MPC, 25th August 2002.1 Corinthians 15 - "Resurrection Hope"
Phil Campbell MPC, 25th August 2002.
There is a lot of death around at the moment isn't there?
Which isn't unusual.
But this afternoon at 2 o'clock we're holding the memorial service for Dale Stock. Who died. As he saved a 12 year old girl from drowning.
Last week… I was a part of the congregation at two funerals. One on the Monday, one on the Thursday.
And I guess I'm no exception. As we watch lives come to an end in sometimes expected, sometimes unexpected… death. Mary-Anne Kelly flew to Sydney during the week for the funeral of her grandfather. And sadly, as you might have heard, David Ho yesterday lost his dad.
Of course, there are some people for whom it seems death can't come soon enough. This is the week as well euthanasia campaigner Doctor Philip Neitschke introduced his latest portable death device. Called the Aussie Exit Bag. It's a plastic bag with an adjustable neck-band; he says the bags are clearly labelled with warnings that they could cause death if you put them over your head. Hardly rocket science.
He says "The bag doesn't work until you go to sleep. The oxygen level in the bag drops lower and lower until death occurs within an hour. The idea of a reliable and peaceful death this way makes sense." I just want to know if it comes in different colours.
But more to the point, it's just the latest step in a long debate. About community attitudes to life and death.
Which is the issue this very long chapter is devoted to. Here in 1 Corinthians. A famous passage; in many ways beautiful. That spells out the Christian hope. Of a life beyond death. That puts this life in a whole different perspective.
Can I say at the outset though, I think the problems and issues Paul's addressing here in 1 Corinthians 15 are very different to ours. In surprising ways. The questions he's setting out to answer, the objections he's addressing, they're coming from somewhere different to where we are. Sometimes there'll be overlap. And the conclusions will be helpful. But there's a form of thinking going on in Corinth that in some ways is quite different to ours.
Let me put things into a little bit of perspective by reminding you we're looking at the very first generation of Christians in Corinth. And I wonder if you can think yourself back into how confusing they might be finding their new Christianity. Surrounded by claims and counterclaims. There's a message they've heard. And they're convinced by it. But the question is what follows? They've heard Jesus rose from the dead. And offers eternal life. But how's that relevant to them?
It's the answers that some of them are coming up with where the problem lies. And some of the answers being offered, let me tell you, there's no way they were going to stand the test of time. Answers with a very short 'use by' date. That were only ever going to work back then in the first generation of Christianity.
Because it seems there are some who are saying, if you become a Christian, if you're spiritual enough, then you're not going to die.
Now that's a little bit like the guy who said he was training his dog to go without drinking. Problem was, just when he was getting good at it, the stupid dog died on him.
But when you piece together the clues, when you put together the pieces of what Paul's saying to them, it seems like there are some in the church in Corinth, who are saying, we've passed into a new existence already. Our resurrection has already happened. So we speak the tongues of angels; they say, we're already spiritual beings.
There are laws against salesmen who do that. Offering too much, too soon.
And I've got to say there are still Christians today who come close to making the same mistake. Of saying if you're a Christian then in this body and in this life there won't be problems. Or disease. Or decay. If only you have enough faith. And it's a great sales pitch. That in time is always going to leave the bitter taste of disappointment.
Which it was bound to do in Corinth as well. And yet for these Corinthian Christians, with their background in Greek philosophy, the ideas Paul's putting forward sound almost offensive. Almost like a horror movie. That dead people… dead bodies… are actually going to be raised. To new life. The Corinthians are happy with new life alright. But they want it now. And they don't want to pass through death to get it.
Similar problem over in Ephesus; Paul says to Timothy over there, he says, stamp out the false teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus who are saying the resurrection has happened already. That somehow the point of conversion is the point of permanent transformation. With nothing more to come.
No resurrection of the dead. And if you look at verse 12, it's the hinge point of the chapter. The big question. "But if it's preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there's no resurrection of the dead?
Paul's going to point out that their whole position is inconsistent. That they've got it wrong just about every way you can think of. And to get it right, they need to look to the example of Jesus.
