June 23, 2024
1 Corinthians 15:20-34
“Resurrection Reality”
Service Overview: In this text, Paul proclaims Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruits of those who have died. He explains that through Christ, all will be made alive, and how this resurrection reality is freely available for all who turn to and follow Jesus.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- (v. 20) This leads into mention of the Old Testament-era practice where the firstfruits or the first harvest that came in would be given to the Lord to demonstrate the believers’ confidence in a future harvest to come. So, it is safe to say, if he was raised from the dead, we will be raised from the dead. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 285)
- (v. 28) It is safe to say nothing in the verse should be construed as even implying the Son’s ontological inferiority to the Father. Any thought of an eternal submission of the Son ontologically should be rejected. It is, rather, a “functional subordination” (Schreiner, 1 Corinthians, 316)
- (v. 29) Apparently, some believers had been baptized on behalf of others who had died unbaptized. Nothing more is known about this practice, but it obviously affirms a belief in resurrection. Corinthian believers may have been practicing a sort of vicarious baptism for the sake of believers who had died before being baptized. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 228)
- It is fair enough to note that Paul neither cites this passage nor commends vicarious baptism in 1 Corinthians 15:29; he merely points out that it is contradictory for the community to practice it while at the same time doubting the resurrection. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 268)
- Paul saw in Adam a type of Jesus Christ by the way of contrast (see also Rom. 5:12–21). The first Adam was made from the earth, but the Last Adam (Christ, 1 Cor. 15:45–47) came from heaven. The first Adam disobeyed God and brought sin and death into the world, but the Last Adam obeyed the Father and brought righteousness and life. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 166)
- (“The last enemy to be destroyed is death”) is Paul’s interpretive comment on Psalm 110:1, explaining that death must be included among the enemies. The personification of Death (see also 15:54–55) is characteristic of Paul’s understanding of salvation as a great narrative drama in which the protagonist Jesus Christ delivers God’s people from bondage to Sin and Death through his obedience in going to death on a cross (cf. Rom. 5:12–21; Phil. 2:5–11). (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 266)
- Though scholars debate what the phrase “the end” refers to, one should not overthink it. Simply understand that this refers to the “end of this age or world-order to be followed by the age to come” (F.F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 146)
What is so vital to understand from Paul here?
- How although death reaches all, life is now offered to all.
(vv. 21-22 | Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ezekiel 18:32; John 3:16; 11:26; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:27)
Because Adam represented the entire human race that would descend from him, sin spread throughout the whole world. Because Christ, as fully human, represented the entire human race in bearing its sins, he is able to apply the benefits of his death and resurrection to all who will accept them. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 399)
Christ’s rising is not an isolated event: its consequences correspond (antithetically) to the consequences of Adam’s sin, which brought death upon all humanity. The impact of Jesus’ death and resurrection is therefore equally sweeping: “for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (see also vv. 45–49; Rom. 5:12–21). (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 263)
- How Christ’s resurrection serves as the first proof of our own.
(vv. 20, 23-26 | John 11:25; Romans 8:11, 23; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3)
There is no greater truth than the truth that, because Jesus was raised from the dead, so shall we be. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 288)
When Jesus was raised from the dead, it was God’s assurance to us that we shall also be raised one day as part of that future harvest. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 166)
The fact of the Resurrection changes everything. Because Christ was raised from the dead, he is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. The “first of a great harvest” (also called the firstfruits) was the first part of the harvest that faithful Jews would bring to the temple as an offering (Leviticus 23:10). (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 225)
- How our actions in this life should reflect the reality of our resurrected life.
(vv. 29-34 | John 10:10; Romans 12:2; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; 1 Tim. 6:12; Rev. 21:4)
What we do in the body in this life comes up for review at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). God deals with the whole person, not just with the “soul.” (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 168)
Christ’s bodily resurrection guarantees the future bodily resurrection of all believers, just as the “firstfruits” of a harvest (v. 20) heralded a much larger crop to follow (cf. Lev. 23:9–14). Paul points out the parallel between Adam’s sin leading to the sinfulness of all humanity (cf. Rom. 5:12–21) and Christ’s resurrection leading to the resurrection of all his followers (vv. 21–22). (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 399)
