The Bible's Most Powerful Chapter

1 Corinthians 15:1  "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand."

The Living Gospel shines hope into a troubled church
As the Apostle Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians to the church at Corinth, he was writing to a church that was troubled.  The thunderclouds of judgment and discipline hung over this church.  After reading through the first 14 chapters of 1 Corinthians, judgment and God's discipline seem imminent.  Yet the rays of mercy and hope flood in to break up the clouds in 1 Corinthians 15.  The sunshine of God's Living Gospel pours into the otherwise bleak future for this church.  No chapter in God's word spells out the implications of Christ's resurrection any clearer than 1 Corinthians 15.

The main point of 1 Corinthians 15 - Unfolding the Living Gospel
When I began to study this chapter years ago, I was blown away at the breadth and depth that it covered.  Every major Bible doctrine, every conceivable means of persuasion is used by the Holy Spirit to convince the reader of the power of the living Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15.  Below is a thumbnail sketch of this remarkable chapter:

1. The Gospel's Living Message. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
2. The Gospel's Living Christ.       1 Corinthians 15:12-20
3. The Gospel's Living Doctrine    1 Corinthians 15:21-28
4. The Gospel's Living Power       1 Corinthians 15:29-49
5. The Gospel's Living Encouragements 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

1 Corinthians 15 is the Bible's most powerful chapter.  Those five major divisions are like the five smooth stones that David had ready to put in His sling to defeat the Goliath of Unbelief.  1 Stone from this mighty brook is all that necessary to topple any giant you might be facing.  The Living Gospel is not only revealed in its power - but in it's robust splendor. 

The Living Gospel is the remedy for every spiritual ailment
As we saw in yesterday's blog, The Great Physician Jesus Christ issues us the ultimate remedy to every spiritual ailment - The Living Gospel - which is all about Himself.  The Apostle Paul is like a pharmacist issuing a bottle that, when taken in full measure, heals the heart and revives the Christian, while bringing God's saving power to the lost soul.   

Why the Living Gospel centers on the Resurrected Christ
1 Corinthians  15 stands as the finest one chapter summary anywhere in God's Word in demonstrating the significance of Christ's resurrection to the whole of scripture and the whole essence of Christianity.  A quick overview of the New Testament will reveal the priority of Christ's resurrection to Christianity:

All Four Gospels catalogue the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His various appearances to His disciples following that event.  The Book of Acts, the record of the early church, features 16 sermons preached in the early church. The Apostles Peter and Paul preached all of them but one, and almost ten times we find the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be the central emphasis of their preaching.  Most if not all of Paul's letters, Peter Letters and most of the other New testament books make reference to Christ's resurrection.  The Book of Revelation presents the Post-resurrected Christ as ruling and reigning, worthy of all worship, due to the fact that He has over come death. Truly without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christian faith itself would be lifeless.  Thank the Lord for the Living Gospel - the heart of Living Living Christianity.   

A parable about Dr. Law and the Great Physician

Romans 8:3-4 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh

In today's blog I want to tell you a parable about two doctors: Dr. Law and The Great Physican. 

Once there was a letter sent out from Divine Grace Hospital to a man by the name of Adam.  Adam had been very ill for quite sometime.  His thoughts were that perhaps he had a bad flu or perhaps some type of virus.  In the letter Adam was told to come immediately to the Hospital where he would meet with a doctor to discuss his condition. 

When Adam arrived, he came upon an office with the words written above: "Dr. Law".  As Adam stepped into the main waiting areas, he was immediately taken back.  A high desk was in the room, along with ten charts, depicting the results of Adam's test.  Dr. Law told Adam to sit down, as he had some news to share with Adam.  The news was far worst than Adam thought.  He had through carelessness contracted a fatal disease called "S-I-N".  It was in its final stages, and its rate of mortality was 100%.  Furthermore the disease was genetic and was guaranteed to infect all of Adam's loved ones. 

At first Adam tried to ignore Dr. Law's diagnosis, but a still small voice urged Adam to listen, since Dr. Law's tests would show the true picture.  As hour upon hour past, Dr. Law was relentless in his presenting of the test results.  Alas Adam blurted out: "Doctor, what can I do? Is there anything you can do for me? Is there a remedy?"  With hands folded and elbows resting on his desk, the Doctor told Adam that there was nothing he could do. All he could do was report the results.  Doctor Law told Adam: "Our office doesn't prescribe medicine, we just report test results and make referrals."    The message was clear: Adam was going to die!

