WEBVTT 00:00:01.740 --> 00:00:05.919 Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we're thankful 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:09.300 for your helping and guiding and directing thus 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:14.519 far. We come now to confess once again our need 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:18.260 of you, our inabilities to accomplish anything, 00:00:18.460 --> 00:00:22.859 to understand anything apart from you. So we're 00:00:22.859 --> 00:00:25.739 asking that you would empower your word this 00:00:25.739 --> 00:00:27.899 morning through the power of the Holy Spirit 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:31.329 that would go forth in all clarity. in a way 00:00:31.329 --> 00:00:33.969 that honors you and is helpful to all who hear. 00:00:34.329 --> 00:00:36.990 I pray that you'd help us all to receive it, 00:00:37.009 --> 00:00:40.710 to apply it to ourselves, and to put it into 00:00:40.710 --> 00:00:44.409 practice in our own lives. We're asking for the 00:00:44.409 --> 00:00:46.810 lost once again, Father, that they might be found 00:00:46.810 --> 00:00:49.270 of you, that you would have mercy on some here 00:00:49.270 --> 00:00:51.969 and in other places where your word is accurately 00:00:51.969 --> 00:00:56.750 preached, to bring them unto yourself. And so 00:00:56.750 --> 00:01:02.359 we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Well, as advertised, 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.900 we're going to be looking at 1 Corinthians 15 00:01:04.900 --> 00:01:10.420 this morning and subsequent mornings as well 00:01:10.420 --> 00:01:20.219 for as long as the Lord gives us something. It's 00:01:20.219 --> 00:01:27.019 a very long chapter, I'm sure you know, and primarily 00:01:27.019 --> 00:01:36.359 on the resurrection. So, according to chapter 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:41.620 15 and verse 12, we read, Now if Christ be preached 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:45.280 that he rose from the dead, how say some among 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.560 you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:55.299 So, evidently, right from the start, men who 00:01:55.299 --> 00:02:01.790 don't know Christ have been... spreading these 00:02:01.790 --> 00:02:05.609 lies that there is no resurrection. It's in our 00:02:05.609 --> 00:02:11.129 day as well. It has been for the last 150 years. 00:02:11.750 --> 00:02:16.490 It's filled what are now not churches at all, 00:02:16.509 --> 00:02:21.389 but what were once Orthodox churches. But they 00:02:21.389 --> 00:02:23.689 no longer believe in the bodily resurrection 00:02:23.689 --> 00:02:26.310 of Christ. They no longer believe in the virgin 00:02:26.310 --> 00:02:28.169 birth of Christ. In other words, they don't believe 00:02:28.169 --> 00:02:32.009 in anything. supernatural activity that is revealed 00:02:32.009 --> 00:02:36.650 to us in the scriptures so as we've seen before 00:02:36.650 --> 00:02:41.229 when we had occasion to mention it that christianity 00:02:41.229 --> 00:02:46.409 is in fact a supernatural religion it's not something 00:02:46.409 --> 00:02:50.509 that has been constructed by man it's not something 00:02:50.509 --> 00:02:54.349 that can be constructed by man but it is god's 00:02:54.349 --> 00:02:59.340 work so obviously it is supernatural Something 00:02:59.340 --> 00:03:03.719 has happened outside of ourselves and has been 00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:08.939 applied to us inwardly by God himself, God the 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:13.080 Holy Spirit. So Paul is going to have to deal 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:15.979 with this issue, so we're going to look at it. 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:20.159 There's other little side trails here and there, 00:03:20.280 --> 00:03:23.919 but for the most part, the chapter in Revelation 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:28.539 is on the resurrection. So he sets out to prove 00:03:28.539 --> 00:03:33.500 to all concerned that there is a bodily resurrection, 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:37.360 that Christ has been bodily raised from the dead, 00:03:37.539 --> 00:03:40.840 and if we don't believe that, then we have no 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:44.740 gospel. The resurrection of Christ is every bit 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:47.740 as important as the death of Christ, or the life 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:52.159 of Christ, or the ascension of Christ. Christ's 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:55.439 bodily resurrection is the orthodox understanding 00:03:55.439 --> 00:04:01.020 of the gospel. So Paul thinks it's highly important, 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.919 as do I hope all of us, that this doctrine be 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:08.960 defended and the false teachers be rooted out 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:15.020 and cast aside. So there's essentially four sections 00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:23.000 here in 1 Corinthians 15. So, in the first section, 00:04:23.100 --> 00:04:26.300 it's the longest section, 1 to 35, which we're 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:30.279 not going to cover today, but he sets about to 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:33.480 prove that there is a resurrection of the dead. 