Sermon25-21 1Cor15 Guide

1 Corinthians 15:35-49 theme verse 1 Corinthians 15:49

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this Easter Sunday of 2025, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, we looked at the incarnation and obedience of the Son of God, who is the second Person of Trinity, yet today when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection after His crucifixion and death, we would like to look at the the the resurrection of Jesus Christ together.

1)    First, today’s text is the Bible vesrs that explains very well the resurrection of Christ and also the resurrection of the saints from four perspectives, I mean, (1) Are the Dead raised? (2) When are the Dead raised? (3) Why are the Dead raised? (4) And how are the Deat raised? Firstly, regarding on the question “Are the dead raised?”, Paul first presents in verse 1 and 2 that the lives of Corinthians church members who were transformed by the gospel are the evidence of the resurrection of Christ, since the gospel is about the death and the resurrection of Christ and also the death and resurrection of Christ is the power to transform their lives so that the resurrection of Christ is real. And then secondly, Paul explains that the resurrection is a historical event which was prophesied and fulfilled as the Old Testament, such as the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16, the stody of suffering servant in Isaiah 53, the story of Jonah in Matthew 12:38-41, the offering of the firstfruits on the altar on the first Sabbath after Passover in Lev. 23:9-14, and other texts in Psalms 16:8-11, 22:22, 2:7, etc.. And thirdly, Paul testifies the resurrection is real through the people who witnessed His resurrection in verses 5 to 11, such as Peter, twelve disciples, and over five hundred brothers, as well as James and Paul. And then regarding the question “When are the dead raised?”, Paul says in verse 20 and 23 and 24 that the first fruit of the resurrection was Jesus and then when Jesus returns, those who belong to Christ will be resurrected in eternal life, while those who do not believe will be resurrected in eternal judgment. And regarding on the question “Why are the dead raised?”, Paul said it is to receive wholistic salvation of our soul and body which is healed from weakness and corruption. And also it is to be separated from the flesh in which our sinful nature remains and put on new resurrected body free from sin. And also it is to have glory after participating in the glory of God. And lastly regarding on the question “How are the dead raised?”, Paul says that the resurrected body will not be like our current body which decays and eventually returns to the dust, I mean, into the body that never dies; and it will not be a body that is dishonored, but a perfect and glorious body; and also it will not be a weak body like ours now, but a strong body; and finally it will not be a material body, but a spiritual body.

2)    As such, all these various kinds of grace come from the resurrection of the Christ, yet the resurrection of the Jesus Christ has three theological meanings. I mean, firstly, His resurrection proves the sinlessness of Christ’ humanity, as Heb 4:15 says “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” In order words, as Rom 5:12 says, “Death came to all men, because all have sinned,” if the Lord had not be resurrected, He would have been nothing more than a human who could not help but die because of sin. However Christ proved that He is sinless by being resurrected. And secondly, as Romans 1:3-4 says “Concerning His Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ, our Lord,” His resurrection proved His Deity. And finally His resurrection brings about the regeneration of the spirit and the resurrection of the body to those who believe in Him, as 1 Peter 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy had caused us to be born again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” and 1 Cor 15:21-22 says “For since by man came death, by man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

3)    In this way, the resurrection of Christ brings us the regeneration of our soul and the resurrection of our body. Therefore, to take a closer look at the characteristics of the resurrected body mentioned in today’s text, 1 Cor 15:42-44, Our body which will be resurrected on the last day will not be like our body now, which grow old and eventually decay, but will never age or decay and will never die. And also, our body will not be a body full of sin and pollution, but a perfect and glorious body filled with the glory of God that can please God and has delight in God. Also our resurrected body will not be weak and sick like our current body, and will not be tempted by flesh, but will be strong and full of life. And finally our body will not be a body of flesh, that is, a body with material limitations wihch is adapted to the life on earth, but it will be a body that is spiritual and will be a body suitable for life in heaven, just as the resurrected Jesus suddenly appeared in the closed attic. In other words, as Berkhof said that “the resurrection of Christ did not consist in the mere fact that He came to life again, and that body and soul were re-united. It consisted rather in this that in Him human nature, both body and soul, was restored to its pristine strength and perfection and even raised to a higher level, while body and soul were re-united in a living organism”, so too will our resurrected body on the last day, not only restore our humanity to its original power and perfection, both spiritual and physical, but also be sublimated to a higher degree. That’s why Charles Spurgeon said “When Christ’s followers rise, they shall leave the old Adam behind them. Blessed day! One of the happiest aspects of Heaven will be freedom from the tendency to sin, a total death to that old nature which has been our plague and woe” in his sermon on “The First Resurrection.”

