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Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 In 1 Corinthians 15, we have seen that there is hope in Jesus . Because He died for our sins and rose from death, He is able to free us from the guilt and shame of our past sins and to give us strength for our present calling. W...

Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:49 This is a marvellous promise. We grieve because of how like Adam we are. How easily tempted. How prone to make excuses. How quick to blame others. How ready to hide from God. We bear the image of the man of dust! But if you are in Christ, you will also “bear the image of the m...

"As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven." 1 Corinthians 15:48 All of this talk of the shortness of life may sound a bit miserable. But the whole point of our life in this world is to prepare us for the world to come. And if we live in the illusion that we will always be here, we will miss the point of this lif...

Thus it is written, 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit... The first man was from the earth, a man of dust the second man is from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:45, 47 The apostle Paul is drawing a contrast between Adam, the first man, and the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he describes as “the last Adam” (15:45). The contrast between them is that the first Ada...

Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:16-17 In the resurrection, you will have a spiritual body. That means your resurrected body will be fully responsive to the...

So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 Paul whets our appetite for the life to come with a fourfold description of the resurrection body. 1. Your resurrection...

Not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars... So is it with the resurrection of the dead. 1...

Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 1 Corinthians 15:35 It seems that the false teachers at Corinth were asking these questions cynically. That may be why Paul's first response is, “You foolish person!” (15:36). It’s not foolish to ask questions; it’s foolish to ridicule God’s truth (Gal. 6:7). But having rebuked the cynics for pouring scorn on the res...

"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 The theme of 1 Corinthians 15 is the glorious truth of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the resurrection life that all who believe will share with Him. If our hope is limited to...

If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 1 Corinthians 15:32 As long as you feel that this life is all you have, you will feel that you have to hold on to it and preserve it for yourself. But if you truly come to believe in the resurrection, you will feel that you can spend your life, and if need be, lay down your life, in serving God by serving others. Who will be...

If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 1 Corinthians 15:32 When you look at the good that has been done in this world over the centuries, you will find that a large part of it has been done by people who believe that they are preparing for a world to come—hospitals built, schools opened, children fostered. Believing in the resurrection will shape how you live. Her...

If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32 A faith for “this life only” sounds liberating, but it leads to indulgence. The words “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”, are in quotation marks because Paul is quoting a popular proverb. This is what people were saying about life in this world, and the saying is so old that it was quoted by Isaia...

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father... For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 1 Corinthians 15:24-25 Paul shows us that although a faith for “this life only” sounds relevant, it cannot deliver. Every generation wants to make the world a better place, and we can thank God for progress in medicine, science, technology, education, justice, an...

If Christ has not been raised... your faith is in vain... Your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 The resurrection matters, and believing in the resurrection will give you a new hope, a new confidence, and a new purpose. But a “this life only” message will leave you without hope for at least three reasons. 1. Without the resurrection, your faith would be futile...

Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 2 Timothy 2:16-18 Some people would say, “This is just a different interpretation of Christianity, and it has some things to commend it.” But Paul says, “...

Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 2 Timothy 2:17-18 What was the message of the false teachers about the resurrection? Perhaps an analogy will help. The life of Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically cut short, but what he stood for continues through people who believe what he believed and teach what he taught....

If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:12 The central truth of 1 Corinthians 15 is that Jesus was raised from the dead, and we who receive and continue in the gospel will share in His resurrection life. But it seems that some at Corinth had denied this wonderful truth. That’s clear from verse 12: “How can...

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received… 1 Corinthians 15:3 Many of the Corinthian believers were standing and holding fast to the gospel. But some were abandoning the faith they once professed. The world is always inventing new words to describe old sins. One word you might be familiar with is the word deconstructing . We hear about people deconstructing their faith. Th...

The gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Whether you are a newer Christian, a long-time Christian, or you are still exploring the faith, Paul has something to say to you today. 1. Receive the Gospel “ The gospel I preached to you, which you received...” (15:1). Jesus...

I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 Where did Paul get the energy to do the work he was called to do? Paul tells us what he endured as an apostle. He was beaten, stoned, lashed, and shipwrecked. He lists days without food, nights without sleep, and exposure to danger and cold. And then he says, “There is the daily pressur...

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:10 When we think of what we were, we can use it as a lens through which to view what Jesus has done in our lives. Our sins, horrible as they were, are what He has redeemed us from. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ has brought a change in our lives. We are no longer the person we were. The answer to our...

I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 The word grace is used three times in these verses. This whole chapter is about h...

I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ... was raised on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Jesus dying for our sins would not have been good news if He had not been raised from the dead. If Jesus had not been raised, hope, for us, would have died and been buried with Him. But Christ was raised on the third day, and this is of “first importance.” The Bible reco...

Christ died for our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Here are five things God says about sin in the Bible. 1. Our sins are offences against God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Sin is not an occasional lapse in standards we set for ourselves. It is our consistent falling short of the life to which God calls us. 2. Our sins alienate us from God. “They are… alienated from t...

I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins... that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3 What Paul presents here, he says, is of “first importance” (15:3). Don’t lose sight of what matters most: “Christ died for our sins... he was buried... [and] he was raised on the third day” (15...