We know the resurrection is important, but aren’t really sure how it is supposed to change our lives right now. 1 Corinthians 15 is Paul’s treatise and the most complete treatment of the resurrection in the bible. Because it explains and tells us the meaning and importance. It unpacks the implications. Paul as he goes through this chapter is building this great crescendo and then ends with verse 58, “Therefore”. Paul shows us how belief in the resurrection of Jesus leads to hope-filled living.

Here is the big idea: The tomb is empty. Therefore your life doesn't need to be.

And to get here, Paul takes us on a journey through 1 Corinthians. Let's follow him as he unpacks for us the following things:

1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is true.
2. The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees ours.
3. How we will be raised from the dead.
4. When we will be raised from the dead.

Jesus Christ Rose From the Dead

The Barna Group put out a new poll in the last week or two. They found that one in four British Christians did NOT believe in the resurrection. You did hear that correctly. Their poll said 25% of British Christians do not believe in the resurrection. Now I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but the resurrection is kind of important to the Christian faith. I would go further. Here’s a newsflash: if you don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus, you are not a Christian. Paul tells us the dark reality of Christianity with a still dead Jesus. He says things like,

If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:14).

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins (1 Cor. 15:17).

But Paul wants us to be assured that Christ in fact has been raised. He wants us to have confidence – not a blind faith, but a faith based on historical truth. Not a mystical feeling, but a confidence that it actually happened. So Paul starts off with his apologetic for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In verses 3-8 Paul says,

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Paul gives us two reasons to believe in the historical event of the resurrection. First, because it is in accordance with the scriptures. “Christ was raised on the third day in accordance to the scriptures.” Jesus spoke multiple times to his disciples of his death and resurrection, but since none of the gospels had been written by the time Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthians, he is speaking about the Old Testament.

This is amazing. Hundreds of years before Jesus even came on the scene, scriptures like Psalm 16 and Isaiah 53 pointed to Jesus and his death and resurrection. In fact, Peter quotes Psalm 16 in his sermon the day of Pentecost and says David (the author of Psalm 16) “foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of Christ”. Paul would have had this understanding and so is very comfortable saying that Jesus was raised in accordance with the scriptures.

But Paul also gives us another reason for assurance of Christ’s resurrection and it is all the eyewitness testimonies. Jesus did not leave himself without credible witnesses. He had hundreds of people who had seen him – even at the same time.

In our judicial system today, if a prosecutor had two or three credible eyewitnesses to a crime, they would have a strong case. If they had ten, it would be a slam dunk. Jesus didn’t leave a note saying he had risen. He didn’t appear to one person in private. He appeared to hundreds. And notice Paul says, “most of whom are still alive.” You see what Paul is doing? He is saying, “Go talk to them. Quiz them. Investigate.” This is of first importance. Christ was raised on the third day. And this leads to an important discovery.

Christ's Resurrection Guarantees Ours

Let’s follow what Paul says in verses 20-23,

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. 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.

This is the hope of the New Testament. Our hope is not for our best life now. It is not for the big payoff in this life. It isn’t even heaven. The NT affirms our hope is that we will receive the resurrection of the dead. To explain the guarantee of this hope, Paul brings in an agricultural metaphor. The firstfruits are the first crops a farmer can gather from a harvest. These fruits are a foretaste in anticipation of the full harvest to come. The firstfruits are a sure sign of the full harvest. Christ has been raised as the firstfruits - in anticipation of the resurrection of all those who belong to Christ.

Death came through Adam – every person has received the sentence of death because of Adam. The resurrection of the dead comes through Christ and every person who belongs to Christ has the promised guarantee that they will be raised from the dead. Have you ever had someone close to you die? You know death is an enemy!

Death is a terrible enemy! Ray Ortlund said,

“Death offended Jesus profoundly. He didn’t accept it as a ‘part of life’. He hated it, opposed it, defeated it.”

And so the New Testament constantly pushes us not to deny it but to hope beyond it, to a time when Paul says in verses 25-26 he will put the final enemy of death under his feet by abolishing it. So in the meantime, we are told to “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). Or Peter tells us about the dazzling inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, he says, “in this you rejoice though now you go through many fiery trials.” I think this is why our joy is so fickle, so up and down, and sometimes just so weak. Because our joy isn’t “in hope”?

Paul goes so far as to say that if we have only hoped in Christ for the payoff in this life, we are fools (verse 19). Listen to what Paul says in verses 30-32:

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

Do you hear what Paul is saying? Being a Christian doesn’t make life easier in this world, it makes it harder. So if the dead aren’t raised, let’s live as though this world is our best shot at happiness. But Christ has been raised, so we will too. This leads to a question though. Paul assumes the question will be asked, “how are the dead raised?”

How Are We Going To Be Raised?

Let’s see what Paul says,

36 What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. 42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is won a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

Well, we will be raised in the likeness of Christ. Which means you will have a body. Your eternal existence will not consist of floating on clouds with a bunch of angels. And it won’t be a disembodied existence. You will be raised bodily, just like Jesus was. In Luke 24 Jesus visits his disciples after his resurrection and while they are amazed, he asks, “Do you have anything to eat?” I love that! They give him some fish and he eats it in front of them. But there is discontinuity with our bodies now. Our bodies now are described as perishable, dishonorable, weak and natural. The body we will be raised in is described as imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual.

When Will We Be Raised?

I simply want to read all of verses 51-57 and make a couple observations:

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Death swallowed up in victory at the coming of Jesus Christ. In verse 54, Paul quotes Isaiah 25:8 which says,

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

This is our hope! Paul calls it the blessed hope – the coming of our God and Savior Jesus Christ! Christ has risen from the dead! And his resurrection guarantees the resurrection and eternal glory for everyone who belongs to him. And therefore you have the most amazing future. It is awaiting you at the coming of Jesus Christ.

Therefore...

So we return to verse 58. In light of all this, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Be steadfast. Persevere, endure to the end. Christ has risen, you will be raised. Hope in that no matter what! Be immovable. In the face of bad news, fake news, false philosophies, and false promises bombarding you day after day, build your life on the historical, world shaping truth that Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb and is alive.

Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Always, without ceasing. Abound in the Lords work. Overflow in it. Not your own work. Not your own kingdom building.

Do this in hope that your labor is not empty. It is not futile or vanity. All that you do in the Lord's name, for his sake, in service of others has eternal value in Christ.

The resurrection changes everything – now and into eternity. Hope filled living in light of the hope of glory. CS Lewis, in his book Miracles, said,

The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the ‘first fruits,’ the ‘pioneer of life.’ He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so.

Do you believe this? In John 11, Jesus asks Martha this question. Her response, she didn't say, "Sure, I guess." or "I feel like you that's true." Her response is worthy of our deepest consideration: “I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Do you believe this?

This is the only kind of response worthy of Christ our risen Lord.