The Resurrection of Jesus (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

This sermon was preached on 14/7/2013

Today we come to the third matter that Paul at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15 says is part of the gospel and that is the resurrection of Jesus. The other two are (1) Christ’s death for our sins and (2) his burial in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. If we turn to the Book of Acts we will see how the resurrection of Jesus is a prominent theme for the early church. The fact that we are meeting today to worship God is also connected to the resurrection of Jesus – we call it the Lord’s Day because on it he rose from the dead. So it is very surprising that some of the Corinthians were denying the resurrection. The reason why they were doing so was the influence of Greek philosophy that regarded bodily actions as inferior to spiritual ones, and it was merely a logical step to deny the necessity for a bodily resurrection. The Christian church however values the contribution of the body because God made it and expects us to use it. And we also value it because Jesus intends to resurrect it.

I want us to think about the resurrection of Jesus from two viewpoints: first, what does it mean for Jesus himself and, second, what does it mean for believers? We can do so by noting some of the details that Paul mentions in this chapter.

What does his resurrection mean for Jesus?

The first detail that Paul mentions is easy to understand. In verses 5-8, he points out that after he was raised from the dead Jesus met with some of his people. We do not know how many post-resurrection appearances of Jesus took place. Several are recorded in the Gospels that Paul does not mention here (such as the appearance to the two disciples who lived in Emmaus and the appearances to female disciples), and Paul mentions some here that are not mentioned in the Gospels (the appearance to a gathering of 500 believers and the appearance to James). There could have been many others besides them.

His appearances to those people tell us that Jesus was determined to see them. He did so because he loved them and wanted to be with them. Many of them had failed him, others of them had opposed him, including members of his own family. Not only was Jesus determined to see them, he also was delighted to see them because he knew that he would convey words of grace to them, including to the apostle Paul for whom Jesus had great plans.

The second detail to observe about what the resurrection meant for Jesus is mentioned by Paul in verses 20-23. In those verses, he uses as an illustration a practice found in Old Testament Jewish worship when a sample of a crop was given to God as the firstfruits of the future harvest. In addition to being a sample, the firstfruits were also a guarantee that the harvest would take place. Paul reminds us in these verses of the real and abiding humanity of Jesus – he is still a man and will be so forever. Moreover he will have an abundant number of followers – the success of his mission is likened to a harvest. Elsewhere we are told that they will be a number that no one can calculate. So Jesus knew that there would be innumerable followers from all over the world and from every period of time.

Paul also mentions a third detail about what the resurrection would mean for Jesus, which is that he would achieve universal dominion over what Paul calls ‘every rule and every authority and power’ (v. 24). This comprehensive victory includes personal and impersonal powers – the last impersonal power to be defeated will be death itself. Of course, it is important to note that Jesus will not merely defeat them; in addition Paul says that Jesus will destroy them. What kinds of authorities are included here? The best way to answer this question is to say every authority that will try to oppose the rule of Jesus. They will not be destroyed at the same time, such as at his return. Instead he destroys them down through history. Many ideologies have attempted to oppose Christ’s kingdom, and they have all failed despite having seemed to be successful for a while. Of course, this is a reminder that we as Christians should be on a spiritual war footing. It looks from Paul’s words that when Jesus returns there will only one authority left to be defeated and that will be death. Jesus will defeat it by resurrecting all who have died. The resurrection will include both those who believed in Jesus and those who did not, and then there will be the universal judgement.

The fourth detail of what the resurrection will mean for Jesus is that his relationship with his people will be eternal. We can see this in the cryptic words of verse 28: ‘When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.’ What does this mean? In some way, Jesus will continue his role as the Servant of the Father. He had performed this role when he was living and dying in this world during his humiliation; he had performed this role as he ruled from the divine throne during his exaltation; and he will perform it in the future after the Day of Judgement as he will continue to bring God’s blessings to his people forever.

Robert Candlish pictures this amazing day: ‘What a scene here bursts and breaks on the enraptured view of faith! What a crisis! Christ, the man Christ Jesus, standing again on this earth in the body; all his redeemed with him in the body; not a breath, not a whisper, of opposition or rebellion any where to be heard, throughout all its continents and kingdoms; not a tomb anywhere; not a dying groan; not a trace of sin’s, or of sorrow’s ravages; not the faintest vestige of the footsteps of the Arch-fiend who first brought sin and sorrow to its shores! Yes! His work is done! The end for which he got the kingdom is fully and for ever attained. He may deliver it up to God, even the Father.

