But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 

I Corinthians 15:20-22 

By man came death and by man came the resurrection from the dead. This lies at the heart of our text. By what man did death come? It came by Adam. God said to Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They ate, sin came into the world and death came with it. Thus, we have become a dying race. What could change this the course of this procession of death?  Christ is the answer. Paul contrasts Christ, Who has risen from the dead, as a man, a true human, with Adam by whom death came. All the ancients testified of their looking forward to Christ.  The evangelists and disciples saw Him alive from the dead and testified of what they had seen. We follow in the same vein, testifying that Christ has risen from the dead and that He is the Man by Whom has come the resurrection from the dead. Thus, Christ is the central figure apart from Whom there is no eternal life. He is, as He says, ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ By man came death, by Man came the resurrection from the dead. Christ is the Man.  

Our Glorious, Living Christ. 
We rejoice that You are alive from the dead. 
We praise You that because You live, 
we shall live also. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 

I Corinthians 15:20-22 

The resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the faith. Thus, when Paul articulates it, he is setting forth a central truth. Paul dedicates the whole of the 15^th chapter of I Corinthians to it. The rest of the writers of the New Testament address it in one way or another. It was a requirement that in order for a person to be an Apostle, that they had been an eyewitness of Christ’s being alive after His crucifixion. When Paul says, ‘now Christ is risen from the dead,’ he is firmly stating an accepted fact. Therefore, when we articulate it, we are only following in a long line of those who have spoken it. That Christ has risen from the dead is the confirmation of all else that went before it and follows after it. It verifies the validity of His incarnation, perfect life, sacrificial death, current intercession, and visible return. These are all tied in one way or another to His resurrection from the dead. For this reason, it is impossible to overstate the truth of His resurrection. He is risen and is returning. 

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have shown us, 
in so many ways, that Christ has risen from the dead.  
We praise You that You have given us, 
the privilege to proclaim it. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 

I Corinthians 15:12-14 

The faith we have rests upon the fact that Christ has risen from the dead. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, he expounds the truth of the resurrection because of some in Corinth who were saying there is no resurrection. Our text reflects Paul’s logic that, ‘if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.’ He goes on to point out the logical implications of that by saying, ‘And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.’ Thus, the faith we have is integrally connected to Christ’s resurrection. This is why the resurrection of Christ is so clearly set forth by the evangelists, Peter, and Paul. Without the resurrection, the whole thing becomes a vain, empty fantasy. Paul goes to great lengths to establish, first, that there is a resurrection from the dead, and second, that Christ has risen. This was the perpetual message of the New Testament era. It continues today among all who preach Christ. The resurrection of Christ from the dead is critical to faith. We have the privilege to believe it and to proclaim it. Thus faith is not empty, and belief is not foolish. ‘He is risen indeed.’  

Our Glorious, Living Christ, 
we rejoice that You are the Author and Finisher of our faith. 
We praise You that because you live, 
we shall live also. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 

I Corinthians 15:5-8

Who saw Christ after He rose from the dead? Our text catalogues them. Paul is beginning his masterful discourse on the resurrection of the dead. This is the richest exposition on the subject we have in one location. As he introduces the subject, he clearly articulates the gospel, concluding with, ‘and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.’ Our text is the next set of verses. Here Paul lists the people who saw Christ after He had risen. It is an  impressive array of individuals and groups. Peter, the other disciples, a congregation of more than five hundred, James, the apostles, and finally Paul himself. Thus, the resurrection of Christ is well-documented. This is important to us and separates fact from fiction. The rest of the faith is integrally related to Christ’s resurrection. By Peter’s testimony, ‘For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.’ We testify that we believe them because of their witness, that Christ has, indeed, risen from the dead. This is worth believing and proclaiming. As we go about our lives, within the various contexts in which we find ourselves, let us proclaim, ‘He is risen indeed.’ 

Our Savior and our Sovereign God, 
we rejoice that Christ has risen from the dead. 
We praise You for the authority of Your witnesses 
and their confirmation of what they saw. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And That He Rose Again

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures….

I Corinthians 15: 3 & 4

The Gospel is incomplete apart from the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. Christ was ‘delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.’ God the Father raised Christ from the dead as evidence that He had accepted His Sacrifice. Paul very clearly understood this, because as he was introducing his exposition of the doctrine of the resurrection in the remaining portion of the chapter from which our text derives, he ties the sacrifice to the resurrection and declares that both of them occurred, ‘according to the Scriptures.’ The resurrection of Christ is inextricably tied to our forgiveness of sins and to the prospect of our resurrection. ‘For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.’ The whole argument which Paul sets forth stands upon the fact that, there is a resurrection from the dead, that Christ has risen from the dead, and that therefore we who are in Christ shall rise from the dead. ‘Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”’ Because Christ is ‘the Resurrection and the life,’ He raises His people from the dead and gives them ‘eternal life, and they shall never perish.’ This is a great joy to us who look forward to that which Christ has in store for us. We live in confidence, not in ourselves, but in Christ, Who guarantees that we cannot die.

Our Glorious, Living Christ,
we rejoice that You have risen from the dead.
We praise You that because You live,
we shall live also.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning