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1Co_15:1-2. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
What was this gospel, of which Paul thought so highly, and which he says is the means of our salvation? Did it consist in sundry doctrinal statements? No, it contained doctrinal statements, but it did not consist entirely of them. Here is Paul’s declaration concerning the gospel: —
1Co_15:3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;
This is the solid basis of the gospel.
1Co_15:4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
This is the very keystone of the gospel arch, — the Christ who died on the cross, and was buried in Joseph’s tomb, “rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” This great truth of Christ’s resurrection is so important that Paul dwells upon it at length.
1Co_15:5. And that he was seen of Cephas,
Peter saw him.
1Co_15:5-6. Then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present,
When the epistle was written.
1Co_15:6-8. But some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
There is no fact, in all history, that is so well attested as the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Whether there ever was such a person as Julius Caesar might be contested, though there were, doubtless, thousands of witnesses who saw him, and many who wrote about him; but as to whether Christ rose from the dead, no candid mind can entertain a doubt. He was seen by great companies of believers and by various individuals who had long known him most intimately, and who had many opportunities of judging whether they were deceived or not. Christ’s resurrection is not only so well attested, but it is also the most important fact that ever happened in the history of the world, as Paul goes on to show.
1Co_15:9-14. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
“We are deceivers, and you are deceived, and the whole Christian system crumbles into dust unless Christ did really rise from the dead.”
1Co_15:15. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
Between Christ and his people, there is a union which can never be broken; so that, if he rose from the dead, they also must rise. If we are one with him, who shall separate us? And if we cannot be separated, then we must share and share alike with him.
1Co_15:16-19. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men most miserable.
To have been quickened into a life which gives great pain and sorrow would be a miserable thing if this were not compensated by the hope of glory which that life has brought to us. A man who has been always poor can bear his poverty; but let him taste of wealth and luxury for a while, and then go back to penury, and how keen is the pang he feels. And let a man be quickened to know God, and to rejoice in the new life, and then be told that there is no hereafter, and he is, indeed, “of all men most miserable.”
1Co_15:20-22. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
All that were in Adam died in Adam, and all that are in Christ live in Christ and shall rise in Christ.
1Co_15:23-26. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Death is an enemy, but it is the last one; and it is an enemy that shall be destroyed; but it shall be destroyed last.
1Co_15:27-28. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
There will, one day, be an end of the Mediatorial system. Christ shall have restored us to the Father, and then he, as our Head, and we, as making up the family of the redeemed, shall rejoice in the God who is “all in all.”
1Co_15:29-32. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.
If there is no resurrection, the philosophy of the Epicureans is a true one. If we are to come an end when we die, let us enjoy life while we can, if it is to be a short life, let it be a merry one. You see to what a conclusion this theory would lead us, so let us stand back from it with horror. The logical consequence convicts the statement as falsehood. There is a future state, and there is to be a resurrection of the body.
1Co_15:33-35. Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
You know the almost endless questions that may be asked about this matter, and you know the snares into which a man may fall if he begins curiously to pry into this mystery. Paul will have no prying into the mystery, and somewhat tartly he answers: —
1Co_15:36. Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.
Would you take the seed into your hand, and begin to argue, “How can that little seed ever become a flower?” Could you guess, apart from observation, what kind of flower would grow out of such a seed as that? You would make a hundred foolish guesses if you tried it. So is it concerning the resurrection of the body; in due time we shall know, and we shall see; but till then, we must wait and trust.
1Co_15:37-38. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
Every man shall have his own body. There will be differences and peculiarities, even as there are here; and we shall therefore know each other.
1Co_15:39-42. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption;
You know all about that.
1Co_15:42. It is raised in incorruption:
What an anticipation for us!
1Co_15:43. It is sown in dishonour;
For, with all the honour that we can pay to our departed dear ones, it is a dishonour to them to have to lie encased in a coffin, in the cold clay of the cemetery.
1Co_15:43. It is raised in glory:
Oh, the splendor of that resurrection!
1Co_15:43. It is sown in weakness;
It is so weak that it cannot get into its own last resting-place, but must be tenderly laid there by others.
1Co_15:43-44. It is raised in power: it is sown a natural body;
A soulish body, a body fitted for the human soul.
1Co_15:44. It is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
A body fitted for the new-born spirit which is given in regeneration.
1Co_15:45-48. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy:
You and I have every evidence about us that we are earthy.
1Co_15:48. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
Glory be to the name of Christ we belong to him, and already the heavenly light begins to shine upon us, and we are getting ready soon to put on the garments of immortality.
1Co_15:49-51. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,
For some will be here when Christ comes again to this earth.
