The Certainty of the Resurrection

Trevor S Ferguson

March 28, 2016

1st Corinthians 15:1-8 (KJV)

¹Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

²By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

⁵And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

⁶After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

⁷After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

⁸And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Summary: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact, established in history, and is supported by evidence from reliable eye witnesses. The presence and operations of the Holy Ghost in the church continues to give evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the future resurrection of the saints.  

INTRODUCTION

It is very important that all believers have a clear understanding of the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith. It is also very important that persons who are not yet believers be exposed to a clear documentation of the principles of Christianity. Most of us are aware of the Christian basic teachings concerning the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. Most of us also accept these teachings as being true, but few have critically analyzed them.

Now why is critical analysis necessary? The world we live in is becoming increasing antagonistic to the accepted teaching of the Christian faith and sooner or later some of us will be challenged to provide an argument in support of the veracity of our faith. Indeed Peter, instructs us in 1^st Peter 3:15 that we should always be ready to give and answer to every man that ask us to give a reason for the hope we have.

The introduction to the gospel account of Luke provides a context for the discourse today and emphasizes the importance of us being certain of our faith. Look at what Luke says (from the NIV):

¹Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4 (NIV)

Let me highlight a few points from this passage:

(1) The tenets of the Christian faith as recorded in the scriptures are based on the account of eye witnesses of the events.

(2) Luke had carefully investigated the accounts of these eye witnesses to verify that they were in fact true.

(3) Believers need to be sure of the things that we believe. In order to be sure we must carefully examine the facts concerning the things that we believe and come up with a conclusion that can stand up to both theological and philosophical scrutiny.

Today we will reflect on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and analyze the evidence upon which we can declare that the resurrection is a historical fact, and upon which we can hang our faith and remain confident in the God of our salvation.

EXPOSITION

The book of first Corinthians is one of the earliest books of the New Testament and was written sometime around AD 55 or 56. In chapter 15 Paul reiterates the fundamental tenets of the Christian faith and provides an extensive discussion on the doctrine of the resurrection. In verses 3-4, Paul restates the essentials of the gospel message, i.e., Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; and that he was buried and that he rose again, according to the scriptures.

The use of the term “according to the scriptures” here refer to the Old Testament prophesies concerning the passion of Christ. For example Isaiah 53:8-10 says “He was taken from prison and from judgment … he was cut off out of the land of the living, … he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; … he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin …” Similarly Psalm 16:10 said concerning Christ “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”  Scholars have identified more than 80 Old Testament prophesies that were fulfilled in Jesus’s death burial and resurrection. These prophesies and their fulfilment provide convincing evidence that that Jesus is the Messiah and truly the Son of God.

The focus of Paul’s argument in 1^st Corinthians 15 however is the resurrection. Apparently, there were some in the Corinthian church who were disputing the resurrection of the dead. This chapter was geared at correcting these misconceptions. I will share with us four points in support of the certainty of the resurrection. Three of these are derived from the arguments of Paul in 1^st Corinthians 15 and the forth is from prophesies of Jesus and John concerning the Holy Ghost.  

POINT #1:  The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact supported by credible and reliable eye witnesses.

Verses 5-8 provides a list of eye witness who saw the risen Saviour. This list includes Peter, James, the Apostles, 500 persons, many of whom were alive at the time of Paul’s writing, and lastly by Paul himself. Let’s look briefly at these witnesses and why their evidence should be considered reliable.

Peter had denied Christ during the passion and was quite disillusioned. In fact, he had given up on Jesus and returned to his old occupation as a fisherman. It would require a very compelling experience for him to give up his fishing career for a second time and follow a Jesus who by all accounts had failed in his mission. This compelling experience was seeing, sitting with, and eating with the resurrected Jesus.

James was the half-brother of Jesus and before the crucifixion did not believe in Jesus. However after the crucifixion we see James as an active member and leader of the earlier church. Again it was the experience of seeing the resurrected Jesus that caused this transformation.