Adam buried his head in his hands.  No comfort was available.  Realizing the nature of his disease, he got up to leave.  Dr. Law told Adam: "By the way, there is a Great Physican down the hallway.  I refer all my patients to him.  The choice is yours".

As Adam left the office, he headed down grace hallway and stood in front of a doorway marked: "The Great Physician".  As he looked back, he noticed other patients, like he, coming out of Dr. Law's office.  Some were stumbling behind him, while others headed in the other direction.  Adam could not ignore the diagnosis.  Dr. Law's chilling diagnosis made him desperate for answers.  He regretted his careless decisions.  "Dr. Law was right", he thought, I'm going to die!"

As He opened the Great Physican's door, a gracious nurse came to Him and asked if Adam needed anything.  With barely a whisper, Adam said: "I'm dying, I need help".  Without hestitancy he was wisked into The Great Physician's office.  In came The Great Physician.  For a long time they sat in silence.  Unlike Dr. Law, The Great Physican's walls were bare.  Adam suddenly got on his knees and begged the Great Physician for help.  He said: Doc, I've been diagnosed by Dr. Law as having the S-I-N virus.  I have no hope.  I'm going to die.  No medicine that I take can cure me.  He referred me to you.  Great Physican, you're my only hope!

With that admission, the Great Physician stretched out His hand, with a scar of a nail print, and with a voice that shook the entire building He said: You are healed! You are Forgiven! Live!

1 Peter 1:3   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

The difference between skepticism and faith

Luke 24:24-25  24“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

Contrasting Living Living Christianity and Dead Christianity
We noted yesterday that dead Christianity and Living Christianity are two mirror opposites.  We can call the Living Christianity of Luke 24 "Living Living Christianity", since in the face  doubt and skepticism it lives the living essentials of the implications of Christ's Resurrection from the dead. 

Dead Christianity is centered around a "dead Christ", whereas living living Christianity's theology and experience is centered around the Risen Christ who overcame death.  Dead Christianity operates out of human opinion, whereas living living Christianity works from the living scriptures.  Dead Christianity has no message while living living Christianity has a living message - the proclamation that He is Risen.  Then finally, dead Christianity has no testimony, only long faced religion - a shell of what it was or ever could be.  Living living Christianity has a robust testimony of how the Risen Christ of scripture is central to the conversion and ongoing Christian's life. 

Skeptics' claims of insight leads to their own blindness
As you follow the conversation these followers of Jesus had between themselves and the disguised Jesus in Luke 24:13-24, you can gather how much the bias of unbelief informs these disciple's conclusions.  Unbelief sees what it wants to see, despite the evidence.  Faith sees what it is able to see, because of evidence.  In Luke 24:16 the text states: "their eyes were prevented from reocgnizing Him."  As you go down through the text, Luke 24:19-21 reveals their view of who Jesus was:
1. He was a Prophet
2. He was a Mighty teacher
3. He was Crucified.  Despite the claims of resurrection, it is most likely He is dead

It is no wonder Jesus made His blistering indictment of these disciples in Luke 24:25 "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!"

Why faith requires God's supernatural power to see the evidence
As I said earlier, skepticism sees what it wants to see despite the evidence.  However Faith sees what it is able to see because of the evidence.  As Jesus began to explain and unfold the scriptures, Luke 24:31 states "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and he vanished from their sight".  The scriptures are God's instrument by which the persuasion of the truth comes to convert the heart. (Psalm 19:7; 1 Peter 1:23).  Hebrews 11:1 tells us - "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen".  Thus what Christ did through His word was bring the "persuasion" of grace to bear on the "proof" that was before their eyes - Himself. 

Dead Christianity is made into living living Christianity
Remarkably, as a result of the Divine gifting of faith, these disciples made a genuine decision to belief the testimony of the women. (Luke 24:34)    In addition to acknowledging the events of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, they had an experience of such through faith.  They had a living testimony whereby they could related "their experiences" in Luke 24:35.  Then as Christ appeared to the disciples in Luke 24:36-49, we see that He was not some mere vision or mass hallucination, rather His resurrection was a bonified physical event. 

