It was so special spending time with the wider church last weekend at our Church Camp at Stanwell Tops. I hope that many of you found it as a time of encouragement as we met together for fun, fellowship, worship and teaching. The teaching from Mike Wilson was great too!
Where would we be if Jesus did not rise from the dead? Where would we be if there is no resurrection for us? What if the whole concept of resurrection is all a hoax? Paul says that if this were so, and I quote, “For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men”. This is very serious!
Resurrection is at the heart of the gospel! Resurrection is critical for us if we are to gain access to God’s heaven! 1 Corinthians 15 is a treatise on the whole issue of resurrection and its importance. Today we will look at only eight of the fifty eight verses. Let us never forget that Paul was a man who hunted down people who followed Jesus. He imprisoned countless Christians and gave his approval for some to be killed. Stephen is one example. Yet Paul met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. From that moment on his life was radically transformed. He became Jesus’ greatest advocate and brought thousands to faith in Jesus. For Paul there is no argument that Jesus rose from the dead and was resurrected. There is no argument either for Paul concerning the Christian’s future resurrection to glory. Paul sees it as a certainty.
With this in mind we will concentrate our thoughts on how the whole truth of resurrection impacts our lives! How blessed we are who are in Christ! How wonderful to be assured of an eternity with God in heaven! How blessed we are to know that we will receive imperishable new bodies before we enter glory! O what a great day that will be! I can hardly wait … can you?