Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

It is worth noting, given the problems in the church in Corinth, how Paul addresses his readers in this section. In verse 50, as he begins the section, he calls them ‘brothers’ and in verse 58, as he closes the section, he calls them ‘my beloved brothers’. Clearly, thinking about the future glory of the church had warmed the heart of Paul towards believers in the church in Corinth, despite their errors. Paul, as we have seen, has said a great deal about the resurrection, including the resurrection of Jesus on the third day and the resurrection of his people in the future. I suppose two responses could be given to Paul here. One response would be why do we need to experience this future resurrection and the other response would be to ask Paul how he knows all the details. He answers the first response in verse 50 and he answers the second response in verse 51. Then he mentions several consequences of what he has been told. No doubt, attentive readers will observe that Paul, in t...

In the previous passage Jesus had informed his disciples that the distinguishing mark of the members of his kingdom is humility. It is not the only mark, however, and in the next few sections he highlights other features that will be found in his followers. No doubt, the ones he identified were unexpected by the disciples because they do not fit in with the priorities one would have in setting up an earthly kingdom. He was teaching them that his kingdom is concerned with spiritual issues and he focuses on the matters of rejecting temptation, valuing other members, responding to sin, and expressing forgiveness. Resistance The first mark that Jesus mentions is resistance of temptation. Temptations are inevitable and usually they are caused by what other people say or do. Jesus possibly focussed on a person’s hand and foot because the use of them is how we participate in wrong activities. We join hands with those who are doing wrong or we walk alongside those who are engaged in wron...

The Apostles Creed, which today was recited in countless churches around the world as believers in Jesus verbally recited what they believe, includes the line, ‘I believe … in the resurrection of the body.’ No doubt, at the time it was first composed, this statement was made in direct confrontation of those who assumed that the resurrection was impossible (after all, that was the outlook everywhere regarding the idea of resurrection). It can also be stated as a source of comfort concerning believers who have died. And it is also an expression of confidence in what Jesus is able to do for all his people. Paul’s reasoning Paul anticipates two questions that will be asked concerning the resurrection. These questions indicate misunderstandings about what will occur at that time. The answer to the first question is that God will raise the dead and the answer to the second question is that God will decide what kind of body believers will have. Obviously, Paul wanted the Christians to...

In this incident, the disciples ask Jesus an important question. Obviously, they were not thinking about the role that Jesus has in the kingdom or that the heavenly Father has in the kingdom or that the Holy Spirit has in the kingdom. We can assume that the disciples would have accepted that God is the greatest person in his kingdom, and that Jesus as the Mediator would rule the kingdom, so it is not those roles they would have had in mind. If their concern about greatness was not connected to God or to Jesus, then who else could they have been thinking about? One would have assumed that the religious figures of the day could have been mentioned such as the priests and other workers in the temple and the scribes and the Pharisees who were known as devout. The disciples had heard Jesus say that more than religious activities and behaviour were necessary. Mark and Luke tell us that the disciples asked this question from a selfish perspective because they wanted a high place in ...

As is obvious from the chapter, Paul is presenting information about the resurrection of Jesus that he believes are essential details of the gospel. This is a reminder about how big the gospel is and how much there is for us to think about and rejoice in when considering the amazing salvation that Jesus has provided.    Does the resurrection of Jesus matter?   In verses 12-19, Paul lists several ways in which the resurrection of Jesus is essential. He mentions a general point concerning resurrection. The Corinthians had listened to the emphasis of Greek culture, which denied the possibility of a resurrection. If that idea was right, it would mean that Jesus was still dead.   If Jesus is not alive, we should not preach the gospel because it is an untrue message. In this scenario, preachers or others who mention the resurrection of Christ are telling lies about God, which would have meant at that time that the Jews were right when they said that the Christi...