Resurrection Gospel - 1 Cor. 15:1-11

Bible, it's in page 1155.

1 Corinthians 15, verse 1.

1 Corinthians 15:1

Now, I will remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you,

which you received, in which you stand,

and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,

unless you believed in vain.

For I deliver to you, as of first importance, what I have received,

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than five thousand brothers at one time,

most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one untimely bond, he appeared also to me.

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 towards me was not in vain.

On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them,

though I was not, though it was not I,

but the grace of God that is with me.

Whether then it was I or they,

so we preach, and so you believe.

Thank you, Kevin.

Well, let's keep our Bibles there in 1 Corinthians,

and let's pray.

Father, would you, by your Holy Spirit,

teach us afresh the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ.

May it be for us not just what we believe,

but the very foundation of our life.

And Father, may it give us a grounding and an assurance

that what we believe is true.

And not only that, but it is a word that can change us,

change our lives today,

and for all eternity.

So help us now, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, I think we need to face facts.

There is no resurrection.

Think about it.

How many people have you met

that have been raised from the dead?

Or how many funerals have you been to

when the person just came alive again?

It simply doesn't happen.

Christians, of course, claim there is a resurrection,

but that's not true.

Jesus existed, that's true,

but the story that he came alive again,

well, that's not credible.

And the suggestion that all those who believe in him

will rise again

is just a work of fiction.

We need to face facts.

There is no resurrection.

Well, that's what some people believed at the church in Corinth.

About 30 years after the bodily resurrection of Jesus,

people were claiming,

it's just not true.

And many people today think the same.

This idea of Jesus rising again

is just all lies.

It's a myth.

Look at the end of verse 12.

This is what some people were thinking in the church.

How can some of you say

that there is no resurrection of the dead?

In fact, some even mocked the idea of a bodily resurrection.

So if you look at verse 35.

Someone may ask,

how are the dead raised?

With what kind of body will they come?

You don't expect us to believe this kind of nonsense, do you?

Well, let's suppose for a minute

that these people are right.

What if Jesus never raised from the dead?

What if it's all just a big hoax?

What if we've just been sold a lie?

That there is no future hope.

That there is no eternal life.

That there is no bodily resurrection.

Well, if that's true,

look at verse 19.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ,

we are to be pitied more than all people.

If the resurrection is not true,

then we're just wasting our time.

Gathering here like this is just a nonsense.

We might as well just pack our bags,

go home,

and live life however we want.

Well, as we start into chapter 15,

we will see that the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ

is credible,

it's reliable,

and it is the foundation for our life.

So, first,

remember the gospel

that you have believed in.

Look at verse 1 of chapter 15.

Now, brothers and sisters,

I want to remind you

of the gospel that I preached to you.

I know you know it.

I know you've heard it,

but I want to remind you

of the gospel.

The gospel,

that word gospel,

simply means good news.

Essentially,

it is good news

that must be announced

or declared.

And perhaps the most famous illustration

is the story of Pheidippides.

I think that's the right pronunciation.

But in 490 BC,

490 years before Christ,

the Persians,

that great empire,

came and invaded the Greeks.

And they had a great big battle

at a place which was called Marathon.

The Greeks won,

and because of the victory,

Pheidippides was sent by the generals

to go back to the city of Athens

to announce the good news to the people.

And he ran all the way

from the battlefield in Marathon

all the way to Athens,

which was 26 miles,

which is where we get

our modern day marathon from.

And there to the people of Athens,

he announced to them,

we win!

Hail!

We are the winners!

And then he fell down and died.

That's another part of the story.

Well, that's the idea

that's behind the word gospel.

It's the announcement of good news.

It's the declaration of a victory.

So as Paul comes to Corinth,

he's reminding them,

I preach to you the gospel.

I proclaim to you the good news.

A victory has taken place.

He tells us what that good news is.

We were reading and singing about it earlier.

Look at verse 3.

For what I received,

I passed on to you as first importance.

And here it is.

