“If I were an enemy of Christianity, I would aim right at the Resurrection,
because that is the heart of the Christianity.”
Billy Graham in a Time Magazine interview
Resurrection Realities
Part II
1 Corinthians 15:12-20, 47-57
What difference would it have made if Jesus had not been raised from the dead?
What difference does the resurrection does it make for us spiritually?
What difference does the resurrection make for us physically?
“If a man dies, shall he live again?”
Job 4:14
“If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.’”
1 Corinthians 15:33
If the resurrection of the dead is not possible then . . .
- Christ Himself would not have risen – 15:13
“born of a descendent of David according to the flesh, was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from dead.”
Romans 1:3-4
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”
John 11:25-26
- Preaching would be waste of time – 15:14a
- Faith in God is useless – 15:14b
- We are discredited and so is God – 15:15
- We remain unforgiven – 15:16-17
“futile” . . . .
It’s a promise with no fulfillment.
It’s a trip with no destination.
It’s a story with no end.
It’s a seed that produces no crop.
It’s a dream that never comes true.
It’s a game with no winners.
It’s a company with no product.
“It is finished.”
John 19:30
- The dead are eternally perishing – 15:18
- We have all put all our eggs in the wrong basket – 15:19
“If there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors . . . And if Christ wasn’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever . . . If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot.”
Eugene Peterson paraphrase in The Message
If Christ is not raised, then we have no message to preach.
If Christ is not raised, there is no God to hear our prayers.
If Christ is not raised, we are not saved.
If Christ is not raised, then let’s bring the missionaries home.
If Christ is not raised, let’s close every church and sell the property.
If Christ is not raised, then every Christian for 2000 years has been wrong.
If he is still in the tomb, you don’t have him in your heart.
If he is still in the tomb, you are just playing religious games.
If he is still in the tomb, it’s not better to be a Christian.
But now!!
Up from the grave He arose,
But now!
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes.
But now!
He arose a victor o’er the dark domain,
But now!
And he lives forever, with his saints to reign!
But now!
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Immortal,
Incorruptible,
Perfected,
Completed,
Glorified,
Free from sickness,
Delivered from death,
With sin gone forever,
Human frailty disappeared,
Personality retained,
Eternally endowed,
Supernaturally restored,
Made like Jesus,
All the defects finally gone,
All that is under construction finally completed,
With healthy bodies,
With clear minds,
With undivided hearts,
In company with all the saints of all the ages,
In a multitude that no man can number,
We will gather round the throne,
We will rejoice and laugh and sing,
We will know each other more deeply,
We will love more completely,
We will think more clearly,
We will still be who we are,
We will be more than we have ever been,
We will become what we always wanted,
We will finally see our loved ones who died in the Lord,
We will meet those who went before us,
We will see the saints of old,
We will get to know Abraham, Esther, Luther and Spurgeon,
We will see our grandparents and our grandchildren,
We will marvel at the grace of God forever,
We will see Jesus and bow down before him.
And we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
“51 Signs You’re Getting Older” . . .
- Everything hurts and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.
- The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals.
- You look forward to a dull evening.
- Your favorite part of the newspaper is “20 Years Ago Today.”
- You sit in a rocking chair and can’t get it going.
- Your knees buckle, and your belt won’t.
- Your back goes out more than you do.
- You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there.
- You’re asleep, but others worry that you’re dead.
- You have a dream about prunes.
- Your ears are hairier than your head.
- When you bend over, you look for something else to do while you’re down there.
1 Corinthians 15:47-57 teaches that . . .
- The body that Adam had-we presently have – 15:47
- The body that Christ presently has (in his own resurrected state)-we will one day have as well – 15:48-49
- Our present bodies are not able to able to survive in heaven – 15:50
- Our bodies must be changed-fitted for heaven – 15:51
- Our resurrected bodies will be imperishable-unable to decay- 15:52-53
- This change will be instantaneously and completely for all Christians-whether living or dead – 52:52-53
- Death itself is overcome by the resurrection – 15:26