DOCSLIB.ORG

1 Corinthians 15:12-22

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
1 Corinthians 15:12-22 Death: Our Great Enemy Resurrection Study: Week 1 Passage for Discussion: 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 In this final chapter of a letter devoted to responding to difficult questions in the church, Paul confronts the most central of them all – the question of resurrection. The Corinthians were apparently saying that there was no resurrection. In other words, they were denying that God will raise the dead flesh and bone and give it new life at the end of the age. Note this: the Corinthians were not arguing against life after death – they were arguing that life after death occurs in a ‘spiritual’ state. No more bodies, just our immortal soul. Sound familiar? As Christians we can focus so much on simply answering the question of whether there is life after death that we neglect to think much about what kind of life after death. But for Paul, and for us, that is an important question, one that is actually at the heart of the gospel. Why would the Corinthians deny a bodily, physical resurrection? There were strong philosophical elements in their society that downplayed the physical world and emphasized the priority of the spiritual world, or the world of ideas (Neo-Platonism). So the idea of living forever in a physical body was actually not only absurd to them, but a bit disgusting, a bit perverse. Paul attacks this head on. He points them to the logical conclusion: if dead bodies are not raised, then Jesus’ dead body was not raised. And if Jesus’ body was not raised, then we are still in our sin, we are not saved. Paul concludes: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Why would you believe in a Jesus who can’t save you from your sin? But what does sin have to do with bodily resurrection vs. a spiritual afterlife? Think about it this way. What we believe about death, and life after death, mirrors what we believe about life. For the Corinthians, salvation and life after death meant a freedom from physical existence. So the deepest problem in the world, from the Corinthians’ perspective, is the fact that it is physical. And, in that worldview, death is not a bad thing, not our enemy, but a gateway from physical existence to spiritual existence. Death becomes, in the words of the movie The Fountain, a “pathway to awe.” But that is a completely unbiblical picture of death. Look at verses 21-22. “By a man came death…” and “For as in Adam all die…” Paul is pointing us back to the creation story. The death of humanity was not part of God’s creation order. It came afterwards, as a result of Adam’s rebellion. “Sin entered the world, and death through sin,” Paul writes in Romans 5:12. The problem is not that the world is physical – God made the world out of matter, and declared it good. The problem with the world is sin; death is our enemy, because it is a result of sin. This is why, in the first 11 verses, when Paul restates the gospel, he emphasizes two things – that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures, and Jesus rose from the dead according the scriptures. Jesus had a physical body; Jesus kept a physical body. The victory of Jesus was not in escaping his body through death, but that he, through his death, conquered sin and death. The Corinthians, in denying the physical resurrection, revealed that they didn’t really understand the nature of the problem – sin. And because of that, they didn’t really understand the nature of God’s rescue – Jesus’ death and resurrection. What does this mean for us? We, like the Corinthians, can be unduly influenced by our culture’s understanding of death, and of life after death. Death is our enemy (vs 26). Death is not 1 Death: Our Great Enemy Resurrection Study: Week 1 simply a part of life; death is the opposite of life. Death is de-creation, dis-integration, de- composition. It is not to be embraced as natural or good. We know this intuitively, don’t we? Our first response to death is to weep, or to rage against it, because it feels wrong (much like Jesus’ response to Lazarus’ death in John 11). This leaves us in a difficult place, doesn’t it? Death is everywhere, and if we cannot reframe it as a good thing, we don’t know how to give and receive comfort in the face of death. But God’s answer to death is more satisfying, more certain, and brings more comfort. And that is what we will look at more fully next time. Questions for Discussion: Opening Discussion: 1. What happens after we die? What are the various ways our culture answers that question? 