That Christ died for our sins

according to the scriptures.

That he was buried.

That he was raised on the third day

according to the scriptures.

And that he appeared to Peter

and then to the twelve.

Jesus Christ,

by his death on the cross,

his resurrection from the grave,

has defeated our greatest enemies ever,

sin and death.

And so at the end of the chapter,

as he concludes his big lesson

about the resurrection,

Paul can reassure us and say this.

Have a look at verse 54.

At the end of the chapter,

he makes this great declaration

and gives us this great assurance.

Look at the very end of verse 54.

He says,

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin

and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God,

he gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So he proclaims good news.

Jesus Christ,

by his death and resurrection,

has won a victory

over sin and death for you.

And so we today can say,

we are victorious

because of what Christ has done.

Now this is the same gospel,

the good news that has been preached to us.

It's like a relay race

through the course of history.

The gospel has been faithfully preached

and announced

and passed on to each generation,

one after the other.

And it is passed down

to every generation.

And here we are today

as people who've heard

the good news.

This gospel victory

has been announced to us.

But it is more than just simply good news.

It is the foundation

of our life.

Let's read verse 1 again.

Now, brothers and sisters,

I want to remind you of the gospel,

this good news,

this victory

that I preached to you,

which you received

and on which you have taken your stand.

Foundations are critical for any building,

even this building in which we're in.

If the foundation is not right,

then the house you're living in

is just going to come crashing down.

Well, this gospel,

this good news about Jesus

is our foundation.

At the end of verse 1,

it says,

it's on this

that we have taken our stand.

It's foundational.

It's what we place our confidence in.

It's who we trust

when we face the reality

of judgment and death.

We place all our hope

and our certainty

of Jesus

in his death and resurrection.

This is our rock.

This is what we believe in.

Verse 2,

by this gospel

you are saved

if

you hold firmly

to the word

that I preach to you.

If you hold firmly

to this word.

Some of you will know

that on the north coast

of this island

there's a famous rope bridge

called Carragoreed.

It spans

two great

immovable cliffs.

They're 20 metres apart,

so

what about

the width

maybe a bit

wider

of this room here.

It's about

30 metres high,

so

what could be

double the height

of this ceiling here.

30 metres above

rocks

and sea.

And at each end

of this rope bridge

is anchored

to the rock face.

It's tied in

to the foundation

of these rocks.

And as long as

these connections

are in place

you can walk

backwards and forwards.

You're not going to fall.

No matter what

the wind or the weather

it remains firm.

The bridge stands.

But you remove

either anchor

and it will either

come crashing down

this way

or it will come

crashing down

that way.

Well in the same way

these truths,

these two great

pillars of the faith,

the death

of Jesus

and the resurrection

of Jesus

are these two

great anchor points,

the foundation

of our life.

And you let go

of either one

or you remove

either anchor

and your life

will come

crashing down.

Otherwise,

as it says

at the end

of verse 2,

you have believed

in vain.

Without the foundation

of the death

and the resurrection

of Jesus

we are believing

in nothing.

It would be like

trying to stand

on thin air.

You will come

falling down

to the ground

with a bang.

So let's remember,

let's remind

ourselves afresh

of this good news,

this victory

that has been

achieved for us

is our life

foundation.

This is what

I stand on.

This

is what I believe.

Second,

we must know

the gospel

that we have

received

is true.

You see,

it's all very

well to sit

here and say,

believe the gospel.

Stand on the

foundation of the

death

and the resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

Christ.

But how do we know

it's true?

How do we know

it's not just

made up

or just some

story inventive

from some

myth?

Well,

there's three

reasons why we

know it's true.

First,

first it comes

from God.

Look at verse

three.

Paul is saying

what I received

this message,

this gospel,

I received

and I passed

on to you

as of first

importance.

So,

Paul is making

it very clear,

look,

this isn't my

own idea.

This isn't just

something I made

up,

but I've received

it from God.

Keep your finger

there in 1 Corinthians

and just keep

going forward.