Paul too was a non-believer! He converted to Christianity after a miraculous encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. If Paul had not seen the resurrected Jesus, he would most likely have continued as a persecutor if the church.

Little is known about the 500 brethren, but the fact that many were still alive and could refute or corroborate Paul’s claim, gives credence to his statements.

POINT #2: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is theologically essential. Without the resurrection there is no basis for the Christian faith.

Paul argues that if there is no resurrection, then Christ is not risen. If Christ is not risen, our preaching in in vain and our faith is in vain, we are found to be false witnesses of God and we are still in sin. If we as Christians do not have the hope of the resurrection, then we are of all men most miserable! In verse 20 however Paul declares again that now Christ is risen has become the firstfruits of them that slept. In that he rose from the dead, we have a hope that those who die in Christ will one day also rise from the dead and live with Christ forever.

POINT #3: The resurrection of the dead is philosophically plausible

In verse 36, Paul compares the resurrection the dead to that of a seed which is sown and cannot come to life unless it dies, but if it dies it will bear again. This is similar to the teaching of Jesus in John 12:24 where he states that “… Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Paul also raises the issue of the plausibility of the resurrection in his address to king Aggripa in Acts 26:8 when he ask the question - Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? Here both Paul and Jesus are suggesting that one should not be perturbed with the concept of the resurrection, it is a natural extension of the concept of birth and death and a natural extension of the concept of sowing and reaping. If we believe that God created the world out of nothing; if we believe that God is omnipotent, then raising the dead is no big thing for God. We can therefore conclude that the resurrection is plausible. The fact that most of us have not seen it does not mean it does not exist!

POINT #4: The presence and manifestations of the Holy Ghost in the church is evidence for the resurrection in today's world

I would like to premise this on two statements from the gospels: John 16:7 and Matthew 3:11.

John 16:7 says “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist in speaking about the coming Messiah says “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”

It is clear from these and other scriptures that Jesus is the giver of the Holy Ghost. In the upper room discourse from John 13 -17, Jesus clearly spoke of his impending death, but promised that he would be back. Note that he spoke of two ways in which he would come back. In John 14:1-3, he speaks of his return in the end of time when he would take his followers with him to his father’s house – i.e. heaven. Prior to that however he would return as the Holy Ghost. Look at this this excerpt from John 14:16-19

¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; ¹⁷Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. ¹⁸I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. ¹⁹Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

Based on this passage, it is clear that the coming of the Holy Ghost was contingent on Jesus being alive. Therefore if we see the operation of the Holy Ghost in the church today, this is clear evidence that Jesus is alive.

Now ladies and gentlemen, the baptism of the Holy Ghost is a specific event, accompanied by observable phenomena as see in the book of Acts. A detailed study of the book of Acts will show that when believers receive the Holy Ghost they begin to speak in tongues as the spirit empowers them. This is a specific observable phenomenon, and hundreds in the church today can testify that they have received this experience.

Let me point out that dead men don’t send gifts, so if Jesus promised to send the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost came, we must also conclude that Jesus is alive! This is the reason we are gathered here on this Resurrection Sunday. We know, we are assured, we are convinced that Jesus is alive!

We accept the statements in the bible by faith. We accept the historical records of the church by faith. But we add to that our personal experience. Paul spoke of the witness of the apostles, the witness, of Peter and the witness of James, but more than all, he spoke of his personal testimony, his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Similarly today, we accept the evidence of scripture and the testimony of others, but we have had our own experience, and can testify that Jesus is alive!

CONCLUSION

So then, now that we have shown conclusively that Jesus is alive and active in the church, what should we do?

For the saints the admonition of Paul in 1^st Corinthians 15:58 is most appropriate: “… be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”  

For those that are not yet saved, I give you the same answer that Peter gave to the Jews of the day of Pentecost: “… Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

God bless you today. In Jesus name!