Our Resurrection Hope - 1 Corinthians 15:20-23

We pause each year to reflect on the true meaning of Easter which is of course, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. How he died on the cross on Good Friday and rose from the grave on Easter Sunday. A little piece of trivia for you - Christians worship on Sunday because Christ rose from the grave on Easter Sunday. The Sabbath was Saturday till the resurrection of Christ and after the resurrection of Christ, Christians have worshiped on the first day of the week, which is Sunday, the Christian Sabbath or what the New Testament refers to as the Lord’s Day.

So Christians gather to worship on Sunday because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Which makes a lot of sense because Christ’s resurrection is fundamentally what all Christian doctrine hangs on. Everything that Christians believe rises and falls on the resurrection.

If Jesus didn’t rise from the grave there’s no hope of salvation, no hope for sanctification, no hope for glorification. If Jesus didn’t rise from the grave Christianity is pointless.

But praise be to God - the tomb is still empty! I’ve always liked what the two angels told the women that first discovered the empty tomb. The angels said in Luke 24, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ gives the Christian tremendous hope in every facet of life, but particularly in the face of death. Because in order to rise from the dead, you must first die. The resurrection assumes death. Death is terrible isn’t it? It’s so bad that we live our lives as if it’s never going to happen to us.

I recently came across a quote from Paul Helm. He wrote, “The modern Western attitude to dying and death is all too obvious. It is to avoid it, to avoid mentioning it, and where mention of it is unavoidable, to use euphemisms and circumlocutions.”

We often say that someone, ‘passed away,’ or ‘passed into glory,’ or ‘met their maker’ which are all just polite ways of talking about death. And of course, I always want to be polite and I certainly never want to come across as insensitive, but to Helm’s point, we do avoid talking about death at all costs. But we shouldn’t always avoid talking about it because what you and I believe about death, particularly, what happens after we die shapes the way we presently live our lives.

Death, which is the thing that causes us the most pain and sadness in this life, the Christian can face with confident hope.

And of course that hope isn’t found in anything that you have done or in anything that you can do - rather the source of the Christian’s resurrection hope is only found in Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus rose from the dead, the Christian has hope that he or she too will one day rise from the dead as well. You see this isn’t it! It’s how the Apostle Paul can write “O death where is thy sting?”

And we see three elements for our resurrection hope from 1 Corinthians 15:20-23. First, we have hope because of the resurrection of Christ (v. 20), and it’s because of that we can have hope in the resurrection of believers (vv. 21-22), but notice lastly, Paul stresses the resurrection order (v. 23).

It’s interesting that the Apostle Paul devotes an entire chapter in 1 Corinthians 15 to the resurrection. Most, if not all of us are aware of the resurrection because Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day. Today is Easter Sunday after all.

But 1 Corinthians 15 is one of the primary sources that helps us understand the resurrection and what it means for Christians. And Paul speaks at length about the resurrection, but I only selected three verses, because I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew.

The Resurrection of Christ (v. 20)

But turn your attention to verse 20 with me. “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Now obviously, we’re jumping into 1 Corinthians 15 in the middle of Paul’s discussion on the resurrection. Up and to this point, he has said a lot of negative things about the resurrection.

I’ll read verses 16-19 to you.

“16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

He’s arguing for the futility of Christianity apart from the resurrection of Christ. As I said earlier, there’s really no point is there?

But he switches gears in verse 20. He goes from making negative arguments in verses 16-19 to making positive arguments beginning in verse 20.

It’s with that backdrop that the Apostle Paul says in verse 20, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

I want you to first notice that the Apostle Paul doesn’t make a detailed positive argument for the resurrection of Christ. He doesn’t say, “Christ was dead in the grave, and then oxygen hit his lungs and started pumping blood, and then he sat up…” and so on. His argument isn’t steeped in science or some sort of philosophy either.

He says, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead…”

It was a cold hard fact that Jesus rose from the grave. The word ‘fact’ in the Greek means, “right now, or at this very moment.” And how could Paul speak so confidently? Because he saw Jesus after his crucifixion himself. He makes this point in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

You see Paul’s argument for the resurrection wasn’t rooted in science or philosophy because it was rooted in history. It happened. He, among many others, saw Christ after his death with their own eyes.

I listened to part of an audio recording of a man that was born in 1846 describe his experience fighting in the Civil War. And it’s fascinating because obviously, he’s not reading from a textbook or a plaque at a museum. He’s sharing his own personal experience.