2. What is death? Is it a good thing? Is it bad? Is it just a part of life? Looking at the Bible: 3. Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-28. What is Paul arguing against? What were the Corinthians saying? How is ‘resurrection’ different than ‘going to heaven when you die?’ 4. What is Paul’s logic in vs. 12-19? Why does he argue that resurrection must be true? How is Jesus’ resurrection connected to ours? 5. Read Genesis 2:16-17; 3:17-19. How did death enter the world? What does that tell us about the nature of human death? Looking at Our Hearts 6. Read 1 Corinthians 15:26. Do you think of death as your enemy? What does it mean to say death is our enemy? How is that different from the way our society handles death? How does that change the way we talk about death? How does it change how we comfort people in the face of death? 7. How have you responded to death at various times in your life? Read John 11:17-44. What are the different ways Jesus responds to death? How do his responses help us as we encounter the reality of death? 2 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Baptism on Behalf of the Dead”: 1 Corinthians 15:29 in Its Hellenistic Context
    ABSTRACT “BAPTISM ON BEHALF OF THE DEAD”: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:29 IN ITS HELLENISTIC CONTEXT by Matthew Michael Connor This thesis analyzes 1 Corinthians 15:29 – a reference to “Baptism on behalf of the dead” – as an ancient Mediterranean ritual conducted on behalf of the dead. Scholars have been unable to reach a consensus regarding what Paul was referring to in this passage, with many commentators rejecting the most simple and obvious reading of the text. This paper analyzes the text and translation of 15:29, as well as the history of its interpretation before turning to the category of rituals on behalf of the dead in the ancient world. With a cultural predisposition toward ritual interaction between the living and the dead established in the ancient Mediterranean world, vicarious baptism in Corinth is approached using hybridity theory, which acknowledges the religious creativity of the Corinthians, standing in the contact zone between Paul’s Jesus cult and this longstanding Greek tradition of ritual actions performed on behalf of the dead. “BAPTISM ON BEHALF OF THE DEAD” 1 CORINTHIANS 15:29 IN ITS HELLENISTIC CONTEXT A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Comparative Religion by Matthew Michael Connor Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2010 Advisor________________________ James Constantine Hanges Reader_________________________ Elizabeth Wilson Reader_________________________ Deborah Lyons Contents Introduction 1 The Text and Its Reception 4 The Hellenistic Context 22 The Importance of Hybridity 41 Conclusion 56 Works Cited 59 ii Introduction The writings of the Apostle Paul, like the rest of the New Testament, are not without their mysteries.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Corinthians 15:1-9 “Jesus: Most Important”
    1 Corinthians 15:1-9 “Jesus: Most Important” Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-9 Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (NASB) Lesson Focus: We will emphasize what the apostle Paul emphasizes in this text: That knowing and trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely essential to our faith. It is of “first importance” because it is real and it really matters. Then we will challenge the kids to make it real in their own lives. Activities and Crafts: Coloring Picture of Empty Tomb, Crossword Puzzle of different terms from lesson, Bring It Home Discussion for 3rd – 5th. Craft for all Grades: Wooden Crosses or Egg/Cross Decorations Starter Activity: Most Important Things! We will keep all of the kids in the Summit Room for our starter activity. We will watch a silly video that will transition us into some discussion about most important things. Q: What did Barbie think was really important in life? Glitter! This is silly as there are a lot more important things in life than glitter. Some things are more important than others. Which of these do you think is more important? 1) Water or SmartPhone 2) Bread or Doughnuts 3) Exercise or Fortnite (video games) * 4) Valentine’s Day or Easter 5) Being Good or Believing in Jesus As we have studied through the gospel of John, we have seen over and over again that John’s goal in writing this book is so that we would BELIEVE.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesson 24 - the Resurrection of Christ - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
