Mixed Feelings

Well, it's Resurrection Sunday,

and when I woke up this morning,

I was pretty tired,

but I made a beeline straight for the accounts in the Gospels

of how the tomb was found empty,

and I very quickly found myself ready to rejoice,

ready to celebrate.

And today is a day where we should give ourselves to celebration.

But to be honest with you,

this morning I have mixed feelings.

I'm delighted to see all of you here this morning,

but I'm aware that there are so many other people

who are lying in bed right now

for whom this day is not a special day,

for whom it's just an ordinary long weekend Sunday,

the chance to gather with family,

eat chocolate,

do an Easter egg hunt,

and then add to that the tragedy in Sri Lanka.

I have mixed feelings today,

even though it's Resurrection Sunday.

We're talking right now in our church,

we're in a series talking about the resurrection,

and I imagine that Paul also had mixed feelings

as he wrote about something so glorious,

so precious to him.

But as he looked at the situation in the church at Corinth,

mixed feelings.

If you have your Bible with you,

I invite you to open it up to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

And we've been working our way through this chapter.

And last we heard in this chapter from Paul,

there are some in the church here at Corinth

who have been saying that there's no resurrection of the dead.

And Paul has come right out and challenged this.

He said there's a massive implication to that

if there's no resurrection from the dead,

then not even Christ has been raised from the dead.

And then we heard a couple weeks ago

as he laid out all the implications of that,

serious implications.

Well, this morning,

Paul goes on to give three more implications.

And we pick it up in verse 29,

chapter 15.

He says this,

Now if there is no resurrection,

what will those do who are baptized for the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all,

why are people baptized for them?

And as for us,

why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

I face death every day.

Yes,

just as surely as I boast about you

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus

with no more than human hopes,

what have I gained?

If the dead are not raised,

let us eat and drink,

for tomorrow we die.

These are Paul's three more implications.

He's arguing,

making an argument with the Corinthians

as to why their belief

that there is no resurrection

doesn't make sense.

It doesn't fit.

And the first thing that he told us

a couple weeks back

is that we saw the risen Christ alive.

If he appeared to us,

we were with him.

In verse 20 he says,

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

But then he comes back

and just points to a few more things

to appeal to them

and help them see that this is the reality.

Baptism for the dead.

What on earth are you talking about, Paul?

Some of us, when we hear that,

we might think that we just walked into

the middle of one of those inside jokes

and we just...

Baptism for the dead?

It's not spoken about

anywhere else in the Bible.

In historical records,

we have nothing pointing to a practice

of baptism for the dead

at the time of this writing.

What is baptism for the dead?

One translator notes that

there are over 200 different theories

as to what this baptism for the dead

refers to.

So if you're thinking,

what on earth is that?

You're not alone.

The best of scholars and historians

have been wondering this too.

Many of them have proposed

all kinds of ideas,

different variations on what he means

when he says baptism,

different ideas about what it means

to be baptized for

or on account of

or different ideas

of who the dead refers to

and a whole bunch of different combinations

of these things.

If you just read this

at its kind of straightforward sense,

it would seem

that there were some

who were being baptized

for other people

or on behalf of other people.

And one of kind of the leading thoughts

is that this referred to

people who were being baptized

for other believers

who had died

but never had the opportunity

to themselves be baptized

before they were killed.

But of course with this,

the question that immediately

comes to mind is,

well, what did the being baptized

for them do for them?

How did it benefit them?

Because if we suggest

that this baptism

for these deceased believers

somehow added to their salvation

or enabled them

to attain to the resurrection,

it goes against everything

that Jesus

and the apostles

and even Paul himself taught.

So that's for sure not it.

Others have proposed

that instead of this,

perhaps it was

more of a symbolic act

that in being baptized

for departed believers,

they were symbolically commending

those people to God

and to the resurrection.

Another idea out there

is that this refers

to just ordinary baptism

and that the idea here

is that people saw

that some believers

had been martyred,

they'd been persecuted

and killed

and as a result of their death,

they themselves

had come to faith in Christ

and been saved

and were baptized

and that their baptism

had a bit of a nod

to that person

that they knew about

or they loved

and was a bit of a statement

of faith

that they would see

that person again

someday

in the resurrection.

One of the questions

that we could ask here

is does Paul approve

or disapprove

of this practice

of baptism for the dead?

Some suggest

that he disapproves of it

and what they point to

is the language.

Paul kind of uses

the third person.

