Death Defeated at the Resurrection! – 1Corinthians 15:1-8, 20-26, 45-58,

Bible Text: 1Corinthians 15:1-8, 20-26, 45-58, | Pastor: Pastor Mike Hale |  

“Death Defeated at the Resurrection!”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in all of Christianity, without it Christianity is nothing more than just one of the many religious systems or organizations that are based on human philosophy and the traditions of this world.  Without the resurrection of Christ, we have no hope of forgiveness or eternal life, for there would be no proof to back up Jesus’ claims.

Jesus taught His disciples about the resurrection, (Mark 8:31), “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again.  He said to them (9:31), “‘The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.’” (Matthew & Luke also record Jesus foretelling His arrest, death, and resurrection to His disciples)

The resurrection is the foundation of the gospel, and it is central to Christianity – you cannot be a Christian and not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (cf Romans 1:1-4).

1Corinthians 15:1-2…  Paul is not telling them anything new here, but is restating the gospel he had already already preached to them, the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that they had received, to which they are to take their stand, for it is by this gospel that they are saved.

We are saved by faith and we continue to live by faith and obedience to God’s Word.  If we truly love the Lord, we will continue to obey His commands (John 14:15), “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” (vv. 23-24) “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.”  Love and obedience are synonymous.

Our faith in Christ is based on the fact that He not only died for our sins, but He sovereignly rose from the grave by the power of God to prove He has authority over sin’s penalty and death itself.

1Corinthians 15:3-4…  Of first importance is the fact that Jesus had to die for our sins, and this was according to the Scriptures; that He would be buried and on the third day He would come out of the grave alive, according to the Scriptures.

Repeatedly in the OT (Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Hosea) the death, burial and resurrection of God’s Son, the Messiah is foretold.  In the NT, Jesus, Paul, and Peter all quote from those OT passages.  That is why Paul writes, “according to the Scriptures.”

Paul before King Agrippa proclaimed (Acts 26:22-23),  “But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen– that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to His own people and to the Gentiles.”

1Corinthians 15:5-7…  Eyewitness testimony is considered to be the most reliable testimony in a court of law.  Here we have such testimony given and recorded concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The priority of the resurrection is clearly referenced, and as Paul states (v. 5), Jesus’ first appearance to an apostle was to Cephas (Aramaic) or Peter (Greek).

Peter was the leader of the twelve, the main preacher at Pentecost, and the leader of the church in its early years; Peter was a prime witness for the resurrection.

Paul tells us Jesus appeared to the “twelve” next, although there were only eleven, as Judas had already died and a replacement hadn’t been selected yet; it would seem that the eleven were still referred to as the twelve.

The men who the Lord would use to establish His church had to be witnesses of His resurrection, for they would be spreading the word concerning the death and resurrection of the Messiah.

Paul records (v. 6) that Jesus then appeared to a group of more than 500 brothers (and sisters) at one time.  This is awesome, as Paul is now writing 20+ years after that happened, and he is saying that although some of those witnesses have died, most of those who witnessed Christ’s resurrection were still alive, able to testify to the resurrection.

We know that Jesus (Acts 1:3), “showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days,” between His resurrection and His ascension back into heaven.

Paul tells us (v. 7) that Jesus appeared, “to James, then to all the apostles.”  It is likely that James is the Lord’s half brother, who did not come to saving faith until he saw the risen Lord; he then became a leader in the Jerusalem church and the author of book of James.

1Corinthians 15:8-10…  Paul, as an unbeliever, was the main persecutor of the followers of Christ; until the risen Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus.  And so, Paul says, “last of all he (Jesus) appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.”

All the others to whom the Lord appeared, had seen Him while he was alive and again after He had died and risen from the grave; but the Lord appeared to Paul after ascending back into heaven.

No wonder Paul felt like one abnormally born, the other apostles had walked with Jesus for three years, being taught by Him; whereas Paul had not only rejected Him as the Messiah, he had persecuted His followers.

After his conversion, Paul was taught by the Lord (Galatians 1:11-12), “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”

1Corinthians 15:20-23…  Christ is the “first” fruits of those who have died – meaning, there will be more “fruit” after Him; just as He was raised, so we, and all those who believed in Him, will also be raised to new life.

Notice in verse 22, through Adam death came to all of humankind, because of sin; but through Christ life comes to all who believe (Romans 5:12), “sin entered the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men.”

