Lesson 31 – 1 Corinthians Chapter 15:1-14

The timing of our digging into chapter 15 is God’s timing, in that we will be discussing the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which we just celebrated a few weeks ago.

Contrary to the resurrection, there was a group of affluent Corinthian believers who were influenced by the ideas and behaviors found in Epicurean circles.

Epicureanism is basically the equivalent of hedonism, the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the main goal, producing contentment or becoming highly successful. Epicureanism thus means a devotion to pleasure, comfort, and high living, with a precise quality in the way in which they lived.

While hedonism maximizes pleasure and indulgence to attain happiness, epicureanism emphasizes life’s simple pleasures and the avoidance of pain, to achieve tranquility and an inner peace. In other words, self-satisfaction at any cost.

One pastor makes the comment that the Corinthians were so carnal in their behaviors that the term Corinthian was synonymous with “party animal.” This was largely because Corinth was the epicenter of the Epicurean philosophy. Their main thrust of belief was there is no eternity… so eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

A common philosophy of the Greek culture was there is no resurrection from the dead… once you die, that’s it.
It’s easy to see how this way of thinking could creep into the Corinthian church. When Paul preached the resurrection in Athens, some of the people actually laughed and scoffed at him.

Acts 17:32a:
“Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer.”

The Greeks also looked at the human body as something that was weak and wicked, they couldn’t understand how the body could possibly continue on after death. The Greeks were partially correct in that the actual bodies we have now will not enter into heaven. As Christians, we know that God will fulfill His promise and give each one of us a brand-new glorified body that will last for all eternity.

The way the Greek culture saw things was the body was actually the prison of the soul, and the sooner the soul was set free by death, the better off a person would be.

The Resurrection…

The believer’s faith and hope all rests on the fact that Jesus is the First Resurrection, and in His resurrection holds the promise that we will follow Him into our resurrection.

Romans 6:3-5:
“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,”

The empty tomb of Jesus stands in sharp contrast to all the other world religions, because all their so-called gods are still in their graves.

John 5:28:
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

A little side note, “good deeds” doesn’t mean salvation by works, good works is the evidence of salvation.

1 Corinthians 15 is the most extensive treatment of the resurrection in all of Scripture. The doctrinal issue on which this chapter focuses on wasn’t the disbelief in Jesus’ resurrection, but the general confusion of the Corinthians about their own resurrection.

Pray that God will enlighten our hearts and minds as we get into this study.

1 Cor. 15:1:
“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,”

With Paul starting out by calling them brethren not only speaks of a closeness with them, but Paul considers them to be fellow Christian believers.

The gospel which I preached to you, which also you received…

Paul is looking back to the time when he was first with them, and that the things he’s going to say to them aren’t anything new, he says, which also you received… meaning the gospel hadn’t changed… the gospel never changes, it’s immutable.

In which also you stand…

As they say, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Because the Corinthians trusted in the truth of Christ’s resurrection, they should consider themselves a part of Christ’s church… expressing the true power of the resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:2:
“By which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”

A better way to say this is, if you hold on to what I preached to you, unless your faith is worthless, and unless you believed without effect… you believed in vain.

To put it another way, there were some who put up a good show, but when it came down to it, they were just nothing more than make-believers, they lacked having true saving faith. Nothing in them wanted to hold fast to the truth that was preached to them.

To hold fast means to “cling to,” or “take a firm grasp of.” It is based on the idea of gripping tightly to an object. Almost like holding on for dear life.

Our salvation is kept by Christ’s holding fast to us, and not us holding Him fast. Our holding onto Him is evidence that He is holding onto us.

From gotquestions.org:
“The Corinthians were saved if they held fast to the word Paul had preached. That word was the message of the gospel. In other words, saving faith causes believers to persevere and be diligent in their commitments to Christ. Paul wasn’t saying that those who are saved can lose their salvation, nor was he implying that believers never struggle with sin and failure. Paul meant that genuine salvation proves itself in persistence, perseverance, and diligence over the long haul of life. The saved will persevere.”

Paul wanted the Corinthians to examine their hearts. If their commitment to Christ had been only temporary, then they would have believed in vain.

The original word translated “in vain” means “at random.” Such a momentary belief is of no benefit to anyone, because it does not lead to eternal life. Paul wholeheartedly believed that the Corinthians had experienced genuine saving faith, which would reveal itself in diligent obedience to the Word, and the One they had received.

For those of us who hold fast and “cling to” the Word, are the ones who are saved by faith and walk in faith.

Hebrews 10:38-39 (NLT):
“And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away. But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.”

1 Cor. 15:3:
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,”

For I delivered to you…

This means Paul delivered to them the genuine article, the God-given trustworthy teaching, and not something he just dreamed up.

That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

What Scriptures? Paul is referring to the Old Testament here, remember the New Testament is still being written.
Here’s five examples…

Gen. 22:8:
“Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.”

Isaiah 53:5:
“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”

Isaiah 53:6:
“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”

Isaiah 53:7:
“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Hosea 6:2:
“He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him.”

