from verse 12 to verse 34, to take as our theme a phrase of Paul in that passage from verse 20, Christ the first fruits. Let me remind you in a sentence or two of the context of this passage. Some people in Corinth have been teaching that the bodies of believers will not rise again after death. Right throughout this letter we've been looking at people who had a false idea of spirituality. This is one of the most relevant of all New Testament letters for our day. We could call it a hyper-spirituality or a super-spirituality. And their view had led them into many, many different errors. And this was another error from the same view. The body is unimportant. The soul is all that is important. And so the body of the believer will rot in the ground, they said. What is important is that the soul of the believer, delivered from the tomb of the body, will go to be with God in a purely spiritual universe. And Paul is combating that false doctrine and we saw in verses 1 to 11 how he began by establishing common ground and showed that all Christians believe that the body of Jesus was raised from the dead. He's not seeking to prove the resurrection, he's seeking to combat this false teaching. But he says we are all agreed on this at least, the body of our saviour rose from the dead. You can't be a Christian if you don't believe that. And now he takes that common ground and applies it to this false teaching and his method is interesting. It is that of forcing his opponents to face up to the logic of their own position. To face up to the logic of their own position. He says to them, in effect, you say that the bodies of believers are not raised from the dead. Well now, what does that imply? What follows on from that? If your view is true, What are the necessary implications? And then he goes on to say, if my view is true, what are the necessary implications? Face the logic of your own position. That's a very good approach for us all to use in theological discussion. in evangelism, in witnessing, to challenge people, that's what the book of Ecclesiastes does for example, to challenge people to face up to the logic of their own position. If what you say is true, what then must also be true. Francis Schaeffer was a master of that methodology. He was once in Oxford having a discussion with a man who didn't believe that there was any such thing as right or wrong. I'm not commending Schaeffer's particular approach here, I must stress, I'm simply using it for illustration. This man didn't believe that there was any such thing as right or wrong. And at the end of the conversation, Schaeffer asked him for his girlfriend's phone number, for he wanted to see if he could spend the night with her. And the man, of course, was absolutely furious. He said, how dare you ask me such a terrible thing? Schaeffer says, but you don't believe in right or wrong. He was asking him to face up to the logic of his position. He once spoke to a scientist who believed we live in a random universe. And he said, when you go out to pick mushrooms, do you just pick them by chance? No, no, the scientist said. Toadstools would poison you. But I thought you believed in a random universe. We should do it more than we do. Paul does it here. We want to see how he develops it. And we can divide this passage into three sections. First of all he says, if you are right, what are the implications? Then he says, if I am right, what are the implications? And then thirdly he comes back again and says, if you are right, what are the implications? So let's look at each of these sections in turn. First in verses 12 to 19. He says to his opponents, if you are right, what are the implications? We could take as a key phrase that expression at the beginning. In verse 12, there is no resurrection of the dead. There is no resurrection of the dead. That is what you say you believe. That is what you teach in the church. There is no resurrection of the dead. Very well then, let us for the moment accept your position. Let's follow your line of thinking and see where it leads us. What must inevitably follow if you teach and believe that there is no resurrection from the dead? Well the most devastating implication Which apparently they had ignored or tried to disregard in some ways, given in verse 13. Not even Christ has been raised. Because, says Paul, Jesus Christ was a human being. He was a man. He had a physical human body. He was not a pure spirit. He was not a spirit which inhabited a body for a time. He didn't just seem to be human or appear to be human. He was really human in every sense of that word and his body died. And if you maintain that the human body cannot rise again, you can't have any exceptions or exemptions or special cases. You can't suddenly say, oh well, but admittedly, Jesus had a human body, but that was different. No, Paul says, face the logic of your position. If the human body can't rise, that's what you're saying. If there's no resurrection, that's what you're saying. Then be honest. Be consistent. Have the courage of your convictions. If the human body can't rise, then Jesus' human body didn't rise. Christ has not been raised. He must still be included. And if that is the case, says Paul, verse 14, our preaching is useless or empty, and so is your faith. Note how important the resurrection was to the