The final section we looked at on Thursday (1 Cor 15:29-34) contains some of the most puzzling verses in the whole Bible (e.g. the reference to the baptism of the dead, described by Leon Morris as ‘a notorious difficulty’, with many interpretations possible.) The main thrust of this section is not difficult to understand, however. Paul makes it plain here that without the hope of the resurrection, so much of what we do simply would not make sense. Why would anyone risk danger and death if not convinced of the awesome truth of the message they were bringing? He talks of facing death daily, and passages such as 2 Cor 11:23-29 and 2 Cor 4:8-10 give us insight into the many troubles he faced. We may not know exactly to what he is referring when he talks about ‘wild beasts’ in Ephesus (1 Cor 15:32), but there can be no doubt that Paul faced both spiritual and physical danger many times (and knew the pain of desertion and betrayal, as Acts 19:23-24 and 2 Tim 4:14 make clear.) He faced such things with courage because of his hope in the resurrection of the dead: this future hope influenced his present living.

Without this future hope, life might as well be lived for pleasure and material comfort: ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ (1 Cor 15:32, quoting Is 22:13) Paul is so assured of the future hope we have, however, that he warns the Corinthians against being deceived into thinking that life is all about the here-and-now (see also Gal 6:7, James 1:16.) Deception involves being led astray, and Paul warns the Corinthians that this can happen if we keep dubious company (since ‘bad company corrupts good character’, the only non-biblical quotation used by Paul in the Bible, a quotation from a play by Menander.) Paul has already warned the Corinthians about this (see 1 Cor 5:11), and we do well to remember there is no room for complacency in this life journey. We are urged to ‘come to our senses’ (1 Cor 15:34), to ‘awaken to righteousness’, to ‘sober up’, to ‘wise up.’ Being ignorant of God is to our shame; Paul is effectively saying, ‘Some Christians can live like functional agnostics.’ “The crying shame of the church today is the glaring difference between what we believe and how we behave. There is little correlation between doctrine and deeds or creed and conduct with some Christians. High talk and no walk is a problem. We quote the Bible by the mile and live it by the inch.” (Grant Richison, http://versebyversecommentary.com/1-corinthians/1-corinthians-1530-32/) Paul is adamant that the hope we have through Christ’s resurrection is not just something that affects our future destinies; it should influence and shape how we live right now. As the Message version of these verses puts it, “It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live.” (The Message)

In 1 Cor 15:20-28, Paul moves away from ‘unreal speculation’ about what the consequences would be if Christ had not been raised from the dead to declare unequivocally the consequences of His resurrection! The ‘BUT’ at the beginning of this section is vital, showing us how God’s intervention makes all the difference (see other examples of this in Gen 50:20, Ps 73:26, Rom 5:7-8, Acts 2:22-24, Acts 3:15, Eph 2:4-5, 1 Pet 2:9-10).

Christ was not raised from the dead in isolation, but ‘as the firstfruits of those who are asleep.’ (1 Cor 15:20) Firstfruits means ‘the first instalment of the crop which foreshadows and pledges the ultimate offering of the whole.’ (C. K. Barrett, P 350) Because Christ has been raised from the dead, the resurrection of the rest of those in Christ is assured. Paul contrasts Adam, the first man, whose sin led to death, with Jesus, the ‘last Adam’, whose death and resurrection lead to everlasting life (see also Rom 5:1-21). As Leon Morris puts it, ‘Adam’s sin brought disaster not only on himself, but also on all of posterity. But if Adam’s sin had far-reaching consequences, so had Christ’s resurrection. It concerned not only Himself, but also all those who should believe on Him.’ (Leon Morris, P 214)

Resurrection in one sense applies to all (see John 5:29), but this does not mean that all will be saved. Paul is here primarily concerned with the resurrection of believers, and shows us that there may well be a different timescale involved (see 1 Thess 4:13-18), but he is keen to stress the complete sovereignty of God in this all. Every rule, authority and power will ultimately bow the knee to Jesus and God will be all in all. After the resurrection, God will finally resolve all of history according to His will, and death, the ‘last enemy’, is destroyed. Interestingly, the verb ‘is in the present tense, and the use of this tense for future action strikes a note of vividness and certainty.’ (Leon Morris, P 216) Whilst we may see death as an enemy now, we can be sure that death will not have the final word, because Jesus has overcome death!

C. K. Barrett summarises this section by saying, ‘The Son has been entrusted with a mission on behalf of his Father, whose sovereignty has been challenged, and at least to some extent usurped by rebellious powers. It is for him to reclaim this sovereignty by overcoming the powers, overthrowing his enemies, and recovering the submission of creation as a whole. This mission he will in due course execute, death being the last adversary to hold out, and when it is completed he will hand the government of the universe back to His Father.’ (‘A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians’, P360) Once more, we see the voluntary subordination of the Son to the Father, the Godhead working in complete unity to achieve the purposes of God. God’s will will definitely be done and death will no longer have the final word.

When I was a child, one of the games my family used to play at Christmas was called ‘Consequences’. This involved a set of questions, with each person answering one, folding over the paper and passing to the next person to answer the next. The answers were put together to make a story which often was silly in the extreme. Thus, in answer to these questions,

1. Adjective for man
2. Man’s name
3. Adjective for woman
4. Woman’s name
5. Where they met
6. He wore
7. She wore
8. He said to her
9. She said to him
10. The consequence was… (a description of what happened after)
11. What the world said

… the following story might emerge:

Mediocre Joe met transparent Kim at the bowling alley.