Now what I want to do as we look at the passage, is first of all look at how what Paul says about the resurrection of Jesus corrects the Corinthians' wrong thinking. And then after that, how it corrects ours. Because our issues are different.
First of all, then, a reminder. A reminder of the things the Corinthian Christians are saying they affirm. Will you notice, verses 1 to 11, it's a great summary of the gospel message. The fundamentals of the Christian faith. Here's what Christians believe.
Which is worth pondering on if you're still in the process of working that out. But the point of it is, Paul tells us twice that the Corinthians do believe the basics. The place they go wrong is in what comes next.
Now brothers, verse 1, I want to remind you of the gospel, the good news… the message I preached to you, which you received… and on which you have taken your stand.
He says let's go back to square 1. And remember the message that you say… you believed. The gospel, he says in verse 2, that you're saved by. If you hold on to it firmly.
And verse 11 he says it again. Doesn't matter who preaches it, this is what you believed.
Which is what?
That Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. Verse 3. Literally dead. A corpse.
But more than that. That Christ was buried. Verse 4. Which is what you do with dead bodies.
That he was raised on the third day. Not just as an illusion. Or a spirit. But alive; and he appeared to Peter; and then to the twelve; Verse 6, after that, to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time. Most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Evidence number 1. If believing the gospel gives eternal life starting now… if Christians with enough faith aren't going to die… explain that. Okay, most of the eyewitnesses are still alive. But some are dead. They saw firsthand. They believed. And some are dead.
Then he appeared to James. Verse 7. And finally, says Paul, to all the apostles. And to me. Last on the line. And even if you don't think much of me, even if you haven't taken any notice of a single thing I've said since, he says this is what all the apostles preach. And this is what you already believed.
So how is it, then in verse 12, how is it if you've already believed Christ was raised from the dead, if you've agreed with that, how is it some of you can say there's no resurrection of the dead? If it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can you say there's no resurrection of the dead?
Because you can't have the one without the other; you can't say the dead don't rise… if Jesus was dead, was buried, was raised.
And if Christ hasn't been raised, he says, our preaching is useless. And so is your faith. Which would mean we've lied about God. That he raised Christ from the dead, if in fact the dead aren't raised. And your faith is futile… verse 17. No point believing he died for your sins if you don't think you'll be raised. And for your Christian friends who are dead already… well, if you're right, says Paul, they're gone. If you're right that there's no resurrection of the dead, verse 18, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
So when it all boils down to it, says Paul, if our hope in Christ is only for this life, if this is as good as it gets, if there's no resurrection to look forward to… then Christianity is pathetic. No matter how Spiritual the Corinthians think they are, no matter how much they think they've arrived; no matter how healthy and wealthy and wise… if there's no resurrection at the end of the road, then Christians are people you should feel sorry for. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
Move down to verse 29. Where there's more. And this is bizarre. Somehow the Corinthians have picked up the idea of being baptised on behalf of dead people. Old Uncle Bruce… long dead. He wasn't a Christian. So let's get someone to get baptised on his behalf. As I think the Mormons do these days.
Not a smart idea. Because you're saved by trusting Jesus; not by baptism. And especially not someone else's. But that's not Paul's point. He says, you Corinthians are totally inconsistent. You want to have your cake and eat it. Because on the one hand you want to say there's no resurrection. And on the other hand you want to get baptised for Uncle Bruce. If the dead aren't raised at all, he says, then why are people getting baptised for them?
And as for us, verse 31… us apostles… why would we put ourselves in constant danger? I mean, you read Paul's story back in Acts sometime, he's right. He's whipped, he's arrested, he's shipwrecked, he's on trial; he says in verse 32, "If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?"
Paul stakes his life on the fact that there's more to come. He stakes his life on resurrection. His whole life now, his values, the things he counts important… they're all built on the fact that Jesus died and rose in the past. And so he himself will die and be raised in the future.