1 Cor. 15:4:
“And that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”

Over and over again, either directly or indirectly, literally or in figures of speech, the Old Testament foretold of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. This is nothing new to the Corinthians, and the things Paul taught them had no contradiction according to Jewish belief.

1 Cor. 15:5:
“And that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Luke 24:34 [the disciples speaking to the two who were on the road to Emmaus]:
“Saying, ‘The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.’” (Peter)

We don’t really know when Jesus appeared to Peter, but we do know it was after Mary saw Him and before the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Peter had history with Jesus to say the least. We know that the last time Peter saw Jesus was when he denied Him three times… just as Jesus had predicted.

We can only imagine the thoughts Peter had when he first heard that Jesus was alive. There was a foot race between him and John to get to the tomb, but somehow Peter lagged behind, because John got there first.

Peter had forsaken Jesus… he had declared he was ready to die for Jesus, but somehow his courage had evaporated when he saw the arrest of Jesus.

Paul is telling us that Jesus appeared to Peter… Jesus didn’t appear to Peter because Peter deserved to see Him the most, but perhaps because Peter needed to see Jesus the most. I think I can say without reservation that the conversation between Jesus and Peter was soaked with grace and mercy.

Then to the twelve…

So if Judas committed suicide right after Jesus died, how could Paul mention that Jesus appeared to the twelve?

Most scholars agree when Paul says “the twelve” he is using it as a technical term to refer to “the group of Jesus’ chosen disciples.” This is speaking of “an office.” This group was simply called “the twelve,” and even if someone was missing, the group as a whole was just called “the twelve.”

A similar example would be in college football, there is a division called the “Big Ten.” How many teams are in the Big Ten? Ten, right? No, there’s eighteen teams in the Big Ten. Why then do we call it the Big Ten? Because that’s its name, originally the “Big Ten” had ten teams.

1 Cor. 15:6:
“After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;”

We don’t know who these people are, or where they saw Jesus, but they were well known in the early church. When Paul wrote this twenty years later, most of these witnesses were still alive. It’s so cool that Jesus allowed over 500 people to see Him, other than His disciples.

But some have fallen asleep… these are the ones who had passed away.

1 Cor. 15:7:
“Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;”

There’s no way of knowing for sure which James is being talked about here, but many think that this is Jesus’ half-brother. James wasn’t in the same boat as Peter, but James and his other brothers were skeptical of Jesus when He was in His full ministry.

John 7:3-5:
“Therefore His brothers said to Him, ‘Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.’ For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

It’s common in many families to have sibling rivalries taking place… it would be very unusual if they didn’t happen. Then there’s the problem of trying to measure up to your older brother or sister, because your parents seem to hold them in high esteem.

That’s how it was for James and his other brothers, they had to grow up with their brother who was God, the Son of the Most High. How do you compete with that?

For Jesus to appear before James had to be a life changing event for James… to see his brother as the risen Messiah. If James didn’t have saving faith before seeing his resurrected brother, he certainly did now, thus becoming one of the early church leaders.

Then to all the apostles…

Acts 1:3:
“To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

Before Jesus had ascended into heaven, He had been with His apostles many times.

1 Cor. 15:8:
“And last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

Paul was the last to see Jesus. He wasn’t in the mix with the other apostles, nor was he with the 500. Paul saw Jesus after the resurrection, but he also saw Jesus after He ascended into heaven. In the Old Testament we have what we call Christophanies, where the preincarnate Jesus allowed Himself to be seen. But Paul was unique, because he saw Jesus after He was glorified with the Father.

John 17:5:
“Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

As to one untimely born…

Untimely is the Greek word ek’-tro-mah, it actually refers to abortion or miscarriage. With Paul, this could be him looking back on his life before Christ, and seeing that life as a life of hopelessness, without ever having God actively intervene in his life… having no hope of ever meeting Jesus.

If Paul had his way, he would’ve been part of the “Twelve,” Jesus’ chosen boys. Maybe at some time you even thought to yourself, “What if I were born when Jesus walked the earth?” What can we say other than God’s timing is always perfect!

Paul was on the wide road to destruction before Jesus tapped him on the shoulder, even though in his mind, he was helping God by going after the Christians. Then Divine intervention took place … He appeared to me also.

Psalm 34:6:
“This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Paul wasn’t praying for a change, but I think the Lord heard the cries from Paul’s heart.

Acts 9:15 [Jesus speaking of Paul]:
“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;’”

Paul never doubted his calling as an apostle, and he was fully devoted to the authority that came with that position. Paul never ceased to be amazed that Jesus chose him to be one of the champions of the New Testament… not that he would ever call himself a champion.

Like Paul, none of us were born at the wrong time… Esther 4:14: “for such a time as this.” God has placed each of us exactly where He wants us. He predestined us to be His children, and He has marked out for us the “good works” He intends for us to do.

The question for us is, are we being faithful to our calling? None of us were called to be an apostle, but we were all called with a purpose in God’s kingdom.

