Newness of Life

I’d like to begin this morning
at the exact spot where we left off last Lord’s Day. And if you
start flipping to 1 Corinthians 15, you’re forgetting. Because
last Lord’s Day was Communion Sunday, and we left off not in
1 Corinthians 15, but I called the saints to one last passage
in our final preparation for the Lord’s Table. If you don’t
remember what passage that is, it was Romans chapter six, if
you would just turn there briefly. Paul is dealing with a number
of themes in Romans six, not the least of which is sin. In
chapter five, Paul had shown that the Roman believers that
God has more than remedied man’s problem with sin. We just sang
about that in those two hymns. In chapter 5, Paul showed that,
but then he tells us that he had sent his own son to atone
for our sin, and by placing our faith in Christ, A person can
be justified, made to be at peace with the Holy God. And so Paul
builds to a final thought there in chapter five, essentially
that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, it super
abounded. And so as Paul opens chapter
six, he asks the logical question, if grace abounds, Even when sin
increases, should we as believers sin plentifully? The grace will
be made to abound? And he provides the answer in
verse two of chapter six, may it never be, no way. How shall
we who died to sin still live in it? Sin? So that grace might increase? No way. Because when we come to faith
in Christ, Paul says we died to our sin. As I mentioned last
week, Paul employs a powerful image here in verse three, which
is unfortunately transliterated in our versions. Instead of translated,
we get the sound of the word without the meaning of the word.
The word that’s translated or transliterated there is baptized. And I say it’s unfortunate because
the word means to immerse. And the image that Paul is presenting
here is not the image of water baptism. In verse three, he’s
presenting the image of the real thing. the moment that a believer
died to his or her sin and was immersed into Christ and immersed
into his death. Now, my purpose in sharing this
verse with you last Lord’s Day was to tie into our theme in
1 Corinthians of resurrection. Christ’s resurrection comes into
view here in Romans chapter six in verse four. In verse three,
we have died and so fittingly here in verse four comes the
burial. We have been buried with him, that is Christ, through
this plunging, this immersion into death. If you will, this
is our spiritual funeral. When you came to Christ, you
not only came to die, you came to be buried with Christ. And if that were all, what a
sad day this is. If that’s where it ends. But it isn’t all. It isn’t where
it ends, and Paul states the purpose to all of this there
in the middle of that verse. Would you just glance at it?
Where Paul says, in order that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we too. might walk
in newness of life. There was a resurrection for
Christ. There is a resurrection for us. Without death, there
can be no burial. Without burial, there can be
no resurrection. Because there is resurrection,
there is newness of life. There’s a new way of living.
There’s a new way of walking. We are raised to walk in newness
of life. What a glorious thought. And
now, if you would, please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15,
because here Paul is talking about the same things. Sin, death, burial, resurrection. And we handled the first four
verses of this section last Sunday, verses 1 through 4. This morning,
we’ll focus on the latter half, verses 5 through 11. If you would,
let’s take it from the beginning, verse 1. Now I make known to you, brethren,
the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received,
in which also you stand, by which also you are saved. if you hold
fast to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in
vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day
according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,
Then to the 12, after that he appeared to more than 500 brethren
at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen
asleep. Then he appeared to James, then
to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born,
he appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles. and not fit to be called an apostle
because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God,
I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain,
but I labored even more than all of them. Yet not I, but the
grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they,
so we preach, and so you believed. I would represent our overall
outline of this chapter last week, where we suggested to you
that the resurrection, first and foremost, is inextricably
part of the gospel. It cannot be separated from the
gospel, and as we began to look at this chapter last week, we
saw that it breaks out into a series of thoughts and ideas. Not only is the gospel inextricably
part of the, pardon, the resurrection inextricably part of the gospel,
It is also logically necessary, verses 12 through 18, the resurrection
is also theologically crucial. Since by man came death, by man
came the resurrection of the dead. It is also metaphorically
illustrated, beginning in verse 35 and following. And then finally,
the final section, is that it is gloriously anticipated. But
let’s just go back to the beginning, to this first section, verses
1 through 11, where Paul has already shown us that the gospel
is inextricably linked to the resurrection, and the resurrection
to the gospel. We are looking at this first
11 verses, and you can break it down even a little further
than that. First, Paul gave, and we looked
at it last Lord’s Day, the declaration of resurrection. that the resurrection
really took place and it really is a key element in the gospel
presentation, verses one through four. But then Paul begins to
provide verification of the resurrection. And this he does in verses five
through eight. We’ll look at that in a moment.