Turn a page

or two,

you come to

2 Corinthians

and then at

the end of

2 Corinthians

you come to

Galatians.

So,

Galatians

Galatians 1:11

chapter 1

verse 11.

Galatians 1

Galatians 1:11

verse 11.

So,

here again

he's reminding

another church

of the gospel

that they

believed in

and he says

to them

there,

he says,

I want you

to know,

verse 11,

brothers and

sisters,

that the gospel

I preached

is not

something that

man made

up.

I did not

receive it

from any

man,

nor was I

taught it,

rather I

received it

by revelation

from Jesus

Christ.

So,

this revelation

that Paul

has received

isn't just

some idea

or some

philosophy

that's just

come up

with his

own thinking,

but these

are truths,

these are

historical

events that

can be

verified

that Christ

died,

that Christ

was raised

and now

Paul is

passing

these truths

on to

other people

and they're

recorded for

us here in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15.

Let's go back

to chapter 15

and verse 3.

And here he

spells it out

in four

very clear

statements.

He says,

what I

passed on

to you,

this is what

I received

of first

importance.

This is

primary,

this is

foundational.

One,

that Christ

died for

our sins

according to

the scriptures.

Two,

that he

was buried.

How do we

know he

died?

He was

buried.

Three,

that he

was raised

on the

third day

according to

the scriptures.

And four,

how do we

know he

was raised?

That he

appeared to

Peter and

then to

the twelve.

He received

these truths

by revelation,

but not just

these facts,

but also

what it

meant.

Part of

this revelation

was an

unpacking of

what these

things meant.

So we're

told that

Christ died

for our

sins.

By faith,

our sins

are transferred

to Christ,

who when

he was on

the cross

takes the

punishment

that we

deserve

for our

sins.

He tells

us that

Christ was

raised on

the third

day,

and that

by faith

in Christ

we believe

that when

Christ was

raised from

the dead,

he was

also raised

for us

so that

we too

will rise

to eternal

life.

So he's

saying believe

it,

because God

has revealed

it to

us.

Well, you

might say to

that, well,

that's well and

good, God

passed it on.

How do we

know that's

true?

Where did

that come

from?

Well, two,

it's according

to Scripture.

Long before the

death and

resurrection of

Jesus happened,

it was

announced in

Scripture in

the Old

Testament.

So look at

verse 3 again,

we've got this

repeated phrase

and in verse 4

that Christ

died for our

sins according

to the

Scriptures.

Verse 4,

that he was

buried and

raised on the

third day

according to

the Scriptures.

Before these

events happened,

hundreds of

years before it

happened,

it was already

spoken about

and already

talked about.

Again, keep

your finger in

1 Corinthians

15 and go

all the way

back to

Isaiah

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

chapter 53.

I haven't

got a page

number, I'm

sorry, so if

somebody's got

that, they

can call it

out.

Isaiah

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

chapter 53.

740.

Isaiah

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

chapter 53.

So here this

prophet Isaiah,

it's about

700 years

before the

coming of

Christ.

chapter 53.

And as he

writes, he

doesn't name

Christ, but

here he is

talking and

thinking and

looking forward

to the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

Christ.

So look how he

talks about the

death of Christ.

Look at verse

5.

that he was

pierced for

our transgressions.

He was

crushed for

our iniquities.

The punishment

that brought us

peace was upon

him and by his

wounds we are

healed.

We all like

sheep have gone

astray.

each of us

has turned

to his own

way and

the Lord

has laid

on him,

on Christ,

when he

died on the

cross,

he laid

on him

the iniquity

of us

all.

Christ died

according to

the scriptures,

the message

that was

proclaimed and

announced hundreds

of years before

Christ ever

died.

what about

his resurrection?

Well, have a

look at verse

10.

Yet it was

the Lord's

will to

crush him

and cause

him to

suffer.

And through

the Lord,

and though the

Lord makes

his life a

guilt offering,

he will

see his

offspring

and prolong

his days.