apostolic preaching. If Christ wasn't raised to this point, we have nothing to say. We're not here to give little lectures of good advice or to teach morality. We have absolutely nothing to contribute to human knowledge or to the human condition. Our preaching is so interwoven with the reality of the risen Saviour, that if Christ is not raised, the whole enterprise is without content. It is a fairy story. It has no link with reality. And any faith which results from such preaching is equally pointless. Third, he says in verse 15, we are then to be found false witnesses about God. I love the bluntness and the honesty and the intellectual rigor of this man. He calls a spade a spade. He doesn't say, well, if Christ didn't rise, perhaps our presentation is a little unbalanced. Perhaps our tradition is not as fully biblical as it might be. No, he says we're liars. We're liars. We're not just slightly wrong, we're not mistaken, we're unenlightened, we are false witnesses. We have stood up and told lies about God. And worse than that, we have told them in God's name. and on God's behalf, and as God's representatives. As God's accredited spokesman, we have told lies about him. We have said he did something which he didn't do. Fourthly, he says in verse 17, you are still in your sins. If there is no resurrection, And if Christ did not rise from the dead, then his sacrifice was not accepted. He did not conquer death. Death conquered him. He is no different from any other good man who lived and died. He obtained no forgiveness for anyone. There is no justification for sinners. The crushing burden of guilt is still on every conscience. He goes on in verse 18 with another implication. Those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost, they have perished Reading between the lines it appears that these Corinthians in their false teaching did nevertheless believe in the immortality of the soul. And they said those Christians who have died have gone to be with God forever as disembodied spirits. Not so sister, not so. The soul and the body of man stand together. If the body is lost forever, then the man is lost forever, then the person is lost forever. There is no permanent heaven for disembodied spirits. Only the angels are such creatures. Human beings are raised body and soul or not at all. Do you know the horrible juxtaposition, the irony of what he says in verse 18? The brutality with which he smashes their sentimental illusions. Those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. A lovely, pious phrase. What a joy it is to be able to say that. that someone, a Christian who dies, has fallen asleep in Christ. But Paul says, if what you say is true, you can never say that again. It's rubbish, it's nonsense. They haven't fallen asleep. They're lost, they're gone. Never see them again. They thought they were falling asleep in Christ, but they awoke in torment. Then lastly, he says in verse 19, We are to be pitied more than all men. We are pathetic dreamers, hoping for a future which doesn't exist, trusting someone whose body is rotting in the ground. These, says Paul, are the devastating implications which you Corinthians must face. Are you willing to face them? He says. He wants to shock them, he says. He wants to startle them. He wants to fill them with horror. He wants them to say, no, no, no, we don't believe any of this. In fact, I think they probably didn't believe any of this. I think they hadn't thought out the logic of their position. I think they had foolishly taken on board from Greek philosophy this idea about the worthlessness of the body and they hadn't thought it out. And Paul is making them think it out. Paul is saying if this is true, look at the terrible, horrible, devastating implication. Are you ready to say that Christianity is nonsense? That our preaching is rubbish, that your existence as believers has ended, that everything is destroyed, finished, it is a waste of time, that you've committed yourself to a sick joke. Are you happy with this result? Are you ready to face these implications? That's powerful teaching in evangelism. Forcing people to face the implications of what they say they believe. in the hope that they will be so horrified and appalled by those implications that they'll abandon their false teaching. Paul is far, far more honest than many so-called Christians today who try to hold on to a version of the faith without a belief in the resurrection. He says all depends on this. Did Jesus of Nazareth rise from the grave. So that's his first point. What are the implications of your belief? He comes to his second point in verses 20 to 28. What are the implications of my belief? And he begins by two of the most thrilling words in the New Testament. Sadly the NIV leaves out the now. But now, but now he says, here is the truth, here is the gospel, curling defiance against the miserable conclusions of heresy. Here is the truth of apostolic preaching. What are the implications of my view? We've seen the dreadful implications of your teaching, what are the implications of my teaching and that we mention four. Firstly in verse 20, Christ is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. In Israel, when the harvest was beginning, the farmer would bring to the temple the first sheaf of corn. and he would consecrate it to