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:39.480 The second section, 35 to 51, will show the nature 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.839 of the restored bodies. What kind of bodies will 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.980 we have in the resurrection? And then the third 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:49.279 section, what will become of those who are alive? 00:04:49.899 --> 00:04:52.980 in the day of judgment, or alive when Christ 00:04:52.980 --> 00:04:57.600 returns. And then there's a one verse fourth 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:01.759 section where Paul shows us what our lives should 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:05.579 look like because there is, in fact, a resurrection 00:05:05.579 --> 00:05:08.899 of the dead. So we've got those four different 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:12.920 sections to look at here in 1 Corinthians 15. 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:17.199 So we're going to get, we may get through 12 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.040 verses, I don't know, we'll see. We'll see what 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:25.540 the Lord has, but let's read beginning in the 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:29.100 first verse then. We'll read through verse 4. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.579 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel 00:05:34.579 --> 00:05:38.839 which I preached unto you, which also you have 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:44.519 received, and wherein you stand, by which also 00:05:44.519 --> 00:05:50.480 you are saved. if you keep in memory, or if you 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.639 stand fast in what I have preached unto you, 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:58.939 unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:02.459 unto you first of all that which I also received, 00:06:02.680 --> 00:06:06.000 how that Christ died for our sins according to 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:09.839 the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:14.639 he rose again the third day according to the 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:21.930 Scriptures. So Paul's whole basis of his argument 00:06:21.930 --> 00:06:25.449 is the scriptures. And he's telling them that 00:06:25.449 --> 00:06:29.970 he's already preached this to them. And they've 00:06:29.970 --> 00:06:35.449 already believed it. But, as is not surprising, 00:06:35.689 --> 00:06:39.910 troublers come in and start to sow false teaching. 00:06:40.810 --> 00:06:44.589 And so to lead people astray, lead them to themselves. 00:06:45.579 --> 00:06:49.240 to gain power for themselves, is how it normally 00:06:49.240 --> 00:06:55.000 happens. But in any case, we see here, what scriptures 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.339 did Paul rely on? When he says, according to 00:06:59.339 --> 00:07:02.839 the scriptures, in two instances here in these 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:05.439 first four verses, he says, according to the 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:10.379 scriptures. Well, sometimes, you know, we start 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:14.740 to think about the Gospels. They tell us all 00:07:14.740 --> 00:07:18.860 about the life of Christ. And there are a couple 00:07:18.860 --> 00:07:21.259 of people that believe that Matthew and Mark 00:07:21.259 --> 00:07:27.459 were written just shortly before Paul wrote 1 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:32.300 Corinthians. So they tend to think that there 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:34.579 may have been some New Testament influence here 00:07:34.579 --> 00:07:40.079 in Corinth. But it's probably Old Testament scriptures 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:43.860 is what Paul's talking about. By and large, those 00:07:43.860 --> 00:07:48.839 were the scriptures that they had, same Old Testament 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:52.759 scriptures that we have. So Paul was able to 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:57.459 preach Christ from the Old Testament. Now, hopefully 00:07:57.459 --> 00:08:04.000 that's not surprising to us, but we have said 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:06.199 that repeatedly, and we've encouraged everybody, 00:08:06.339 --> 00:08:14.290 really, to see Christ in the Old Testament. give 00:08:14.290 --> 00:08:17.730 a few verses here that possibly, we don't know, 00:08:17.790 --> 00:08:21.689 he doesn't tell us what exact verses he used 00:08:21.689 --> 00:08:24.649 from the Old Testament scriptures, but these 00:08:24.649 --> 00:08:28.230 could be some. Right off the bat in Genesis 3 00:08:28.230 --> 00:08:32.710 .15 we read, And I will put enmity between thee 00:08:32.710 --> 00:08:35.269 and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. 