2013년 8월 11일 주일 영어예배 설교
고린도전서 15:12-22

The resurrection of the dead
(1 Corinthians 15:12~22)

The resurrection is one of the cores of the faith in Christianity. So Christianity has been called ‘the religion of the resurrection’. Nevertheless, it is true that the contents or concepts of the resurrection of Christianity have been distorted in history. In other words, some Christians have had a faith in Christianity without a faith in the resurrection or with a faith in the resurrection just from a spiritual or mental perspective. The resurrection of Christianity is also even regarded as a symbolic expression of the succession of the Christianity spirit between generations. This phenomenon has led to the tendency that the essence of Christian hope seems to be derived from so-called “the power of positive thought” and “honest beseeching” etc. Yes, they are all important, and there is no wrong factor in them themselves, and also they can be a method or process of keeping the hope of resurrection of Christianity. But they cannot be the ultimate source of the hope of Christianity.
In today’s passage, some of the Corinthian saints, not small in number, were having faith in Christianity in that way. Under the influence of Greek philosophy and pagan ideas, even though they considered themselves Christians, they didn’t believe the resurrection of the dead. So now here, The Apostle Paul makes it clear what the resurrection of Christianity is and its significance and position on faith in Christianity. By appreciating Paul’s declaration of the resurrection, I hope we recognize the significance of the faith in the resurrection and have the right faith in Christianity.
In verse 12, Paul questions, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” The Apostle Paul deplored the fact that they didn’t believe the resurrection of the dead although there were many witnesses and well-known facts of the resurrection of Jesus as shown in the right previous passage of today’s text. It seems that the reason that they didn’t believe the resurrection of the dead then was because of the influence of Greek philosophy. The Greeks then considered a body as a kind of jail of the soul. They thought that through death the soul finally was able to begin free activity. They viewed the body as filthy and sinful, and the soul as noble and clean. Therefore, it was hard for them to believe the resurrection of the dead, which meant the reunion of the soul and the body. Such a phenomenon in belief is still common today among Christians. They just regard the resurrection of Christianity as coming into and hovering in heaven of the soul separated from the body. Some Christians think that the resurrection of Christianity means that Christ’s teaching, love, and spirit of self-sacrifice toward humankind about two thousand years ago have remained in our mind and had an effect on our lives through the countless generations to the current day. Obviously, it can be said that these phenomenons are attributed to the influence of a secular philosophy and educations. Of course, there is no wrong in a philosophy and thoughts themselves. They, our intelligence, are also from God and for serving God. But all of the philosophy, thoughts, and ideas must work according to the Bible’s teaching and be based on the Bible’s principle in order to obey Christ. Pay attention to the teaching of the Bible in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” This is the way of thinking by Christians.
Paul continues to argue in verse 13~17, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Here, Paul demonstrates crucial facts. He logically develops his point proving their error that they believe the gospel and disbelieve the resurrection of the dead at the same time. His argument is that if there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ has not been raised. And if it is true that Jesus has not been raised, our faith and his testimony to God who raised Christ from the dead is in vain. The term ‘vain’ in verse 14 is ‘kenos’ in Greek, which means ‘empty’. That is to say, the Christianity without the resurrection of the dead is nothing. Now we must make clear the reason why the resurrection of the dead is one of the cores of the faith in Christianity like that. The kernel of the gospel of Christianity is ‘the saving’, saving from sin. As for ‘sin’ according to the teaching of the Bible, the sin means ‘death’. In Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” And in Romans 6:23, “…the wages of sin is death…”, in Ezekiel 18:4, “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.” The death indicates not only a biological death but also spiritual death, eternal punishment, suffering. The saving from sin means two things, paying for the sin and conquering the power of the death. Paying for the sin was accomplished through the Jesus Crucifixion. Conquering the power of the death was accomplished by the Resurrection of Christ. These two historical events, The Crucifixion and The Resurrection, are the core of the gospel of Christianity. Therefore, to deny the resurrection of the death is, in fact, to deny faith in salvation. So now here, Paul says even like this, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” May be there is somebody who says that he or she believes the resurrection of Christ, but doesn’t believe the resurrection of the dead. I will say to him or her in Paul’s expression, “by no means!” As Paul mentioned here like this, “if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.” The resurrection of Christ is for the resurrection of the dead or the saints. It is a bodily resurrection with flesh and bone, not only soul. As stated in Philippians, the resurrected body will be a perfect one like Jesus’ who is now on the throne in the right of God in heaven. Likewise, because the faith in the resurrection of the dead is the core of the faith in Christianity, Paul continually affirms in verse 16~17, “ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” The consequence is that if one doesn’t believe the resurrection of the dead, they are still in their sins, and their faith is futile and in vain even though they insist that they are Christians. It is because the decisive evidence of saving from sin which means overcoming the power of death is the Resurrection.
Do you or do you not believe in the resurrection of the dead? Are you not even interested in the resurrection? If you don’t believe the resurrection of the dead, you must seriously reconsider whether “the faith” you have is futile, in vain, and you are still in your sin. This is not the matter of to be mature or be immature but the matter of to believe it or not. It is because, mentioned right before, the evidence of forgiving your sin and you having been set free from the power of the death is the resurrection. And for your faith, one of the most important points is the faith in the resurrection. The resurrection of the dead is our ultimate hope. Because there is the resurrection of the dead, we now have been marching on earth in history as Christians toward heaven. This is one of the crucial values for us. This is a reason why the Apostle Paul demonstrated the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ whenever he preached the gospel and wherever the gospel is evangelized, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ are spread first and most importantly. The historical fact that we have been forgiven from our sins by the Crucifixion of Christ and that we will resurrect into the glorious and perfect body like Jesus who is our first fruit of the resurrection must be our underlying joy and gratitude during our journey and battle in this world. What kind of gospel and Christianity are you expecting? Do you want the kind of gospel that just promises you to give prosperity, comforting, healing, and peace only in this world without the hope of the resurrection in the last day when our Lord Jesus Christ will come back to judge the world? That is not Christianity at all but just a positive philosophy or a religious fashion. And that kind of trend always has been in history around us under the name of the gospel. I will say again in Paul’s expression, “O foolish you! Who has bewitched you?… If it is that…then Christ died for no purpose” Yes, of course, all the blessings such as prosperity, comforting, healing, and peace are for Christians, which God firmly promised them for His people. I also really want you to work at important points of our society as the powerful and blessed Christians among this evil age. Why not? However, we must pay sharp attention to the teaching of the Bible that for Christians to pursue and enjoy all these blessings must be achieved on the ground of gratitude for the Crucifixion of Christ and hope of the resurrection. That is the difference from the unbelievers because non-Christians also enjoy the prosperity even without the faith in Christianity in this world as stated in Matthew 5:45, “God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” We, Christians, are the people who enjoy the blessings on the crucial ground of hope of the resurrection, and are living out our faith in this world for the glory of God. So Paul asserts that, in today’s text, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins”
Everyone, I will ask you again, do you or do you not believe in the resurrection of the dead? Are you even not interested in that kind of hope? This is a very important question for Christians. If not, you are still in your sin as Paul asserted to Corinthians. If not, your faith is in vain and futile, which means your faith is fake as declaration of the Bible.
I really hope you all have the true faith and hope of the resurrection of the dead. I hope that your radical and highest joy and gratitude are the gratitude for the Crucifixion and hope of the resurrection of the dead as powerful and blessed Christians in this evil world.