    STUDYING THE BOOK OF 1 CORINTHIANS IN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS Lesson 24 - The Resurrection of Christ - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Read the following verses in the New International Version or a translation of your choice. Then discuss the questions that follow. Questions should be studied by each individual before your discussion group meets. Materials may be copied and used for Bible study purposes. Not to be sold. 1CO 15:1 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. 1CO 15:3 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. 1CO 15:9 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Sunday School Notes June 14, 2020 Apollos, Aquila and Pricilla and Paul Signing Off Read: 1 Corinthians 16:12-24 Aquila and Pr
    Sunday School Notes June 14, 2020 Apollos, Aquila and Pricilla and Paul Signing Off Read: 1 Corinthians 16:12-24 Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly (1 Corinthians 16:19-20) Acts 18:1-11, 18-21; Romans 16:3-5a Apollos (1 Corinthians 16:12) Acts 18:24-19:1; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, 21-23 A great exhortation (1 Corinthians 16:13) Paul signs off the letter, in his own handwriting. (1 Corinthians 16:21-24) 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Galatians 4:13-16; 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:17; Acts 22:30-23:5 June 7, 2020 Read: 1 Corinthians 16:1-24 Giving, Hospitality, and news about Paul’s friends About giving and hospitality (1 Corinthians 16:1-9) Acts 11:27-29; Romans 12:13 and 15:23-29; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9; 9:6-8, 12-15; Galatians 6:10; Philemon 1-2, 20-22; Hebrews 13:1-2; 1 Peter 4:8-9 News about: Timothy (1 Corinthians 16:10-11) Acts 16:1-3; 1 Timothy 1:3-8; 1 Corinthians 4:15-17; Philippians 2:19-24 The household of Stephanas (1 Corinthians 16:15-18) Most scholars assume these three men Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus carried the Corinthian’s letter with questions to Paul and then returned to Corinth with 1 Corinthians from Paul. May 31, 2020 Living in the Natural Life with our Eyes on our Glorious Future Read: 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 → Compare to 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 5:1-10; Romans 8:18-27; Galatians 5:16- 26; Ephesians 6:10-18 May 24, 2020 Read: 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 Compare 1 Corinthians 15:18-19 with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER 16 (Change the Order!) David Renwick, June 2, 2021
    1 CORINTHIANS Chapter 15/16 CHAPTER 16 (change the order!) David Renwick, June 2, 2021 SCHEDULE FINAL GREETINGS 15:19-23 April 14- June 2, 2021 • 19The churches of Asia send greetings. • Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet 1. Background you warmly in the Lord. 2. Restoring Ruptured Relationships (1 Cor 1-3; 14) ▪ See Romans 16:3 3. Sex in the City (1 Cor 5-7) • 20All the brothers and sisters send greetings. 4. Winning by Losing (1 Cor 8-10) • Greet one another with a holy kiss. 5. Did Paul Hate Women? (1 Cor 11) 6. Spiritually Mature? (1 Cor 11-14) 21I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 7. Life After Death (1 Cor 15) Anyone who has no love for the Lord: 8. Generosity/Conclusion (1 Cor 16) Let there be a curse. OF ULTIMATE IMPORTANCE: Love Jesus! NOT: End of our Series . ▪ the wrong “leader/party;” Tonight’s Topic: 1 Corinthians 15 & 16 ▪ the wrong knowledge; ▪ the wrong spirituality LAST TIME – Resurrection of the Body Our Lord, come! -- focused first on “the body” 23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. -- a theme repeated in various ways in Paul’s writings and in the gospels 24My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus. e.g., • Lord’s Supper -- This is my body broken for you PAUL’S TRAVEL PLANS 16:5-9 • Incarnation -- the word became flesh (embodied), and dwelt 5I will visit you after passing through Macedonia among us —for I intend to pass through Macedonia— • Creation -- Part of God’s good material creation: God made our ▪ Philippi bodies the way they are on purpose ▪ Thessalonica • Sin – Bodies weakened (infected?) morally and physically by sin 6and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, • Bodies subject to death so that you may send me on my way, wherever I go.
