He Is Risen!

Romans 1:1-7 WEL Paul, Jesus Christ's servant, called upon to be an apostle, separated for God's Gospel. 2 [The Gospel] that he had promised through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who came from the offspring of David, according to the flesh, 4 [And] pointed out to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by [his] resurrection from the dead. 5 We have received grace and apostleship through him [to bring] into obedience to the faith those among all nations for his name. 6 You also are among those called by Jesus Christ. 7 Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to all of you who are in Rome, beloved by God, [and] called to be saints.

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 WEL Moreover, brothers, I making the Gospel known to you which I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand, 2 Also you are saved by this, if you firmly hold on to what I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For the first thing I passed on to you was what I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, 4 And that he was buried, then rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 And that he was seen by Cephas then the twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, of whom the greater part remain to this present hour, but some have fallen asleep, 7 After that he was seen by James then by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, he was seen by me also, as of one born at the wrong time.

And indeed, all of 1 Corinthians 15 is important.

The Gospel of Jesus is meaningless, unless Jesus really resurrected from the dead.

The Gospel is centered on Jesus Christ.

B1 The Gospel was promised.

C1 The Gospel is the Good News.

C2 The Gospel has been, is, and always will be the same.

C3 The Gospel was preached to Adam and Eve and as well as the last book of the Bible by the angel (Revelation 14:6 (PickNT) And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an everlasting gospel to be proclaimed to those who reside on the earth—to every ethnic nation and tribe and language and people—

C4 It is to believe God. This is found in Romans 4:3 WEL What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited as righteousness to him." It is a quoted from Genesis 15:6 and repeated in Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23.

C5 We have to believe God that we are lawbreakers, sinful, worthy of death and hell, and are not good in God’s opinion. We have to believe that Jesus is Messiah and call on His name.

D1 John 3:16-19 NKJV For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

D2 Romans 10:13 NRSV For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

D3 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 WEL Moreover, brothers, I making the Gospel known to you which I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand, 2 Also you are saved by this, if you firmly hold on to what I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For the first thing I passed on to you was what I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, 4 And that he was buried, then rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

D4 Luke 18:13-14 NRSV But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.

B2 The prophets relayed this Gospel message to the people of the day plus the promise to us.

B3 This Gospel message is in the Scriptures. The Scriptures Paul referring to is what we call the Old Testament.

B4 Messiah would have to be King David’s descendants.

B5 Messiah would be a man.

B6 Messiah would also be God.

B7 Messiah is the Son of David and the Son of God (Psalms 2:7 NRSV I will tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my son; today I have begotten you). Most interpret this as referring to EITHER the incarnation or the resurrection. I believe both are referred to.

C1 Incarnation: Luke 1:32-35 NRSV He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

C2 Resurrection: Acts 13:32-33 NRSV And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'

B8 According to the Spirit of Holiness, Jesus never sinned. He had no need for punishment.

B9 The resurrection is an important witness that He is God and never sinned.

1 Corinthians 15:1-8 WEL Moreover, brothers, I making the Gospel known to you which I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand, 2 Also you are saved by this, if you firmly hold on to what I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For the first thing I passed on to you was what I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, 4 And that he was buried, then rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 And that he was seen by Cephas then the twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, of whom the greater part remain to this present hour, but some have fallen asleep, 7 After that he was seen by James then by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, he was seen by me also, as of one born at the wrong time.

The Gospel’s truths are centered on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

B1 This Gospel is the only gospel to save us.

B2 We have to be steadfast in the faith. God gives grace to help us.

B3 Christ did not die for His sins; He died for our sins.

B4 Just as the Scriptures say.

B5 He was buried.

B6 He did rise from the dead.

B7 If there is no resurrection of Jesus, then He is a liar, a sinner, and not God’s son.

B9 But He did rise as seen by many witnesses. First were the women. Second was the men. Later individuals and groups. A total of well over 500 people saw Him after His death, burial, and resurrection.

B10 Those who saw Him would be required to have seen Him before death, too. If not, how would they know it was Him? It is most reasonable to understand 1 Corinthians to have been written in the first century C.E.

B11 For more information about the resurrection of Jesus Christ see Dr. Gary Habermas’ site. There are some free books, papers, and videos if you search.

What is most glorious of our faith?

B1 Jesus rose from death. This is not resuscitation but resurrection.

B2 We honor our Savior for His suffering for our sins, shed His blood for our sins, died for our sins, and rose for our justification.

B3 We now want to live for Him, glorifying Him, and obeying Him in following the ~1,000 rules in the New Testament. This is walking in the Spirit. If the fruit of the Spirit is not seen, then we are fakes.

B4 Here are a few quotes:

C1 The risen life of Jesus is the nourishment and strengthening and blessing and life of a Christian—Alexander MacLaren

C2 Philosophically, there is no system on earth suited to destroy man’s sinful disposition and to change his heart, but Christianity; and, historically, nothing else has ever done it—D. Thomas, D.D.

C3 In that gospel these Corinthians were now “standing.” Their ancient superstitions had passed away, and they “stood” upon the rock—“Jesus Christ,” and the hope of a resurrection. That reception of his apostolic message was not only the pledge of blessedness in the great hereafter, it indicated their present security. Now they were safe. The strong swimmer, battling with the waves of a stormy sea, may be living, and not without hope; but not until his feet touch the beach may he whisper to himself, “Now I am safe!” So these Corinthians had been “saved,” but their Christian work was not then over. The saved Christian is not to stand still and think of doing nothing more. “Keep in memory” might rather be translated “firmly maintain.” Without this they had “believed in vain—J. Cochrane, A.M.

B5 Rejoice! He is risen.

C1 He Is Risen

C2 Christ the Lord is Risen

C3 Christ is Risen