00:08:35.370 --> 00:08:38.110 It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise 00:08:38.110 --> 00:08:41.289 his head. That's the first proclamation of the 00:08:41.289 --> 00:08:44.980 gospel. But there's a coming seed of the woman 00:08:44.980 --> 00:08:49.519 that will gain the victory over Satan himself. 00:08:50.500 --> 00:08:53.740 It's a prophecy. It's the first proclamation 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:58.519 of the gospel. In Psalm 22, 15, we have this 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:03.039 testimony. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.840 and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws, and thou hast 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:11.649 brought me into the dust of death. Depicting 00:09:11.649 --> 00:09:17.450 Christ on the cross. In Isaiah 53. But he was 00:09:17.450 --> 00:09:20.669 wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised 00:09:20.669 --> 00:09:24.190 for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace 00:09:24.190 --> 00:09:27.509 was upon him. And with his stripes we are healed. 00:09:27.669 --> 00:09:32.769 A very clear passage. Dealing with the crucifixion 00:09:32.769 --> 00:09:37.309 of Jesus Christ or the Messiah. And then in Daniel 00:09:37.309 --> 00:09:43.100 9 .26 we read. After threescore and two weeks 00:09:43.100 --> 00:09:46.500 shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. 00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:50.120 And the people of the prince that shall come 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:53.320 shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:56.559 the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:00.080 the end of the war desolations are determined. 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:04.360 So there's a prophecy of the death of the Messiah 00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:08.799 from the Old Testament. Now, there's many others. 00:10:10.360 --> 00:10:13.860 These are in my Bible, so these are the ones 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:20.679 that I used. But I just wanted to emphasize the 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:24.580 fact that Paul's not making stuff up. He's not 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:27.480 pulling it out of a hat. He's not a philosopher. 00:10:28.220 --> 00:10:31.879 He's an expositor of the scriptures. He's giving 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:34.600 us the truth of God's word in all of his teachings, 00:10:34.779 --> 00:10:38.539 including here as he teaches on the resurrection, 00:10:38.860 --> 00:10:44.559 the importance. of using the Bible. When we witness, 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:49.919 we should have Bible. It's fine to give a testimony. 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:52.960 We should give testimony to what God has done 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:58.019 for us. But we should have a witness of the scriptures 00:10:58.019 --> 00:11:00.720 that confirms the fact that this is what he said 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:04.059 he was going to do. And we should be able to 00:11:04.059 --> 00:11:08.950 either carry it in our pocket, or have it memorized 00:11:08.950 --> 00:11:12.470 where we can give out the scriptures. The scripture 00:11:12.470 --> 00:11:16.029 is the power of God unto salvation. So that's 00:11:16.029 --> 00:11:18.710 what we should use. It's like Paul used, like 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:27.429 he continues to use. So we read then that this 00:11:27.429 --> 00:11:32.029 is what we're supposed to be keeping in memory 00:11:32.029 --> 00:11:35.419 that King James has, our standing fast. In this 00:11:35.419 --> 00:11:40.919 truth is probably the more widely translated. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:45.639 Stand fast. Paul uses the same word in Galatians. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:48.860 Where he tells us to stand fast in the liberty 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:52.860 that is ours in Christ. Don't be moved from this. