Read 1 Corinthian 15:1-8
- Paul wanted to remind the Corinthian church about the Gospel that was preached to them at the beginning of his time there.
- The Gospel was that Jesus came to earth, died for our sins and was raised from the dead by God. The secular world at the time was trying to convince them that there was no such thing as a resurrection from the dead.
- Paul reminded them if there was no resurrection then Jesus did not rise from the dead and their faith and hope in God was useless.
- Paul reminded them of the hundreds of eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. He also reminded them that Jesus personally appeared to him although he persecuted, imprisoned, and murdered Christians at that time.
Read 1 Corinthian 15: 12-19
- Without the resurrection of Jesus, then Christianity is a big joke.
- Without Jesus, there would be very little motivation to live right in the world today
- Also, without Jesus we would have no hope to be able to live with God for eternity
- Without the resurrection our sins would not be forgiven
Read 1 Corinthian 15: 20-28
- Adam brought sin and death into the world
- Jesus brought the resurrection, forgiveness and life into the world
- When Jesus returns, death will be destroyed.
- Jesus will have the ultimate authority over everything and hand it over to God
- Bad company corrupts good character
- Don’t be ignorant of God, it is a sin to deny God’s power and ability to raise Jesus from the dead
- Do we live like Christ has been raised from the dead?
- What company do I keep?
- Eventually our bodies will be raised like Jesus in a newly resurrected form. We need to remember to rejoice before God and to cherish the value of our relationship with God.