And the

will of the

Lord will

prosper in

his hands.

So here he's

talking about

the death of

Jesus,

but at the

one hand saying

his days will

go on.

Verse 11,

after the

suffering of

his soul,

he will see

the light

of life

and be

satisfied.

Christ will

die,

but he will

rise again

and he will

see the

results of

his death

and his

resurrection,

that people

have come to

trust him

and follow

him.

So long

before Jesus

came,

Paul is

saying this

gospel message

that I received

by revelation

was announced

well in

advance,

hundreds of

years ago.

One,

one day

was going

to come

who would

fulfil all

of these

truths and

now it has

been fulfilled

in the

person of

Jesus Christ.

So believe

it,

because God

has said it

and because

scripture

announced it.

But there's

another piece

of evidence,

that is the

resurrection

itself.

Go back

to 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15:4

chapter 15,

verse 4.

The evidence

here is that

the people

saw the

risen Jesus.

So let's

read verse 4

again.

He was

buried,

he was

raised on

the third

day according

to the

scriptures,

and he

appeared to

Peter and

then to

the twelve.

Well you

say, well

that's nice

and neat

and very

convenient.

Jesus

appeared to

those who

knew him,

his

disciples.

Well,

read on,

verse 6.

After that,

he appeared

to more

than 500

of the

brothers,

at the

same time,

most of

whom are

still living,

though some

have fallen

asleep.

In other

words,

they have

died.

It's like

Paul is

laying down

a challenge

to anyone

who doubts

the truth

of the

resurrection.

He's

inviting his

readers to

go and

check out

what he is

claiming and

what he is

saying is

true.

He's saying,

go and ask

all these

witnesses.

There's about

500 of them.

Okay,

some of them

have died,

but the vast

majority of

them are

still alive.

Go and ask

them,

go talk to

them,

listen to

their stories,

weigh it up,

see what they

have to say,

compare it.

There's no

way that

Paul could

make such

a claim

without proof

that it

was true.

Don't just

believe what

I'm saying

or what I'm

writing,

go and check

it out for

yourself.

And if that

is not enough,

verse 7,

then he

appeared to

James,

then also

to the

apostles.

This is a

wider group

than the

disciples.

And last

of all,

he appeared

to me

also as

to one

abnormally

born or

as untimely

born as

some have

it.

It's not

referring here

to some

physical

condition,

but rather

to Paul's

spiritual

condition.

Paul saw

the risen

Jesus when

he was in

opposition to

Jesus.

On his

way,

on the

Damascus

road,

on his

way to

persecute

Christians,

the risen

Lord Jesus

appeared to

him.

That's what

I think

it's

referring to

here.

The point

is that

Jesus appeared

to individuals,

to small

groups,

to a

large group

in different

places and

in different

times.

So he's

saying it's

true, go

check out

the stories.

Now I

know we're

2,000 years

on from

that event

and we

can't

necessarily

go to

these

people

because

they're

all

dead.

But we

can go

to their

sources.

We do

have their

testimony.

We do

have their

accounts.

That's why

Paul is

writing down

what he

wrote down

here in

1 Corinthians.

We can

check out

this eyewitness

record.

We can

check out

the stories

of the

gospel,

see what

has been

written down

and preserved

for us

in scripture

so that

we too

can believe.

And many

people have

done that.

I was

talking to

Nick just

now.

You can

ask Nick

as a

student in

university.

One of the

things that

caused him

to come to

belief in

Christ was

when he

was challenged

to check

out the

truth of

the resurrection

in the

pages of

scripture.

And that

led Nick

to come to

a real

believing

faith to

say this

is true.

I can

trust it.

Go talk

to Nick

and listen

to his

story or

the book

that he

was referred

to which

is forgetting

now the

tomb.

What was

it?

Who

Moved

the Stone.

So that's

a little

book that

somebody had

written.

They had

went to

investigate

trying to

prove that

the resurrection

wasn't

true and

in the

course of

investigating

found oh

it is

true and

came to

believe.