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:59.039 Stand fast. And you will be saved. You are saved 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:01.360 and you will continue to be saved if you stand 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:06.379 fast in the truth. The truth of the gospel. Including 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:15.899 the resurrection. So. If we were to go. Theologically 00:12:15.899 --> 00:12:18.179 we would say. This is the perseverance of the 00:12:18.179 --> 00:12:22.480 saints. So what Paul is calling us to do. We're 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:25.820 to persevere. And he doesn't leave it in any 00:12:25.820 --> 00:12:29.100 doubt. As to what we're to persevere in. We're 00:12:29.100 --> 00:12:31.740 supposed to be persevering. In the truth of the 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:35.210 word of God. And particularly the gospel of God. 00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:38.710 That we are to persevere. We are to hold on. 00:12:38.789 --> 00:12:43.590 We are to stand fast. Keeping close to the Savior. 00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:47.629 And all the truths and all the beautiful things 00:12:47.629 --> 00:12:50.590 that are written about our Savior. All that he's 00:12:50.590 --> 00:12:54.169 accomplished for us. We can never run the well 00:12:54.169 --> 00:12:57.669 dry. There is always something there to be had. 00:12:58.029 --> 00:13:01.549 To be experienced. to be comforted by, to be 00:13:01.549 --> 00:13:07.509 convicted by. The psalm says, teach me. We read 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:11.470 it this morning. Teach me, O Lord. I need to 00:13:11.470 --> 00:13:18.509 be taught. I need to be guided, directed. Perseverance. 00:13:18.809 --> 00:13:22.230 Persevere in the word, in the truth of God, in 00:13:22.230 --> 00:13:24.990 the gospel of God, in the love of God, in the 00:13:24.990 --> 00:13:27.769 love that we should have for the Savior and for 00:13:27.769 --> 00:13:33.679 each other. We will. We will be, in what Paul 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:40.340 has in mind, resurrected or saved when we do 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:45.899 stand fast in the truth. And Paul is pretty clear 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:48.960 here as well that this is what I delivered to 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:52.500 you and this is what I also received. What I 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:55.860 received is not different from what I have told 00:13:55.860 --> 00:14:01.110 you. It's the very thing that God told me. It's 00:14:01.110 --> 00:14:03.570 the very thing that was revealed to me I have 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:08.590 told you. You can have confidence in it. I didn't 00:14:08.590 --> 00:14:13.570 make it up. It's what God would have me to tell 00:14:13.570 --> 00:14:18.629 you. That's beautiful if you can appreciate it. 00:14:20.250 --> 00:14:25.090 God revealing to one man what he is to tell another 00:14:25.090 --> 00:14:29.370 group of men. And that group of men he then enables 00:14:29.370 --> 00:14:33.470 to receive that which they have been told and 00:14:33.470 --> 00:14:39.149 to act upon it. That's what we're relying on. 00:14:40.009 --> 00:14:42.710 That's what you should be relying on when you 00:14:42.710 --> 00:14:47.009 speak to your children about the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:50.389 And you should make it plain. You didn't make 00:14:50.389 --> 00:14:54.769 this up. This is what God has told you to tell 00:14:54.769 --> 00:14:57.980 them. And you should have confidence that when 00:14:57.980 --> 00:15:00.639 you do, God is going to enable them to receive 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:04.740 it. That was Paul's confidence. That's what we 00:15:04.740 --> 00:15:07.320 preach in confidence. That's the only thing that 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:10.460 we can have confidence in when we share the gospel, 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:12.759 when we teach, when we're up here preaching, 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:17.519 that God is doing something. It's God who must 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:23.039 work. We can accomplish nothing apart from God. 00:15:24.909 --> 00:15:28.370 But everything we can accomplish according to 00:15:28.370 --> 00:15:32.009 God's plan and purpose. And that's what we want. 00:15:32.070 --> 00:15:35.730 That's really all that we want. We want God's 00:15:35.730 --> 00:15:38.330 plan and purpose. We want it to be accomplished. 