    [Show full text]
  • Lifegroup Questions Overcome Based On: 1 Corinthians 15 March 30, 2014
    LifeGroup Questions Overcome Based On: 1 Corinthians 15 March 30, 2014 Overview 1 Corinthians 15 A lady once asked Vernon McGee this question: “Our preacher said that on Easter, Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?" Vernon replied, "Dear sister, beat your preacher with a leather whip with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross, hang him in the sun for six hours, run a spear through his heart, embalm him, put him in an airless tomb for three days, and see what happens!" The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Paul states that without the resurrection our faith is in vain. It is because of the knowledge of the power of the resurrection that Paul wrote, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 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.” Bible Study: 1 Corinthians 15 1. Generally speaking, why do you think the cross of Christ is spoken more about than the tomb of Christ? 2. How do you view the various challenges you face in life? What is your general attitude when life doesn’t go the way you want it to? 3. Everyone has challenges they want to overcome. Take a few moments and think about some challenges you are currently facing. In what ways does the gospel give you hope and strength to overcome life’s challenges? 4.
    [Show full text]
  • Death, the Last Enemy
    Small Group Guide #2-36 ⧫ 1 Corinthians 15:1-26, 51-57 ⧫ May 24, 2020 Death, the Last Enemy The Power of God’s Love About the Story We continue with Paul’s first letter to the The Point: Corinthian church. Paul had preached in Corinth We can rejoice since the risen Christ will and planted house churches, developing small destroy death forever. God’s love is expressed communities of believers who met to pray, to no more powerfully than in the act of conquering care for each other, and to share meals in their death. We all need to be reminded that if death cannot keep us from God, nothing can. homes. Corinth was a highly diverse city, Greek in origin, and now controlled by the Roman Empire. Much of the new church was Gentile, meaning they had little experience with Jewish beliefs. They had many questions about Paul’s teachings, and wrote to him on at least two occasions to ask about proper practices in life, worship, and belief. In our text today, Paul addressed concerns in the community about the resurrection. Paul began by calling on common authority to ground his argument for hope. He reminded his audience of Jesus’ death and resurrection “in accordance with the scriptures” and Jesus’ appearance to many believers. Paul reminded them also of his own unworthiness, because he persecuted the church (see Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-9). Paul then insisted, unequivocally, on the truth of the resurrection. But what did that mean? The nature of the afterlife was a subject of extensive debate in both the Jewish and Greco-Roman religious life.
    [Show full text]
  • April 11, 2021 – 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 – “But …”
    April 11, 2021 – 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 – “But …” On a Friday 2,000 years ago, Jesus died. He The first “if” (v.13): IF there is no resurrection of breathed his last. He’s gone! There was a brief the dead, not even Christ has been raised. If dead eulogy by – of all people – a Roman centurion: people don’t rise, and Jesus died, then he didn’t “Surely this was the Son of God!” A nice thought rise either. All that joy and comfort you … a little late. Scripture does give us one final experienced in last week’s Easter Sunday services – paragraph describing the funeral arrangements so that was all phony and fake. Jesus could be buried. Then they all walked away and went home. Finished! End of story! The second “if” (v.14): And IF Christ has not been raised, our preaching is pointless and your faith is Not so quickly, my friends. One tiny word in pointless, too. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, today’s lesson changed everything, and I mean I’m wasting my time as a preacher and I’m wasting everything. That one tiny word was the Apostle your time by having you sit here and listen to the Paul’s grand announcement to the sad Corinthians preacher. who were devastated that their hope in Christ had been snuffed out. The third “if” (v.15): Then we are even guilty of giving false testimony about God, because we One tiny word changed everything, the way that testified about God that he raised Christ, whom one day – Easter, changed everything.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Corinthians 15:3B–6A, 7 and the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus
    JETS 49/2 (June 2006) 225–34 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3B–6A, 7 AND THE BODILY RESURRECTION OF JESUS kirk r. macgregor* One of the most recurring claims leveled by modern exegetes against the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus has been that the pre-Pauline creed in 1 Cor 15:3–7, at best, implies that Jesus’ earliest disciples believed in a spiritual resurrection which did not necessarily vacate his tomb.1 Two lines of argument are normally given in support of this premise. (1) Since Paul employs the same Greek verb as the tradition, wßfqh (“he was seen”), to describe his visionary experience of the risen Christ, Paul’s experience was the same in character as that of the preceding disciples.2 (2) The formula contains no mention of the empty tomb, thereby suggesting that the corpse of Jesus was irrelevant to the concept of his resurrection held by the Jerusalem church.3 Such an understanding of the resurrection was shared by Paul, as displayed in his contrast between the physical and spiritual bodies (1 Cor 15:44). However, this understanding evolved during the second Christian generation into the doctrine of physical resurrection featured in the Gospel appearance narratives.4 The purpose of this essay will be to challenge (1) and (2) on form-critical grounds and to reveal in the process that the earliest followers of Jesus both believed in his physical resurrection and recounted resurrection appearances qualitatively different from that of Paul. i. prolegomena Form criticism has established that within 1 Cor 15:3–7 Paul quotes a primitive Christian creed originally formulated during the earliest years of * Kirk R.