And that’s what Paul is doing in this passage. The resurrection of Christ wasn't a nice feel good story. To Paul, Christ’s resurrection wasn’t a “maybe it happened, but we’ll never really know, but it’s a good time to get the family together” sort of thing. He knew for a fact that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead because he saw him. Remember Acts 9? He was confronted by Christ himself on the road to Damascus!

My wife Lauren and I have a recurring joke, because every time she walks out of a room I see a bird do something crazy. I don’t know how it happens, but she steps away and something wild happens. About a week ago, it was first thing in the morning, Lauren and I were standing in our kitchen. Then she walked out of the kitchen, and as soon as she walked out, I looked out the window and a hawk swooped down, snatched a chipmunk or some little critter, and flew away. And as soon as it flew away, Lauren walked back into the room.

And I told her, you’re not going to believe what I just saw. Throughout the course of our marriage there are multiple versions of this story, and they almost always involve a hawk.

She gives me a hard time about it, because somehow it always happens when she’s not there or paying attention or whatever.

But at the end of the day, she knows it’s true because she trusts me. And usually it’s so crazy, she knows I couldn’t have made it up.

I’m using a silly example to illustrate a serious point. Because I think there’s something similar going on with what Paul is saying here.

In a similar way, the Apostle Paul is an eyewitness to something incredible. He leans into the historicity of the resurrection by citing the number the many people saw the resurrected Christ, including him! He saw him. And so he definitively proclaims with complete certainty that “...Christ has been raised from the dead!” What you and I have to wrestle with is, do we consider him a trustworthy source?

Put another way, do you trust the testimony of Scripture? Do you believe that it’s not only where we go to get our theology or lifestyle or whatever, but that God’s Word is rooted in historical fact?

Or do you need some additional outside witness? Do you need some sort of scientific proof? The reality is, we take people at their word all the time. Each and every day, you trust what someone tells you.

We trust people based on nothing more than their word on a regular basis. Do you trust what Scripture tells you about the resurrection of Jesus Christ? The Apostle Paul was believed with such firm conviction that Christ had been raised from the dead, he died for it. What about you?

The Resurrection of Believers (v. 21-22)

But notice that Christ’s resurrection has implications for believers as well. Because of Christ we can have hope beyond the grave. Paul expands in verse 22 upon what he says there in verse 21. Look at those verses with me.

“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Verses 21 and 22 parallel each other, but as I just said, verse 22 builds upon verse 21. And you don’t have to be a Biblical scholar to figure out what Paul is talking about here.

He’s comparing the first man, Adam, to Jesus Christ. Because of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden when he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil breaking the covenant with God, he released sin into the world. Sin has extended to all of mankind throughout all of history.

It’s the doctrine of original sin. Because of the sins of our first parents, Adam and Eve, we are all born into sin. And you know, this is widely accepted among Christians and I even think non Christians. After all, pretty much everyone is willing to admit they’re not perfect. They’re willing to acknowledge that they make mistakes.

Believing this is a great intellectual exercise until you have kids. Parents really get a front row view to the doctrine of original sin. Parents, how many times have you looked at one another after one of your children did or said something and said, “I never taught him that!”

But even if we understand that, we still often fail to recognize the seriousness of our sin. Our sin results in capital punishment. As Paul tells us in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What you earn for your sin isn’t just a few tough years and some regrets, your sin will one day cost you your life. That’s pretty sobering to think about, isn’t it?

I recently read an article about a former Google engineer named Ray Kurzweil who claims that by the year 2030 humans will achieve immortality thanks to nano robots. He predicted that humanity will over time begin to merge with technology. He’s an advocate of transhumanism, which is a philosophical belief that humanity should utilize emerging technologies to improve the human condition. He wants us all to become cyborgs or something.

I have an even bolder prediction: in seven years, people are still going to die.

But more than anything, Kurzweil illustrates mankind's natural fear of death.

But look at the second part of verses 21 and 22. Notice the stark contrast.

“For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Again Paul is comparing Adam to Jesus. He tells us that death came through Adam, but the resurrection of the dead comes through Jesus Christ. All men die in Adam, but those in Christ shall be made alive.

Not only does literal death await all of us, but those that remain in their sin or “in Adam” - spiritual death awaits them as well.

But resurrection and life await all those that put their trust in Christ.