00:15:41.289 --> 00:15:47.809 So we preach what we receive. And he gives a 00:15:47.809 --> 00:15:51.309 summary here of the gospel, doesn't he? How Christ 00:15:51.309 --> 00:15:56.899 died for our sins. How he was buried. And that 00:15:56.899 --> 00:16:00.039 he rose from the dead the third day. And all 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:02.840 according to the scriptures. He kept the scriptures 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:08.519 perfectly. He did God's will perfectly. So then 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:12.500 he goes on. And gives us all of these eyewitness 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:17.080 accounts. Of the resurrection. So we'll read 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:23.590 them. Beginning in verse 5. and that he was seen 00:16:23.590 --> 00:16:27.629 of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he 00:16:27.629 --> 00:16:30.509 was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, 00:16:30.690 --> 00:16:34.190 of whom the greater part remain unto this present 00:16:34.190 --> 00:16:38.990 day, but some are fallen asleep. After that he 00:16:38.990 --> 00:16:42.330 was seen of James, then of all the apostles, 00:16:42.769 --> 00:16:47.250 and last of all he was seen of me also, as of 00:16:47.250 --> 00:16:51.740 one who was born out of due time. So he gives 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:56.879 this list of witnesses. Now this is bold. You 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:01.059 appreciate what he's doing here. These people 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:04.500 are still alive, some of them. When Paul wrote 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:08.000 this letter, they can be found, they can be asked. 00:17:08.380 --> 00:17:12.200 They can be asked to testify. Hey, Paul says 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:16.720 you saw Jesus after he was dead. That he was 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:19.880 walking on the earth. Did you see him? You could 00:17:19.880 --> 00:17:25.500 go and ask. These are eyewitnesses of the resurrection 00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:29.440 of Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection of Jesus 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:33.640 Christ, not a spiritual resurrection. He had 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:38.720 a resurrected body. His body came out of the 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:45.579 tomb. It was a glorified body, but it was the 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:50.609 same body. It still had the marks. Of the crucifixion. 00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:52.710 You could talk to these people. You could ask 00:17:52.710 --> 00:17:56.630 them. Now I don't know if that means anything 00:17:56.630 --> 00:18:01.509 to you. Because it's like 2 ,000 years ago. But 00:18:01.509 --> 00:18:06.329 if somebody had. Could list. I didn't count it 00:18:06.329 --> 00:18:10.450 up. What is it? 500 to 400 people. That saw and 00:18:10.450 --> 00:18:16.190 could testify. About some fact. Would there be 00:18:16.190 --> 00:18:20.279 any doubt. That that was true. Well, of course 00:18:20.279 --> 00:18:23.660 not. People are convicted with less evidence 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:26.259 than that. They're sent to jail with less evidence 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:31.539 than that. Over 400 people could testify that 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:35.759 Christ was alive and they saw him. There is, 00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:38.779 in fact, a bodily resurrection of Christ. It's 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:43.279 a fact. It can't be disputed, really, by any 00:18:43.279 --> 00:18:47.759 rational person when you have that many eyewitnesses 00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:52.069 to the truth. Remember the graves were opened 00:18:52.069 --> 00:18:55.289 up. Remember the miracles that happened at the 00:18:55.289 --> 00:19:03.269 cross. I mean, it's beyond doubt that Christ 00:19:03.269 --> 00:19:08.670 was resurrected from the dead. And I don't think 00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:14.250 anybody here has any doubt about that. But we 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:18.210 certainly should be encouraged in our belief 00:19:19.339 --> 00:19:24.460 In our resurrection from the dead. Because of 00:19:24.460 --> 00:19:28.799 Christ's resurrection from the dead. So there's 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:31.480 a second aspect of the importance of the resurrection. 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:36.920 Paul is going to get into it in a moment. So 00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:47.369 we're going to read this then. Verse 9. For I 00:19:47.369 --> 00:19:52.049 am the least of the apostles, that am not meet 00:19:52.049 --> 00:19:55.710 to be called an apostle, because I persecuted 00:19:55.710 --> 00:20:00.230 the church of God. But by the grace of God I 00:20:00.230 --> 00:20:04.549 am what I am, and his grace which was bestowed 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:10.190 upon me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly 00:20:10.190 --> 00:20:21.769 than they all. Was in me. Therefore. Whether 00:20:21.769 --> 00:20:27.029 it were I or they. So we preach. And so you believe. 00:20:29.730 --> 00:20:32.430 So in other words. All of the preachers there. 