And as

people ask

you questions

like I had

a conversation

with a

friend in

the car

yesterday

didn't

believe in

the

resurrection

a load

of nonsense

how would

we answer

that?

Be sure

that you

have a

reason for

the hope

in which

you believe.

So know

that the

gospel you

have received

is true.

The

foundation

that we

stand on

is real.

It's

credible.

And third

experience

the gospel

that has

power to

change your

life.

You see

at the end

of the day

the ultimate

test that

this is

true is

to experience

the gospel

in your

own life.

Not just

a message

that's out

there that

we can read

about that

that's

impersonal.

But something

that you

can believe

yourself and

trust with

your very

own life.

First we

can see

that it

changed

Paul's

life.

Look at

verse 9.

He says

I am the

least of

the apostles.

An apostle

was one

who had

seen the

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ.

So he

says I

am the

least of

the

apostles.

Well why

would he

say that?

It's almost

like saying

I'm the

bottom of

the pile.

I do

not even

deserve to

be called

an apostle.

Why?

Because I

persecuted

the church

of God.

Paul is

asking us

to look at

his life

saying look

at what

my life

was like.

Not only

did I

not believe

in the

resurrection

but I

actually went

around

persecuting

those who

did believe

in the

resurrection.

I

oversaw

their

murder,

their

execution.

I

put them

in prison.

But,

verse 10,

by the

grace of

God I

am what

I am

and his

grace to

me was

not without

effect.

As we

mentioned

earlier as

Paul was

on a

journey,

on his

way to

persecute

Christians and

kill them or

imprison them,

the risen

Lord Jesus

graciously

intervened in

Paul's

life,

stopped him

literally in

his tracks.

He didn't

deserve it,

he didn't

earn it,

but God

changed him

and Paul

came to

believe this

gospel that

this Christ

who he was

opposed to

and against

had died

for his

sins.

And the

Christians that

he persecuted

who believed

in the

resurrection

was true

and that by

trusting in

him he

could have

life.

And the

effects were

clear to

see in

Paul's

life.

He was

changed from

a persecutor

to a

preacher,

from an

antagonist

to an

apostle.

And as

a result,

Paul now

gave his

life for

the cause

of the

gospel.

He could

say that

he worked

harder,

the end

of verse

10,

harder than

any of

the other

apostles.

The gospel

had radically

changed his

life.

Now the

point of

all of

this is,

it is a

gospel message

that changes

you and

me.

This is a

gospel that

has power

to change

us.

So let me

show you

very briefly

two ways

the gospel

has power

to change

our life.

First,

it gives

us a

brand new

identity.

Look at

verse 10

again.

By the

grace of

God,

I am

what I

am,

and his

grace to

me was

not without

effect.

You see,

God no

longer looks

at Paul

through the

lens of

the past,

the past,

a persecutor

and a

murderer.

God now

looks at

Paul through

the lens

of the

gospel,

through

Jesus

Christ.

I am

what I

am,

says Paul,

by the

grace of

God.

Because

Christ died

for our

sins,

our past

no longer

defines us.

Our

failures are

no longer

held against

us.

We have

a brand

new

identity.

I am

what I

am because

of what

Jesus has

done for

me.

Now,

perhaps you

are here

today,

whether you

are a

believer or

not a

believer,

and you're

troubled with

your past.

You're

conscious of

some secret

sin that

no one else

knows about,

and it

keeps coming

back time

and time

again.

or maybe

people don't

let you

forget your

past,

and they

keep reminding

you of what

you said or

how you

behaved or

what you

did.

Well,

because of

Christ,

people no

longer define

you.

The world

doesn't define

you.

You don't

even get to

define yourself.

Christ

defines you.

If you

trust in

him,

just as

Paul was,

we are

forgiven

people,

accepted

people.

You are

a child

of God,

welcomed,

loved,

and treasured,

so we're

no longer

defined by

what everybody

else thinks.