In Luke 24:53 we see all the disciples "continually in the temple praising God".  Clearly living living Christianity acknowledges what the resurrection demonstrates - that this Jesus who raised from the dead as a sinless man is and always will be very God of very God.  Living living Christianity abides and goes forward in the supernatural resurrection power of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:11)

Living Christianity vs Dead Christianity

Luke 24:11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.

Yesterday we began looking at the most important doctrine of the Christian faith - the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  We discovered that from it issues four essential elements vital to Christianity:
1. Living Christ
2. Living Christ revealed in Living Scripture
3. Living Scripture leading to Living Proclamation
4. Living Proclamation that results in Living testimony

Ingredients for a dead Christianity
As exciting as the women's testimony was, Living Christianity came in contact with a cold reception.  Peter and the disciples gathered in Jerusalem, as well as some disciples traveling on a road to a town called "Emmaus", were operating in unbelief.  In stark contrast to the living Christianity of the women, the dead Christianity of the rest of the disciples contained four elements:

1. A Dead Christ, who had not risen (in their understanding)
2. Dead Human Opinion
3. Dead Message
4. Dead Testimony

A Dead Christ means a crisis to Christian faith, and thus the death of Christian hope
From Luke 24:11-24 we see a group of Christ followers who were sorrowfully convinced that their Master was still in the tomb.  When Peter and the disciples heard the women's living proclamation, they took it as nonsensical. (Luke 24:11)  The rest of those traveling on the road to Emmaus concevied of Jesus as a Prophet and a mighty teacher in Luke 24:19.  In Luke 24:20 they noted He was crucified, and was hoping in Luke 24:21 that He would had been "The One".  Yet their Jesus was still in the tomb.  Faith was in crisis and hope was lost.

A Dead, unrisen Christ, is based upon dead human opinion
Not one time do you find the skepticism of the Apostles nor these other followers rooted in scripture.  Living scripture knows nothing of a Christ who remained in a tomb, never to be risen from the dead.  Instead, all those who have argued against the resurrection, or who have not had it in the realm of the supposed Christian faith, are arguing from sources other than the scripture.

Dead Human opinion leads to a dead message
As Jesus, in veiled form, questions these disciples concerning there conversation.  In Luke 24:17 the NASB states that these men "were standing, looking sad".  The word for "sad" in the Greek corresponds to an inner turmoil in which one's emotional world is in a state of chaos.  When we trace the meaning of this word back through Jewish thought, it characterizes those who are unbelievers. 

When a person is in this particular state like these disciples, they have nothing to say, since no hope, no positive outcome for the future can be seen by them.  Dead versions of Christianity are like the beautiful cathedrals dotting the countrysides of Europe.  Christianity became a museum when 18th and 19th century versions of Liberal Christianity ravaged the faithwalks of Germany, England and France.  A Dead Christianity with no message is no Christianity. 

A dead message leads to a Dead Testimony
No wonder Jesus rebukes his followers in Luke 24:25 - "And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!"  It was the Risen Christ's indictment on an unbelieving church.  Nothing can kill a move of God quicker than the preachers and practitioners of the Christian faith who operate in unbelief.  As a pastor, I marvel at the times I exhibit lack of faith - allowing circumstances to determine how I live.  Thankfully, as Christians, it does not nor should ever have to be that way. 

We do not despair, for He is risen!
As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:20a "But now Christ has been raised from the dead." The Living Christ, of the living scriptures, issued a living proclamation leading to a living testimony compels me to tell my circumstances how I'm going to live.  As Christians, we have all the means of grace available to put forth a living Christianity.  The Living Christ will not tolerate a dead Christianity.  He lives so that we can.  Without Him, there is no life - neither physical nor spiritual. 

Christianity's Most Important Doctrine

Luke 24:6 "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee"

Today we are going to be talking about the most important doctrine and truth of the Christian faith - The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  In Luke 24 we witness the events surrounding the morning in which He had raised from the dead.  We know the resurrection to be the most important Christian doctrine, since without it, Christianity cannot exist. (1 Corinthians 15:19)  The Resurrection issues forth four essential elements that enable Christianity to be a living Christianity.    I will list them and then deal with them briefly one at a time:

1. Living Scriptures
2. Living Christ
3. Living Proclamation
4. Living Testimony

1. Living Christianity is built around the Living Christ
The Angel's assertion to the women who came to the tomb was "He is not here, He is Risen".  This statement constitutes the most fundamental truth of the Christian faith.  We assert the centrality of the crucifixion of Jesus - without which Christianity would be in crisis.  However without the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity is dead.  The Resurrection validates the identity and accomplishment of Jesus Christ. 

