RESURRECTION: THE CLIMAX OF CHRIST’S WORK – 1 CORINTHIANS 15:12-20

INTRODUCTION

GOOD FRIDAY and EASTER SUNDAY are the days of all days in human history. However, we must remember that we cannot have one without the other. Without resurrection, redemption is not needed and, without redemption, there’s no resurrection.

On Good Friday, we appreciated, celebrated, and gave thanks to Jesus Christ for His redemptive work on the cross of Calvary.

▪It emphasizes the work of divine exchange and substitution which Christ did, choosing to suffer and die in our place, in order to save us from sin and the penalty for sin (death).

Redemption refers to saving someone by paying a price or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment.

▪This is what Christ did, laying down His life as the price for the redemption of the whole world, not just the believers.

But what we are celebrating today is not just the work of our redemption but something beyond redemption.

▪If all what we needed was salvation from sin, there wouldn’t have been any need for Jesus to rise from the dead.

▪His death on the cross would have been enough because it paid for all our sins and serves as a complete propitiation (sacrificial object) to appease a God who was angry with man.

The big thing however, is what happened after redemption.

The plan of satan was to kill Jesus Christ and put a stop to having a new life. He never thought nor expected that Jesus would resurrect. But Jesus Christ resurrected to begin a new life, a glorious and eternal one for that matter.

WHAT IF THERE’S NO RESURRECTION? – 1Cor. 15:12-19

1.            It means Christ did not rise (Vs 12-13).

2.            Preaching the gospel would be useless (Vs 14).

▪It is no longer good news but bad news. No longer Good Friday but Black Friday.

3.            Faith in Christ and His finished work would be worthless and meaningless (Vs 14)

▪Faith in a corpse buried in a tomb will redeem, sanctify or justify no one.

4.            Every witness to the resurrection and all preachers of resurrection would be liars (Vs 15).

▪The Apostles and every gospel preacher would be peddling a myth (a false belief or idea).

▪Even Jesus Christ Himself would become a liar too because He said He is the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11:25).

5.            Christianity would become a fairly tale, a fabricated imaginary story for children (Vs 16).

▪There would be no life after death since Christ did not rise. Christianity is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

6.            All humanity would remain captive to sin (Vs 17).

▪The whole world would still remain enslaved to death (Rom. 6:23).

7.            Everyone who died would be in hell (Vs 18).

▪Every human being would face the full, wrath of God, dead and unable to rise to life.

8.            Christians would be the most foolish people on earth (Vs 19).

But praise be to God, Christ is risen from the dead and since He has come out of the grave, death is swallowed up in victory (1Cor. 15:54).

▪We can therefore boldly sing…

The strife is o’er the battle done…

IMPLICATIONS OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION FOR BELIEVERS

1.            It shows the immense power of the Almighty God over life and death (1Cor. 15:54-55).

▪Only He who created life can restore it after death. Even if there’s no life before, He can still create it.

▪Only He can remove the sting of death (sin) and the grave( power of death).

2.            It is the assurance of the resurrection of Christ’s faithfuls, which is the basic tenet of Christianity (Jn. 11:25-26).

▪Take note of the contrast in verse 20 of 1Cor. 15:20.

3.            It demonstrates that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf (Heb. 7:27).

4.            It is victory over death, which comforts us that we would see our loved ones who have died again (1Thes. 4:13-14).

5.            It is an assurance of our regeneration in Christ when we become born again (2Cor. 5:17).

▪It gives us a new life that overcomes the activities of the flesh and activates in us the fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

6.            It makes every believer and disciple of Christ a miracle carrier and a doer/worker of miracles (Mk. 16:17-18; Matt. 10:1).

▪It’s not a supernatural thing for a believer to cast out demons or perform miracles (Lk. 10:19-20).

7.            It is a testimony and hope that every good thing dead in the life of a believer in Christ would come back to life at the mention of the name of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:9-10).

CONCLUSION

Resurrection is the climax of Christ’s work of salvation.

A Christian is one who identifies with not only the death of Christ but with His resurrection as well, and subsequent confession of His Lordship (Rom. 10:9).

Let us therefore rejoice and continue to rejoice that Christ the Lord is risen and we have a new life, Hallelujah!

PRAYERS

1.            As the stone was rolled away from the tomb of Jesus Christ, every weight preventing me from rising, I command you to be rolled away now in Jesus’ name.

2.            Let the resurrection power of Christ come into operation in me and bring back to life everything that has been put to death by the enemy in my life in Jesus’ name.

3.            As Jesus came out of the grave, anything that belongs to me or any area of my life that has been buried in the grave, I command you to come out today in Jesus’ name.

4.            Every part of my body that has been put to death and is not functioning as God purposed it, receive life today and begin to function well in Jesus’ name.

5.            By the reason of a new life that emanated from the resurrection of Christ Jesus, I speak newness into every area of my life in Jesus’ name.

6.            The resurrection of Jesus marked a new beginning. Today, I receive a new beginning and a fresh start. It’s a new dawn for me in Jesus’ name.