And then he closes this opening section in verses nine through
11 with the implication of the resurrection. And that will touch
each one of us. Let’s go back, if we could, to
those opening verses where Paul told us that there is a special
intention by the gospel in the resurrection. I make known to
you, brethren, the gospel. This is part and parcel with
the gospel, the declaration of the resurrection. Secondly, he
says that there was a dynamic history with this gospel. I preach
to you, you received it, in it you stand, you are steadfast,
established, and you are saved. This is a very important element
in this discussion. The special intention by the
gospel, the history with the gospel. Thirdly, we looked and
considered the exacting condition in the gospel. Look at verse
two. All of these things are true
if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you
believed in vain.” And finally, Paul rounds out his discussion
there by pointing to the ultimate priority of the gospel. For I
deliver to you as of first importance, the most important thing of all,
was the preaching of the gospel and the elements were that Christ
died, he was buried, and that he was raised. We can’t let go
of that as believers. Now, as a dynamic and powerful
as this opening section is, where Paul sets forth the gospel of
the resurrection, someone hearing him could still express doubt
still demand proof, still be unbelieving of this declaration,
and that’s just what Paul provides here in verses 5 through 8, a
list of those eyewitnesses who would be able and willing to
testify to Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. And that’s what
moves us into this second major section, the verification of
the resurrection. And it just starts with almost
predictably the apostle Peter. Look at verse five, that he appeared
to Cephas. Paul begins his list of eyewitnesses
with Peter, whom he refers to as Cephas, and this is typical
for Paul. Only once does Paul, in all of
his writings, refer to him as Peter. Eight of the nine times
that the word Cephas is used, it’s used by Paul. It is the
Aramaic equivalent of the Greek word Petros, Peter. and the specific name that Jesus
gave Peter at his calling. You shall be called Cephas. And
some people wondered if this was, on one end of the spectrum,
disparaging that Paul should use this word, and on the other
end of the spectrum, was it an endearing term? And I just take
it somewhere as smack dab right in the middle. that it was neither
endearing nor disparaging. It’s just the name that Paul
associated and utilized with this man, Peter, Simon Peter
Cephas. Cephas wasn’t the very first
one to whom Christ revealed himself. You might remember the very first
person to see Jesus after he was raised from the dead was
Mary Magdalene. recorded in John chapter 20. She was the first
person to come to the tomb. As she wept, she was greeted
by two angels. Woman, why are you weeping? And
that exchange gives way to her face-to-face meeting with a man
that she presumes to be the gardener. Remember this? when suddenly
Jesus says to her, Mary, and that alone revealed to Mary that
this was the Christ, and she immediately recognized her risen
Lord. She was the first. And although
John focuses on Mary Magdalene, the synoptic gospels tell us
that the other Mary, that’s how she was referred to, Mary, the
mother of James, was also present there at the tomb, making her
the second person to see the resurrected Christ, and no sooner
do they depart from the empty tomb, they declared the news
to some unnamed disciples, followers of the Lord, Matthew 28, and
Jesus presents himself again for the third time. Well, Christ’s
fourth appearance is one for which no details are provided
at all. It’s only mentioned by those
two disciples, Cleopas and an unnamed second disciple who walked
with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Remember this? Recorded in Luke
chapter 24. Could you please turn there for
a moment? Keep your finger comfortably in 1 Corinthians. Come back here
in just a moment. So his appearance to Cleopas
and this other disciple actually is the Lord’s fifth presentation
of himself from the dead, but these disciples tell us about
a fourth. There, after their encounter
with Christ on the road, Luke records that these two disciples
made haste to tell the other apostles of their encounter.
And verse 33 says that they found, gathered together the 11. And
they began to relate their experience. And in verse 34, they declared,
the Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon. Keep your finger there in Luke
24 for a moment. So the Emmaus disciples declare
not only that they had seen the risen Savior, but that Peter
also had seen Jesus alive from the dead, Christ’s fourth of
five appearances thus far. Scripture supplies us with absolutely
no details about this private appearance to Peter. And perhaps
Peter had told his fellow apostles that he had seen Christ. The
two Emmaus disciples just tell us that it happened. And so when
the Emmaus disciples reveal it, all eyes would have shifted over
to look at Peter, who up to this point may have been perceived
as keeping a colossal secret from the rest of the apostles. Had Simon Peter tried to tell
his brothers about the Lord’s appearance to him? Perhaps. And
maybe these two disciples, these Emmaus Road disciples, step in
to confirm that account. Or were they breaking the news
to the apostles for the first time? We don’t know. I take the
report of these two men as independent knowledge of a yet undisclosed
experience, which kind of puts Peter in focus. And it raises
another question. Why did Jesus appear to Peter
alone? He was not the head of the church.
