SIX GIFTS OF THE RESURRECTION
1 Corinthians 15:12-20,
Key Verse 20
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
Believe it or not, next week is Easter and it’s also our Easter Bible conference. To prepare, we’re going to study 1 Corinthians 15:12-20, “The Six Gifts of the Resurrection”. I know that almost every year we study this chapter. But today, we’re going to look at it from a different viewpoint. We’re going to see how the resurrection of Jesus Christ satisfies six of our deepest longings and needs.
In verses 12-19, Paul says that there are six needs that would be in shambles if Christ had not been raised from the dead. But in verse 20, he says that since Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, all these shambles have been turned into victories. Let’s see how Jesus’ resurrection meets six of our greatest needs.
First Need: We are Forgiven Sinners (17)
Verse 17 says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” Paul says if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we are still in our sins. But because Christ has been raised, we are no longer in our sins. The need to be forgiven is the longing of every heart in this world. This need comes first because it is the foundation of every other blessing. If God has not forgiven our sins but has decided to leave us in our sin, then there are no more blessings to be enjoyed. We might as well forget it and enjoy our sinful lives until we die. But because God has forgiven us of our sins, forgiveness is then the pre-condition of all the blessings that come from God.
So how does the resurrection of Jesus connect to our forgiveness? Romans 4:25 says, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Because we are sinners, Jesus needed to die for us so that we could be forgiven. God’s justice, punishment, and wrath upon mankind’s sins had to be dealt with. They couldn’t be ignored. So Jesus decided to take that punishment in our place. He decided to absorb all of God’s wrath upon himself. So Jesus was arrested, tried, and flogged in our place. He was tormented for our sins. He was nailed to a cross. He was shamed, despised, and rejected. He was crucified and bled. Right before Jesus died, he said, “It is finished.” Then Jesus “breathed his last” (Lk 23:46). Through the shedding of his blood, Jesus had fully satisfied all of God’s judgment that was upon us. Our justification was complete. Therefore, when Romans 4:25 says he was raised for our justification, it means because Jesus’ suffering and death was sufficient, there was no need for him to remain in the grave. God vindicated and celebrated the finished work of Jesus’ death by raising him from the dead. Through Jesus’ resurrection, our sins have been forgiven.
The need for forgiveness is the first need and longing in everyone’s heart. Nobody likes to have sin, guilt, and shame hanging on their backs. But instead of coming to Jesus, we try to drown our sins in other ways, such as working, drinking, relationships, or watching movies. But instead of feeling better, we feel worse. Why is this? It’s because only the blood of Jesus has the power to drown our sin, guilt, and shame. This is why Jesus shed his blood. And his blood is offered to us today through his resurrection
Many years ago, I feared death tremendously. This fear was the result of my sinful life. In one aspect, I hoped that there was no God because I feared that I would be punished severely for my sins. But in another aspect, I hoped that there was a God because I feared that after I died, I would exist no more. At first I tried to drown my sin and fear through drinking, relationships, and movies. But instead of feeling better, I felt worse and my fear of death grew even more. I was so afraid of dying that I couldn’t even watch my favorite Western Movies, because people were always being shot and killed. But I continued to drown my fear through sinning. But the more I did, the more I found myself in fear. Finally one night I broke down in tears, asking God to come into my life. Shortly after, I began 1:1 Bible study. Through Bible study, I met Jesus Christ for the first time and learned that I have been forgiven for all my sins. But I still feared death. So my Bible teacher recommended me to memorize 1 Corinthians 15, all 58 verses. As I memorized, I saw Jesus who died for my sins. But it wasn’t until I got to verse 20, when I finally accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. This is my life key verse. It says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” The word “indeed” struck my heart. It means that Jesus’ death and resurrection is real. It happened. Thus, Jesus’ death and resurrection saves me from my sins and gives me eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. That’s why I really like to study this chapter. It’s the chapter that helped me to believe in God and to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I pray that you too may accept the blood of Jesus and his resurrection as the validation of your forgiveness.