God. You can read about it in Leviticus chapter 23. And this first sheaf was very precious, very important, because in that first sheaf he held in his hands the promise of a future harvest and the proof of a future harvest. And as he took those stalks of corn in his hands and offered them to God, he said, I'm holding now the proof of a great blessing that I can't see. It hasn't come yet, but I know that it will come. And this first chief is the proof and the promise that it will come. The harvest is beginning. The process is starting. God is bringing the blessing. And each year, the first fruits, whether of corn, or grapes, or oil, or whatever it was, was the proof and promise of the harvest to come. So Paul, in a brilliant metaphor, takes this idea and applies it to Christ, and says that Christ is the first fruits of all who die in faith. the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, the first resurrected body, the proof positive that there will be a resurrection. Christ is the sign that the work of renewal has begun, that God is carrying out his great plan to sweep sin from the whole of creation And with the resurrection of Christ we know that that process has begun. Just as death had entered the world through a man, so resurrection enters the world through a man. The resurrection of Christ is the first fruits, the promise of a great, glorious, wonderful harvest. The picture of everyone who dies in Christ. That's the implication. But, someone might protest, what about believers dying, Paul? You talk in this airy, fairy, grandiose way about a kingdom, about a renewed creation, about a great blessing, but the fact is, We see around us our loved ones dying. It breaks our hearts. It causes us grief. Is that not a contradiction to what you're saying? No, he says. In verse 23, each in his own turn. The time has not yet arrived for a general resurrection. God has a timetable for these things. Christ the first fruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him. The fact that believers die now is no threat, no contradiction, no buyer to the promise. It simply leads us to look in faith to God's appointed moment. Each in his own turn. It's not our turn. It's not our turn. But the resurrection tells us that our turn will come. And that when Christ comes, those who belong to him will be raised. But there's far more involved here than your personal immortality or mine. And Paul goes on to that in verses 24 to 26. He says that this will be after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. In other words, the resurrection has begun a mighty program of sweeping evil from the universe. The resurrection is about far more than you and I living forever. The resurrection is about a new world, a new heavens and a new earth. The restoration and renewal of all creation. That's the implication of my view. I'm not just concerned about the destiny of various individuals, I'm concerned about God's universe. One of the implications of my view is a restored universe, a renewed cosmos. Christ destroying all his enemies, subduing the forces of wickedness. And note how significantly and powerfully he says that death is the last enemy to be destroyed. Is that not comforting? It's death that bothers us. It's death that breaks our hearts. It's death that grieves us. And we say, oh Lord, why can you not do something about death? I will, says God. But death is the last enemy to be destroyed. Before I deal with death, I will deal with evil in all its other forms. That's another reason not to worry about dying. Not to have our faith shaken about dying. Not to say, why does God not do something about it? the implication that Christ is the first fruit, that all in him will rise, that the whole of creation will be restored. But there's one more thing even greater. Verses 24 and 28. Then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father. Verse 28. So that God may be all in all. So that God may be all in all. The ultimate reason for the resurrection of Christ is the glory of God. The ultimate implication for the resurrection of Christ is the glory of God. And that comes when God's whole program of redemption is carried through Friends, grasp the implications of this. If we are not raised, then death is not conquered, and then God is not triumphant, then God is not glorified. Paul says we must be raised. We must be raised. Don't misunderstand me when I say the glory of God depends on it. God has committed himself to this. If we are not raised, it's unthinkable. So Paul grounds our resurrection in its ultimate source, the glory of the God who planned it all. If we are not raised, then God has failed. If we are not raised, then God has lied. If we are not raised, then God can't be trusted. Such a thing is unthinkable. Here is powerful theological arguing. Here, says Paul, are the implications of truth bringing us at last to the glory of God. The resurrection has set in motion an unbreakable chain of events which nothing can interrupt or frustrate. Christ has been raised. Now we come lastly and much more briefly to the final section, verses 29 to 34. Paul here moves from deep theology to the details of practical living. And his basic point is this. If you are right, if there is no resurrection, why are we living as we do? He makes three points. Firstly, verse 29. If the