2. The Living Scriptures Center upon the Living Christ
Luke 24:1-12 shows us the episode of the women coming to the empty tomb.  What the angel spoke to them in Luke 24:6 constitutes the heart of the Christian Good News (the Gospel) - namely that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.  The angel was bring to their attention the living words of God.  These words that we have in written form are of course the Bible, from the Latin term scriptura meaning "those things written".  The Angel reminds the women that Jesus Himself had predicted His own, death, burial and resurrection.  Years later, when the four Gospels were composed, those very statements were recorded stated by Jesus on at least half a dozen occassions. 

3. Living Scriptures, about the Living Christ require Living Proclamation
In Luke 24:9 the women ran from the tomb and "proclaimed" to the rest of the disciples what they had seen and heard.  The idea of communicating God's truth has always been a central hall mark of true Biblical faith.  In the Old Testament the Prophets' preaching centered around Prediction and Explanation.  When Jesus Christ came preaching went from prediction to pronouncement.  The King and His Kingdom were not merely coming, He was here!

However there still was the element of anticipation, since the arrival of the King meant that He was going to achieve something significant in His realm.  When Christ raised from the dead, preaching and communication of God's word went from pronouncement to proclamation.  Proclamation is way different from the first two, in that there is no longer anticipation, but completion.  The victory has been won!  Jesus Christ demonstrated Himself to be both the living God and Perfect man!  Preaching or proclamation that lives centers its content around the victory of the cross demonstrated in Christ's resurrection from the dead. 

4. Living testimonies issue forth from living proclamation of the living scriptures about the living Christ
Luke 24:8-9 tells us the response of the women to the angels words: "And they remembered His words, 9and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest."  These women had a living Christianity that overflowed into the telling of their own personal experience - their testimony.  Like a testimony in a court of law, the value is confirmed by experience, tested by evidence and confirmes what took place.  Matthew 28:8, the parallel text to Luke's, records these details: "And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples."

A Living Christianity that centers itself around the Living Christ, Living Scriptures, Living Proclamation and Living Testimony is the only hope for a dying world. 

Four Purposes of the Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

In today's blog we want to understand the purposes for which the Lord's Supper was prescribed by the Lord Jesus Christ to His church.  Regular observance of this "meal" by the local church enables the body of Christ to maintain its corporate identity and grow closer as a body of Christ.  (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)  Below are four reasons why celebrating the Lord's supper is vital to Christians both individually and as members of the local church.

1. The Lord's Supper is used by Christ to repair divisions
The letter of 1 Corinthians was written to a church that was fractured in its fellowship.  Out of the 10 churches that the Apostle Paul wrote to in his 13 New Testament Epistles, the church at Corinth was the most heartbreaking.  Jesus had prayed in John 17:21 that His church as a whole would be one as He and the Father are one.  Clearly the church at Corinth was going in the opposite direction - which is why the Holy Ghost inserted instructions about the Lord's Supper.  The Lord's supper gives the church the opportunity to seek forgiveness, heal division and fix fellowship issues that may have arisen since the last Lord's supper. (1 Corinthians 11:28-34)

2. The Lord's Supper is used to remember the cross
The cross in the scriptures was the event that the Holy Spirit used to point me to the source of my salvation.  Additionally, the cross is the place the Holy Spirit uses to cleanse me in my post-conversion sanctification.  The cross must never be forgotten. (1 Corinthians 2:2)  The Lord's table intentionally focuses the entire church on all the signifcance and daily need for the cross.  (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

3.  The Lord's Supper urges the church to repeat the Gospel
The Gospel of Jesus Christ focuses upon what Jesus came to do in His first coming - accomplish salvation.  The Gospel also tells us how we can be saved from the reality of God's wrath that is coming upon this world in Christ's second coming. (Romans 5:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:10) As an ordinance, like Baptism, the Lord's table conveys the Gospel in picture rather than words.  By the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ communicates and reinforces these truths to the hearts of His church through their observance of His ordinance (1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:26)  This is why the Lord's table is celebrated in conjunction with the communication of the scriptures.


