But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

I resume my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to an assisted review of 1 Corinthians 15:20-34 using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary volume for this book.  From the commentary for this text:

Main idea: "The resurrection of Jesus was not a one-off event; it guarantees our resurrection as well, and much more!"

Key excerpts from the introduction: "There was obviously some misunderstanding and misconception in Corinth both about the necessity of a general resurrection and about the quality of any resurrected body. Up to this point in the chapter, Paul has corrected the faulty supposition that one can believe in the resurrection of the Savior but not the resurrection of the saints. He argued that if there is no general resurrection, then one can not possibly believe in a particular resurrection. He showed the devastating consequences of a non-resurrected Jesus. Thankfully, here Paul quickly pivots from the gloom and doom of a purely hypothetical situation to the joyful actuality that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. His resurrection is actually a guarantee of our resurrection."

Divisions per the commentary: 

1. Jesus’s Resurrection Guarantees the Certainty of Future Resurrection (15:20-22): "[S]ince there is an implication that none of these Corinthian believers deny the resurrection of Jesus, they must accept the corollary truth, which is that his resurrection guarantees their resurrection.  This is a great word of comfort to these Corinthian believers, who had seen many loved ones precede them in death. Jesus is the firstfruits of those who have died."
   
2. Jesus’s Resurrection Guarantees the Priority of Future Resurrection (15:23): "There is an interval between the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of believers in part because the resurrection of believers takes place at the second coming of Jesus. The resurrected Lord will descend, and at that time those who belong to Christ will also be raised and given their new resurrection bodies."
   
3. Jesus’s Resurrection Guarantees the Finality of Future Resurrection (15:24-26): "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” (Bruce, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 146). This is “when [Jesus] hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all [other] rule and all authority and power” (v. 24). To that, Schreiner would add, “This almost certainly refers to demonic powers” (1 Corinthians, 314). Demonic powers will not merely be subjugated; they will be annihilated. Make no mistake."
   
4. Jesus’s Resurrection Guarantees the Totality of Future Resurrection (15:27-28): "Perhaps Bruce puts it best and most succinctly: “The kingdom of Christ comes to an end in its present phase, but only to merge in the eternal Kingdom of God, so there is no failure of the prophetic promise that the Messiah’s kingdom will know no end[.]"
   
5. Jesus’s Resurrection Guarantees the Reality of Future Resurrection (15:29-34): "There is no greater truth than the truth that, because Jesus was raised from the dead, so shall we be." 
   

Comment and discuss this text.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - giving me salvation and eternal life - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of all the blessings You pour out for me...my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

I resume my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to an unassisted review of 1 Corinthians 15:20-34. Today's text builds on yesterday's where Paul was rhetorically examining the question many believed was true in the Corinthian church, which is that while a spiritual resurrection may occur upon death, physical resurrection was not possible.  Of course, as Paul digs deeper into this question, he comes the correct conclusion, which is if you falsely believe in the fallacy of Jesus's physical resurrection, than you have no faith at all because the gospel rests on Jesus' resurrection.  However, in v20 Paul directly responds with an emphatic statement Christ "has been raised from the dead." Paul then compares Jesus to Adam in the garden from Genesis, writing how through this Adam, and his original sin, we all die (both spiritually and physically), and through Jesus - the 2nd Adam - we have both spiritual and physical resurrection.  Paul then goes on to share how the risen Christ ultimately, during the final days, defeats sin and death forever so that it no longer has any power over anyone.  Paul concludes the text in v29-34 by continuing to logically dismiss those in Corinth who fail to believe in the physical resurrection - pointing to how people are baptized in the name of Jesus and how this is new birth that is eternal.  Paul's final words in the text today offer an admonishment to those who do not believe in Jesus' resurrection - there is no faith and no salvation for these people. 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who died and rose again to defeat both sin and death - giving me life to the full now, with power over sin, and life for eternity.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

 

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

1 Corinthians 15

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:12

I resume my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to an assisted review of 1 Corinthians 15:2-19 using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary volume for this book.  From the commentary for this text:

Main idea: "If Christ has not been raised from the dead, Christianity collapses like a house of cards."