1 Cor. 15:9:
“For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

I think we’re seeing Paul’s humility here, because he’s remembering where he came from… not from being of the tribe of Benjamin, nor that he was a pharisee, but that he was the one who persecuted the church of God. Paul also stood by holding the cloaks of those who stoned Steven to death.

Gal. 1:13-14:
“For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.”

1 Cor. 15:10:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

But by the grace of God I am what I am…

We can all relate to Paul, today we say, “But for the grace of God go I.” It’s a reflection of gratitude and our awareness of how blessed we are by God.

Paul knew all of his sins were forgiven, and he preached forgiveness from the rooftops, but he would never forget all that God had forgiven him.

Acts 24:16:
“In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.

We’re told not to look back…

Luke 9:62 (ESV):
“Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

In this context, it means we’re not to look back on our sinful ways, perhaps returning to them, but we can look back and see how far God has taken us, giving us new life… and this is only possible by the grace of God. When we realize how much God has forgiven us, we see how magnanimous His grace really is!

And His grace toward me did not prove vain…

1 Tim. 1:12-17 (NLT):
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted His people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners …and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of His great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in Him and receive eternal life. All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen One who never dies; He alone is God. Amen.”

Has God shown His great patience with you? We can all say, “But for the grace of God go I.”

But I labored even more than all of them…

Paul isn’t being braggadocious here. As Joe Friday used to say in Dragnet: “Just the Facts. Ma’am.” Paul is being factual, he wasn’t bragging about his spirituality, but speaking about God’s power in him. Paul did not reform himself and start over, he was transformed by God and then sent out… all because of grace.

But I labored even more than all of them… Paul is saying to us, “Because God has been so good to me, I just can’t help myself.” So it goes with us as well, if we are a people who embrace the grace of God, there should be growth that goes along with it. If you are the same person spiritually as you were a year ago, it might be time for a little spiritual check-up.

Yet not I, but the grace of God with me…

God’s grace is truly amazing, in that every time we’re blessed with grace, it becomes an opportunity to do even more for God.

Eph. 4:15-16 (NLT):
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

Grace and growing go together!

1 Cor. 15:11:
“Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”

To me, this speaks of a group effort… Peter, the “Twelve,” the 500, and James… through them all, the gospel was spread far and wide. They taught that Jesus walked this earth, spoke the Word of God, healed the sick, raised the dead, He suffered and died a criminal’s death, and on the third day Jesus rose from the dead, declaring victory over sin, death, and satan.

This was the pure simple truth, there wasn’t any gobbledygook like we have today, no overly complicated doctrines, just God’s pure truth and grace for us.

1 Thess. 4:14-18:
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

John MacArthur, “Except for a few isolated heresies, the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection has not been questioned within the church until our modern age of skepticism and humanism. New Testament Christianity, whether ancient or modern, knows nothing of a gospel whose heart is not the risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

1 Cor. 15:12:
“Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”

The Corinthians were dealing with a culture virus which was rooted in their upbringing, and that virus was called Dualism. The philosophy of Dualism considered everything spiritual to be inherently good and everything physical to be basically bad. The people who believed in this thought that the resurrection of a body would be totally disgusting.

This is Paul’s first argument for the resurrection, and the general consensus is that the Corinthians believe that Jesus rose from the dead, and that He is alive.

How do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

When it came to themselves, I think the Corinthians were holding on to that Dualism just a little bit. They really needed to get away from their “stinking thinking,” and start walking by faith in the things Paul was teaching them.

1 Cor. 15:13-14:
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.”

Everything we believe in as Christians hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus represents hope, redemption, and the triumph of life over death. It’s the cornerstone of our belief… that through Christ’s victory over the grave, we can find eternal life and reconciliation with God.

Houdini claimed that on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, he would come back from the dead. On that date, a group of his followers gathered around his grave in San Francisco, waiting for him to return. They waited and waited and waited… then they all went home.

Houdini is still in his grave, for that matter, so is Muhammad, Buddha, Allah, Confucius, and any other false god you want to throw in there… they’re all still dead and still in their graves!

Back to the Corinthians… the way they were trying to justify their thinking about Jesus was to say that Jesus wasn’t really a man, or not fully man… that Jesus only appeared to be a man. In their minds, they were trying to convince themselves that Jesus only appeared to have died.

Satan will inject anything in a person’s mind just to get them sidetracked from the truth. We think there’s a fierce spiritual battle going on today, but it must have been a thousand times worse back then.

We’ll close with this…

Everything about Jesus pointed to His humanity, he was born to a human mother, He ate, drank, slept, laughed, cried, became tired… He was beaten, crowned with thorns, bled, crucified, and died. And after Christ’s resurrection, He appeared to His disciples, and He told Thomas he could touch his scars.

Luke 24:39-43:
“See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”

Jesus was in the flesh right before their eyes, they could see Him, hear Him, touch Him… they ate with Him.

Acts 2:22-24 [Peter speaks]:
“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know… this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

No grave could hold Jesus… His resurrection is seen as proof of victory over sin and death, offering hope to everyone who believes.