Conclusion… Three ways we can live a life of resurrection anticipation today…
A. Worry less, pray more.
(Psalm 23:4; 55:22; Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 6:25-34; 11:28-30; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:7)
The great antidote to anxiety is to come to God in prayer. We are to pray about everything. Nothing is too big for Him to handle, and nothing is too small to escape His attention. (Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness, 159)
Because the resurrection of Christ is an accomplished fact and because the promise of the resurrection is a future fact, the promise of Christ’s ultimate and final reign can be trusted as fact and anticipated by every believer. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 227)
It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble; it is what you know for sure that just ain’t so. (Mark Twain)
B. Hoard less, invest more.
(Prov. 3:9-10; Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:15-21, 33-34; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; James 5:1-3)
Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself; it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others. (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest)
When will Jesus Christ return for His church? Nobody knows; but when it occurs, it will be “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). It behooves us to be ready (1 John 2:28—3:3). (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 167)
C. By seeing all of life through the lens of our resurrection reality.
(Psalm 73:26; Romans 8:16; 12:2; 14:8; Hebrews 10:22; James 1:12; Revelation 21:4)
A Christian knows that death shall be the funeral of all his sins, his sorrows, his afflictions, his temptations, his vexations, his oppressions, his persecutions. He knows that death shall be the resurrection of all his hopes, his joys, his delights, his comforts, his contentments. (Thomas Brooks, The Transcendent Excellency of a Believer’s Portion above All Earthly Portions)
This Christian philosophy of life affects even our willingness to risk our physical lives for Christ (15:32). Weighed against the priceless gift of eternal life, the present earthly treats and treasures become corruptible trinkets of no value. (Charles R. Swindoll, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 238)
Gospel Connection…
In Christ, your death has been nullified and your future has been secured; rejoice accordingly.
(Ps. 5:11; Is. 61:10; John 3:16; 8:12; Rom. 5:3-4; 8:38-39; Phil. 4:4; Rev. 21:4)
Adam’s sin allowed death to claim every human’s life; Christ’s death challenged that claim and nullified it in the Resurrection. (Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 226)
Since Christ’s resurrection, we who believe in Him and are spiritually united to Him by the Holy Spirit are associated with His resurrection as a guarantee of our own (Eph. 1:13-14). (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 236)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- What commonality will our own burial sites one day share with Jesus’s?
- What does Paul mean by Jesus being the firstfruits, and how and why is that so important to us?
- What is the order of the resurrection, and when will our part in resurrection take place?
- How is the subjection of the Son to the Father at the end to be properly understood in terms of their relationship to each other?
Quotes to note…
The non-Christian West today is increasingly implementing the Epicureanism of verse 32b. In more Christian societies, unbelievers at least outwardly have often imitated Christian lifestyles or have felt social pressure to curb their most excessively immoral behavior. But increasingly, we are seeing a culture that refuses to put on the brakes at all. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 414)
In 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Paul gives the tragic answer to the question, “What if there were no resurrection?” Then he does an about-face. With two words, “but now” (15:20), he shifts from the hypothetical to the factual, from the “what if” to the “what is.” He writes, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (15:20). (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 234)
Paul sounds a clear wake-up call: “Become sober-minded as you ought” (15:34). We must be aware of how easy it is to slip into a clueless slumber or stumble into a passive stupor. With each poisonous dose of the world’s intoxicating brew of temptations, we increasingly find ourselves obsessed with its tune of “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die.” (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 240)
The reality of the resurrection gives him great hope (vv. 20–28). This life is not all that there is, nor is life after death mere immortality of the soul, though it does include that (cf. verse 53). Though the word “sleep” (vv. 18, 20) was used widely in the ancient world, it is an especially appropriate euphemism for death in Christian circles, since we look forward to “awakening” one day to our new bodies. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 406)
“Those who are asleep” is Paul’s favorite euphemism for believers who have died. It is not our souls that sleep—once we die, our immaterial parts are absent from the body and the earthly realm and immediately taken into the presence of the Lord in a place of peace and paradise (Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:21, 23; 2 Cor. 5:6, 8; 12:4). We will be fully conscious, pleasantly content, but yet incomplete. Why? Because our bodies will be “sleeping” in the grave, awaiting resurrection. Our salvation will be complete only when both our immaterial and material parts are reunited—the long-awaited redemption of our bodies (Rom. 8:23). (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 235)
Paul urges us to listen discerningly, distinguishing right doctrine and practice from the false opinions of the crowd and the depraved culture around us. If we become enmeshed with ungodly people, their philosophies will become our own. As we are increasingly “baptized” by the culture’s values, beliefs, and practices, our own baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ will become less and less a part of our character. (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 240)