). He’s alive! So, in the power of the first Easter,
His resurrection, we go to meet the last Easter, the sure promise of our resurrection.
What
is God saying to me in this passage? We have a
“resurrection faith” based on the historical truth that Jesus died and rose
again. We have a resurrection Hope because His victory over death means our
victory is certain. The Resurrection of Jesus gives us a firm foundation for
our faith and a sure hope for our future. Because He lives all fear is gone!
What
would God have me to do in this passage? The evidence is clear: Jesus
is alive. The truth that He conquered death leaves no doubt that He is
who he claimed to be, and it assures us that He can do what He promised to
do. Paul invites us in Romans 10:9,10 to respond, “Confess with your
mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, and you will be saved.” There are no questions, no doubts, no “ifs”
in that statement. That is God’s promise to you!
Perhaps you have believed and received the gift of salvation, and yet the truth
is that you are so overwhelmed by the trials in your life or in the lives of
those around you that you feel hope-less. It is true that as we
read in Romans 8:22 “For we know that the whole creation
groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” But the gospel
means Hope! Our resurrection faith points through the darkness and pain,
through the veil of tears, to the end of this story, to our sure hope: Because
He lives, we will live also! That is not wishful thinking; it is a promise,
from God himself.
We struggle, but we are not defeated. We
mourn, but not as those who have no hope. We are discouraged, but we don’t despair.
Paul reflected our hope when he wrote, “The suffering of this present age is
not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us.” The
present age began with the resurrection of the Redeemer, and it will end in the
resurrection of the redeemed… in the power of the first Easter, we go to meet
the last Easter. If you have trusted in Jesus, the same power that raised
Him from the dead is at work in you! “If the Spirit of him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you…”
(Romans 8:11). That is your sure hope if you know Him! Think
about that! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! In Him we have a blessed hope! AMEN.
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