“Facts: The Firm Foundation of Faith” (Part I) 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Bible Study

September 13, 2023 @DannyScottonJr Bible Studies, Lessons, Preaching 0

Introduction

Thanks be to God, this is our first in-person evening Bible Study since 2020! After three and a half years of streaming on screens, it will be nice to be able to see from friendly faces as we study the Scriptures.

Glory to God, we did not miss a single Wednesday. But, I missed being in the Fellowship Hall with y’all!

Three and a half years… time flies! But, you know, I still remember the first streamed Bible study I stumbled through in the Fellowship Hall back in March of 2020.

For Praise and Worship, I think I tried to sing and play guitar. During the lesson, I had to keep flipping my phone’s camera to show Scriptures on the projector. And, I don’t even think the audio and video were together.

I was told it looked kind of like a foreign language film, since my lips and my language were not always in sync.

But, thanks be to God for wisdom and financial provision, for we’ve been able take advantage of some changes in technology.

Time Flies And Things Change…

And that’s one thing about technology, it keeps changing. Time flies and things change.

Who remembers when telephones actually had to be connected to a telephone line? Who remembers when TV’s had those bunny-ear antennae?

Who remembers typewriters before computers? Iceboxes before refrigerators? Outhouses before bathrooms?

Things change. Time flies and things change.

And not just with technology. Have you ever thought to yourself: “I can’t believe the way these kids are dressing nowadays”? Or, “I can’t believe the music people listen to nowadays”? Or, “I can’t believe what they’ll show on TV nowadays”?

You know, back in the day, married characters couldn’t even sleep in the same bed.

Even I Love Lucy’s Ricky and Lucy never shared a bed – even though Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were husband and wife in real life!

According to what was called the “Hays Code”,[1] studios all basically said, “There’s certain things we won’t show on television.” But now, there’s few things that they won’t show on TV.

Many common things today would be unacceptable in the 1950’s. And many common things in the 1950’s would be unacceptable today.

Time flies and things change.

Now, if you’ve ever been to a barbershop or a salon, you know that, if you value your follicles, there’s a fundamental principle you have to follow: You have to hold your head still.

Because, if your head is always moving, it’s hard to line things up just right. If you move your head during a trim, you can walk out with a crooked style.

Well, brothers and sisters, as we’ve seen, society does not hold its head still. Fads fall in and out of fashion. What was once unacceptable is now acceptable. What used to be considered awful is now considered awesome. And vice versa.

And, as it’s been said, if we try to be “cool” by the culture’s constantly changing criteria, we’ll always be trying to hit a moving target.[2]

Society is always moving; it can’t keep its head still. Frankly, on many issues, society has lost it’s mind!

And because the culture can’t keep its head still, it will never fully line up with the One Who is just and right. It’ll never be in line with the just and righteous guidelines of God.

In the eyes of Christ our Savior, this wicked world has a crooked style.

…But The Facts Of The Gospel Don’t!

But, instead, we have to keep a good, steady head on our shoulders. Let’s not conform to the pattern of this wobbly world (Rom 12:2); let’s not conform to the crooked culture. Let’s conform to the criteria of Christ (cf. Rom 8:29).

For Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever more (Heb 13:8). On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!

Instead of standing on the shifting sands of self or the shifting sands of society, let us stand on the firm foundation of faith – a faith that is based on facts – historical facts.

Over the past two thousand years of history, many have likely said “time flies.” And over the past two thousand years of history, many things have changed. Time flies. Things change.

And for the past two millennia, there have been plenty of new seasons. But true Christians have preached the same gospel. New Season, Same Gospel.

Tonight, let’s continue to talk about the same, unchanging Gospel – the factual foundation of our faith.

[1] https://outsider.com/news/entertainment/brady-bunch-debunking-myth-show-first-feature-couple-sleeping-same-bed/

[2] Pastor Todd uses this illustration in his YouTube video on Relationship #GOALS (around 7:30) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7h5BHax06c

Context

Doubting Resurrection: Corinthians  

Now, unlike almost every other worldview, the truth of Christianity hinges on one historical claim: that Christ rose from the dead.[1]

As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:14:

and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is without foundation, and so is your faith (1 Cor 15:14, HCSB)

Continuing in verse 15, he tells the Corinthian church:

15 In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified about God that He raised up Christ—whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. (1 Cor 15:15-17, HCSB)

And in verse 18 and 19, he says:

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. (1 Cor 15:18-19, NIV)

Now, we know that many if not most people in the world doubt the Resurrection of Jesus. That’s to be expected.

But, there’s likely many so-called Christians in the church who doubt the Resurrection of Jesus (as there were in Corinth!). And I know even some of my former professors in seminary who doubt the bodily Resurrection of Jesus!

My brothers and sisters, we have to preach and teach and defend the Resurrection, for importance of the Resurrection cannot be overstated.

