Anchors of the Resurrection
Anchors for the Soul found in Christ's Resurrection!
What do you say to a friend when things are going bad? -- "Hold on, Hang in there!"
But what is it that we are supposed to hold onto through these storms?
What are these Anchors that hold us steady in the Great storms of life?
Christians all over the world gather in great numbers to remember and celebrate the bodily and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This historical event confirms our confidence in the words of Christ and gives strength to the souls of men and women to face whatever challenges in life they may face. 1 Corinthians 15, explores the vital place that Jesus' resurrection has in human history and reveals that it provides two anchors for our souls as we face the storms of life.
1 Corinthians 15:1-26
The Resurrection of Christ
"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed."
The Resurrection of the Dead
"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
1. Our Faith is Certain!
Because of the resurrection of Christ!
Faith = Belief in the unseen
Christ's Resurrection makes Faith certain!
We believe that just as Christ was raised, we also shall be raised! Because of His resurrection, our Faith in our resurrection is assured!
Vs. 3 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,"
Christ died for our sins -- taking God's wrath upon himself!
However...
That is all WORTHLESS without the resurrection!
Vs. 16-17 "For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."
But...
Vs. 4
"that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,"
Christ was buried! He did die! AND was Raised according to the Scriptures!!!
Why is this phrase...."According to the Scriptures" added?
The Old Testament points forward to Christ
The Gospels and Acts are what the Old Testament is point toward...the Event!
The New Testament is explaining what God did...there is no other way!
"According to the Scriptures" helps us understand what God was doing!
And destroys any possibility of the Resurrection being a Hoax!
Was the Resurrection of Christ a Hoax?
No--
1. Why would these fishermen from Galilee lie? Most of them died preaching the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Would you die for something you know is a lie? I didn't think so!
2. If the Religious officials could have presented Christ's body to prove the Disciples wrong, don't you think they would have?
3. A story was fabricated that the guards fell asleep. Ummm...the penalty for that was death! I don't think the guards would have taken that risk...they didn't fall asleep!
Vs. 12-19
"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."
The stakes here are way to high!
1. If Christ was raised, we can take Him at His word...and trust that we also will be raised if we believe in Him!
2. If Christ was not raised, we preach in vain, we make God out to be a liar, and we are still in our sins! "We are of all people most to be pitied."
2. Our Future is Secure!
Vs. 20-26
"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
Jesus was First...Firstfruits -- This implies that there will be more!!! That means us! All who are in Christ!
We are all in Adam by Birth, we have a sin Nature and we can choose to sin. Because we are all in Adam from birth, we all die.
All those who are in Christ will live! This is not because of a physical birth, but because of a Spiritual Birth!
This Spiritual Birth can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit allowing a person to freely give control of their life over to Christ.
Romans 10:9-10
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
What is our Anchor for the Soul?
Christ!
In Christ,
David
What do you say to a friend when things are going bad? -- "Hold on, Hang in there!"
But what is it that we are supposed to hold onto through these storms?
What are these Anchors that hold us steady in the Great storms of life?
Christians all over the world gather in great numbers to remember and celebrate the bodily and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This historical event confirms our confidence in the words of Christ and gives strength to the souls of men and women to face whatever challenges in life they may face. 1 Corinthians 15, explores the vital place that Jesus' resurrection has in human history and reveals that it provides two anchors for our souls as we face the storms of life.
1 Corinthians 15:1-26
The Resurrection of Christ
"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed."
The Resurrection of the Dead
"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
1. Our Faith is Certain!
Because of the resurrection of Christ!
Faith = Belief in the unseen
Christ's Resurrection makes Faith certain!
We believe that just as Christ was raised, we also shall be raised! Because of His resurrection, our Faith in our resurrection is assured!
Vs. 3 "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,"
Christ died for our sins -- taking God's wrath upon himself!
However...
That is all WORTHLESS without the resurrection!
Vs. 16-17 "For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."
But...
Vs. 4
"that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,"
Christ was buried! He did die! AND was Raised according to the Scriptures!!!
Why is this phrase...."According to the Scriptures" added?
The Old Testament points forward to Christ
The Gospels and Acts are what the Old Testament is point toward...the Event!
The New Testament is explaining what God did...there is no other way!
"According to the Scriptures" helps us understand what God was doing!
And destroys any possibility of the Resurrection being a Hoax!
Was the Resurrection of Christ a Hoax?
No--
1. Why would these fishermen from Galilee lie? Most of them died preaching the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Would you die for something you know is a lie? I didn't think so!
2. If the Religious officials could have presented Christ's body to prove the Disciples wrong, don't you think they would have?
3. A story was fabricated that the guards fell asleep. Ummm...the penalty for that was death! I don't think the guards would have taken that risk...they didn't fall asleep!
Vs. 12-19
"Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied."
The stakes here are way to high!
1. If Christ was raised, we can take Him at His word...and trust that we also will be raised if we believe in Him!
2. If Christ was not raised, we preach in vain, we make God out to be a liar, and we are still in our sins! "We are of all people most to be pitied."
2. Our Future is Secure!
Vs. 20-26
"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
Jesus was First...Firstfruits -- This implies that there will be more!!! That means us! All who are in Christ!
We are all in Adam by Birth, we have a sin Nature and we can choose to sin. Because we are all in Adam from birth, we all die.
All those who are in Christ will live! This is not because of a physical birth, but because of a Spiritual Birth!
This Spiritual Birth can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit allowing a person to freely give control of their life over to Christ.
Romans 10:9-10
"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."
What is our Anchor for the Soul?
Christ!
In Christ,
David
posted by Mark 1:17 at 1:36 PM
1 Comments:
An excellent enumeration of the reasons why our anchor, our faith and our hope is in Christ, by Christ, and for Christ...
Also an excellent motivator to share this good news.
Cleopas, from "Pulpit of the Last Days" would be quick to point out that in the 'Scriptures' (the Old Testament) there are over 200 prophecies about the "Messiah". ALL of those prophecies were fulfilled in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, that is Jesus Christ, the Son of God... The Berean Jews (Acts 17:10-12) are really the first 'group' that is recorded as searching out the Old Testament prophecies to 'prove' whether or not the Gospel of Christ as preached by Paul - actually WAS the TRUTH, that Jesus was indeed The Messiah... Acts 17:12 is one of the most encouraging verses in the Bible. We are talking about Old Testament 'EXPERTS'. They knew the Old Testament prophecies. After searching the Scriptures, what happened? Verse 12 tells us, "Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men."
People that know the Word, believe the Word - the Word is Christ.
Thank you,
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