Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Corinthians 15-16.

As Paul wraps up his letter to the Corinthians, he gives us the basic which everyone must believe about Jesus in order to be a Christian.

1. Jesus died for our sins
2. He was buried
3. He was raised from the dead on the third day as foretold by the Scriptures

Paul makes the explicit point that both he and all of the other Apostles (and apostles) taught these three things.  From there he goes on to emphasize one of those, one with which the Believers in Corinth were apparently struggling: that Jesus was raised from the dead.  Paul points out that if Jesus did not truly rise from the dead that all of those who preached about what he taught were liars.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then everything Christianity teaches is a falsehood and has no value.  Further, Paul writes that if one does not believe in the resurrection of the dead, one should not follow Jesus’ moral teachings, that without the resurrection of the dead Jesus’ teachings are bad advice.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Corinthians 15-16.

This passage contains one of Paul’s best descriptions of what the good news of the Gospel is. It is right up there in importance with Romans 10:9-10 where he writes, “If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Here Paul writes that we must hold firmly to the gospel which he preached.  That gospel was, and is, that Jesus died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was raised from the dead on the third day.  Paul expands on to make clear that he means a literal, physical raising from the dead, not a spiritual, or figurative raising from the dead.  The gospel message has no meaning or value without that part, and without the part where we who put our faith in Christ will also experience such a literal, physical raising from the dead.  The suffering and hardship of this life become pointless if our existence ends with our death.  So, let us preach to those around us and seek to draw them into faith in Christ so that they might also experience the joy that comes through oneness with Him and the eternal life which He offers.  This message was the part which was “foolishness to the Greeks.”  And all too many today want to find wisdom in the Gospel without being willing to accept the “foolishness” of the resurrection of the dead.  As Paul tells us, if Christ was not resurrected from the dead, the entire New Testament is built upon lies and has no redeeming value.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 15-16

I know people who claim to be followers of Christ who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead.  Paul makes it quite clear that such a belief is contrary to the message that he, and the other apostles taught. Paul makes two arguments here for the Resurrection, and resurrection, being a critical part of the Gospel message. First he points out that all of those who preached what Jesus taught also preached that they had first hand knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection, including himself in that number. There was no one who claimed to have heard Jesus preach, and claimed to follow that preaching, who did not also claim to have witnessed Jesus’ resurrection. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, they were all either liars or crazy.  Which would mean that whatever they were teaching was fatally flawed.  Paul’s second argument for the Resurrection, and our resurrection, was that there was no value to following Gospel teachings if there was no resurrection. If there is no resurrection, then risking the suffering which so often accompanies following Christ’s teachings had no upside. Sure, it might make the world a better place, but I will not be around to see that change. Paul tells us that if there is no resurrection then we should live by the motto, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die.”  I have many friends who live by that credo, and it always saddens me.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Corinthians 15-16

Some people claim to be Christian but do not believe in Jesus’ resurrection.  In today’s passage, Paul summarizes the Gospel: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day.  This is what all of those who taught the Gospel said.  In particular, those who passed on Jesus’ teachings made this claim.  If they lied about Jesus rising from the dead, which they claimed to have witnessed, how can we believe what they said about His teachings?  Further, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, than neither will we.  If we will not rise from the dead, than the suffering and ridicule which we face for following Christ has no point.  If there is no resurrection from the dead, we may as well party all the time for tomorrow we die.

I want to circle back to Paul’s first point.  If Jesus did not rise from the dead, than everything in the New Testament is a lie.  Further, the teachings presented there as those of Jesus are not “great moral truths”, but the words of a conspiracy of con artists…or perhaps a gang of crazies.