Written ~ 08-22-2024
Read 1 Corinthians Chapter Fifteen
1 Corinthians 15
Chapter fifteen is quite lengthy, too much information in fact, for one Bible Study… so today I will touch on a couple of key verses. I encourage you to read the entire chapter and then take some time, pray about what you are reading and ask the Lord to bring understanding to what you are learning.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4…
1 “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you — unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”
Paul is reminding us of what we need to stand firm on. With so many belief systems in the world today it is easy to see why so many hearts and minds get turned away from the Lord. Paul even points out in verse 15:2, “…you believed in something that was never true in the first place…”
Our reminder in verses 15:3-4, are the basic truths of the Gospel message, which is the Good News of Jesus Christ.
- Christ died for our sins
- Christ was buried
- Christ rose from the dead on the Third Day
Those three fundamental truths are the foundation of everything else the Scriptures speak of. The Old Testament teaches us obedience and guides us through prophecy. The New Testament introduces us to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, which culminates the entirety of what the Good News is all about and He is the fulfillment of the prophecies we read about in the Old Testament.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He died on the cross so we would be set free from sin and death. He was buried to show that He was indeed dead. Then on the Third Day He rose from the grave to give New Life to all who believe in Him.
In verse 15:3, Paul says, “I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me.” As believers… at some point in our lives we heard the Gospel message, someone shared with us those three foundational truths, we learned about Jesus. We heard the truth; we believed in the message and received it. Now it is our responsibility to share what we received. Our lives have been changed, the truth of the Bible is what we stand firm on, so it’s time to pass on that message. Paul heard the message; he passed the message along and he fully expected those who received the message would pass it along as well.
I think we all need to be reminded from time to time what it is we believe in, what we stand for. Paul is the perfect example of someone who checks in on believers. Through all of his letters, he is making sure they are continuing strong in their faith, spreading the Gospel message and encouraging those who may be struggling. That’s what we should be doing. Check in with family, check in with friends. See that they are standing firm in the truth of the Scriptures. Offer encouragement and wisdom from those Scriptures and bring them back into the light if they have fallen onto a dark pathway.
1 Corinthians 15:5-9…
5 “He (Jesus) was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.”
Why did Paul include this little detail? Had Jesus not been seen by His disciples and many other of His followers, the rumor that He remained dead and buried would have been believed. But Jesus did rise from the dead and He was seen by many people. He visited with His followers for 40 days before ascending back to Heaven. Paul seems a little astonished that even he got to see Jesus, he certainly did not feel worthy because of what he was doing to believers at the time. Paul makes it clear that everything he was doing now for the Lord was because God had chosen him to do so.
1 Corinthians 15:10…
10 “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favor on me — and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace.”
No matter what any of us has done before we received Christ as our Lord and Savior, by God’s grace we have been washed clean! And because of that grace we can serve the Lord with our whole hearts. We can be certain that God will pour out His special favor on us as well… even if we don’t think we are worthy enough to receive it. Look at what Paul said here, “…yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace.” We may not feel worthy, or we may not feel we have what it takes to mightily serve the Lord, but Paul tells us right here that it is God who works through us. The Almighty God is the One who will guide us and give us the courage to speak up and spread the Gospel message.
1 Corinthians 15:12-20…
12 “But tell me this — since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
The religious leaders in that day did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, because of that unbelief, they could not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. Paul is saying here that if it were true that there couldn’t be a resurrection of the dead, then everything he and the other apostles preached would be useless. But then we have verse 15:20, “But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead…” That is the hope of Salvation!
1 Corinthians 15:21-23…
21 “So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given New Life. 23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when He comes back.”
Hallelujah!! Isn’t that awesome news! That is the hope every person has when they belong to Christ!
Yes, we all were born into sin and death. But when Jesus gave His life for all of us, He changed everything! Now we have that assurance, as a Born-Again follower of Jesus Christ, we belong. We have been given New Life, we will be raised to Heaven and spend eternity with Jesus! Keep in mind though as we are rejoicing, there are many people who have not chosen to belong to Christ. They still live in sin and death. They don’t have this hope, this assurance, they don’t rejoice. That’s why it becomes increasingly more important to proclaim who Jesus is to family and friends, so they too can belong to Jesus.
Let’s proceed…
1 Corinthians 15:54-58…
54 “Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
Aren’t these verses a wonderful promise from the Lord? What Christ did on the cross not only covered the sin of the world with His shed blood, but it also gave us the only way to Eternal Life. When you think about the miracle of Salvation, you can’t help but be grateful for what Christ did on that cross! When Jesus hung, dying on that cross, God placed onto Him, all the past, present, and future sin of the world. Jesus felt it all. He needed to be that sacrifice, so we could receive the gift of Salvation, a complete forgiveness of our sin, and removal of our guilt, and shame. The phenomenon of Salvation? Death no longer holds a grip over us! Verses 15:54b and 55, “Death is swallowed up in VICTORY. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
When we believe and accept the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for our sin, then rose from the grave three days later – right then – we have become something brand new! Our physical, mortal bodies will be transformed and live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven! (For added context be sure to read verses 15:35-53, they are truly awesome!!) But for now, let me point us to verses 15:43-44 and 53, “Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are spiritual bodies. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”
These verses show the promise of Salvation in Jesus Christ. Death no longer holds us down; it no longer has victory over us! Our Victory is now in Jesus Christ our Lord! Verse 15:57 says, “But thank God! He gave us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That’s what forgiveness of sin does for us. When a person comes to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, they are Born Again, renewed, sin has been washed away. Now, the hope in Jesus becomes alive in that newly saved soul! We have hope in Salvation! Verse 15:56a says, “For sin is the sting that results in death…” When we accept and receive the gift of Salvation, sin no longer has a grip on us.
You may be asking what happens if you don’t accept or believe who Jesus is and what He did on the cross? Well, simply put, there isn’t victory over death. Sin still has ahold of that life. There won’t be that transformation which causes the mortal body to become something new, it will not become a body that will inherit the Kingdom of God. Paul says in verse 15:50, “What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.”
Without Salvation, death has not been swallowed up in victory, the sting of death is still very real. That body will die in sin and not be transformed into a heavenly being. That’s why believers, born again Christians have a deep longing for everyone to know, to love and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! But there is the reality that some people we know, and love find the faith and hope we have in the Lord absolutely ridiculous, that’s why verse 15:58 is so important, “So, dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”
When our faith is placed in the Word of God, when belief and acceptance has resulted in having Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in our lives, WE HAVE VICTORY! Walking in that victory causes us to be strong! It causes an immovability in our faith! Everything we do or say becomes a testimony of Christ living within us! If we are working to reach others, by sharing the Good News that Jesus Christ saves and has given a way to remove the sting of death, those works will never be done in vain. God will use us for His Glory! That’s why each and every day we must walk in VICTORY! Not defeat! I believe it’s confusing to a non-believer to see a Christian walking through their lives defeated and stressed, melancholy and joyless, why would they want Salvation if that’s the result? We have the hope of Life Eternal living right there inside of us! We must share that hope, we must share the love of Jesus, in our actions, in our words, our entire countenance should shine the Light of Jesus!
Thank You Almighty God for giving me victory over sin and death! I have placed my faith and my hope entirely in You Lord! What a glorious day it will be when my mortal body is transformed into an immortal, heavenly body! I praise and honor You Jesus for dying on the cross for my sin, so I could have the opportunity to make a lifesaving decision and accept eternal life through Your sacrifice on the cross. Help me now Father to be strong and immovable in my faith. Help me to be a good and faithful servant. Use me Father for Your Kingdom.
~AMEN~