He had no special office or title. He was not the first pope. The
reason for Christ’s private appearance to him would seem to be largely
brought about by his threefold denial of Christ during the Savior’s
trial, remember? The purpose of the Lord’s visit
to him was merciful. It was restorative. As his denial
had been in the absence of his friends, nobody was around to
see that, So is his restoration by Jesus. What a merciful Savior
we have. And so Jesus revealed himself
to the one disciple who most desperately needed to see him,
lonely, broken, devastated Peter. But Paul tells us of another
of Christ’s post-resurrection appearances there in verse five. He appeared to Cephas, then he
appeared to the 12. This appearance, Christ’s appearance
to the 12, is undoubtedly taken from that same episode, Luke
24, where I left you, making this Jesus’ sixth appearance. If you’re still in Luke 24, glance
down at verses 35 and 36. They, that is the two Emmaus
Road disciples, began to relate their experiences on the road
and how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
While they were telling these things, he himself stood in their
midst and said to them, peace be to you. What a fantastic scene. Now, the interesting thing is,
Paul says that Christ appeared next to the 12th. The problem is, as you can see
in Luke’s account, he refers to the group as the 11. In verse
33, which is it, 11 or 12? Can I trust my Bible? The answer is neither. There are actually only 10 apostles
present on this occasion. There’s actually one other apostle
missing, Thomas, remember, famously missing. And we know that from
John’s Gospel, John chapter 20, who also records this exact same
episode. For this, would you flip over
to the Gospel of John? I think we’re done in Luke for
a few moments. John chapter 20. And many of the details of John’s
account echo the account provided by Luke exactly. Look at verse
19. Jesus came and stood in their
midst, exact same words as Luke. Glance at verse 20. He showed
them both his hands and his side, just exactly as Luke describes.
But now also look all the way down at verse 24. But Thomas,
one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus
came. And sometime after Jesus departed,
Thomas returned to an excited bunch of friends. In verse 25,
where it is recorded, so the other disciples were saying to
him, we have seen the Lord. But he said to them, unless I
see his hands, the imprint of the nails and put my finger into
the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will
not believe. And hence, the famous title Doubting
Thomas was born. Judas is dead. Thomas, as John
points out, is famously missing from this sixth appearance, and
that means there were only 10 of the apostles present. Back, please, to 1 Corinthians
15. So why then does Paul refer to
the 10 apostles as the 12? This is a problem that can be
easily explained. The identifier in 1 Corinthians
15, the 12, is a nickname for the original 12 apostles. But
by this point, only 11 were left due to Judas’ early retirement,
and so the term the 12 is not intended to be a literal count
of those present. The term the 12 cannot be taken
literally. of 12 individuals, this term
was merely the official name of the apostles. But Paul tells
of another appearance. Look at verse 6. After that,
he appeared to more than 500 brethren at one time, most of
whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Now this
appearance, Christ’s, if you’re still counting, seventh appearance,
is even more difficult to explain. Neither the Gospels nor the Book
of Acts record a specific episode that fits this description. One
possible option is a meeting that Jesus called with his disciples
in Matthew chapter 28, and there at Jesus’ first appearance to
the two Marys, Jesus said, go quickly, tell his disciples that
he’s risen from the dead, and behold, he is going ahead of
you into Galilee. There you will see him, behold,
I have told you. And so he forecasts this meeting,
And with the excitement, you can imagine no problem gathering
500 people to see the risen Christ. So the other occasion that comes
close to this, what is described here, would be Christ’s ascension.
That would be a popular meeting to attend, recorded in Acts chapter
1. We’re not told how many witnessed that event, but by the time they
are gathered in the upper room, the crowd had dwindled to 120
persons, or as Luke records, about 120 persons. Still, it
is plausible that Christ’s numerous appearances since his resurrection
had generated such a great interest And therefore, a large gathering
for his ascension is at least plausible. It was a gathering
that Jesus himself had called. And then shortly thereafter,
Jesus ascended, it says. He was lifted up while they were
looking on. So this may well have been the occasion of the
appearance of the 500. But even if There is no outside verification
of this event. Paul, under the direction of
the Holy Spirit, clearly states it here. He says that Jesus appeared
to more than 500. We can take him at his word.
