TEACHING NOTES Introduction Now that we have finished Paul’s discussion on the church gathering, we move on to Paul’s discussion about the doctrine of the resurrection. This section has three major parts: (1) the resurrection of Christ, (2) the resurrection of all the dead, and (3) the resurrection body. As we will see, there were some Christians in Corinth who were struggling with the idea that humanity would be resurrected in the end. For Paul, this is a major problem that needs to be corrected. ‌ Most Christians in Corinth were former pagans. ‌ There was no concept of bodily resurrection in paganism. Resurrection was a laughable idea. ‌ The Jews were also divided about resurrection. ‌ 1 Corinthians 15:1–2 1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. ‌ I would remind you of the gospel = Why would Paul need to remind Christians in Corinth of the gospel? Because some in the Corinthian church are saying “there is no resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:12). Paul is going to argue that the gospel is not true if there is no resurrection. ‌ You received = Grk. paralambano - to take with, take into close association, take as your own. This word refers to more than mental acceptance of facts. Paul is saying that to receive the gospel is to join one’s life to it, not simply believing a story is true. ‌ In which you stand = Grk. histemi - This verb is in the perfect tense, which indicates something which occured in the past but has produced a state of being or result that exists in the present. The gospel is the foundation on which our faith/faithfulness stands securely. ‌ By which you are being saved = Grk. sozesthe - This verse is present tense, passive voice, and indicative mood. This means that salvation is a present reality that is happening to us as a result of our faithfulness. This verb also indicates that salvation is a process, not a single event. Our salvation is not complete until the day of judgment. ‌ If you hold fast = Grk. ei karechete - if continuing faithfully. Paul also used this present tense and active verb in 1 Cor. 11:2 “you maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.” This is about remaining faithful to Christ. The entire Bible teaches faithfulness as the way of salvation. If we walk away from Christ, or refuse to be faithful/obedient, we cannot expect to be saved in the end. ‌ Unless you believed in vain = Grk. episteusate eike - believed for nothing. It is often taught that if we truly believe we will be faithful, and if we are not faithful we don’t really believe. But Paul is clear that believing in vain is possible. One can say they believe a set of facts about the gospel, yet believe in vain. How? They believe but do not obey or remain faithful. The ancient Israelites may have believed they were God’s people, but most were unfaithful by worshiping other gods and being disobedient, and they suffered the consequences. On Mt. Sinai, Israel believed God and declared they would be faithful (Ex. 19:8; 24:3, 7). But they were ultimately unfaithful and only a faithful remnant survived. The majority of Israel “believed in vain.” ‌ 1 Corinthians 15:3–5 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. ‌ An Ancient Creed: Scholars have noticed that Paul wrote verses 3-5 in a kind of poetic form or rhythmic form that resembles a creed that Christians would recite from memory. Even unbelieving scholars (like Bart Erhman) agree that the content of these verses can be dated to within three years of Jesus’ crucifixion. In other words, Paul is not writing new material here, but is actually quoting an early creed of the church. ‌ Of first importance = Grk. protois - most prominent, foremost. What Paul is about lay out is the most important parts of the gospel. Meaning, these are the parts that are not open to disagreement. Also, note what is not mentioned in Paul’s gospel. We can disagree or discuss many other doctrines, but what Paul is laying out is not up for debate. ‌ What I also received = Paul does mean that he received this from other people (like the other apostles). Paul tells us in Galatians 1:11–12 “11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” Paul goes on to say that when he became a believe in Christ, “I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me” (Gal. 1:15-17). Paul received the gospel message directly from Christ. ‌ Christ died for our sins = One later view is that this means that Christ paid the penalty for our sins or that God punished Jesus in our place. This view is often called Penal-Substitutionary Atonement. However, this was not how the early Christians described the gospel. Rather, Paul is saying that our sins are the reason Christ came to die. Without the sin problem, there would be no reason for the cross. Christ died to do something about our sins. Christ came to set us free from the power of sin, death, and the devil. We were enslaved and Christ set us free. Christ bought us back (redeemed) for Himself so He could bring us back to the Father. That’s how the apostles describe the gospel. It was only in the middle ages that certain theologians began teaching Penal-Substitutionary Atonement. ‌ In accordance with the Scriptures = Several Old Testament passages speak of the Messiah being killed (Isa. 53; Zech. 12:10; 13:7; Dan. 9:26). Since most people, especially Jews, would think that no one who is crucified can be the Messiah, Paul wants to show that Scripture supports a crucified Messiah. ‌ He was buried = The importance of this part is often missed. The apostles believed and taught that Jesus was buried and His Spirit went to Hades to defeat death and release the righteous who were waiting there (Eph. 4:8-10; 1 Pet. 3:18-19). This is often called “The Harrowing