The
resurrection of Christ from the dead is the reason that Christianity is in
existence today. The image presented in the gospels of Jesus’ disciples at his
death isn’t one of confidence and boldness. In fact it’s quite the opposite.
Peter denies he ever knew Jesus and the other disciples abandon him and his
cause, returning as they do to their old way of life believing that they’d ‘got
it wrong’ about Jesus. Introduce the event of the resurrection and a rather
unexpected weekend to the story and we discover these very same followers of
Jesus are utterly transformed. They are willing to forsake every worldly
pleasure and comfort for the sake of declaring the gospel. They are prepared to
lay their lives down for what they’ve seen and heard, believing that Jesus Christ
is king over all the Earth.
The
resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a theme that starts as a faint mist on
the horizon and eventually consumes the New Testament landscapes. Every
preacher of the gospel in the NT is convinced that it is this that gives their
message authority and it is what they appeal to as the reason for Christian confidence.
Jesus mentions his death and resurrection many times in the gospels and each
time he does so with greater clarity. In the book of Acts Luke describes the
sermons of the early church and nearly always records his preacher’s appeals to
the resurrection. Peter mentions it in his letters to the church as being the
means of the Christian hope. John is convinced that in Christ is eternal life
that will never end, the writer to the Hebrews likewise appeals to the
resurrection and Jude describes Jesus as being the one who led Israel Egypt
In
this blog I shall aim to lay out Paul’s attitude toward the resurrection as
revealed in Luke’s record of his preaching in Acts and also in his letters to
the churches.
In
the book of Acts we have many written summaries of Paul’s preaching and in
almost all of his sermons and apologies for the gospel the resurrection is
mentioned:
Beginning
in Jerusalem 1:23
Paul remarks that following his conversion people commented that ‘he now
preaches the faith he tried to destroy.’ The faith that centred around Jesus’
resurrection. In Antioch Paul preaching to a synagogue tells them that although
Jesus was laid in a tomb ‘God raised him from the dead.’ Acts13:30. In Thessalonica Paul’s sermon is
about the necessity of the Jesus’ death and
resurrection (Acts17:2). In Athens 17:31 ). Before the Roman governor Felix Paul
explains that it is with regard ‘his views on the resurrection’ that he is
under arrest (24:21) and in Acts 25 Festus lays Paul’s case before King Agrippa
and explains that the dispute is over ‘a man named Jesus who was dead but whom
Paul asserts to be alive.’ In fact before King Agrippa Paul speaks for himself
about the resurrection (Acts 26:23) despite opposition from Festus who tells
him that he is ‘out of his mind.’ Paul is doggedly committed to proclaiming the
resurrection despite all and any opposition.
In
the epistles (letters) Paul is committed to reiterating the truth of the resurrection and
he goes to great lengths to ensure it is mentioned in every letter he writes. In
Romans 4 Paul tells the church that the promises of God were “written to those
who believe in the one who raised
Jesus from the dead.” In Romans 6 Paul reminds the church that baptism is a
celebration and identification with Christ’s resurrection. In Romans 8 the resurrection is used as the guarantee
for power in this life to overcome the power of sin. He tells the church that
the same Spirit who ‘raised Christ
from dead, lives in you… and that he will
also give life to your mortal bodies.’ (8:11). In Romans 10 we see it as part
of an early statement of salvation when Paul tells the church that ‘if you
confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved.’
In
1 Corinthians 6:14 Paul
tells the church that the God who ‘raised
the Lord by his power, will also raise us.’ In 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul sums up the gospel by
saying that Jesus died, one man for all, so that those who live ‘might no
longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake was raised.’ In the opening verse of
Galatians Paul lays claim to his apostleship as coming from Jesus Christ and
‘God the Father who raised him from
the dead.’ In Ephesians, wanting to emphasise the security of believers in
Christ, Paul declares that we have been raised up with him – he has been raised to life and so have we is his
inference. A similar idea is found in Colossians 3:10 where again Paul makes the link between baptism and
resurrection.