Key excerpts from the introduction:

• "What makes our faith so different and so distinct is not just the teaching of Jesus, or the life of Jesus, or even the death of Jesus."
• "If there is no resurrection and therefore Christ has not been raised, the results are truly catastrophic for both the church and the world."
  

Divisions per the commentary:

1. Our Message Is Meaningless (15:12-14): "The general resurrection of believers and the particular resurrection of Jesus are inextricably linked (vv. 12-13)....evidently, there were those in the church who had adopted the thinking of many in the Graeco-Roman world that the soul is immortal, but once the body dies it stays dead forever [see also Garland commentary]...Paul categorically denies that possibility. You cannot say that believers will not be raised from the dead but Christ has been risen, since being in Christ, we are linked with Christ, and our destiny is the same....Without a risen Savior, no sermon—regardless of how beautiful, how oratorial, how logical, or how stimulating it might be—is really worth hearing. Paul calls messages that leave out the resurrection “vain,” which literally means “empty.” If Jesus Christ is dead, not even the great apostle Paul had anything worth saying to anyone about this life or the next. There was nothing worth hearing."
   
2. Our Witness Is Worthless (15:15-16): "Paul essentially said that if Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead, then he would be a liar, since he claimed repeatedly he would be raised from the dead. If Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead, once again, Christianity collapses....if there is no resurrection for anyone, then Christ has not been raised. You cannot have your feet in both worlds: if you believe in the particular resurrection of Jesus, you must believe in the general resurrection of believers."
   
3. Our Faith Is Foolish (15:17a): "If Jesus is still dead and buried in the tomb, it strikes a deathblow to even the very concept of Christian faith (v. 17a)....the Jesus who is worthy of our faith is a resurrected Jesus. The Jesus who makes it worthwhile to live a life of faith is a resurrected Jesus. The one who serves as the foundation of our faith, gives feet to our faith, and replaces fear with faith is only a resurrected Jesus. It is simply foolish to place your faith in anyone—regardless of the quality of his life, the brilliance of her teaching, or the quality of his or her example—if that person died only to stay dead." 
   
4. Our Sin Is Sovereign (15:17b): "there is no salvation if there is no risen Jesus to believe in; without his completed work, there would be no grace to receive. Because that is true, then Paul’s conclusion here is logical: those assuming there is no resurrection “are still in” their sins (v. 17b). Sin is sovereign. Sin wins."
   
5. Our Loved Ones Are Lost (15:18).
6. Our Existence Is Empty (15:19): "Not only does a dead Jesus kill any hope for life beyond this life, but it also kills any hope for any meaning in this life (v. 19)."
   

"Thankfully, this is all hypothetical. The sad conclusions are not true, since Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, which is the theme not only of this chapter but of the entire New Testament." 

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me - thank You Jesus.  Thank You for Your Son who died and rose again so that I could live now to the full, and for eternity in Heaven. I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me for how my mind wanders and how I fritter away time.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of myheart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, family, my church and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

1 Corinthians 15

 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:19

I resume my study of 1 Corinthians, moving on to an unassisted review of 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. Building on my study of 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (see last post here), where Paul urges us to see the gospel, including the resurrection, being of "first importance" (v3), this morning my review of 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 challenges me to maintain my faith.  In the text this morning, Paul essentially shares how faith is in vain and futile as is the effort to share the gospel as Paul did.  He rhetorically writes about these questions that challenge the gospel and how if true, he would be "misrepresenting God."  V17 also shares how, if our faith is futile then we are still in our sins.  I know this is not to be true because I have witnessed in my own life and in the lives of others miracles that only occur through faith alone - faith in the one and only gospel that Jesus Christ appeared, lived a perfect life, died on a cross for all of humanity, then rose again to defeat both sin and death.  This same gospel gives believers in this gospel hope, not just today but for eternity.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace and compassion for me.  Thank You for the gospel and for my faith - I am undeserving of such grace and compassion.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.