There was a time when Jesus miraculously presented himself alive from
the dead to more than 500 witnesses, and Paul basically says, go ask
them. The way that Paul speaks of it
here indicates that this story was well known throughout the
Christian community, with enough of them who were actually present,
still alive to tell about that event, and Paul at the time of
writing said some had fallen asleep, died, but that most of
them remained until now. Go ask them. Had anyone wished
to verify this incredible event, They would have had a great host
of people to authenticate it. That’s Paul’s point. And he tells
us of still another miraculous appearance. He appeared to James
there in verse 7. Without any doubt, this James
is none other than the half-brother of the Lord. It’s left identified
as to when this appearance took place. It’s mysterious. But Paul
says it. God’s Word declares it. And again,
neither the Gospels or Acts make any mention of it. All that Paul
tells us here is that there was indeed such a meeting. This meeting
bore real fruit because we know that while Christ was on earth,
remember, prior to his death, neither James nor his younger
brothers believed in Christ as Savior. The Gospel of John says
it so succinctly in John 7, 5, not even his brothers were believing
in him. The first indication of spiritual
change that we observe in James is found in Acts 1, when just
after Christ’s ascension, Luke records that in addition to the
apostles, the women, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers
were all present in the upper room praying. That’s the first
indication that we have that James is a changed man. The next
we hear of James, just fantastic story here. The next we hear
of James is in Acts 15, where he is one of the leaders, the
elders of the church in Jerusalem. Just an amazing thought. When
Paul writes to the Galatians, one of his earliest epistles,
he refers to James as one of the pillars of the church in
Jerusalem. So is the grace of God, right? To take a doubter and to turn
his heart and to establish him and to use him for God’s glory.
What a fantastic account. Now that means The Christ’s appearance
to James, as listed here by Paul, was the very means of closure
for James. Would it take anything more than
that? To see your half-brother, the alleged Christ, not only
crucified, buried, and now resurrected? That would do it. And it did
it for Peter and James. He was restored by a face-to-face
meeting with a resurrected Savior, and James and Paul were both
converted by that same amazing experience. And Paul tells us
of still another, another appearance by the Lord. Look at verse seven,
he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, again, Paul
presents a ninth appearance. This one to all 11 of the apostles. You know this story. Other than
Paul’s mention here, only the apostle John records this episode,
John chapter 20 again. This is a separate appearance
from the one outlined earlier. John tells it that this one occurred
eight days later. And it included all 11 of the
living disciples, apostles, his disciples were again inside,
Thomas was with them. This is the occasion designed
by the Lord to challenge Thomas’s doubts, remember? Jesus challenges
those in verse 27, reach here with your finger, and see my
hands, reach here your hand, put it into my side, and do not
be unbelieving, but believing this visitation had a specific
purpose and bore fruit. Thomas responded in faith, my
Lord and my God. Well, we know that there were
certainly other post-resurrection appearances that Paul does not
mention here, but he does tell us of one final appearance of
the risen Christ His own experience with the resurrected Lord, we
see it in verse eight. And last of all, as to one untimely
born, he appeared also to me. And to this impressive but incomplete
list, Paul identifies one more of Christ’s appearance, the appearance
to him personally. Paul is immediately referring
to his conversion recorded in Acts chapter 9, where Luke recorded
that suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to
the ground. He heard a voice saying to him,
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, who are you,
Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And
the narrative continues. As you remember, Paul’s new friend
Ananias confirms this episode. Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus,
who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has
sent me to you that you may regain your sight and be filled with
the Holy Spirit. It was Jesus on the road. Now, even though so much of what
Luke or Paul describes as almost indescribable, a bright light
from heaven. Behind that bright light was
Jesus. And here in verse eight, Paul uses the Greek word horao,
to see, to behold. No different than others who
had seen the risen Savior. Paul saw the risen Christ. Paul would go on to have other
visions and encounters with his Savior. But this first one was
remarkable, life-changing for Paul. As fantastic as his testimony
is that he saw the risen Savior, it isn’t even his main point.
Glance at the verse. It’s not just that Christ appeared
to him. but that he appeared to him as
one untimely born. Let me just tell you that Paul
is not saying to us that he was the last of the litter here.
He’s not saying to us that he was the last one of the apostles
to be born, that he was the youngest. He’s not saying that. He’s not
even saying here that he was a preemie Born a bit too early,
the word is graphic. What Paul is saying here is that
he was shockingly prematurely born, violently expelled from
the womb entirely too early. Too early to live and thrive.