9
times Paul explicitly uses the word ‘resurrection’ in the epistles and 41 times
the word ‘raised’ and its derivatives is used in connection with Christ. N T
Wright comments that ‘so central was the resurrection to Paul’s preaching among
the Gentiles that the Athenians even misheard Paul and imagined that he was
preaching two new divinities, Jesus and ‘Anastasis’. The Greek word for
resurrection was so frequently on his lips that they thought she was Jesus’
consort, a kind of Isis to his Osiris.’[1]
So
why was it so important to Paul? Why did he mention it as often as he could and
why did he build so much of his theology around it? To answer these questions I
want to take an extended look at Paul’s treatment of resurrection in 1
Corinthians 15. Here Paul is writing to refute so false teaching that has crept
into the church. The erroneous teaching that needs resolving is the belief that
there is no resurrection from the dead and that we are hoping in Christ only
for this life 1 Cor.15:12.
Firstly
in answer to this teaching Paul first reminds them that he presented to them
clearly the truth of Christ’s resurrection 1 Cor.15:4. His hope for the future
resurrection lies in the certainty of Christ’s past resurrection. If there is
no resurrection to come, he argues, then Christ has not been raised either
since Paul holds that Christ’s resurrection lit the fuse for the rest of the
world’s resurrection. Our resurrection is as certain as Christ’s resurrection
since the two are joined together. If we are never to be raised in the future
then Christ was never raised in the past and if Christ was never raised then we
are still in our sins and the Christian gospel is no gospel at all 1 Cor.15:17.
This is the starting point for why it is that Paul values Christ’s resurrection
so supremely. It is because of Christ’s resurrection that we can have
confidence that God has removed our sin from us. Romans
Secondly
Paul says that if Christ has not been raised from the dead then we of all people
are most to be pitied. Why? Why are we to be pitied for believing in the
resurrection if indeed the resurrection has not happened? Some Christians have
said that if at the end of their lives they discover that there is no God and
that there is nothing beyond the grave they will not feel too sorry for
themselves since the teachings of Christianity have led them to live a good
life, a contented life. Paul, it seems, disagrees with that sentiment. He
believes that Christians are to be pitied, mocked, laughed at and need to be
rescued from their delusion. He says this with one main reason in his mind. Paul
lived in a culture that was very much opposed to Christianity. He experienced
hardships of many kinds because of his faith: shipwrecks, beatings, stoning and
imprisonments. Paul chose the way of life he did not because of some misguided
belief in a saviour or because he enjoyed pain but because of his conviction
that Christ was indeed raised to life. It was Paul’s encounter with the
resurrected Jesus that changed his life so dramatically. If Christ has not been
raised then, Paul says, he would not have chosen a life of difficulty and
hardship. Or as John Piper puts it ‘Paul made choices in his life because of
the gospel that deliberately put his life in danger.’[2]
The Christian life is meant to be uncomfortable and we are meant to experience
much hardship before we enter glory. The reason we can be confident that our difficulty
is not in vain is because of the resurrection of Christ. Remove the
resurrection and we are to be pitied for living such a desperate and
unattractive lifestyle.
Thirdly,
and finally, Paul is adamant that Christ has been raised because Christ’s
resurrection is the advance party of the new creation, or as Paul puts it here
in 1 Cor.15:20 the ‘firstfruits’. New creation, restoration and recreation are
central aspects of Paul’s theology. The hope of new life is inaugurated by the
resurrection and is the reason we endure difficulty, count all as loss compared
to Christ, can be confident of real change in this present life and be
confident that death is a doorway to new life rather than the dead end of life.
There is much to look forward to and there is power available to endure
difficulty with joy all because we know that since Christ is raised we also
shall be raised.
It
is for these three reasons that Paul fights for the truth of Jesus’
resurrection to be upheld in the church. Paul is desperate that the church in Corinth
By
examining this text and by considering all of the passages mentioned in this
extended blog we can see just how central Jesus’ resurrection is to Paul’s life and
mission. It is of the upmost importance to him and we ought to ‘keep it in our
closed hand’ to borrow Mark Driscoll’s expression. For Paul belief in the
resurrection of Christ is as central a doctrine as they come, lose this and we
lose Christianity.