Joe wore a seafoam green leisure suit. Kim wore a sandwich board. Joe said to Kim “During the last storm, we had a little party in the mud.” Kim said “She wasn’t that into me.” As a consequence, the band got back together. And the world said “Somehow, I think I saw this coming.”

The parlour game of ‘Consequences’ is not at all serious, but the consequences of the resurrection discussed by Paul in 1 Cor 15:12-34 most definitely are! A consequence is a result or effect caused by something else, and is often associated with something unpleasant. The consequences of the resurrection are far from unpleasant, however; they are, quite literally, life-changing.

Because of Christ’s resurrection, according to Rom 5:12-21, we can partake in:

1. God’s abundant provision of grace
2. the gift of righteousness God gives
3. victory in life (we will reign in life with Christ)
4. justification and everlasting life

Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have a hope that goes beyond the grave and can be confident that the perishable will be clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality and that death will lose its sting and we will know victory through Jesus! (see 1 Cor 15:53-56) Such consequences mean that grief and suffering, although real and painful, don’t have the final word. Because Christ lives, all in Christ will also live! (1 Cor 15:25) Paul tells the Thessalonians to ‘encourage one another with these words.(1 Thess 4:18) Sound advice indeed!

Many believe that the Christian message is illogical and irrational, based only on fuzzy feelings and invisible instincts. Paul, in 1 Cor 15:12-19, refutes that idea, using logical statements to show the Corinthians the fallacy of their belief that there was no such thing as resurrection from the dead. Computer programmers will be very familiar with the idea of ‘if/then’ statements (‘the most basic of all the control flow statements’), and Paul effectively demonstrates to the Corinthians that we cannot approach the resurrection with a kind of pick-and-mix approach, choosing which elements we would like to believe and which elements we want to leave out.

Some people at Corinth were saying there is no resurrection of the dead. But this blanket statement would also inevitably mean Christ was not raised from the dead either, which would have huge implications for our faith – since the gospel is based on the fact that Christ died and was raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:3-8). Without this, ‘our preaching is useless and so is your faith.’ (1 Cor 15:14) Empty, useless, ineffectual, unprofitable preaching and faith cannot save anybody; the implications of the Corinthians’ statement cannot be ignored. If our faith is in vain, then our sins are not forgiven, so death retains its victory and we are actually liars (deceiving others and ourselves) and ‘of all people most to be pitied.’ (1 Cor 15:19) Paul’s logic is clear: since Christ has been raised, resurrection obviously is possible, but if we look at the hypothetical scenario that he has not been raised, the implications are too vast to be ignored.

The Corinthians may well have agreed that Christ had been raised from the dead, but did not see that this necessarily meant that believers would be raised too. Paul shows that Christ’s resurrection is the ‘firstfruits’ (1 Cor 15:13), guaranteeing our ultimate resurrection. That is why belief in the physical resurrection of Christ is ‘of first importance’ to our faith. Christianity is, after all, not a system of philosophy or a moral code, but the declaration of what God has done in Christ. If the dead are not raised, then the whole gospel is a sham and those who preach it are liars. If we only have hope for this life, Paul declares, we are to be pitied and may as well live with the Epicurean philosophy of pleasure as the chief goal of life.

Many people do not seem to think through questions of faith; they prefer not to reflect on matters such as these, even though they are of great importance. The resurrection of Christ has profound implications for us all. An implication is ‘a conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated.’ Paul wants us to draw the correct conclusions about salvation, death and resurrection and gives us the opportunity to think through clearly what would be the conclusions if Christ had not been raised from the dead. If this fact is true, then the consequences are profound!

Don’t forget the Macmillan Coffee Morning at GPCC on Saturday 24th September from 10 a.m. until 12 noon, when we will be raising money for the Macmillan cancer charity. Home baking appreciated for this event!

If you enjoy going to the cinema, you might be interested to know that the films below will be shown at Dearne ALC on the weekend of 8th and 9th October. Due to support and funding from Film Mobile and United Star People Award (Lottery funding),  the ticket prices have been kept as low as possible (Adult £6.00, Child £4.50 and a family ticket for four £16.50).

8th October

12:00 – Finding Dory

14:30 – Kubo & The Two Strings

17:00 – Pete’s Dragon

19:30 – Bridget Jones’ Baby

9th October

13:00 – The BFG

15:30 – Bridget Jones’ Baby

18:00 – Ben Hur

For more information, phone Ann Toy on 07879 739043 or check out the website here.

Alison gave us interesting information about two things happening at the Salvation Army. From Thursday 6th October, there will be a community choir (run by Claire and Rich Ashby and Joy Moody) practising at the Salvation Army (7 p.m., alternate Thursdays) and from Saturday 15th October, a food bank will be held once a month (9.30-11 a.m.) for working families who are struggling to make ends meet.

For all who are struggling:

‘Hold it all together
Everybody needs you strong
But life hits you out of nowhere
And barely leaves you holding on

And when you’re tired of fighting
Chained by your control
There’s freedom in surrender
Lay it down and let it go.

So when you’re on your knees and answers seem so far away
You’re not alone, stop holding on and just be held.
Your world’s not falling apart, it’s falling into place
I’m on the throne, stop holding on and just be held
Just be held, just be held.

If your eyes are on the storm
You’ll wonder if I love you still
But if your eyes are on the cross
You’ll know I always have and I always will

And not a tear is wasted
In time, you’ll understand
I’m painting beauty with the ashes
Your life is in My hands

Lift your hands, lift your eyes
In the storm is where you’ll find Me
And where you are, I’ll hold your heart
I’ll hold your heart
Come to Me, find your rest
In the arms of the God who won’t let go.’ (‘Just Be Held’, Casting Crowns)