4. The Lord's Supper gives the believer a chance to re-examine their walk with the Lord
We are told in 2 Corinthians 13:5 to "examine ourselves to see whether or not we are in the faith".  What kinds of questions are good to ask myself when getting ready to receive the Lord's Supper (or communion, as it is sometimes called)?  What if any unconfessed sin has crept into my life since I last partook of the Lord's supper?  Do I have any resentment towards anyone?  Have I grown cold in my love for Jesus, His Word or prayer?  How am I doing in the areas of supporting the local church of which I am a member through my giving of tithes and offerings? Am I mad at God? Have I done anything to grieve His Spirit?  Have I seen growth and change in my life for the glory of God?  What has God shown me about Himself since the last time I partook of His meal?

Questions like the ones above remind the Christian of the need for daily examination.  There is no cruise control on the steering column of the Christian life.  We don't coast, we aim to strive for all we can in Christ, since it is He who is working in us His perfect and pleasing will. (Philippians 3:12-13) 

The significance of the Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”


The Importance of the Lord's Supper
We typically refer to the final meal that the Lord Jesus Christ had with his disciples the night before His crucifixion as "the Lord's Supper".  All four Gospels and Paul's statements here in 1 Corinthians 11 (as well as 1 Corinthians 10) are the primary texts we look to when discerning the meaning and purpose of the Lord's supper. Paul emphasizes that he had "received from the Lord that which I delivered to you", giving us the chief reason why the Lord's table is so important: Jesus Himself gave it to His church to practice, to celebrate what He accomplished, and to anticipate His soon return.

The Lord's Supper was an ordinance given by Christ to His church, along with Baptism
Last week I blogged about the meaning, mode and place of Baptism in the Christian life.  I won't rehearse that material again, since it is available in the past blogs.  I will point out to the reader that when Jesus prescribed ordinances (commands or "orders" given by the Lord to be carried out by His church), two, and only two were given: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

We know this first of all by the fact that Baptism occurs at the beginning of each Gospel and the instiution of the Lord's Supper is found at the end of each of the four Gospels.  Both are consistently practiced by the early church in Acts and both are taught in the Epistles.  Both picture the Gospel in some way and both are used by Christ to encourage the faith of the New Testament believer. 

Baptism's connection to the Lord's Supper
Just as Baptism is performed following the believer's faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord's Supper is an act that follows after the believer has been baptized.  Acts 2:38-42 gives the standard order of events in the life of the Christian: Conversion to Christ by grace through faith, followed by believer's baptism, then participation in the "breaking of bread" or the Lord's supper.  

While Baptism signifies a one time act, the Lord's Supper signifies continual and repeated practice.  Baptism, being the Christian's first major step of Christian obedience, determines  who should partake of the Lord's table.  The Lord's table is a believer's table - first and foremost.  Secondly, the Lord's table points to His Lordship, His ownership of the Christian.  In approaching the Lord's table, the Christian comes with the attitude of remembering Jesus as their Savior and Lord.  Reasons such as these are why Baptist Churches typically require all those partaking of the Lord's table to be both genuine converts of Christ who have been immersed in believer's Baptism.

What the Lord's Supper Means - Picture and Encouragement to the faithlife
The Lord's Supper points us in two directions: what Christ accomplished and who Christ is.  The Lord's Supper pictures and communicates Christ the God/man.  The ordinary elements of bread and fruit of the vine picture for us His humanity, of which being God He assumed when He came to earth in order to die for our sins.  Through the Lord's table the Christian is encouraged in their faith-life about the centrality and significance of Christ's finished work on the cross and His intercession for them in Heaven as the God/Man.

With the focus on His humanity/Deity and his accomplishment in His first coming, the Lord's Supper also points us forward to His second coming.  The Gospels and 1 Corinthians 11 tells us that the church is to celebrate the Lord's Supper until He returns.  Therefore the Lord's Supper encourages the faithwalk of Christians to lift their eyes to the hills from whence comes there help. (Psalm 121)