00:20:32.490 --> 00:20:34.549 All of the apostolic preachers. They all preach 00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:36.569 the same thing. That's what that last verse is 00:20:36.569 --> 00:20:39.190 saying to us. This isn't something that's unique 00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:43.529 to Paul. It's the common. Common subject. It's 00:20:43.529 --> 00:20:47.470 the common belief. When they preached. That Christ 00:20:47.470 --> 00:20:49.930 rose from the dead. And I don't know if you're 00:20:49.930 --> 00:20:52.710 not, I don't know how often you read through 00:20:52.710 --> 00:20:56.690 the scriptures. But it's amazing, really, the 00:20:56.690 --> 00:21:00.329 emphasis that is put on the resurrection of Christ. 00:21:01.029 --> 00:21:04.430 It's all through Acts. It was all there on Pentecost. 00:21:04.470 --> 00:21:07.569 And it's all through all the preaching. Paul's 00:21:07.569 --> 00:21:09.930 here, we're dealing with this. But it's all through 00:21:09.930 --> 00:21:13.349 the New Testament. The importance of the resurrection 00:21:13.349 --> 00:21:17.369 of Christ. So let's make sure that we give it 00:21:17.369 --> 00:21:20.210 the importance that the New Testament preachers 00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:24.769 and writers did. There's no gospel apart from 00:21:24.769 --> 00:21:27.609 the resurrection, remember. Remember when we 00:21:27.609 --> 00:21:31.450 have the Lord's Supper every Sunday here. We're 00:21:31.450 --> 00:21:34.869 celebrating the resurrection. We're remembering 00:21:34.869 --> 00:21:37.869 the resurrection as well as the life and the 00:21:37.869 --> 00:21:41.069 death of Christ. Mike mentioned it this morning. 00:21:42.440 --> 00:21:48.740 It's an important aspect of the gospel. And Paul's 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:53.940 going to tell us why again shortly. But here, 00:21:54.019 --> 00:22:00.039 I want us to pay attention here to the way Paul 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:05.200 describes himself. And it's how we should think 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:09.859 of ourselves. It's how Christians should think 00:22:09.859 --> 00:22:14.859 about themselves. So here's Paul, the humble 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:18.480 Paul, the humility of Paul. For I am not the 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.119 least of the apostles, that I'm not even meet 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.059 to be called an apostle, because I persecuted 00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:28.920 the church of God. He doesn't deny or in any 00:22:28.920 --> 00:22:32.500 way make light of the fact of his grievous sin 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:37.299 that was in his life. He persecuted the church. 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:41.740 He persecuted Jesus Christ through his people. 00:22:42.850 --> 00:22:46.529 He's not claiming that there's anything good 00:22:46.529 --> 00:22:49.690 about it. He's not even worthy to be called an 00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:54.049 apostle. But he doesn't stop there, does he? 00:22:55.250 --> 00:23:00.549 He goes on, and that's what we should do. We 00:23:00.549 --> 00:23:04.470 all have plenty of things in our life that we're 00:23:04.470 --> 00:23:08.609 not proud of, I think. Maybe some of you aren't 00:23:08.609 --> 00:23:11.960 old enough yet. But if you're old enough, you'll 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:16.700 have things that you'll regret. But you don't 00:23:16.700 --> 00:23:20.440 stop there. You don't dwell on that. You go on. 00:23:20.900 --> 00:23:31.140 Just like Paul here. But the grace of God, but 00:23:31.140 --> 00:23:38.599 by the grace of God, I am what I am. See there? 00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:44.380 Paul is something. And not because he is anything. 00:23:45.700 --> 00:23:48.299 But he's something because he's got the grace 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:52.900 of God in his life. By the grace of God, I am 00:23:52.900 --> 00:23:57.200 what I am. Now we should all be able to say that, 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:05.220 folks. By the grace of God, I am what I am. You 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:08.339 are in Christ. You have received the Holy Spirit. 00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:17.339 We all are what we are by the grace of God. Well, 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:25.220 what does Paul have to show for it? And his grace 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:28.339 which was bestowed upon me was not in vain or 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:32.940 was not empty, was not powerless, but I labored 00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:38.049 more abundantly than they all, yet not I. but 00:24:38.049 --> 00:24:42.109 the grace of God that was in me. You see there? 