He says,

what will they do

who are baptized

for the dead?

This is something they do

and the implication

is that we don't do it.

And so,

he's not approving

of this practice.

But then on the other hand,

we kind of wonder,

well,

if he disapproves of it,

then why is he using this

in his argument

for why there's a resurrection?

It kind of doesn't make sense.

So the scholars,

the commentators,

they're as confused

as you are

as you read this passage.

Some have just simply

looked at this

and said,

well,

maybe,

he's not really

commanding it,

he's not really

saying,

don't do it,

forbidding it.

Perhaps he's allowing it.

Perhaps it was

a meaningful practice

that he allowed them

to do as a church.

Whatever the case,

it's kind of lost in history.

We don't know the answer.

But what we do know

is the point

that Paul is making

using this.

He's saying,

if there is no resurrection,

what will those do

who are baptized

for the dead?

If there's no resurrection,

then,

if this is a valid,

permissible practice,

then this thing

that you've been doing

in faith

that's been meaningful

to you

is meaningless.

Or,

if,

another possibility

is that he's simply

pointing out

an inconsistency.

Some of these

Corinthians

have been saying

that there's no

resurrection of the dead.

Where did they

get that from?

Probably from

other people

outside the church

who had been

kind of

speaking into their ear.

and it could be

that Paul is

pointing at them

and saying,

why are you

listening to them?

These people

are telling you

it's ridiculous

to believe

in a resurrection

and in the next breath,

the next day,

they're going

and being baptized

for a dead loved one

because

they believe

in the afterlife

all of a sudden.

They're living

inconsistently,

so why are you

listening to them?

either way,

Paul's point

is clear.

The resurrection

is a reality.

It was a reality

with Christ.

We saw him

alive

and it's a future

reality

for believers

and we

ought to live

in light

of that reality.

The second

implication

that Paul gives

is in verse 30.

He says,

and as for us,

why do we

endanger ourselves

every hour?

I face death

every day.

Yes,

just as surely

as I boast

about you

in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

If I fought

with wild beasts

in Ephesus

with no more

than human hopes,

what have I gained?

Paul is challenging them.

Think about this,

guys.

I've been

traveling around

from town

to town,

city to city,

city,

and people

are after me.

This is dangerous.

I have risked

my life.

Why would I

do that

if this life

is all I have

to live

and after that

is nothing?

What is there

for me to gain?

Earlier

in his letter,

Paul

reminded them

of what

it has been

like for him.

He says this

in chapter 4,

verse 9,

it seems to me

that God

has put us

apostles on display

at the end

of the procession,

like those condemned

to die

in the arena.

We have been

made a spectacle

to the whole universe,

to angels

as well as

to human beings.

we are fools,

we are weak,

we are dishonored.

To this very hour

we go hungry

and thirsty,

we are in rags,

we are brutally

treated,

we are homeless,

we work hard,

we are cursed,

we are persecuted,

we are slandered,

we have become

the scum

of the earth,

the garbage

of the world

right up

to this moment.

Do you think

that

I

and my fellow

apostles

would give up

everything

and go through

that

if this life

is all we have

and there is

nothing

after death?

No way.

What Paul

is showing them

is that

his faith,

his belief

in a future

resurrection

matches

the way

that he's been

living.

I risk

my life

because

I am

confident

that if

they kill me

it's not

the end

for me.

And this is

implied in this

whole chapter.

I risk

my life

because

I

believe

that there's

something worse

than death

that people

are facing

in the

afterlife.

And that's

why I

take my

one precious

life in my

hands

and lay it

down

at great

risk

so that

some

so that

you

might be

saved.

The third

implication

that Paul

gives

is at the

very end

of verse

32.

He says

this.

He says

if the

dead are

not

raised

let us

eat

and drink

for tomorrow

we die.

