1 Corinthians 15:1-20, He Exceeds Expectations

Theological Proposition/Focus: The Gospel is the good news of Christ's salvation

Homiletical Proposition/Application: The follower of Christ must place their faith in Christ's death and resurrection, respond and hope.

Introduction

Image: The lynchpin

Have you ever had the chance to go for a ride on a covered wagon? You may not realize it, but one of the most important pieces of equipment on that wagon is a tiny sliver of metal smaller than a pencil. This piece of metal is called the linchpin.

A linchpin is a fastener that has been used for centuries to prevent wheels from sliding off of an axle. The word was first used in the 1300s. Most people probably do not think about the lynchpin if they ever get in a wagon but without the lynchpin, the wagon ride would be a very short ride.

In modern language, the term is used to describe something that holds everything together in a complicated system. Sometimes the most complicated piece of equipment is held together by the most seemingly insignificant part.

Setting the Stage:

In the book of First Corinthians Paul wrote to a church that had a lot going on. The book itself is a fairly long letter that Paul wrote and contains a significant amount of doctrine. In fact, we could spend hours talking about the various doctrinal points that Paul makes in the book but today we are not going to do that. Today we are going to focus on a very important doctrine, the Gospel. We are going to see that in his Death and Ressurection Christ did much more than fail to meet the expectations of the people. Christ exceeded expectations giving us more than we could ever ask,

Body

The Gospel is not to be Forgotten (v. 1-2)

The Gospel

In 1 Cor. 15:1-2 Paul states, "Now, brothers and sisters, 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."

Notice what Paul is saying. The Gospel has been previously preached. The people of Corinth knew the Gospel, why was Paul taking the time to go over that same old message again? The answer is simple. The Gospel is that which knit them together. For us today, the news of the Gospel is nothing new, but that same Gospel is why we can join together as more than friends but as brothers and sisters in Christ. The Gospel is what unites us and the Gospel is what we share. There is nothing more significant than the gospel.

The Result

In fact, there are several key ways in which the Gospel unites us.

The Gospel is that upon which we stand

The verb stand is in the perfect tense and carries the idea of an action that took place in the past and has results reaching into the future.

The Gospel is that upon which we are saved

The verb for saved is in the present tense and carries the idea of an ongoing action. i.e. being saved, we are positionally sanctified, progressively sanctified and await being perfectively sanctified. The Gospel is something that we accepted in the past but it continues to save us.

The Gospel is that upon which we hold fast

We need to be reminded of the Gospel because we need to take-care that we hold fast. There are people who are being saved and people who are perishing. Once someone is saved, they remain saved, but that doesn't mean we cannot fall away from following Christ.

Image: Memories at Holidays

I grew up with three younger brothers and when we get together to celebrate we very quickly begin reminiscing of memories from growing up together. These times of remembering bring us together and they remind us of how we got where we are today. Taking time to remember the past is an incredibly important exercise for any group of people. We need to make sure that we are taking time to remind ourselves about the death and resurrection of Christ. Today is an easy day to do so, but don't let today be the only time this year you remind yourself of the Gospel. Put a reminder in your phone. Better yet, come back next week!

The Gospel is Not Some Fairytale (v. 3-7)

Next, let's look at verses 3-7. 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 Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters 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,

The Gospel is purposeful

Notice the use of the phrase, according to the scripture. Nothing in the Gospel is a surprise, it all happened according to the perfect plan of God mapped out in Scripture. Our faith is in a Gospel that is bigger than any of us, a Gospel that was foretold by people long ago.

Died: for us Isa. 53:1-12

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, n and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Burried

Jesus was literally dead and buried, there was no question in the mind of his followers that he was gone.

Raised on the third day: Psalm 16:9-11

(Note this passage was referenced by Peter in the sermon at Pentacost in Acts 2:27-28).

9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

As we notice the significant events we also need to note that there is something here that English simply cannot capture.

Raised on the third day - Perfect, it happened and continues to change our life today.

The Gospel is a summary of the entire Old Testament, the Linch Pin.

The Gospel was seen by many

It is one thing to say something happened, it is another to invite people to fact-check your story.

Paul provides a strong argument for believing in the resurrection. Many of the people mentioned here were still alive at the time of the writing of 1 Cor. Had Paul been lying they could have called him out. Given the cost of following Christ, the temporal closeness of the writing of 1 Cor. to the resurrection, and the sheer number of witnesses mentioned, the resurrection of Christ is one of the best-attested events in history. Paul gives enough detail to fact-check his story but also little enough detail that we infer the story was well known. The resurrection is something upon which we can depend.

Enough Detail to Fact Check - Enough missing to realize this was well-known

Notice all the people who had the opportunity to see the risen Christ

Faith is not unfounded optimism

A lot of people mean unfounded optimism when they talk about faith. Others mean some type of perceived probabilistic belief that something will happen. People also think of faith as a blind leap. Finally, faith is often thought of as existing where reason does not. But none of those is faith, at least not what the Bible teaches about faith. Faith involves knowledge, assent, and confidence. Specifically, faith is a level of agreement with, and commitment to, something believed to be true and exercised by placing one’s confidence in that truth. We do not blindly believe in some optimistic perspective, we weigh the evidence, assent to the results, and confidently hold on to our commitment that Christ was raised from the dead.

The Gospel does not come without Responsibility (v.8-11)

Next, let us look at verses 8-11. 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 is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Paul identifies himself as unworthy

The word stillborn-child or abnormally born could also refer to an aborted fetus. Perhaps even the idea of an unborn fetus that somehow manages to survive an abortion or miscarriage. The picture is one of wretched unworthiness. We are each all but dead if not for the saving work of Christ. But God takes each of us and makes us new, as useful for his purposes.

The Responsibility of grace

After clearly marking himself as unworthy Paul brings grace into the picture. By the grace of God! However, notice that in verse 10 Paul provides an interesting point sandwiched between God's grace Paul tells us that he has worked hard. I think sometimes we are so afraid of works righteousness or works based salvation that we ignore the fact that God does ask us to work. It is not that the work saves us or even makes us better in God's eyes but rather that we have a responsibility to work. In verse 11 we see that the responsibility is to labor to testify to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The result of taking responsibility

Why should we do all of this? Because the result is the Gospel is preached. We accomplish that which we were made to do!

The Gospel is not without more to come (v. 12-20)

If Jesus had only saved me from eternity in Hell, that would have been enough. But he did so much more. Jesus exceeds our expectations. Let's look at verses 12-20. 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 of all people most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21

What I want you to see today is that

The Resurrection Matters

Paul starts with a rhetorical question that actually functions more like an exclamation "How?"

There were as many as 4 erroneous beliefs

A belief that the resurrection has already taken place and so when a Christian dies only their spiritual state continues.

In verses 12-18 we see a logical progression No Resurrection -> Christ was not Raised -> We are Waisting our time -> God is himself not to be trusted-> Your faith is futile -> We are hopeless The conclusion in verse 19 is that without the resurrection there really isn't a point to all of this. By the way, similar logic states that without eternity there really isn't any point in the present.

But Christ Arose

Verse 20 begins a whole new consequence of the resurrection and that consequence is worth study but for today let's just focus on this one aspect. The resurrection brings hope.

Conclusion

As we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior we must never forget either what was accomplished or what is to come.