Which this first generation of Corinthian Christians just don't get at all. If they're thinking that if you have enough faith you're safe from dying they've got it badly wrong. If they think the ones of them who have fallen asleep already have somehow failed the test, they've missed the point. If they're thinking their eternal life means you don't pass through death to get there, they've got it wrong. Or if they're thinking somehow eternal life is some sort of spirit thing where you just somehow detach your soul from your body and waft into a new dimension they're wrong about that as well.
So just as he does in almost anything else, Paul says, look at the example of Jesus. And be patient.
Back to verse 20. A few verses we jumped over. Here's the picture. How can some of you say there's no resurrection of the dead when you look at what happened to Jesus? He's like the first piece of fruit on the tree. He's the first-fruits of the crop. He's like the first grain sample from the crop; a sign of things to come.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead… the firstfruits, verse 20, of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam, all die, so in Christ will all be made alive. In the same way Aadam brought death into the world, Christ brings resurrection.
But notice in verse 23, you've got to get your timing right. And this is the key. You dash out of the blocks and start running down the track before the starters gun, you're just going to look silly. And have to come back and do it all again. Paul says first things first. But each in his own turn. Christ the firstfruits. then when he comes, those who belong to him. not now. The end's got to come; when he hands over the kingdom to the Father. After he has finally destroyed every enemy. The last of which… is death.
See, ask the question as a Christian, "Has death been defeated?", and the answer's got to be yes and no hasn't it? Yes Christ has. No, we haven't.
And we need to be real about that. Paul says, the thing we're holding out for, the time we're longing for… is the time when that last enemy is destroyed. And death is no more. The time the book of Revelation talks about – when he will wipe every tear from their eyes. And there'll be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. For the old order of things will have passed away.
What do we have now? We have the firstfruits. The promise of the harvest to come. But everything in its turn.
Which is a healthy perspective that as Christians we need to grow into. So there are questions, at a time like the death of Dale Stock. Where we almost make the Corinthian mistake of maybe thinking this life is the time when the good things should come. Of thinking this life should be a death free zone… if you've got enough faith. When the opposite is true.
I knew a woman once who said she'd always park her car in no standing zones because she was a Christian. And she'd walk around the car and put a prayer bubble around it. So the parking police wouldn't notice it. And she wouldn't get a ticket. And there are Christians who look at life that way. As if, if you've got enough faith, nothing goes wrong. As if Christians somehow shouldn't drown saving people or die in smashed cars or perish like anyone else in the World Trade Centre as it comes down.
Paul says, get the timing right. Christ the first fruits. Us later. When tears and death are finally put aside.
Except if there's no resurrection like they're saying, then – there's nothing to look forward to at all. And they may as well make the most of what they've got. Put your feet up and take it easy. Live it up. Eat. Drink. Get as much as you can out of this life. Because this is all there is. If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink… for tomorrow we die.
And now is all there is. Which of course is exactly the way most Australians are living. And it seems is how a lot of the Corinthian Christians are living as well. Their wrong thinking is leading to wrong living. Denying our resurrection means they're being corrupted. To which he says in verse 33 and 34, watch who you're mixing with. And sober up. Come back to your senses, and stop sinning. Because there are some who in what they're saying and teaching are ignorant of God.
Which brings Paul to another objection being thrown at him by the Corinthians. Who are saying there's no resurrection of the dead.
Get this right. Resurrection doesn't mean you end up a floating disembodied eternal spirit. Resurrection means a physical body. And I reckon it's easy to sympathise with the Corinthians who are finding that's a big concept to get their heads around.
Paul's saying it over and over again. Jesus was raised with a body. So we'll be raised with a body. That's somehow the same. But somehow fundamentally different. That somehow has atoms and molecules in it like the raised Jesus had… who walked and talked and was seen; who ate. Who said to Thomas put your finger in the nail holes. And yet somehow is as different to what we are now as the stalk of wheat is to the seed.
But the simple fact he wants the Corinthians to see is, this body dies. Because it's perishable. And our resurrection body is something far superior. And if the spiritual ones in Corinth think they've got the goods already, they've got it badly wrong.