Second Need: Our Faith is Well-Founded (14b)
Paul says in verse 14b that if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is useless. But because Christ has been raised, our faith is not useless. We believe that Jesus is God incarnate. We believe that he is the Son of God. We believe that he died for our sins and rose again on the third day. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, our belief in him is trustworthy. Everybody wants a friend whom we can trust. Actually, we were made to trust someone. God made Adam and Eve to trust in him and to also trust each other. Before the fall, they trusted God and one another. But one day, they decided not to trust God’s command to them, that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then they would surely die (Gen 2:16). So they ate from the tree. Soon afterwards, death came into the whole world. Their trust in God had been damaged and their trust in each other had been ruined. Because of the trust issue today, there are many broken families and severely damaged relationships. However, we still long to trust someone, because this is how God made us. In 7th grade, I met my best friend. At first, we didn’t get a long too well. We both were in the band and we played the trumpet. During band practice, we would always punch each other on the arm. But soon our hatred turned into friendship and it seemed that nothing could break our relationship with one another. But in our senior of High School, he started to hang out with another kid in band who had tons of money. This kid would take him places and buy him things. Because I was dirt poor, I wasn’t able to keep up with him. So I lost my best friend. From that day forward, I had a trust issue and feared making friends with anyone else.
A trusting relationship is hard to come by. On July 29, 1981, 20 year old Diana Frances married the Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George. Their marriage become known as the “fairytale wedding.” Within the year, they had their first child, Prince William. Two years after that, Prince Harry was born. No one thought that anything would ever happen to this fairytale marriage. But 9 years later, their marriage fell apart. Prince Charles fell in love with someone else. Naturally, Princess Diana was devastated. Her life ended 6 years later in a tragic car accident. Is there anyone whom we can trust and always count on? Yes! Verse 14b says there is. Who is this? Jesus! When Jesus rose from the dead, he was showing us that his love for us is trustworthy. Jesus died for us and God raised him from the dead. Through his resurrection, God was showing us that our faith, our trust, and our confidence in Jesus is not in vain. Jesus will never let us down. He will never leave us, disappoint us, or forsake us. After his resurrection, Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “And Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Third Need: We Preach What is True (15)
Verse 15 says, “More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God…” Paul says if Christ has not been raised, then we are false witnesses. But since Christ has been raised, we are not false witnesses. We know the truth, because Jesus is risen. Everybody has a need for truth, whether they want to accept it or not. It’s because God has put into every human heart the need for truth. But truth has become relative these days. Today, people are saying, “What’s true to you may not be true to me.” A friend of mine told me that no one can define truth because no one knows what truth really is, plus it always changes from generation to generation. For example, during the Aztec Empire, the Aztecs believed that if they didn’t sacrifice humans, including their little children, then their god would not give them rain. To them this was the truth. But hopefully today, no one would agree with this. So what is truth? I think because of our advanced generation it’s hard for us to know what truth really is. We’re bombarded with all kinds of claims of what’s true and what’s not true. If you eat this, you’ll get cancer. If you take those pills, you’ll lose weight. If you wear Nikes, you’ll run faster. If you buy a house, the economy will get better. If you marry the same sex, God won’t mind. If you live with your girlfriend or boyfriend, it’s okay because you’ll get to see if you’re compatible with them or not. If you think Mohammad, Buddha, Allah, or Jesus is the way to God, then you’re probably right because surely God has provided different ways to him. With all this information overload, it’s no wonder why people don’t know what truth is anymore. But we Christians can have confidence that what we preach is true. What do we preach? According to 1 Corinthians 1:23, “We preach Christ crucified:” How can I say that we preach is true since people say truth is relative? Because verse 20 says, “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.” Peter said in 2 Peter 1:16, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Peter, along with the other 10 disciples, 500 brothers, and Paul were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. I too am a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus is the Son of the Living God. He died and rose again. He is alive today and is reigning at the Father’s right hand. Because Jesus rose from the dead, he is truth!