00:24:44.109 --> 00:24:46.390 The grace of God, in other words, had a great 00:24:46.390 --> 00:24:50.569 effect upon the apostle Paul. It made him what 00:24:50.569 --> 00:24:55.690 he is. And what did it make him? He outlabored 00:24:55.690 --> 00:24:57.789 every other apostle. That's what he's saying. 00:24:59.170 --> 00:25:03.529 He went to work. He went to work on what God 00:25:03.529 --> 00:25:07.410 called him to do. There was never any hesitation. 00:25:08.390 --> 00:25:11.309 He went and he did it and he accomplished it. 00:25:11.369 --> 00:25:13.930 And is he bragging about it? No. He's saying 00:25:13.930 --> 00:25:16.349 the only reason that I did it is because of the 00:25:16.349 --> 00:25:22.710 grace of God that was in me. But he does say 00:25:22.710 --> 00:25:27.069 it made him what he was. Now what if we were 00:25:27.069 --> 00:25:31.730 to say the grace of God made me what I am? That's 00:25:31.730 --> 00:25:33.670 what we should be thinking about. That's what 00:25:33.670 --> 00:25:36.809 we need to make sure that we recognize here. 00:25:37.990 --> 00:25:40.849 Is there any evidence in your life that you're 00:25:40.849 --> 00:25:45.609 not what you were? Is there evidence in our lives 00:25:45.609 --> 00:25:49.910 that God is at work? The grace of God making 00:25:49.910 --> 00:25:56.450 me what I am. What's the difference between pre 00:25:56.450 --> 00:26:02.140 and post conversion? What's the difference of 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:09.200 10, 20, 30 years in Christ? That's what Paul's 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:13.779 declaring unto us. And that's the confidence 00:26:13.779 --> 00:26:17.119 that we should have in the grace of God. It works, 00:26:17.140 --> 00:26:21.420 folks. It does exactly what it's designed to 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.299 do, and that is transform us into the image of 00:26:24.299 --> 00:26:26.539 our Lord Jesus Christ. Does that mean we sit 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:29.180 there and wait? No, we follow Paul's example. 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:33.900 We labor on doing everything that God has called 00:26:33.900 --> 00:26:37.240 us to do. Spending time in the Word. I don't 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:39.500 need to enunciate them all over and over again. 00:26:39.539 --> 00:26:42.819 Prayer, attending the meetings, serving one another 00:26:42.819 --> 00:26:47.140 in love, gospel. be a gospeler at every opportunity 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:49.319 that you give. That's what God has called us 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:52.180 to do. Yeah, he's given us secular work that 00:26:52.180 --> 00:26:56.119 we have to attend to also. Not denying that. 00:26:56.240 --> 00:27:00.259 That's all part of it. If you're a good employee, 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:02.740 it's because of the grace of God that is in you. 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:06.619 And you should be. And you should be able to 00:27:06.619 --> 00:27:12.420 say that. I serve the boss at work because I 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:14.799 am a Christian. Because of the grace that is 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:18.839 in me. Not because I love the boss. He may be 00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:25.759 a total dope. But that's beside the point. It's 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:31.740 important. It's the gospel. The gospel is the 00:27:31.740 --> 00:27:39.480 gospel, folks. It's the power of God. The reason 00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:42.400 we defend the gospel is because it's so important 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:48.160 to us. It says so much to us. We can't stand 00:27:48.160 --> 00:27:52.380 to see it demeaned or lessened or ruined, really, 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:58.180 by all of the false teaching. All those false 00:27:58.180 --> 00:28:01.259 teachers out there, they should cause us grief. 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:05.319 The dishonor that they're doing to the Lord Jesus. 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:11.960 It's a terrible thing. And they got money everywhere, 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:17.299 don't they? So, you know what the Lord thinks 00:28:17.299 --> 00:28:21.980 of them, right? No, you don't if you just judge 00:28:21.980 --> 00:28:25.160 by that. You know what the devil thinks of them. 00:28:26.440 --> 00:28:29.319 He put all that money into their hands and gave 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:32.160 them all that influence over all those poor people 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:38.730 that believe. The gospel. Stand fast in the gospel. 00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:43.269 Be able to declare, I am what I am by the grace 00:28:43.269 --> 00:28:48.690 of God. The gospel is effective. Christ has been 00:28:48.690 --> 00:28:52.890 raised from the dead. You know all those crucifixions? 