Because, if there was no Resurrection, our faith is worthless and we are pitiful. There’s no good news. There’s no Gospel.

The Resurrection is the basic bedrock of our belief.

So, as we start this new season, I think it’s wise to go back to the basics,[2] to revisit the fundamental foundation of our faith – as Paul did back in the 1st century.

Now, apparently people in the church at Corinth were doubting the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15:12)[3] (in general).[4]

In 1 Corinthians 15:12-13, Paul tells them:

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. (1 Cor 15:12-13, NIV)

So, as he often does in his letters, Paul is correcting some wrong principles in a church.

You know, if someone is going down the wrong way on a one-way street, what’s the loving thing to do?

Tell them to turn around! Tell them to stop going the wrong way and to start going the right way! You tell them to repent!

And, it’s important to reiterate an important principle of Christian theology. You see, we know that, after we die, we who live for Christ on earth will live with Christ in heaven.

As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8, and as is often said at funerals:

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:8, KJV)

So, after death, the immortal soul of believers will be in heaven with the Savior, experiencing a taste of future glory.1

But that’s only a taste of what’s to come. For, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Paul says:

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Th 4:16-17, NIV)

So, the dead in Christ will rise. When the Resurrected Lord comes again, there will be a bodily resurrection.2

Doubting Resurrection: Jews

And this is not a new concept in the New Testament. Even in the Old Testament and in later Judaism, the resurrection –by definition – always involved the raising of physical bodies.

This concept can be seen in prophecies such as Isaiah 26:19, which says:

But your dead will live, LORD [YHWH];

   their bodies will rise—

let those who dwell in the dust

   wake up and shout for joy—

your dew is like the dew of the morning;

   the earth will give birth to her dead. (Is 26:19, NIV)

Also, Daniel 12:2 says:

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt (Dn 12:2, NIV)

So, it has long been proclaimed that there would be a bodily resurrection at the end of the age. The righteous would be raised to everlasting life, and the unrighteous would be raised for everlasting shame.

On the Last Day, there will be a final judgment and a final resurrection.

But since this is going to take place at the end of time, for Jews, thinking that just One person would be resurrected before the end of time could sound absurd.

For Jews, resurrection, by definition. always involved a physical body (cf. Is 26:19; Dn 12:1-3).[5] However, many Jews believed that the resurrection of all the righteous would take place at the end of time.[6] To Jews, to think that one Person was resurrected before then would be absurd.[7]

Doubting Resurrection: Gentiles

Greeks, on the other hand, thought differently. You see, as early as Plato, who lived in the 5th century BC,[8] Greek philosophers thought that the soul was immortal,[9] but the body was a prison (dualism).

In a sense, incarnation was like incarceration.

So, death was actually seen as a release into the real world, which they thought was immaterial.[10] Thus, on this view, to be dead was to be truly alive.

And if the dead are spiritually free and no longer trapped in their physical bodies, why would Greeks believe in a physical resurrection?[11]

To Greeks, in a sense, dying meant being set free from the fetters of the flesh, from the bonds of one’s body. So, to them, to have one’s immortal soul be once again confined to a corpse would be like being thrown back in the clink.

Thus, people who grew up believing this may have had a hard time believing that Jesus Christ was raised in the flesh.[12]

Moreover, some false teachers in churches were teaching that the resurrection of believers had actually already taken place – spiritually.3

For example, in 2 Timothy 2:17-18, about such false teachers, Paul tells Timothy:

17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. (2 Tim 2:17-18, NIV)4

You see, that’s the thing about false teaching. False teaching can destroy faith. False teaching can lead others astray. People can be headed the wrong way.

So, in his letter, Paul seeks to get the Corinthian church back on track. He takes them back to the bare necessities, the first principles,[13] the central core of the gospel, the common ground of all true Christians:[14] the historical facts.[15] This is Christianity 101:

[1] “Christ’s death and resurrection in space and time, as bona fide historical events, actually set Christianity apart from all its major rivals. Later Western religions that developed in part in reaction to Christianity do not claim deity or resurrections for their originators, merely prophetic status (e.g., Mohammed in Islam or Joseph Smith in Mormonism). Older Eastern religions do not even require the actual historical existence of their founders for their beliefs and practices to make sense. In some ways they are more akin to philosophies than to historical truth-claims (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism). But Christianity lives or dies with the claim of Christ’s resurrection. To be sure, it is possible to believe in Jesus’ resurrection and not become a Christian, but without the bodily resurrection Christianity crumbles.” Craig Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 308.

[2] Marion L. Soards, 1 Corinthians, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 314.

[3] Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 196. David Prior, The Message of 1 Corinthians: Life in the Local Church, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 256. “they had especially objected to the corporeal features of such an idea.” Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., Revised Edition, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 794. Blomberg, 294; David E. Garland, 1 Corinthians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 678.