Fourth and Fifth Needs: What We do for Jesus Matters (19 & 14a)
Verse 19 says, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” Paul says if Christ has not been raised, then we are to be pitied more than all men. And verse 14a says, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless.” But because Christ has been raised, our preaching, or our ministry, is not useless. Everything that we do for Jesus has value. This is very important for us to hear. Nobody wants their lives to be pointless, empty, useless, and meaningless. Rather, we want our lives to be significant and meaningful. Leonardo da Vinci, a famous Italian inventor and artist who painted the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper said on his dying bed, “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.” It’s amazing that this famous artist thought his work did not reach the quality it should have.
Nobody wants to say, “I wasted my life. It was all in vain. It was empty, pointless, useless, insignificant, and pitiable.” But we want to have lived our lives ministering to others and bearing fruit for God. Paul ends this resurrection chapter by saying in verse 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.” Everything we do for Jesus has meaning. Everything we do for Jesus has value. Even the smallest kind act that we do for others, even if it’s just studying the Bible with them and they leave, is done for Jesus. When I was struggling whether or not be believe in God, a friend of mine, who was a Christian, decided to step in and lead the way for me. He did many kind small acts for me. But before I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, we lost contact with each other. Unbeknown to him, his labor bore fruit. On Monday, I had a dream about him. In my dream, I thanked him for leading me to Jesus. Our labor in the Lord is not in vain, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead!
Sixth Need: Those Who Haven Fallen Asleep are Alive (18)
Verse 18 says, “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” Paul says that if Christ has not been raised, then those who have suffered for Jesus are lost when they die. But because Christ has been raised, we are not lost, but we are alive. We are alive for all eternity. What a great gift this is! Jesus said in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” The chance to live forever and ever in eternal glory with our eternal Father is the best gift that God has ever given to us. Because we were made in the image of God, our souls will go on living forever. John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.” The opposite of eternal life is not eternal death, but it’s eternal torment in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Those who reject Jesus, their souls will not just disappear, but they will be tormented in hell for all eternity. But those who accept Jesus, their souls will have eternal life. We will be raised up with Jesus forever and ever. What exactly is eternal life? Basically, eternal life is eternal joy. In Genesis 2, we learn that God made man to be happy. In the garden, Adam and Eve enjoyed eternal happiness. They were happy all the time. They were never sick. They never got the stomach flu like my whole family did last weekend. They worked and they enjoyed working. Imagine your life today, without all your problems, heartaches, and pains. We all want that, right? Imagine how much better life would be if we didn’t get sick, didn’t lose our hair, if we didn’t have to commute 3 hours to work each day, if we were never depressed, never lonely, and never tired. Now take feeling that and multiply by it be infinity and that’s how you’re going to feel in heaven for all eternity. Eternal life, eternal joy is the longing of every person. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we have been given eternal joy!
Conclusion: The Greatest News in all the World
The greatest news in the whole world is that Christ has been raised from the dead. No other news is better than this. Through his resurrection, Jesus has given us six gifts that we can enjoy for all eternity: 1) God has forgiven us of our sins. 2) Jesus has become our trustworthy friend, someone who will never leave us or forsake us. 3) What we preach is true. 4-5) Everything we do for Jesus, even the smallest act, has value. 6) And finally, we have eternal life and eternal joy. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead! His resurrection completely defeated the power of sin and death. He is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 say, “’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. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” I would like to close today with an invitation. I would like to invite you to newly accept the resurrection of Jesus Christ into your hearts, perhaps even for the first time. When you do, you will see that Jesus satisfies all of your longings and needs. Let’s close with a verse from Revelation 5:12, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Jesus’ resurrection is the best and greatest news and gift ever given!