What Paul is acknowledging here is that by all assessments, he
didn’t belong among the other apostles, The 12 had all been
called by Christ from the earliest days. Most of them had been called
from the peaceful shoreline in the midst of their daily task.
They had walked with Jesus and learned from Jesus. He taught
them and shaped them and developed them. Not Paul. Paul was forcefully torn from
one world and placed in the next. It was a life of hateful persecution
of Christ’s church, into which he was delicately
placed into that very same church that he had persecuted. His was
a most radical change. It took no other than the Lord
Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, to confront Paul in the
midst of his persecution of the church. This was completely humbling
to Paul. And that brings us to the third
point in our outline this morning, not only this declaration of
the resurrection in verses one through four, verification of
the resurrection in verses five through eight, but the implication
of the resurrection in verses nine through 11. Would you just glance at verse
nine? For I am the least of the apostles and not fit to be called
an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the
grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me did not
prove vain, but I labored even more than all of them, yet not
I, but the grace of God with me. So what is the implication
of the resurrection? What does it do to people? How
does it impact or move them? Paul doesn’t even attempt to
tell us what the implications of the resurrection were on Cephas
or any of the apostles or the 500. He doesn’t tell us how witnessing
the resurrected Savior affected any of those witnesses. All of them surely had stories
of their own, telling how they had beheld the risen Christ and
how it had moved and motivated them. Paul doesn’t speak of any
of them. He only tells us how the glorious
resurrection of Christ affected him. Look at verse nine. The first thing that he does
is explain his very stunning comment at verse eight, that
his side of Jesus raised was to one untimely born. He employed
that dramatic image because he truly believed himself to be
the least of the apostles, even unfit to be called such. Paul expresses this thought even
more strongly in Ephesians 3, verse 8. Listen, there he declares
himself to be the very least of all saints. I’m at the rock
bottom. In 1 Timothy 1.15, he presents
himself as the foremost of sinners. And that entire sentiment was
brought about, he says, because I persecuted the church of God. I don’t deserve to be here. So
wretched was his conduct that he confesses to the Galatians
that he even tried to destroy the church of God. But greater
still is God’s mercy. And even if God had forgiven
Paul, Paul himself could never forget his evil deeds against
Christ’s church. When Paul says that he is the
least of the apostles, he is not merely pointing out that
he came along well after the training time that the other
apostles received, in which the other apostles were installed
into office, but rather he is least in importance, least in
rank, He was the lowest rung on the ladder, but by God’s grace,
he was not inferior in authority. What about the more, even more
basic question? How is it that Paul was called
an apostle? Originally, there were 12. Judas
died, and in Acts chapter one, he was replaced by a man named
Matthias. There’s your 12. So how is it that Paul is an
apostle? Well, the word apostle can be
used in several different ways in the Bible. In its most basic
sense, the word apostle, the Greek means to send. He is a
sent one. And it’s used in that very broad
way of sending a messenger to someone in authority or by someone
in authority to someone else. And there are numerous people
in the New Testament that are referred to as apostles in this
sense, sent ones, Barnabas, James, and others. And that would certainly
fit Paul, he was a sent one, God himself sent him. But the
word was also used in that more technical sense of a divinely
appointed messenger sent with the gospel, an apostle. And this is the sense. that is
used to refer to the 12 men that Christ selected and appointed,
trained, gifted, appointed, commissioned to ministry to preach the gospel.
And in Paul’s case, he tells us unequivocally he was an apostle
because God appointed him. In Paul’s case, he tells us that
he was called by God in that capacity, Romans 1.1, 1 Corinthians
1.1. In Ephesians 1.1, Paul says that
he was called by the will of God. In 1 Timothy 1.1, he says
that he was called according to the commandment of God. So
Paul’s calling as an apostle was not earned, it was not merited,
it was not sought, it was not advanced to him by his popularity. There was literally no human
influence at all by him or by others. The fact that Paul was
an apostle was rooted in the sovereign determination of God
himself. And because of that, Paul vigorously
defends his apostleship in a number of his epistles. You see, where
Paul’s shame left off, God’s grace took over. And it made
him to flourish. And Paul is quick to give all
glory to God. that it was only by God’s life-changing
grace that he was of any use to God and his kingdom. Verse
10, by the grace of God, I am what I am. This is a sentiment
that Paul echoes frequently in his letters. Ephesians 3, 7,
I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace. In
his second letter to the Corinthians, not that we are adequate in ourselves
to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy
is from God. Paul desired none of the credit
for his amazing transformation. It was only the grace of God.