    [Show full text]
  • This Pdf of 1 Corinthians 15-16
    comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15-16 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; 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 The Resurrection of Christ after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For 15 which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under believed in vain. 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. 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 29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.
    [Show full text]
  • The Law of God in 1 Corinthians 15:56: Its Meaning and Implications on the Eschatological Church
    International Journal of Philosophy and Theology June 2019, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 36-43 ISSN: 2333-5750 (Print), 2333-5769 (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development DOI: 10.15640/ijpt.v7n1a5 URL: https://doi.org/10.15640/ijpt.v7n1a5 The Law of God in 1 Corinthians 15:56: Its Meaning and Implications on the Eschatological Church Warren S. Simatele1, PhD The study identifies the law of God (Ten Commandments) in 1 Cor 15:56 and its implications on the eschatological church. The term “law” appears in isolation in the resurrection text causing some to consider it an interpolation; however, its presence here not only heightens the continuity of God’s law in the eschatological church, but also its significance in the work of redemption and ultimate victory over sin and death, a development that will usher in eschatological rest in God’s entire universe. Key words: Interpolation, Law, sin, death, eschatology, end-time church Towards the end of the great resurrection passage, the apostle Paul introduces the law in connection with sin and death. “The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law” (ASV). The text continues to intrigue scholarship because it is not always clear how the Apostle uses nomos. Sometimes he employs the term in reference to the Mosaic Law or to the Torah; however, his starting point is always the traditional use of the word in reference to a specific Old Testament law.2 How we understand nomos in the resurrection passage is of great theological significance regarding its continuing relevance as part of the end-time message and mission of the eschatological church.
    [Show full text]
  • Sunday School Notes June 21, 2020 Paul Writes to the Believers In
    Sunday School Notes June 21, 2020 Paul Writes to the Believers in Corinth Yet Again Read: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2:11 What does Paul send to the Corinthians through God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in the opening verses? What does that mean to you in your walk with Christ? How is it a reality to you? How do you re-establish this in your life if found lacking? What is Paul trying to convey to us about hardship and suffering in 2 Corinthians 1:3-7? Compare with 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 We don’t know specifically what Paul suffered in the Providence of Asia in which he despaired his life and felt the sentence of death. But look at 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 and 2 Timothy 4:14-18. What helped Paul through all these trials? 2 Corinthians 1:10-11. 2 Corinthians 1:12-14 Paul talks about how he has conducted his life among the Corinthians. See also 1 Corinthians 9:11-19 2 Corinthians 1:15-2:4 Paul postpones or cancels a visit he had planned to Corinth. Why? 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 What is Paul trying to convey here? Compare 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13 also Consider 2 Corinthians 7:8-13. June 14, 2020 Apollos, Aquila and Pricilla and Paul Signing Off Read: 1 Corinthians 16:12-24 Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly (1 Corinthians 16:19-20) Acts 18:1-11, 18-21; Romans 16:3-5a Apollos (1 Corinthians 16:12) Acts 18:24-19:1; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, 21-23 A great exhortation (1 Corinthians 16:13) Paul signs off the letter, in his own handwriting.
    [Show full text]