Ironically, that’s one of Jesus’ great “I AM” statements. In John 11 he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” There’s a fullness that comes in our present life through Christ, but we’re also promised something better on the other side of this life. This isn’t it! There’s something more, something infinitely better on the other side of this life!

There’s resurrection hope that comes in and through Jesus Christ.

And in our church circles we regularly talk about our heavenly hope, which is entirely true. You see, when you die (assuming it’s before the Lord returns) the Christian’s soul will ascend into heaven and where you will await being united to your resurrected transformed body on the last day.

My simple point is that one day, if your faith is in Christ, you too will rise from the dead. A bodily resurrection awaits the Christian too. Resurrection and life are granted to the Christian through Jesus Christ.

Perhaps you’re here and you haven’t been to church in a while and you’re thinking, “Wow, the Bible teaches some weird things…”

The other day I was listening to a Yale Philosophy professor Shelley Kagan give his introductory lecture in his class on death. Sometimes you end up in weird places when you travel down the Youtube wormhole. Hopefully, you’re not too worried about me.

Apparently these are the sorts of classes you can take at Yale. But anyway, he tells the class that he has a distinct perspective on death that he’s going to promote throughout the course.

And within the first ten minutes of the lecture he tells the class, there is no such thing as an immortal soul and in some cases suicide is not only justifiable, but moral. It is a good thing.

That’s the teaching of the world! Is that better? There’s always a message that’s being promoted!

And the message of the world is dark, depressing, and nihilistic. But the message of the gospel is joyful, hopeful, and optimistic - and not because of anything that you have done or will do. But the hope and optimism of the resurrection and the life to come is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ.

Which of course is not rooted in Paul’s opinion, it’s rooted in history!

And it’s because of that, the Lord is making all things new. Amen?

The Resurrection Order (v. 23)

But have you ever wondered this: if the Christians sins are forgiven by the blood of Christ, then why do we die? After all, the debt of the Christian’s sin has been paid by Christ, right? Does Romans 6:23 apply to Christians too?

The Westminster Larger Catechism deals with this in question and answer 85: Death, being the wages of sin, why are not the righteous delivered from death, seeing all their sins are forgiven in Christ?

“The righteous shall be delivered from death itself at the last day, and even in death are delivered from the sting and curse of it; so that, although they die, yet it is out of God’s love, to free them perfectly from sin and misery, and to make them capable of further communion with Christ in glory, which they then enter upon.”

I hope you picked up on what I was trying to highlight there. The Christian’s death is freedom from sin and misery and grants you deeper fellowship with the living God. The death of a Christian is like the seed of a flower. It must die before it can bloom into something more beautiful.

And this isn’t mere wishful thinking: it’s rooted in what Christ has already accomplished.

Perhaps you noticed that both verse 20 and 23 both refer to Christ as the “firstfruits.” Look at verse 20, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”

Then again in verse 23, “But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”

Paul assumes here that his readers are familiar with the idea of firstfruits. As one commentator said, “The firstfruits were the earliest gathered fruits that the people offered to God in recognition of his faithfulness for providing crops in due season.”

Moses instructed the Israelites to offer a portion of their first harvest to the Lord at Passover and then, seven weeks later, they were to make a new grain offering to the Lord.

The idea was that the firstfruit symbolized the expectation of a great harvest to come. It was a down payment.

This is exactly what Jesus Christ is. He’s the down payment. Because he rose from the dead, the Christian can know that he too will be raised to everlasting glory.

All of humanity will one day rise from the dead, some to everlasting glory and others to everlasting contempt.

The order is important: Because Christ rose from the dead, we too can expect to rise from the dead!

Perhaps you’ve heard someone say something like, “the past is the greatest indicator of the future.”

And we all fundamentally accept the past as an indication for the future as gospel truth. Businesses study sales records in order to predict the next quarter or year’s sales growth. Or this previous marketing or campaign strategy worked well, so we’ll do it again this year.

We do it for literally everything all the time. We always use the past to predict the future.

And you see, this is very similar to what the Apostle Paul is doing in these verses. Except, he’s not anticipating or predicting what might happen.

He’s telling you with unwavering certainty that because Christ rose from the dead, the Christian is simply waiting to rise to everlasting glory. You’re just waiting. You’re in a holding pattern right now.

The resurrection tells the Christian that there is something much better for you on the other side of this life.

If you know this to be true, you can rejoice with the Apostle Paul:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

Praise the Lord, the tomb is still empty.

Let’s pray together.