4)    And also that’s why our resurrected body became the body that has overcome death, sin and the law, as 1 Cor 15:55-57 says “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory  through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, the phrase “the sting of death is sin” means that sin results in death and also the phrase “the power of sin is the law” means that the law results in sin, due to human total inability so the law is the power of sin. So, since the resurrected body will become the body that has overcome the temptation of sin and can completely fulfill the law, Paul, reminding us that sin is the cause of death and the law is the cause of sin, says that Christ’s death and resurrection were ultimately a victory over death and sin. In this perspective, as sin, death, and the law go together, I mean, the law reveals sin, and the wage of sin is death, as Romans 6:23 says," but Jesus bore our sins (1 Peter 2:24) and the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13) on the cross, so that we can obtain the Lord's victory through Christ, and also we can experience His resurrection in our lives and live, and that is why Paul said in the end, "Thanks be to God, who always gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

5)    Regarding the state of Human beings after death and the resurrection of the Dead, Westminster Confession chapter 32 confesses that “The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption: (Gen 3:19) but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them: (Ecc 12:7) the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. (Heb 12:23) And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. (Lk 16:23–24) Beside these two places, for souls separated from their bodies, the Scripture acknowledged none. At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed: (1 Cor 15:51–52) and all the dead shall be raised up, with the self-same bodies, and none other (although with different qualities), which shall be united again to their souls forever. (1 Cor 15:42–44) The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor: the bodies of the just, by His Spirit, unto honor; and be made conformable to His own glorious body. (1 Cor 15:43, Php 3:21)”

6)    Regarding on benefits the faith of the resurrection, John D. Barrie, and Michael S. Heiser, etc., said “Through his death and resurrection, He gave people an alternative to the ineffective law, empowered people to overcome sin (as He did), and provided them with a relationship with God that sin previously prevented.” In other words, first, Christ’s death and resurrection gives people an alternative to the ineffective law. I mean, death is due to sin, and sin is due to the law, because of our total inability, Christ completed the work of atonement and also fulfilled the law completely, so that instead of achieving salvation by keeping the law, Christ has been opened to us to receive God’s righteousness through the imputation in faith. And secondly, just as the Lord fulfilled all righteousness being filled with the Holy Spirit on this earth, He also poured out the Holy Spirit on us and opened the way for us to walk according to the Spirit, through which the requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, as Romans 8:4 says. And finally, through this atonement ministry of Christ and the merit of His fulfilment of righteousness, we are not only freed from guilt and justified, but also reconciled to God so that we can live enjoying God.

7)    And also this faith in resurrection enables us to overcome current sufferings as Heb 11:35-38 says “Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy.” That’s why 2 Cor 4:16-17 that “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”

8)    Then first this power of Christ’s resurrection has already been revealed in the regeneration of the souls of the saints, as 1 Peter 1:3 says, “According to the abundant mercy of God the Father, he has caused us to be born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” And also as Hebrews 9:14 says, “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”, the power of Christ’s death and resurrection has been revealing in cleansing of our consciences from dead works as Leon Morris said that “The same power that brought Christ back from the dead is operative within those who are Christ’s. The resurrection is an ongoing thing.” Therefore, I pray that this year all of us who have been born again may experience the power and hope of resurrection by crucifying our old self every day and putting on new self to become more and more like Him.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 According to today’s text, we became to know that Christ’s death and resurrection was a historical fact and the essence of the gospel. So, reflecting how we responded to this fact of His death and resurrection, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also we can know that this death and resurrection of Christ is the power of our transformation. So after reviewing our life, how this power transforms us, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.