[4] Mark Taylor, 1 Corinthians, ed. E. Ray Clendenen, vol. 28, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 365, 367; Soards, 314. Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 739.

[5] Ciampa and Rosner, 240f. Also see Jewish intertestamental literature: 1 Enoch 51:1; 62:14–16; 4 Ezra 7:32–33a; and 2 Baruch 50:2, 4. Cf. Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 1 Co 15:5; Blomberg, 295.

[6] Craig S. Keener, 1-2 Corinthians (New Cambridge Bible Commentary) (Kindle Location 1744,. Kindle Edition, 2005.

[7] Ciampa and Rosner, 740.

[8] “Plato was born in 428 B.C., the year of Pericles’ death.” Norman L. Geisler, “Plato,” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 593.

[9] Witherington, 302. Blomberg, 295.

[10] Prior, 256.

[11] Soards, 315; Johnson, 282-3.

[12] Prior, 256; Taylor, 367; Keener ~1747.

[13] Morris, 196.

[14] Fee, 793; Keener 1 Cor 15:1; Ben Witherington III, Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians(Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 299.

[15] Prior, 259.

Crossword (✞-word) Puzzle

Conclusion

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried. He was raised on the third day according to Scriptures. And He appeared.

Christ was died, Christ was buried, Christ was raised, Christ appeared. That’s the four main elements of gospel, and of the earliest Christian creed.

These are all historical facts full of theological significance. These four historical facts are the bedrock of our belief.

Now, a lot has changed in the last two thousand years of history. But the Gospel has not.

The winds of this world change directions. The currents of the culture change course. The shifting sands of society are unsteady.

And our sinful society will never be right in line with God’s guidelines – since society can’t keep it’s head still.

But we have to keep a good head on our shoulders – grounded in the unchanging facts of our unchanging faith.

Time flies and things change. But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever more (Heb 13:8). The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever (Is 40:8).

Brothers and sisters, there’s been lots of new seasons, but it’s the same Good News.

New Season, Same Gospel.

Lord willing, we’ll finish up the second part of this study next week. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Bibliography

  • Allen, R. Michael. ET101 Law and Gospel: The Basis of Christian Ethics. Logos Mobile Education. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.
  • Arndt, William, Frederick W. Danker, Walter Bauer, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
  • Baker, William. “1 Corinthians.” In Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Vol. 15. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2009.
  • Balz, Horst Robert, and Gerhard Schneider. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1990–.
  • Blomberg, Craig. 1 Corinthians. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994.
  • Craig, William Lane. On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. 2010.
  • Ciampa, Roy E., and Brian S. Rosner. The First Letter to the Corinthians. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
  • Davis, James in Burge, Gary M., and Andrew E. Hill, eds. The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012.
  • Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988.
  • Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987.
  • Garland, David E. 1 Corinthians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003.
  • Geisler, Norman L. “Plato.” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Baker Reference Library. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
  • Geisler, Norman L., and Frank Turek. I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004.
  • Johnson, Alan F. 1 Corinthians. Vol. 7. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. Westmont, IL: IVP Academic, 2004.
  • Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.
  • Keener, Craig S. 1-2 Corinthians. New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Kindle Edition, 2005.
  • Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.
  • McDonald, Lee Martin. “1 Corinthians.” In The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: Acts–Philemon, edited by Craig A. Evans and Craig A. Bubeck, First Edition., 255–366. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2004.
  • Morris, Leon. 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 7. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.
  • Prior, David. The Message of 1 Corinthians: Life in the Local Church. The Bible Speaks Today. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.
  • Sarna, Nahum M. Exodus. The JPS Torah Commentary. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991.
  • Schreiner, Thomas R. 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary. Edited by Eckhard J. Schnabel. Vol. 7. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018.
  • Silva, Moisés, ed. New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.
  • Soards, Marion L. 1 Corinthians. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011.
  • Taylor, Mark. 1 Corinthians. Edited by E. Ray Clendenen. Vol. 28. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014.
  • Thiselton, Anthony C. The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000.
  • Verbrugge, Verlyn D. “1 Corinthians.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans–Galatians (Revised Edition), edited by Tremper Longman III & Garland, David E., Vol. 11. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.
  • Water, Mark. The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations. Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishers Ltd, 2000.
  • Winter, Bruce. “1 Corinthians.” In New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, edited by D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, and G. J. Wenham, 4th ed., 1161–87. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
  • Witherington, Ben, III. Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995.

Sources

  1. Keener, IVP
  2. Keener IVP
  3. Keener, IVP; cf. Fee, 796
  4. Keener, IVP; cf. Fee, 796
About @DannyScottonJr 460 Articles
Imperfect Servant ✝?⛪ | Husband | Princeton U. Alum | M. Div. | Assistant (to the) Pastor | Sound Doctrine & Apologetics @catchforchrist