The world has a saying: ‘ignorance is bliss.’ With this mindset, unpleasant facts are ignored, rather like the ostrich with its head in the sand:

Ignorance, however, doesn’t alter the facts (as the saying ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse’ makes clear) and is not the same as faith, which looks at all the facts available, including the fact that God often intervenes in ways we can’t explain! Blissful ignorance ignores truth, but faith acknowledges God’s ability to intervene (as demonstrated by Shadrach, Meshach and Abedngeo when challenged by Nebuchadnezzar; they knew that God was able and willing to deliver them, but declared that even if He did not, they would not bow down to worship other gods!)

Paul makes it clear in his letters that ignorance is not something to be sought after; he does not want us to be ignorant of spiritual truth (see Rom 11:25, 1 Cor 10:1, 1 Cor 12:1, 1 Thess 4:13). Instead, the truth has power to set us free (John 8:32) and there are many things it is essential to know.

These essential things include the fact that the Christian life costs (Luke 14:25-35). Jesus, at the height of His popularity, did not flatter the crowds or pandered to them, but warned them unequivocally of the cost of following Him. He wanted them to give a knowing response to His call for discipleship, which means having the right priorities (putting God first before self and family), understanding that the Christian way may even demand our lives (see Jn 12:25). There must be no turning back (unlike the ten spies who only saw the difficulties and whose bad report led to the Israelites’ rejection of God’s plans), only a pressing on into all that God has to offer us. After all, whatever the cost of discipleship, it cannot compare to the freedom and life God offers us, nor does it compare to the cost of our salvation. The NHS in England is ‘free at the point of delivery’, but is paid for through taxpayers (many of whom may not need the services it offers.) Salvation is free to us, but cost Jesus everything; we have to be prepared to give up everything for Him, secure that the truth sets us free.

Thanks to all who supported the Macmillan Coffee morning this morning. Your support helped to raise over £180 for the cancer charity!

Getting ready:

Cakes and competitions:

Enjoying a cuppa and a chat:

Thanks again to all those who supplied cookies, brownies, cakes, buns and flapjack for us all to consume and to all who helped in any way, not least by turning up and eating these!

Don’t forget the Macmillan Coffee Morning at GPCC this morning (24th September) from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. ‘Spot the Cake’ competition, home baking available plus hot and cold drinks!

Victoria sponge with fresh cream and zesty lemon icing:

Triple chocolate brownies & chocolate squares:

… plus lots more! Come along for a cuppa, chat and help this worthwhile charity.

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!