We now

have a

brand new

identity to

live as

the children

of God.

By the

grace of

God,

I am

what I

am.

Do not

let anybody

else define

you.

Let

Christ

define

you and

live out

your new

identity

in him.

The past

is put

away.

You have

a brand

new life

to live.

But not

just a

new

identity,

we also

have a

new

priority.

Look at

the end

of verse

10.

Not only

was Paul

changed,

he said,

I could

work harder

than all

of them.

Yet

not I,

but the

grace of

God

that was

at work

in me.

We can

read all

about Paul's

work in

the book of

Acts and

in other

letters,

the places

he preached,

the churches

that he

planted.

In fact,

on many

occasions as

he went

about his

work,

he nearly

lost his

life in

the process.

Wild

animals

attacked

him,

people

stoned

him,

he was

beaten,

he was

imprisoned,

he endured

shipwrecks,

he almost

died on

numerous

occasions.

But as

he looks

at his

life and

all that

he accomplished,

look again

at the end

of verse

10.

He says,

it wasn't

me who

did all

this,

but the

grace of

God that

was with

me.

Paul could

give his

life,

literally he

could pour

out his

life for

the work

of Christ

because of

the grace

of God,

because of

the truth

of the

resurrection,

because Christ

had defeated

death.

Paul knew

that if he

died in

the process

of doing

this work,

that wasn't

it.

He too

would rise

to be with

Christ forever,

which was

better by

far.

He now

had a new

priority in

life and

he could

give his

life to

it 100%.

Well,

again,

maybe you're

here this

morning and

you're thinking

that this

life,

this 70

years or

however many

years we

might live,

that this

is all

there is

from the

day we

are born

to the

day we

die and

that's

it.

So you

spend your

time investing

in stuff

that doesn't

last,

trying to

do

everything

now,

going on

this place

and going

over here

and doing

this and

doing that

because,

well,

we've only

got this

certain length

of time

and we've

got to do

everything

and have

everything

now.

you can

be a

Christian

and live

like that.

Or maybe

you fear

losing your

own life

so you

don't do

anything,

you don't

commit to

anything

because of

fear of

what might

happen,

I'll not

move,

I'll not

change this,

I'll not

leave this

country because

who knows

what's going

to happen.

Well,

if you

believe,

if you

truly believe

the resurrection

as Paul did,

it frees

your life

to live

for Christ.

You don't

need everything

now because

the best is

yet to come.

You don't

need to fear

for your

life now

because eternal

life is yet

to come.

Christ

changes you

completely

and gives

you a new

priority.

So this

gospel,

the death

of Christ,

the resurrection

of Christ

is the

foundation

on which

we build

our life.

It is

true,

100%

true

and it

can change

you radically.

So,

verse 11,

whether then

it was I

or they,

this is

what we

preach

and this

is what

you believed.

It doesn't

matter who

preaches the

gospel to you

or how

you hear

it,

whether it's

in this

building

or in

some other

place,

or what

we were

doing when

we heard

the gospel.

The point

is that

we believe

it,

that this

is the

sure and

certain

truth of

the gospel,

the foundation

on which we

build our

life.

The

foundation,

verse 3,

that Christ

died for

our sins

according to

the scriptures,

that he

was buried,

that he

was raised

on the

third day

according to

the scriptures,

and that he

appeared to

Peter and

then to

the twelve.

Have

confidence

in what

you believe.

It is

true.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Father,

would you

please help

us

to have

that fresh

confidence

again in

the truth

of your

gospel,

that where

other voices

and other

messages

claim to

discredit

the

resurrection

and say

it's just

a myth.

Help us

to examine

afresh who

you are

and what

you have

done,

and that

we can

believe it.

But more

than that,

just as

people taught

us the

gospel,

we pray

that we

would faithfully

pass it

on to

the next

generation,

to our

own

children,

to those

we work

with,

to those

we meet

with.

Father,

give us

opportunity

to have

that confidence

and assurance