‘And shall we dare to penetrate a little farther into futurity, and look beyond that scene? What do we see? A renovated earth, with renovated heavens, wherein dwelleth righteousness. And who possess and own it? Saints changed or risen, with one like unto the Son of Man going in and out among them; not for a thousand years, ending with another fearful apostacy and fall, but for endless ages. Christ and his redeemed occupy that earth for ever. In some sense, and to some extent, they are wielding kingly power in it, and exercising kingly power over it; but only in the sense in which originally man was commanded to subdue the earth; and with no claim, and indeed no ambition, of any sovereignty beyond that. The dominion which, as redeeming man, and for redeemed men, Christ had over all, is no more needed. His special and temporary mediatorial government, as Messiah the Prince, is merged in the eternal and universal government of the Godhead. As the Eternal Son, he has that government still upon his shoulders. But as Christ, his people’s Lord and King, as the man Christ Jesus, sharing with them the occupancy of Paradise restored, he is in the position in which the first Adam, if he had not fallen, would have been with his children in the Paradise that was lost. He continues to reign over the seed given to him, and purchased by him. He is ever presenting them as the subjects whom he has brought back from rebellion to be, in him, now loyal subjects under the ordinary moral administration of God. As his, in that new earth which he has won for them, they own allegiance to the sovereign authority by which all the universe is governed. On earth, as elsewhere, “God is all in all.”’

Yet the point I would stress is that Jesus, because of his resurrection, will be able to be with his people in this way forever.

          

What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for Christians?

The first benefit of Christ’s resurrection for Christians is that it makes their troubles bearable. It is not entirely clear what Paul means by ‘being baptized on behalf of the dead’ (v. 29). I suspect it means that onlookers were so impressed by the loyalty unto death of Christians that they became Christians as a result and were baptized. Paul seems to link this phenomenon with what took place in the arena when Christians, including himself, had to face wild beasts because of their faith in Jesus. Or it could mean that for a person to be baptized as a Christian was virtually writing a death sentence. Of course, if Jesus has not been raised, then such loyalty and such impressions are pointless. Yet what gave them the courage to remain so devoted to Christ? It was the certainty of his resurrection that had been witnessed by many (v. 6).

The second benefit from the resurrection of Jesus that Paul mentions is that Christians have a challenging and a comforting message to spread to others. The challenge is for those who have not yet trusted in Christ and the comfort is for those who have trusted in him. Since Christ is risen, as he said he would, then those who don’t believe in him have to face up to what he said he would do as risen. He will yet be the Judge of all humans and those who refuse to accept his offer of mercy will be punished. The challenge is to accept his offer and be saved.

                 

The comfort concerns those believers who have died (v. 18). If Jesus has not risen from the dead, then those dead believers are not in heaven. Instead they will have perished. Yet because he has risen from the dead, they have gone to be with him and in the future will experience through his power their own resurrection from the dead. This is a tremendous comfort for those who have lost loved ones who trusted in Christ. They are safe in his keeping, waiting with him for the moment of his second coming.

                                                     

A third benefit that believers in Jesus will have because of his resurrection is the reception of a new body. While it will still be the same body as they had in this life, it will be so changed that it will look and feel so different. Paul in verses 42-44 tells us what this resurrected and glorified body will look like. He does so by mentioning four ways in which it can be contrasted with what their body is like when it dies. First, the current body is perishable and will disintegrate; the new body will be imperishable, not subject to any deficiency. Second, the current body has many defects whereas the resurrection body will be full of honorable features (even the good aspects will be far better). Third, the current body is marked by weakness, but the resurrection body will not be affected by tiredness or the weakness of aging. Fourthly, the current body is made for this world (natural), but the resurrection body will suit the next world (Spiritual, which does not suggest it is not physical).

We can see from this description that the resurrection body will be different. It will be dynamic and durable, after all it will last for eternity. But it will only be ours because we will be connected to the Christ who rose from the dead and remade in his image. Only because he is alive will we have this marvelous provision of a resurrection body.

The fourth benefit for believers that they will receive through the resurrection of Jesus is participation in the great future occasion when death will be defeated. Some Christians will not die because they will be alive when Jesus comes. On that occasion, both those resurrected and those still living will put on immortality (vv. 53-54). We often speak about an immortal soul, but it would be better and more biblical to speak of an immortal body. One reason why Jesus is coming back is to give this immortality to his people, and he can only give it to them because he has risen from the dead.

What should be our response to this wonderful set of blessings?

Paul mentions a threefold response at the end of the chapter. There should be a life of gratitude to God for giving us the victory over all our enemies (v. 57).  We should note the present tense – it is as if we already are getting some foretastes of the blessings we shall fully know when Jesus returns. Where that gratitude exists, there will be abundant service for the Lord because nothing that is done for him can be done in vain (v. 58). Moreover, such gratitude will produce spiritual inflexibility regarding the certainty and the wonder of Jesus’ resurrection and the blessings that he has freely given to us. That is the threefold response God wants from us.