THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RESURRECTION
1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-6, 17-20
1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-6, 17-20 NKJ
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.
17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
OBSERVATION:
This passage goes back to the very basic tenets of our faith. Jesus crucified and raised from the dead.
As Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, lays this out, he appeals to the Corinthians by the authority of the scriptures. Whenever Paul would preach to Gentiles, he typically did not call their attention to scriptures. But these Corinthians were believers who could grasp and look to scriptures as spiritually authoritative.
Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again according to the scriptures.
Then Paul speaks of those who were eyewitnesses of His resurrection. Jesus was seen by over 500 people. It is interesting to note that Paul looks to the scriptures first to verify Jesus' resurrection.
In verses 17-19 of this chapter, we see the importance of the resurrection. Not only is Jesus being raised from the dead a claim no other religion makes and sets us apart from all religions. It, the resurrection, is the basis of our faith.
Paul takes a very different approach to his declaration of the resurrection. He states that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then our faith is futile or empty. And we are still in the bondage of sin. And those who have died are dead and gone. And our hope is only in this world, and we are pretty pitiful. That's saying quite a lot.
But. Thank God for but. But Christ is risen, and those who have died with their faith in Christ are risen also.
The resurrection means that all who put their faith in the resurrected Christ can be free from sin and new creations with heaven as our eternal home when we die. Our hope in Christ goes beyond this life. And that makes us blessed and glad. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is at the top of the list of the most important things in our lives.
PRAYER:
Thank You, Father, for sending Jesus to die for my sins. And thank You for raising Him from the dead that I may have a new life and spend eternity with You.