dead are not raised, why are people baptized for them? Perhaps you've often wondered what that expression means. After this evening you will continue to wonder. Almost 40 different explanations have been given in the commentators and I have no intention of working my way painfully through them, especially when I have no conclusion to draw. What did Paul mean? We don't know. At least I don't. Were some people in Corinth being baptized for dead people? Some believers who had died before they were baptized? Family members who had died before believing? We don't know. I think that's the only honest answer. But it doesn't matter. For whatever the original meaning was, whether it was something Paul strongly disapproved of and was simply using for an illustration, or whether there's some other meaning, his point is quite clear. Why do something on behalf of bodies which are doomed to decay in the ground? If the dead are not raised, forget them. Forget them. People were doing something on behalf of the dead. Paul says that's pointless. If the dead are not raised, they're like animals, rotting in the ground. Forget them. He makes a second point in verses 30 to 32. If the dead are not raised, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day. If I fought wild beasts at Ephesus, what have I gained? Paul's life and ministry were stressful and hard, laborious, dangerous, and his goal in everything was this, to prepare people for eternity. But if there is no eternity, it's all a waste of time. Why are you giving a tenth of your income to the church? Why are you reading your Bible and praying every day? Why are you struggling against sin in your own life? Why are you suffering for your devotion to Christ? Why are you paying the price of loyalty to God? Why are you putting yourselves out to help people and witness to people and serve people? If there's no eternity, it's a complete waste of time. The third point in verse 32, if the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. We may as well give ourselves over to a life of materialism, selfishness, pleasure, indulgence, with no thought of the future, for there is no future. I'll not take time to expand these points, but note simply that this is vitally important teaching. What you and I believe about the future affects profoundly how we live in the present. What you and I believe about the future affects how we live in the present. If we are immortal beings, and if we are destined to spend a joyful eternity in the presence of God, then that should govern every detail of how we live on earth, everything we are, everything we do. If that's what's going to happen to you, if that's true, if it really is true that we're going to heaven, then our bodies and our souls will be with Christ in heaven forever. That will affect everything we do. If on the other hand we are merely superior animals, then we might as well live as animals, for our destiny is the same as theirs. But, says Paul, be consistent. Don't say you believe that you're an immortal being destined for heaven and at the same time live like an animal. It's not where we're guilty all too often. That's the powerful practical implication. That's the perfect explanation of why people around us live as they do. He says in verse 33, bad company corrupts good character. And in a particularly stinging comment, he speaks to these experts, these intellectuals, These people who boast about knowing so much and says there are some who are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame. And he warns us that we can so easily be influenced. Come back to your senses and stop sinning. Perhaps that's a word for all of us. Come back to your senses. We may not follow the Corinthians and their heresy. We may not have any intellectual doubts about the resurrection. But friends, in practical terms, we may be living as if we didn't believe in the resurrection. Flirting with sin. Infected with materialism. preoccupied with the worries and concerns of this brief life. Paul says, come back to your senses. Remember who you are. Remember your destiny. How thankful we should be that these Corinthians were wrong. That these ghastly implications are unreal. and that the marvellous implications of the gospel are true and solid. Let us bow our heads and thank God for his risen Son. Father, we thank you that you are the God of truth and of reason, that you urge us to think, to be consistent to live out in daily behavior what we profess to hold. Lord, you have brought before us tonight very simple and basic truths, reminding us of the resurrection of our Savior, that he is the firstfruits of all those who fall asleep, the promise and the proof that they too will rise. The evidence of the inbreaking of the kingdom that mighty program of redemption which is even now being carried on. Lord, as we look out at a sad, tear-stained world this night, help us to see Christ reigning till all his enemies are brought under his feet. Lord, you have committed yourself. You have come and entered to redeem us, to redeem the earth, for your own glory's sake You will do it, and you will not fail. So help us, we pray, to come to our senses and to live the life of heaven here on earth as those immortal beings who shall dwell forever in your presence. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.