Paul always gave God the glory for any usefulness that he had. As Paul said earlier in this
very letter, I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing
the growth. And that transformative spiritual
power not only changed Paul’s trajectory, but it wrought through
him a terrifically fruitful ministry. Glance, if you would, at the
middle of verse 10. where Paul joyfully declares, his grace
toward me did not prove vain. In the business world, perhaps
if you’re in your own investment, people are often concerned with
ROI, right? Return on investment. Did the
money invested make me more money? That’s the goal. Well, It would
not be inaccurate to say that with Paul, changed and infused
by God’s grace, God got his money’s worth. The investment in Paul
was no bust. Instead, God received a plentiful
return on investment. Paul states it in the negative
here, that his grace toward me did not prove vain. It was not
a waste. It wasn’t for naught, but his
statement is strictly positive. God’s grace did amazing things
through me. Not only was God’s grace in Paul’s
life not a waste, it produced in him a torrent of service for
God’s kingdom and Christ’s church. Look at the next line, I labored
more than all of them. Now it’s doubtful here that Paul
claims that he accomplished more than all the other apostles put
together. That’s not what he’s saying.
He just says that he worked harder. And it’s not a boast. Paul completes
his thought here regarding the comparison between him and his
fellow apostles. He was on the lowest rung regarding
status. He did not deserve to be named
among them. But God’s grace generated in
him a greater measure of work than all the other apostles.
The word here for labor, which Paul is engaged, is a strong
word. It refers to exhausting, even
painful exertion. And in our reading through the
book of Acts and Paul’s epistles, we see that strenuous effort,
tireless. A good measure of Paul’s ministry
consumes the greater portion of the Book of Acts, right? Paul
and his companions conducted multiple missionary journeys
throughout Asia and Europe, more widespread than any of the other
apostles recorded. His 13 epistles would comprise
nearly half of the New Testament, setting forth a doctrinal foundation
for the church throughout all ages. Paul’s whole life bore
witness to the resurrection. And Paul turns to close this
section suddenly without warning. And what he says had to have
been immediately convicting to the Corinthians. Because he says
of the doctrine of the resurrection, look at what it produced through
me. But oh, by the way, you also
believed in that same glorious truth. Look at verse 11. Whether
then it was I or they, so we preached. And so you believed. He effectively says here, let’s
not forget about the idea, or let’s forget about the idea of
trying to rank the apostles. Let’s forget about that. The
bottom line is we preached and you believed. At one point in
time, not only had Paul come to believe the miracle of the
resurrection, but so had the Corinthians, and that’s his point.
And it was life-changing for him. And his question, which
is not so subtly implied here, is what has the stupendous miracle
of God, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead,
what has that produced in and through your life? by God’s applied
grace. What happened? What has changed? You see, they could not contend
with Paul’s argument, as he said in the opening verse, that he
preached. They knew that he had preached.
They came to Christ because of his preaching. The good news
of the resurrection. They couldn’t argue with the
historical fact. They did receive it. They made
a verbal assent. They gave testimony that they
believed what Paul had said. They were established in it,
and they were saved by it. And so Paul finishes here in
verse 11, right where he began, so we preached and so you believed. Further, Paul had provided ample
proof of the resurrection, but the gospel of the resurrection
also had implications. It changes people’s lives, or
it should. It transforms them. It motivates
them for service to Christ and to usefulness for Him. At least
it should. The question now was, if the
gospel of the resurrection is transformational, life-changing,
did their lives bear witness to that claim? And the question
is the same for us. What has Christ’s resurrection
produced in us, through us? Based on Paul’s outline in verse
one, have we received such news? That’s the beginning point. If
we don’t believe that Jesus was raised from the dead, we are
not believers. We’re not believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ because that is part and parcel of the gospel.
Has the news of Christ’s resurrection established us? Do we stand in it? Do we look
forward with great anticipation to our own resurrection? Has that miraculous news of Christ’s
resurrection from the dead led to our salvation? It’s exactly
what Paul posed in verse one. And based on what Paul says here
in closing, what are the implications of the resurrection for us? Are
we transformed by the grace of God? Has it motivated you to
serve your Savior all the more? Are you walking, as Paul said
to the Romans, in newness of life? Have you labored for the
sake of God’s kingdom and Christ’s church to the point of exhaustion? We should humble ourselves before
the throne of grace. Let’s pray.