00:28:52.910 --> 00:28:57.809 That should just disgust us. Christ on the cross 00:28:57.809 --> 00:29:00.170 everywhere. You can't hardly go through a day 00:29:00.170 --> 00:29:04.069 without seeing something like that. That's terrible. 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:09.319 That's not where Christ is. That's not the Christ 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:12.400 of the Bible. The Christ of the Bible is off 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:17.039 the cross. He's alive. He's risen. He lives. 00:29:17.579 --> 00:29:22.279 He's with us today. He's not some dead body on 00:29:22.279 --> 00:29:28.660 a cross. It's almost a denial of the resurrection. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:32.839 The emphasis that is put on those crucifixions. 00:29:43.339 --> 00:29:46.200 Now, then, verse 12, well, I read that in the 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:48.980 beginning. Now, if Christ be preached that he 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:52.640 rose from the dead, how say some among you that 00:29:52.640 --> 00:29:56.480 there is no resurrection of the dead? But if 00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:59.319 there be no resurrection of the dead, then is 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:03.819 Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen, 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.940 then is our preaching vain, empty, useless, and 00:30:08.940 --> 00:30:15.240 your faith is also vain, empty. Yes, and we are 00:30:15.240 --> 00:30:19.240 found false witnesses of God, because we have 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:23.519 testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:26.759 he raised not up, if there be no resurrection 00:30:26.759 --> 00:30:32.339 of the dead. For if the dead rise not, then is 00:30:32.339 --> 00:30:36.619 not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:41.200 your faith is vain, and you are yet in your sins. 00:30:41.819 --> 00:30:44.380 So there you have it. There's the importance 00:30:44.380 --> 00:30:51.000 of the resurrection. And there's the utter truthfulness 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:54.599 that we are all going to be resurrected because 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:58.160 there is a resurrection and Christ was resurrected 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:01.079 and he was the first fruits of the resurrection 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:05.960 and thus we can all be assured that when we die, 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:09.900 we will be with the Lord. And when he returns, 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:13.599 Those old dead bodies will be resurrected into 00:31:13.599 --> 00:31:17.000 glorious bodies when we will serve him in our 00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:23.059 glorious bodies all eternity. All of that's nothing 00:31:23.059 --> 00:31:28.039 if Christ is not raised from the dead. It's nothing. 00:31:28.140 --> 00:31:30.220 There is no gospel. We're still in our sins. 00:31:30.579 --> 00:31:35.200 We are of all men most to be pitied for believing 00:31:35.200 --> 00:31:38.579 such a thing as the gospel apart from the resurrection 00:31:38.579 --> 00:31:43.890 of the dead. That's the importance. That's what 00:31:43.890 --> 00:31:48.390 Paul's telling us. We've got to have the resurrection 00:31:48.390 --> 00:31:51.690 of Christ. And since we are in Christ, we also 00:31:51.690 --> 00:31:55.210 are resurrected. It doesn't do any good to say 00:31:55.210 --> 00:31:58.970 Christ was spiritually resurrected. And thereby 00:31:58.970 --> 00:32:03.710 absolving yourself of thinking that this dead 00:32:03.710 --> 00:32:08.990 man could return to life. That dead man did return 00:32:08.990 --> 00:32:15.130 to life. Because he did, we all will. And if 00:32:15.130 --> 00:32:19.670 he didn't, we have no hope. There is no hope 00:32:19.670 --> 00:32:23.869 apart from the resurrection. Christ is risen 00:32:23.869 --> 00:32:27.329 from the dead. We celebrate that resurrection 00:32:27.329 --> 00:32:32.849 every Sunday. That's why we worship on Sunday, 00:32:32.930 --> 00:32:35.609 because on Sunday the Lord was raised from the 00:32:35.609 --> 00:32:38.009 dead. He came out of the grave. He was victorious 00:32:38.009 --> 00:32:42.029 over death and the devil. He was the first fruits. 00:32:42.210 --> 00:32:47.509 God declared him to be his son on the day of 00:32:47.509 --> 00:32:51.170 the resurrection. Not that he just did become, 00:32:51.369 --> 00:32:54.230 but that he was alive and his son once again. 00:32:55.970 --> 00:33:02.410 The resurrection of Christ is the gospel. Without 00:33:02.410 --> 00:33:20.359 it, there is no gospel. I'm going to stop. We'll 00:33:20.359 --> 00:33:23.500 pick it up next week, continuing on with the 00:33:23.500 --> 00:33:27.059 necessity and the importance of the resurrection 00:33:27.059 --> 00:33:28.759 for all of us.