If there's

no life

after death

if this

is it

then

we should

join the

rest of

the world

in living

it up

eating

drinking

being

married

getting

the most

out of

it

as much

as we

can

because

it's

nothing

but

hopelessness

at the

end

of the

line

for us

death

why

suffer

needlessly

why

put

ourselves

through

all

of

this

if

this

is

it

we

should

just

go

out

and

party

it

up

and

live

our

lives

to

the

full

if

there's

no

life

after

death

no

resurrection

back

to

verse

20

but

Christ

has

indeed

been

raised

from

the

dead

says

Paul

these

implications

would be

tragic

and

would be

devastating

but

you guys

are wrong

there is

a

resurrection

and the

proof of

that

is

Jesus

he

was

raised

from

the

dead

we

were

with

him

after

he

died

we

know

it

for

a

fact

and

therefore

you

guys

who

say

there

is

no

life

after

death

there's

no

resurrection

are

mistaken

there

is

not

only

that

we

heard

two

weeks

ago

he

has

been

raised

but

he

is

the

first

fruits

verse

20

of

those

who

have

fallen

asleep

he's

the

first

portion

of a

greater

resurrection

harvest

that is

yet

to

come

he's

the

first

installment

he's

the

down

payment

he's

the

proof

he's

the

pledge

he's

the

guarantee

that

there's

more

where

that

came

from

he

gives

this

wonderful

promise

in

verse

22

just

as

surely

as

everybody

who

is

in

Adam

dies

so

also

everybody

who

is

in

Christ

shall

be

brought

to

life

after

they

die

but

Paul

goes

on

verse

23

he

says

but

each

in

turn

Christ

the

first

fruits

then

when

he

comes

those

who

belong

to

him

there's

a

certain

order

to

this

resurrection

harvest

there's

a

certain

timeline

to

it

it's

a

two

part

thing

first

part

Christ

is

raised

from

the

dead

second

part

the

rest

those

who

are

in

Christ

are

raised

from

the

dead

when

when

he

comes

at

his

return

everybody

who

whose

body

is

lying

in

the

cemetery

who

is

a

believer

their

souls

have

gone

to be

with

Jesus

but

their

bodies

if

they've

been

buried

in

the

cemetery

are

lying

over

there

in

the

ground

and

when

Jesus

returns

the

promise

is

that

they

will

come

back

to

life

and

get

up

out

of

the

grave

amazing

the

resurrection

that

Paul

is

talking

about

here

is

not

a

spiritual

resurrection

it's

not

a

resurrection

that

has

already

taken

place

like

Philetus

and

Hymenaeus

were

teaching

in

Paul's

letter

to

Timothy

it's

not

something

that

happens

to

each

of

us

after

we

die

Paul

says

that

moment

when

we

come

out

of

the

graves

happens

when

he

comes

when

Jesus

returns

and

at

this

point

in

Paul's

letter

he

then

zooms

out

and

he

gives

us

a bit

of

the

bigger

picture

he

goes

on

in

verse

24

he

says

then

the

end

will

come

when

he

hands

over

the

kingdom

to

God

the

father

after

he

has

destroyed

all

dominion

authority

and

power

for

he

must

reign

until

he

has

put

all

his

enemies

under

his

feet

the

last

enemy

to

be

destroyed

is

death

for

he

has

put

everything

under

his

feet

now

when

it

says

that

everything

has

been

put

under

him

it's

clear

that

this

does

not

include

God

himself

who

put

everything

under

Christ

when

he

has

done

this

then

the

son

himself

will

be

made

subject

to

him

who

put

everything

under

him

so

that

God

may

be

all

in

all

we'll

go

into

some

of

the

details

there

just

a

few

but

before

we

do

I

think

we

just

need

to

think

of

how

Paul

is

using

this

how

this

fits

with

his

point

Paul's

arguing

that

there

is

a

resurrection

death

if

if

there's

no

resurrection

then

that

means

that

death

is

allowed

to

persist

as a

power

as a

principle

it's

allowed

to

continue

alongside

God

Paul

says

there's

no way

God's

going to

allow

that

death

will

not

be

allowed

to

oppose

God

to

oppose

his

son

or

to

oppose

his

people

at

the

final

act

death

itself

will

be

vanquished

it

will

be

beaten

there

is

much

in

here

that

speaks

of

a

coming

kingdom

a

beautiful

picture

of

how

God

is

sending

his

son

will

send

his

son

to

abolish

all

power

all

authority

all

dominion

that

is

opposed

to

him

and

death

will

not

be

an

exception

to

that

it

too

will

be

destroyed

the

picture

that

Paul

gives

us

here

is

of

Christ

coming

and

bringing

this

world

back

into

order

the

fullness

of

God's

kingdom

