The Resurrection of Jesus Means our Hope is Certain!
I Corinthians 15:20-26
Introduction:
This week has been a bit of a roller coaster. We had been reveling these past
days in the answer to prayer that Ava and Hanna referred to last week – their class,
and many Christians around the world, had been praying for the safe release of
Pastor Saeed Abedini from an Iranian prison. Praise the Lord he is free and
reunited with his family! Then we got the news of two year old Noah Chamberlain
who was missing in TN, his father and grandfather members of the “Soldiers of
Christ” motorcycle ministry that our own Herb and Fay Murphy are involved with.
For a week prayers went up, and then the heartbreaking news, the little guy was
found dead. Only two years old. There is so much suffering in this life, are
believers are certainly not exempt! Sometimes our prayers are answered the way
we would like, and sometimes it is evident that God has another plan, a
different path for us to walk. This week I came across a letter that Pastor
Saeed Abedini had written from the Iranian prison where he was being held. It
was back in September on the occasion of his daughter’s eighth birthday. She
had been praying for his release, and she was apparently feeling discouraged
that the answer had not yet come. This is an excerpt from the letter, and
listen to the faith and the hope that it expresses as he is teaching his
daughter...
...Now
there is a big WHY In your mind you are asking: WHY Jesus isn’t answering your
prayers and the prayers of all of the people around the world praying for my
release and for me to be home with you and our family. The answer to the WHY is WHO. WHO is control?
LORD JESUS CHRIST is in control.
I
desire for you to learn important lessons during these trying times. Lessons
that you carry now and for the rest of your life. The answer to the WHY is WHO.
The confusion of “WHY has all of this happened?” and “WHY your prayers are not
answered yet” is resolved with understanding WHO is in control…LORD JESUS
CHRIST, our GOD!
God is
in control of the whole world and everything that is happening in it is for
His good purpose, for His glory, and will be worked out for our good
(Romans 8:28). Jesus allows me to be kept here for His glory. He is doing
something inside each of us and also outside in the world. People die and
suffer for their Christian faith all over the world and some may wonder why?
But you should know the answer of WHY is WHO. It is for Jesus. He is worth the
price. And He has a plan to be glorified through our lives.
Jesus is Lord, and our hope is based on history and anchored in the faith
that God will bring His story to pass as He has promised. It could be
argued that the over-arching theme of Scripture is that God is good, and the
Bible reveals His steadfast commitment to bring His design in Creation to
fruition.
Paul began this chapter of First Corinthians by talking about the
historical witness to the resurrection of Jesus (1-11). The Corinthians
believed this, it was at the heart of the gospel Paul had preached to them, but
they were apparently struggling with the idea of a future resurrection for
believers. Paul makes the point in 15:12-20
that if we deny the resurrection of believers we are denying the resurrection
of Jesus, and if Jesus is not raised, then we have no hope, we are still in our
sins, we are of all humans the most pitiable.
The passage we’ll look at today, starting in I Corinthians 15:20,
says that that “hypothetical” is dead because Jesus is NOT dead, the tomb is
empty, He is alive!
“But in fact Christ has
been raised…” Paul wants the Corinthians to see the connection between what
they have believed, the resurrection of Jesus, and what they must
understand, that Jesus’ resurrection means we too will be raised to life. That
also means we can live victoriously today, in this life. The truth in
this passage was stated beautifully by Erich Sauer, in his classic book, The Triumph of the Crucified…
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: We have reason for optimism, be encouraged! 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 began this paragraph answering the
hypothetical questions he asked in the preceding context (15:12-19). IF Christ is not raised, IF the resurrection never happened and
tomb wasn’t empty our faith would be useless, we would still be dead in our
sins. The false teachers in Corinth who struggled with the idea of the
resurrection were not the only ones who had such doubts. One of the most
influential 20th century New Testament scholars, Rudolf Bultmann,
said, “An historical fact that involves a
resurrection from the dead is utterly inconceivable!” Where does that leave
us but in despair, if there is no resurrection! IF! But, as 15:1-11 shows emphatically, He is
alive! Verse 20 states emphatically,
“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 His letter
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 present convincing evidence in a court of law. That is the point that
Paul was making in the opening of I Corinthians 15.
Read
through the first 11 verses and consider the powerful eyewitness testimony
toward which he is pointing. Remember the apostles in the days before the
resurrection. They were scattered when Jesus 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, 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!”
Notice back
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...”
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? 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.
We talk about the incarnation during the Christmas season but it is a
doctrine that should overwhelm us every day – 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 through 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 the most
astute observer 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. Just looking at our prayer list reminds us 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 didn’t start that way. God created the
universe and called it “good.” Humans were uniquely made in the image of God,
the pinnacle of God’s good creation. 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 rose
again! 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! We have a “Resurrection
Faith,” which 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,
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 representative head of the human race, and all of his progeny
after him 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). Listen
to Paul as he describes the human condition apart from Christ in his letter to
the Ephesians...
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 (Eph.
2:1-3).
That is the doctrine of “total depravity.” It
doesn’t mean that we are as bad as we can 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 does good, no not one. There are
none who seek after God. That is a problem, a problem that we could not solve
on our own. In Adam all die. The wages of sin is death. That reminds us why our mission is so urgent.
Every person in our sphere of influence, every one that we will talk to or pass on the street this week, is
either saved, or in darkness. We are called to bring the Light!
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 given
among men 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 did not
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.” This month in Tabletalk she wrote this,
“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...” (Heb 2:14-15).
Adam
brought death to every human being; Jesus brings life, and the resurrection
of 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 and the
restoration of all things... 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
for creation to pass. That is the “big story,” or as we’ve been calling it, the
Maine idea of the Bible. 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? Have you personally
responded to the truth that Jesus is alive?
The truth that He conquered death in His resurrection 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.
This week
an acquaintance of ours, he attended a small group we led in a church we stayed
at when we were on furlough from our mission, went to be with the Lord after a
year long battle with brain cancer. Some
of you had been praying for Charlie. He left behind his wife and five children.
One of his adult daughters wrote this,
There are so many
questions I have that I will never know the answer to this side of Heaven.
However, there are things that I KNOW without doubt that bring me comfort and
peace:
When I
was a girl, and life did not treat me kindly; was harsh, unfair, disappointing,
heartbreaking and painful... I would find my Daddy. I would sit in his lap and
press into his embrace. There I felt his warmth, his familiar scent, the
protection and security of his strong arms and his deep deep love for me. As he
shared my heartbreak, be gave me his strength.
In the same way, as
children of the Most High God.... in this season of intense grief and heartache
and so many "whys"...I press into my Savior, knowing that there I
find unconditional love, safety, security and compassion. He has suffered more
for me than I will ever experience. As believers, we suffer. That is a
guarantee. I look at everyone in scripture....and I see their suffering. Should
I expect to be any different? Be angry, be heartbroken, be confused, be sad,
feel however you feel.....but press in to the embrace of God. Gather strength
and comfort from the only ONE who can do all things...
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. Why? As
Pastor Abedini said in his letter to his daughter, the answer to “why?” is “who?”
Jesus Christ is Lord. As Charlie’s daughter reminds us, press into Abba’s
embrace. Paul reflected that 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.” Remember,
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. Listen: 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! AMEN.
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