Daniel 12

But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days. Daniel 12:13

I continue my study of Daniel in conjunction with a disciple/small group study with my church's men's wake up call. This morning my focus is Daniel 12:5-13 as I lean on my commentary for this text.  The commentary starts by sharing how in v5, Daniel's vision pivots to describe how "two other angels join Gabriel on the bank of the Tigris" (see also Daniel 10:4). It then shares how Jesus is described starting in v6 as the "man in linen" (see also Daniel 10:5-6).  "Someone," presumably one of the angels who joined Gabriel, asks of Jesus in v6 "how long shall it be till the end of these wonders?"  Jesus responds but in a way that is incomplete; in v7 Jesus responds that the end of these wonders would be "for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished."  The commentary refers to this period as "[w]hen evil has done its worst and the hopes of the people of God seem shattered, then God will act." Daniel is still confused - as should be all believers - in v8.  In v9, Jesus continues to respond to Daniel by sharing that the fullness of Daniel's vision and a more complete understanding of what will occur at the end will remain a mystery and be "sealed." The commentary shares: "[t]he word is protected, and it will be preserved. Everything will happen as God intends at the right time. Be faithful. Trust him. Be patient...there are things we know and things we don’t know and can’t know because God has chosen not to reveal them to us. However, one thing we can know with certainty is how we are to live in light of the Son of Man’s coming at the time of the end." In v10-13 there is a call for believers to endure and persevere the suffering and persecution that will occur as we will be refined as the commentary shares "our Lord promises to bless those who endure and persevere through these difficult and troubling times of opposition and persecution...God says, but I still have work for you to do. When it is time for you to retire from my work, then I will bring you home. Then “you will rest” because you will be with me. Then, as promised in verse 2, you will “stand to receive your allotted inheritance” (v. 13; ESV, “allotted place”), your destiny, your reward. This will happen “at the end of the days.” So do your duty, make disciples, proclaim my Word, and endure. Something wonderful is on the horizon at the end." Persevere and endure!

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are great and I am grateful for how You reveal Yourself through Your Word and the Holy Spirit - thank You Jesus for providing great words of comfort and assurance so that I can endure and persevere.  I am not deserving of how You reveal Yourself to me nor for my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”...After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

Matthew 2

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”...After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. Matthew 2:2,9

This morning, my focus is DesiringGod.com's Solid Joys daily devotion, where John Piper seeks for believers to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  Today's Solid Joys daily devotion marks day 8 of Advent, and today Piper pauses on the Magi's visit to Jesus in the manger (see post yesterday) and how some become overly fascinated (i.e. how did it move and guide the Magi, how did is rest over the manger, etc.) with the star in v2 and 9.  He warns us that we should not become overly fascinated these details because, first of all, we do not know.  He shares that "[t]here are numerous efforts to explain it in terms of conjunctions of planets or comets or supernovas or miraculous lights. We just don’t know. And I want to exhort you not to become preoccupied — not to become fixated — on theories that are only tentative in the end and have very little spiritual significance."  He then goes on to extend this warning out to other natural phenomena in the Bible: "I risk a generalization to warn you: People who are exercised and preoccupied with such things, as how the star worked and how the Red Sea split and how the manna fell and how Jonah survived the fish and how the moon turns to blood, are generally people who have what I call a mentality for the marginal." For such matters, believers should focus on what is known to be true: "[the star] is guiding magi to the Son of God to worship him....There is only one Person in biblical thinking that can be behind that intentionality in the stars: God himself. So, the lesson is plain: God is guiding foreigners to Christ to worship him. And he is doing it by exerting global — probably even universal — influence and power to get it done."  This is the central theme of Piper's book Providence - which is the "all-encompassing reality of God’s purposeful sovereignty over all of creation and all of history." We should avoid getting caught up in how God works (He is a mystery - Isaiah 55:8).  Instead, believers should rest in knowing God is in control (Colossians 1) of all things, big and small, and He loves us.   

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who created the Heavens and Earth, everything in it, You are in all the details, and You love me and all Your children!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings and love.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.