1 Corinthians Lesson 14

I Corinthians

Lesson 14

I Cor. Chapter 15 -- The "Resurrection" Chapter - Part 1

Overview Lesson

Hi and welcome back to this study of 1 Corinthians. As you recall, this letter from Paul to the Church of Corinth was written for 2 main reasons. If necessary, refer back to earlier lessons in this study (there are several places where we have discussed and summarized this, so find one of your choosing), and, in the space below, list these 2 basic reasons.

In Chapters 1-6 :

In Chapters 7-16:

Yes, you are correct:. In the first 6 chapters, Paul was writing to them in response to reports which had come to him telling of divisions and problems which had developed in the Church and which needed to be addressed, reproved, and corrected. Chapters 7-16 are the "now concernings..." chapters, in which Paul gives specific answers to the many questions about things or topics about which they had asked him for advice, clarification, or further explanation.

In fact, this Chapter, Chapter 15, has several "now concernings..." which Paul addresses and answers.

So, your assignment now is to read Chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians (printed here for you in the NIV version, or you may, as usual, use your own Bible or version of your choice) and, as you read, see if you can figure out the specific questions that they had asked and which Paul is answering (the "Now Concernings..."). Hint: You will be asked to list these questions, (topics or subjects which Paul now answers) when you have finished reading this chapter. So, before you read Chapter 15, look ahead to the place in this lesson (located just after the Scripture text) where you will list these Questions...the "Now Concernings" and you will have a helpful "clue" as to where these questions are discussed and, therefore, what they are. Ok, having said that, it is time to start reading.

1 Corinthians 15

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1. Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5. and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8. and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

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12. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

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20. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27. For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. 29. Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30. And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31. I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 33. Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34. Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.

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35. But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36. How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 42. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43. it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44. it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

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51. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52. in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

55. "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Ok, I see that you have finished reading this wonderful chapter. And, indeed, it is a wonderful one, filled with many very important concepts and teachings. (In fact, it is so full of essential information and teachings that it worth memorizing; we will not give that as an assignment, but you should consider memorizing this chapter as an optional assignment.)

Anyway; as I was saying, there is so much in this chapter that we are going to divide our study of it into several lessons. So, this lesson will serve as an overview of what we will be studying in the other lessons.

But first, in the space below, as you knew you were going to do, list the questions that they had apparently asked and which Paul answered in Chapter 15.

The Questions ("Now Concernings...") in Chapter 15

In verses 1-11:

In verses 12-19

In verses 20-34

In verses 35-50

In verses 51-58

Hmmmmm. Good thinking. And, in case you are wondering, this is what I thought were the "questions" or "topics" which Paul was answering for them. As you read my "answers", see if they are the same or similar to what you observed.

In verses 1-11, I could see that Paul was summarizing the Gospel and proving that "Yes, Christ was literally and physically resurrected from the dead!" So, I figured that they must have asked him two questions: 1. What specifically (in a nutshell) IS the "Gospel"? And, 2. Is there any eye-witness evidence (proof) that Christ literally rose from the dead?

Then, in verses 12-19, Paul was addressing those who continue to question or deny the physical and literal resurrection of the body. In these verses he affirms again that "yes, Christ was literally raised from the dead" and he explains why it is necessary and essential that Christ's resurrection was a literal resurrection of the physical body from the dead instead of just a resurrection of the spirit, So I figured that they must have asked him, Why is it necessary and important to know, understand, and believe that Christ literally rose from the dead?

In verses 20-34, Paul is teaching and reminding them that there will also be a literal resurrection of believers to eternal life. So the question they probably asked that resulted in this discussion was Explain to us about "firstfruits" and how this relates to death and resurrection.

In 35-50, Paul continued and built upon his answer to the question about "firstfruits" and responded to specific objections of people who did not believe in a literal resurrection. So the question they had probably asked at this juncture was How are the dead raised and what will our resurrection bodies look like?

In 51-58, Paul continues to build on the answers to the questions about the resurrection body as he teaches them about the the new resurrection body of Christ and of believers in Christ, and what it will be like at Christ's second coming. Apparently some had, therefore, asked him the questions that you have probably also wondered about, which were: When will we get our resurrection bodies and will the resurrection body ever die?

Hmmmm..... so, in a "nutshell", those are some of the questions that I thought Paul was answering when he wrote the "Now concernings..." in this chapter. Probably you noted the same questions, though you might not have used the same words that I did. So, good thinking and good observing.

And, now that you have "checked" your answers and have either concurred or revised or amended them, the next thing for you to do is to look back at the scripture text that was printed for you in this lesson. You will notice that there are lines separating each section. Your next assignment is to write, on those lines, the questions (topics, subjects) that Paul is addressing in each section. This will serve as a handy guide to you in the future so that you will readily know the "subject" of the verses. For example, on the line preceding Verse 1, I wrote: What is the Gospel? and Is there any eyewitness evidence (proof) that Christ literally rose from the dead?

Ok, let's pause while you fill in the rest of the blank lines on the scripture text, and if you are doing this in your own Bible, then draw a thin line just above each section and write in the questions. If you don't have enough room in your Bible, you will probably need to write in the margin or make your questions shorter. Whatever. (This is one reason why we include the text in most of our lessons, ie. because there is more room to write things as we study.)

Ok. Finished filling in the lines? Great! And, with that we will end this overview lesson. In the next few lessons, we will go into each of these various topics in more detail. Soooo.... see 'ya in the next lesson when we begin a more detailed study of Paul's answers to the "..... now concernings."

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