1Co_15:51-58. But we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren,
“Let us weep and lament”? Oh, no! That is not the apostle’s inference. Therefore, let us throw down our weapons, and say, “It is no good to continue the fight, for we must all die”? Far from it.
1Co_15:58. Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
“Ye know,” because Christ has risen, and because you also shall rise and because there is a reward of grace laid up in store for you. The Lord’s people may die, but the Lord’s church never dies, and the Lord himself, the ever-living One, is always with us, blessed be his holy name!
1Co_15:1-2. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
What then was this gospel which Paul had preached, and which the Christians in Corinth had received,—the gospel which Paul declared would save them if they truly believed it? Was it a gospel made up merely of doctrines? No; it was a gospel formed of facts.
1Co_15:3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
That is the first fundamental fact in the gospel system. Blessed is the man who believes it, and rests his soul upon it.
1Co_15:4. And that he was buried: and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
That grand fact of the resurrection of Christ from the dead is rightly put next to his substitutionary sacrifice, for it is the very cornerstone of our holy faith. It is one of the essential doctrines which must be received by us, for we cannot truly believe the gospel unless we accept the great truth of Christ’s resurrection.
1Co_15:5-8. And that he was seen of Cephas,— that is, Peter,— then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
I suppose, brethren, that we may have persons arise, who will doubt whether there was ever such a man as Julius Caesar, or Napoleon Bonaparte; and when they do,—when all reliable history is flung to the winds,—then, but not till then, may they begin to question whether Jesus Christ rose from the dead, for this historical fact is attested by more witnesses than almost any other fact that stands on record in history, whether sacred or profane. The risen Christ was seen by many persons who knew him intimately before he died, by those who saw him put to death, and who saw him when he was dead. He was seen, on various occasions, privately, by one, by two, by twelve, of those who had been his companions for years; at other times, he was seen, in public, by large numbers who could not all have been deceived. These men were so certain that this was indeed the same Christ who had lived, and died, that, although it was at first difficult to make them believe that he had risen from the dead, it was impossible to make them doubt it afterwards, and the major part of them died to bear witness to the fact, they were martyred because they confessed that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. There is no fact in history, from the days of Adam until now, that is better attested than this great central truth of the resurrection of Christ; so we accept it, and receive it gladly. Paul finishes up his list of witnesses by putting himself down as one of them, although his conversion was, to himself, such a marvellous display of divine grace that he was like “one born out of due time.”
1Co_15:9-14. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I; but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, the your faith is also vain.
It is all emptiness together. Our preaching evaporates—there is nothing left in it—unless Christ did really rise from the dead; and your faith has nothing in it either, you are believing in that which is only vanity, and nothingness unless his resurrection was a fact.
1Co_15:15-17. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom, he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
So that you cannot be a Christian if you deny the resurrection of Christ.
You must give up Christianity altogether, and confess that your faith in it was a delusion, unless you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and that therefore there is a resurrection from the dead for the sons of men. Let it ever be most clearly understood that what Christ is, that his people are. There is an unbroken union between the Head and the members, so that, if he lives, they live; and if he lives not, then they live not; and if they live not, then he lives not. Jesus and those for whom he died are so intimately joined together that they are really and truly one, and nothing can ever separate them.
1Co_15:18-19. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
That is to say, if our hope for the future be all a lie, we have been dreadfully deceived; and, moreover, if we could lose a hope so brilliant as that has been to us, there would fall upon us a sense of loss so great that no one in the world could be so wretched as we should be. Besides, the apostles being always in jeopardy of their lives, if they were suffering poverty, and persecution, and the fear of death by martyrdom, all for a lie, they were indeed of all men the most deluded, and the most miserable. But the Corinthians would not admit that, neither will we.
1Co_15:20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits—
He must always come first, that in all things he may have the preeminence.
1Co_15:20-28. Of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule the all authority and power. For he must reign, tall he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
The mediatorial person of Christ, as God-man, shall bow before the eternal majesty of the Godhead: “that God may be all in all.” Now we will finish our reading with just a few verses at the close of the chapter.
1Co_15:50-51. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
We shall not all die, some will be alive when Christ comes to this earth again; “but we shall all be changed,” if not by the process of death and resurrection, yet by some other means.
1Co_15:52. In, a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall he raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Somehow or other, such a change as this must take place before we can enter heaven, for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”
1Co_15:53-58. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that ,is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
That should be the practical outcome of receiving the great truths of which we have been reading God grant that it may be! Amen.
This exposition consisted of readings from Rev_7:9-17; 1Co_15:1-28; 1Co_15:50-58.