Romans 5:17-19, “by the trespass [sin] of the one man [Adam], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. The result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so

also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

Spiritual life is granted by Christ (John 11:25-26), “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

Christ was raised first, all those who belong to Him will also be raised to new life.

1Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And

so we will be with the Lord forever.”

1Corinthians 15:24-26…  Christ will deliver the world back to God the way it was intended to be, after every enemy of God is conquered and abolished; this will happen after the Tribulation, the Millennial Kingdom, and the White Throne Judgement.

The final enemy of man is death (Hebrews 9:27), but death, along with everything that offends or opposes God [the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit] will be abolished; this is accomplished through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

1Corinthians 15:45-49…  The first man, Adam, was created by God with a body suitable for life on earth.  If Adam had not given in to temptation, had not sinned, he would have lived forever on a perfect earth.

Every human through the first man Adam came from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). However Christ, (the man who came from heaven) is the last Adam, and He provides for God a spiritual race of people who will live forever because of His death and resurrection.

Adam was the first physical man, Christ is the first spiritual man.  Adam brought sin and death, Christ brought salvation and eternal life.

Jesus did not come from the dust of the ground but from heaven (John 1:1-4, 14, 18); yet He took upon Himself a natural body of flesh, in order to walk among us, show us the Father, and that He might die for our sins and rise from the grave to provide eternal life.

Every human is related to Adam, by blood, and every believer is related to Christ by God’s Spirit, through faith and belief in His death and resurrection.

This means that one-day our earthly body, which is like Adam’s, will be changed into a heavenly body like Christ’s; and we will know the joys and blessings of living in heaven because of Christ, the last Adam.

The sure hope of our resurrection body should motivate us to live for Christ now, in this world, even with all the limitations of these physical bodies, these earth suits, in which we will experience pain, sickness, disability, old age, and even death; at which time we receive our heaven suiting order to enjoy the magnificence of heaven with Christ, forever and ever. Amen!

That is what Paul says is saying, for although we die, we will be raised in a body like Christ was, a new and perfect body.

1Corinthians 15:50-53…  Paul reveals that some of the Lord’s people will not die from physical death, but that they will be “changed,” “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,” (cf. 1Thessalonians 4:16-17).

In other words, when Jesus comes for us, it will be instantaneous.  Notice (v. 51) uses the words “we” and “all” – referring to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.  Only those who have trusted in Christ will be given their eternal heaven bodies, i.e., Jesus is coming for those who have been “born again,” “born from above,” “born of the Spirit of God,” (John 1:12-13; 3:3-7) “born of God”.  

If you are not sure that you belong to God, that you have received His forgiveness and the promise of eternal life — you need to get right with God, right here, right now!  through His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10, 13), “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

God says (v. 52) there is coming a day when those who died in faith,“shall be raised imperishable [incorruptible].”  We may die of old age, or cancer, or in a fire, or in a plane crash, but we will be raised to eternal life with a body that can’t experience pain, get sick, or die.

Paul says “we will be changed,” meaning “one thing will cease and another will begin,” one minute we are here, the next we are there, one minute we are mortal, the next we are immortal.

The last sound we will hear when this happens will be the sound of God calling us up to meet Him!  Wow! Remember when Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave?

1Corinthians 15:54-57…  Our greatest enemy is death – the curse of si is made effectual by the Law which condemns us (v. 56), “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”  But (v. 57) in Jesus Christ we have victory over sin, death, and judgment.

Sin devastates our lives and dooms us to Hell, separating us from God, but in Christ, sin is defeated (Romans 3:23-24; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1).  To those who belong to God, there is no longer any power in sin or fear of death, for we have victory in Jesus.

God’s Son came to this world, put on the flesh of Jesus, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose from the dead on the third day, just like He said He would. 1Corinthians 15:58…  Paul is saying that to live for God through Jesus Christ the Lord is our purpose.  Christ has conquered all our enemies – sin, death, and judgment — through His own death and resurrection.  We have a risen Savior, through whom we have received forgiveness for sins and eternal life, that we might serve Him, allowing Him to live and work through us (Galatians 2:20), “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

We will receive resurrection bodies in the presence of the Lord, and we will enjoy a new heaven, a new earth, and a new universe forever, never again will there be death or mourning or crying or pain.

Peter said it so well (1Peter 1:3-5), “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Today is the day of Good News!  Jesus Christ has risen from the grave, and He will grant eternal life to all who trust and believe in Him.

God sent His Son, they called Him Jesus, He came to love, heal, and forgive; He lived and died to buy my pardon, an empty grave is here to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.

– Pastor Mike