here

on

earth

only

one

kingdom

with

one

king

forever

it's

a

beautiful

picture

I'm

not

going to

say a

lot

about

this

this

morning

but

it's

something

that

maybe

you

want

to

take

some

time

to

look

at

yourself

to

meditate

over

Paul

spends

a

fair

bit

of

this

just

talking

about

the

relationship

of

the

father

and

the

son

he

talks

about

how

the

son

is

sent

by

the

father

to

bring

this

kingdom

to

order

and

how

the

son

he

goes

out

he

does

this

he

subdues

his

enemies

he

destroys

these

rival

powers

and

authorities

and

then

what

does

he

do

he

gives

the

kingdom

he

delivers

the

kingdom

to

his

father

his

mission

complete

but

there's

also

this

what

we

see

of

God

the

father

he

doesn't

sit

back

and

just

watch

this

no

he

acts

to

bring

the

victory

for

his

son

the

king

to

put

his

enemies

under

his

son's

feet

it's

a

beautiful

picture

the

story

so

big

between

a

father

and

a

son

and

a

world

and

I

can't

help

but

just

feel

humbled

just

a

small

insignificant

guy

caught

up

in the

middle

of

this

great

story

sandwiched

in the

middle

of all

this

is

this

beautiful

statement

verse

26

the

last

enemy

to be

destroyed

is

death

death

that

stalking

beast

that

takes

us

all

what

Paul

is

saying

is

the

first

blow

against

death

was

struck

when I

raised

my

son

from

the

grave

and

the

last

blow

that

will

vanquish

it

forever

will

be

struck

on

that

day

when

he

comes

death

will

be

beaten

we

will

be

resurrected

brought

back

to

life

but

not

only

that

we

will

be

forever

changed

the

principle

and

power

of

death

that's

at

work

in

our

bodies

that

causes

our

organs

to

fail

and

our

bodies

to

age

and

succumb

to

sickness

and

disease

that

itself

will

come

to

its

end

before

Christ

when

he

comes

it's

an

incredible

and

glorious

picture

of the

hope

that

we

have

those

of

us

who

belong

to

Christ

having

been

to

the

to

the

summit

with

what

he

shares

and

describes

here

I

half

expected

Paul

to

end

this

passage

this

portion

with

a

little

worship

hymn

or

something

like

that

a

song

of

praise

to

God

who

has

done

this

for

his

people

and

so

I

was

a

little

shocked

when

I

came

to

verse

33

do

not

be

misled

says

Paul

bad

company

corrupts

good

character

come

back

to

your

senses

as

you

ought

and

stop

sinning

for

there

are

some

who

are

ignorant

of

God

I

say

this

to

your

shame

mixed

feelings

mixed

emotions

Paul's

describing

the glory

of the

resurrection

but then

all of a

sudden

he

brought

back

down

to

think

of

the

situation

that

this

church

is

in

and

we

didn't

talk

about

it

this

morning

but

they've

been

in

all

kinds

of

immorality

they've

had

all

kinds

of

fighting

and

quarreling

with

each

other

and

division

mixed

emotions

Paul

puts

his

finger

on

three

things

three

things

that

they

need

to

do

that

they

need

to

address

he

says

in

verse

33

do

not

be

misled

bad

company

corrupts

good

character

one

of the

problems

that I

see

in

you

guys

church

of

Corinth

is

that

you've

been

letting

others

who

are

not

living

the

way

of

Christ

influence

you

you've

been

listening

to

them

speaking

into

your

life

to

the

point

now

where

you're

almost

denying

the

resurrection

come

to

your

senses

stop

listening

to

them

bad

company

corrupts

good

character

the

second

thing

he

points

his

finger

on

is

in

verse

34

he

says

come

back

to

your

senses

as

you

ought

and

stop

sinning

I

really

like

this

verse

Paul

just

shoots

straight

as

an

arrow

stop

sinning

last

I

checked

our

world's

way

of

dealing

with

problems

is

not

to

tell

people

just

to

stop

it

that

doesn't

work

don't

tell

them

that

especially

if

they're

wrestling

with

addictions

don't

just

tell

them

to

stop

that'll

just

reinforce

their

guilt

and

the

weight

that

they

feel

and

cause

them

to

do

it

even

more

and

yet

it

seems

that

Paul

under

the

inspiration

of the

Holy

Spirit

just

missed

the

memo

on

this

he

says

come

to

your

senses

and

stop

sinning

thank

you

Paul

thank

you

for

telling

us

what

you

see

that

we

are

in

sin

that

we

are

responsible

for

our

actions

that

we

need

to

simply

engage

our

minds

come

back

to

our

senses

and

act

to

put

a

stop

to

this

behavior

the

word

come

back

to