They want to argue. Verse 35. They say, how are the dead raised? I mean, sounds far fetched. With what kind of body will they come?
Come on Paul; get real.
To which Paul says, why far fetched? There are all sorts of bodies. There are all sorts of life cycles as well. You sow a seed. It dies. But something green and vibrant comes out of it. Just as God determines. There are all kinds of flesh. All different. All kinds of planetary bodies; with different kinds of glory. Which God has put in place. What makes you think he can't do resurrection bodies?
And that's how it's going to be, verse 42. The body sown is perishable. The body raised is imperishable; it's sown in dishonour and weakness; raised in glory and power. Sown a natural body. Raised a spiritual body. Which he says follows on just like Christ followed Adam. We got Adams body of dust; we get a heavenly body like Christ.
Which, he says, is absolutely necessary. Because no matter what the Corinthians are thinking, flesh and blood, the bodies we've got now – they're not fit for eternity. Like you wouldn't try driving your Diahatsu Charade across the Nullarbor Plain. Verse 50. He says, I declare to you brothers, that flesh and blood can't inherit the Kingdom of God. Nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
So he says we mightn't all die… if Jesus comes back while you're living. But even if you're alive… you'll need to be changed; because the perishable, he says in verse 53, must be clothed with the imperishable… and the mortal, with immortality. And when that's done, he says, when that's happened, then and only then will the saying be true… that death has been swallowed up in victory.
In the meantime, death's still there. Even though the sting's been taken.
In the meantime, death's still there. Even though Christ has died for our sins.
In the meantime, death's still there. Even though we have the certain hope of resurrection afterwards.
Now I've been suggesting that 1 Corinthians 15 is really talking very much to the issues of that first generation of Christians. Who are in some ways expecting too much too soon. Who somehow think the bodies they've got now are meant to last. When they're not.
And so Paul's resurrection lesson is addressed to that.
Our issues are different. For one thing, with the Corinthians he can start from the assumption that they agree with him that Jesus rose. Physically. From the dead.
Which for our world today is something most people don't even want to consider. The popular point of view if you follow Dr Neitschke is that when you're dead, you're dead. Which is apparently better than living anyway. A sort of happy nihilism. That places not much value on life. And puts no hope in any sort of life after death.
Or else there's a sort of sentimental spookiness. That says no matter what you've believed, your Spirit will be in a happy place.
And the resurrection of Jesus has got no part to play at all. In any of it. Which for the last hundred years or so has been pretty much the way its been with Christians as well. So when they were looking for a new archbishop of Canterbury, to head the Church of England, they were pretty pleased with themselves that they've got a guy who believes in the historic resurrection of Christ.
Plenty of others don't. And still want to call themselves Christian.
Plenty of others don't. And still want to have some sort of pie in the sky hope of something nice for people after death.
There's a good lesson here for people like that. And that is, if you're going to discount the real resurrection of Jesus, don't bother calling yourself Christian. Because the three key statements at the start of the chapter define what a Christian stands on. That Christ died for our sins. Was physically buried. And physically rose again.
And we need to see again what Paul says. That if that's not so… our faith is futile. And you might as well just go shopping on a Sunday morning rather than spend your time encouraging other Christians and hearing from the Bible. If this life is all there is, get on with it. And arrange the best possible party you can.
But if you are convinced that one man defeated death… that one man lay dead three days and then came back… then that's got to change everything.
Not in the over-enthusiastic way that says now this life's all going to be okay. That says, Christians won't get sick or suffer or die. But with the realistic hope… that resurrection for Jesus, means one day, resurrection for his people as well.
If you don't believe that, you need to realise this life is the best it's ever going to get. Eat, drink and be merry while you can. But if you do believe that, take heart… that this life is the worst things are ever going to get. And it's better from here on in. Which makes Christians a people of hope. And purpose. Who stand firm in that hope… as Paul says in verse 58. Unshakeable. Always giving ourselves fully to the work of the Lord… because we know of all things, our labour in the Lord is not in vain.