of Hades.” ‌ He was raised on the third day = Christ died on Friday (the first day), His body rested on the Sabbath (the second day), and He rose on Sunday (the third day). ‌ In accordance with the Scriptures = While there are passages about the resurrection of all the dead (Dan. 12), there are no Old Testament passages that explicitly speak of the Messiah rising from the dead. Although there are several passages that lead in that direction when put together (Hos. 6:2). The best candidate may be Psalm 16:10 “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” However, Paul could simply be saying, “none of this is inconsistent with the Scriptures.” In other words, nothing in the Scriptures contradict the resurrection of the Messiah. ‌ He appeared the Cephas, then to the twelve = Cephas is the Aramaic name for Peter. It was common for ancient people to have a few names. Cephas is his Aramaic name, Simon is his Jewish name, and Peter is his Greek name. The same is true for Paul, whose Jewish name is Saul. ‌ 1 Corinthians 15:6–8 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. ‌ Appeared to more than 500 at one time = This may be one of the best evidences of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul is saying that this event could be verified by asking any of the 500 eyewitnesses that saw Jesus alive. The only responses by atheists on this claim is: (1) Paul is lying, or (2) all these people were hallucinating. But why would Paul lie when he pointing his readers to the testimony of eyewitnesses? Anyone could have found out that he was lying. Also, crowd hallucinations are not possible. Hallucinations are individual experiences and we have no evidence that multiple people can have the same hallucination. Finally, people may die for things they believe, but people do not die for things they know they are lying about. The apostles and many other Christians died for saying that they saw the risen Jesus. Why would they die for this if they knew that they were making it up? ‌ Most of whom are still alive = Paul is telling the Corinthians—some of whom were struggling to believe in the resurrection—that they can ask the eyewitnesses who are still alive. In other words, Paul is saying “If you don’t believe me, go ask the ones who saw the risen Christ.” ‌ Appeared to James = Paul is referring to James the brother of Jesus. This is also good evidence that the resurrection really occured. James—and the rest of Jesus’ brothers—did not believe He was the Messiah at first. But after the resurrection we find out that James and Jude become believers. James even becomes the leader of the church in Jerusalem before being martyred for teaching that Jesus had risen. ‌ Then to all the apostles = There were more than twelve apostles. The twelve were closer to Jesus and spent three years with Jesus during His earthly ministry. But we also read that there were 70/72 disciples who were sent out to do ministry (Luke 10). ‌ As to one untimely born = Grk. ektromati - This Greek term was often used to describe a miscarriage, abortion, or untimely birth. The idea is being born at the wrong time. Paul’s new birth (salvation) came after Jesus had already ascended. Paul’s salvation came later than the other apostles. ‌ Appeared also to me = Christ appeared to Paul first on the road to Damascus (Acts 9; 22; 26). And Christ appeared to Paul on other occasions as well (Acts 22:17-21; 23:11). Atheists like to point out that these appearances are described as visions, and should be trusted as real. However, Paul believed that he really saw the risen Jesus. If that did not really happen, then how do we explain Paul leaving his influential position as a Pharisee to become a Christian? Why did Paul suddenly stop persecuting Christians and decide to join the church? Why would Paul refuse to denounce his faith when threatened with execution if he knew he was lying the whole time? ‌ 1 Corinthians 15:9–11 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. ‌ I am the least of the apostles = Paul is humbled to be called as an apostle because he previously persecuted the church (Acts 8:1-3). He says that he is “unworthy to be called an apostle” because of his violent past. ‌ I am what I am by the grace of God = God gave Saul/Paul grace by forgiving him and giving him a second chance at life. Paul went from being the lead persecutor of the church to being the greatest missionary for the church. ‌ I worked harder than any of them = This may sound a bit prideful, but it is true. While the other apostles were centralized around Jerusalem in Israel, Paul went on at least three missionary journeys traveling the Roman empire. Paul was commissioned by God to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13; Gal. 2:7-10). This mission required Paul to travel the known world, which was a dangerous activity in the ancient world. In this way, Paul certainly “worked harder” than many of the other apostles. ‌ So we preach and so you believed = Although Paul may have worked harder, he was still preaching the same gospel as all the other apostles. In that sense, there was no difference between Paul and the others. They all preached the same gospel and people believed in the same gospel. This is important for Paul’s argument because we will see later that some Corinthians were diverting from that gospel. ‌ Conclusion ‌ The Gospel is about what Christ has done for us. Continual faithfulness to Christ is how we receive the Gospel and its benefits. ‌ Belief without faithfulness is not saving faith. As Paul said, “you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” ‌ Every Christian needs to be reminded of the Gospel and our need to be faithful to Christ. ‌ Next Week: 1 Corinthians 15:12-34.