The Resurrection and the Life

1 Corinthians 15:1-11
As we have been moving through 1 Corinthians we now come to chapter 15, sometimes called the Resurrection chapter. For Paul, there is no good news unless God has raised Jesus from the dead. Both Luther and Calvin maintained that the resurrection chapter addresses issues central to the Gospel and to the whole epistle. This week we are looking at the first eleven verses. This is Paulʼs introductory argument for the resurrection and is a prologue to what is laid out in the remainder of the chapter. In these verses, Paul lays out the basis for the Christian faith, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised on the third day. This chapter underscores the theme of grace as Godʼs sovereign free gift through the cross. The gift is the undeserved gift of eternal life, not as some would have us believe for the soul only, that when I die only my soul goes to heaven. No, the promise is that our bodies will also be raised in an untainted, sinless, glorified form. This is a mystery, but in faith we stand on this mystery, believing the words of Christ. “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me, will never die.”

Pastor Darryl