THE RESURRECTION PLAN I Corinthians 15:12-34 Return to 1st Corinthians Main Menu The resurrection of Jesus Christ is unquestionable the most important event in all of history. And it is the most significant event in the life of Jesus Christ. His life was an eventful one. His life was no ordinary life. Jesus was born of a virgin; He lived life without sin; He died on the cross to provide salvation for those who would trust in Him; He arose from the dead; He bodily ascended into heaven; He now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High; one day Jesus Christ will return and rule and reign on planet earth as its Sovereign Lord. All of that means nothing apart from His resurrection. Because He was resurrected, we too shall experience resurrection. The oldest book in the Bible is the Book of Job. Job asked a question that was pertinent then and it is pertinent today... If a man dies, shall he live again? Is there life after death? The only place you find the answer to that question is in the Word of God, and the Scripture gives an unequivocal yes. Though obscure, the bodily resurrection of believers is presented in the Old Testament. Psalm 17:15 As for me, I will see your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. Psalm 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me. Psalm 73:24 You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Job 19:26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God. Daniel 12:2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. The New Testament fully explains what the Old Testament hinted at. John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. Luke 20:37-38 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' For He is not the God of the dead 192 but of the living, for all live in Him. Acts 13:15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accepted, that
there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. I Corinthians 15:12 In 15:13-19, Paul list seven consequences if there is no resurrection of Believers. 1. If the Dead do not Rise, Christ is not Risen 15:12-13 - I Corinthians 15:2-4 - Luke 24:39 When Jesus first appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, they thought He was a spirit or ghost. He said to them, Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bone as you see me here. Notice: not flesh and blood we will have flesh and bone for structure, but not blood. It was the precious blood of Jesus that redeemed us. - Revelation 1:17-18 Jesus appeared to John on the Island of Patmos and said, Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death. 2. If the Dead do not Rise, the Gospel is Meaningless 15:14a 3. If the Dead do not Rise, Our Faith is Worthless 15:14b 4. If the Dead do not Rise, the Testimonies of the Witnesses are lies 15:15 5. If the Dead do not Rise, We are Unsaved 15:16-17 6. If the Dead do not Rise, Dead Believers have Perished 15:18 7. If the Dead do not Rise, Believers are to be Pitied 15:19 If Christ has not been raised: We are all Deceived 15:15 We are all Doomed 15:17 We are all in Despair 15:19 Without the resurrection we have no Savior, no forgiveness, no gospel, no meaningful faith, no life and no hope of any of these things. Without the resurrection, the Bible is a lie. Without the resurrection, the church is pointless, close it down, sell the property, and send the money to cancer research or something that will help us live longer because without the resurrection there is no hope in the afterlife. Without the resurrection there are no absolutes. We might as well do whatever our hearts desire. We should eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Because we have no hope of tomorrow we should indulge in every desire of the flesh. We should lie, cheat and steal without regard for consequences because this life only lasts for a while and then it is over. To live for Christ in this life only is complete foolishness. Without the resurrection to teach, preach, witness, give, suffer, sacrifice and work is entirely for nothing. Our lives would be 193 wasted on empty promises. Yet because Christ is raised, we are not to be pitied. We are not to be pitied because by His grace we will not be doomed to hell; rather we will spend eternity in heaven. Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk
according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. What is God's Resurrection Plan? A. The Resurrection of the Redeemer 15:20-22 Jewish readers would be very familiar with the word firstfruits. It come to us from the Mosaic Law. A Hebrew farmer would offer as a sacrifice to God the firstfruits from his field. The firstfruits of the harvest represents the first of the harvest to come in; the best of the best is offered; the promise of more to come. The firstfruits were a first installment of the harvest with the promise of more to follow. Jesus is the first of a great harvest. Note 15:21-22. At Christ's resurrection He reversed what Adam did to the race. Just as Adam was the forefather of everyone who dies, Christ is the forefather of every saint who will be raised to life. In Adam all have inherited a sin nature and will therefore die; in Christ all who believe in Him have inherited eternal life, and shall be made alive in body and in spirit. Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. B. The Resurrection of the Redeemed 15:23 The second resurrection that Paul discusses is one that will take place when Jesus returns. It is the resurrection of those who have died in faith, having placed their trust in the provision of God which is Jesus Christ. The Lord will return to raise (resurrect) and to rapture His people and set up His kingdom. Christ was raised first and the resurrection of His saints will follow His coming BUT the harvest will not be all at once, but will have its own order or sequence. 1. Believers who have come to saving faith from Pentecost to the Rapture who have died I Thessalonians 4:13-18. 194 2. Believers who are alive at Christ's coming will not taste death, but will be caught up or raptured and will be transformed in the air and ascend to heaven. 3. Those who come to faith during the Tribulation, with the Old Testament saints as well, will be raised up to reign with Him during the millennium Revelation 20:4; Daniel 12:2. 4. Those who die during the millennium kingdom may well be instantly transformed at death into their eternal bodies and spirits.
The only resurrection remaining will be that of the unrighteous, who will be raised to damnation and eternal punishment at the end of Christ's 1,000 year reign. They will stand at the Great White Judgment of God, which will be followed by eternal hell. C. The Restoration 15:24-34 Then the end This will be a time of restoration. After this, after the final resurrection, Jesus delivers the kingdom to God the Father. All things will be restored to the way they were designed by God to be in the sinless glory of the new heavens and the new earth. God's rule will be unopposed. Jesus will turn over a fully restored world to the Father who sent Him. His mission will be fully accomplished. At that time Jesus will put down and destroy all rule and all authority and power. I Corinthians 15:25 In ancient times, when a king conquered another kingdom or army, he would literally put his foot on the neck of his conquered enemy to symbolize his enemy's total subjection. In much the same way, Christ will rule on the earth until He has put all His enemies under His feet. I Corinthians 15:26 Death will never affect us again at the end of the millennium for Christ broke the power of death on the cross. Jesus will one day cast death and hell into the lake of fire and death will be no more Revelation 21:4. I Corinthians 15:28 There are some 40 interpretations of this verse. It does not teach that a dead person can be saved by another person's being baptized on behalf of them; because baptism never has a part in a person's salvation. A reasonable view seems to be that they...who are baptized refers to living believers who give outward testimony to their faith in baptism by water because they were first drawn to Christ by the exemplary lives, faithful influence, and witness of believers who had subsequently died. Paul's point is that if there is no resurrection and no life after death, then 195 why are people coming to Christ to follow the hope of those who have died? I Corinthians 15:33-34 Knowing that Jesus is alive and coming again should have an effect upon every person's life. Paul leaves us a plea to live a life of purity. The folks we hang around with have a lot to do with the way we life. If we are backslidden Christians, we have never considered the implications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is a hereafter, there will be a judgment seat of Christ, and we will give an account of our lives. This life is preparation for the next life, and so its important how we live. In the resurrection, we will be more alive There than we ever could be Here!