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If Christ has not been raised

March 27, 2016 Speaker: Gary

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1–20

Resurrection Sunday
1 Corinthians 15:1-20
If Christ has not been raised
If Christ has not been raised, our faith is in vain – but he has been raised!

1) We are saved by faith in the gospel that Christ died for our sins and was raised, 15:1-4.
What does Paul say are the essential truths of the gospel you must believe to be saved? Why does he say “unless you believed in vain”?

2) Christ appeared to the apostles and many others after he was raised from the dead, 15:5-11.
In these verses, what are reasons Paul gives for believing that Christ was raised from the dead?

3) Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised, 15:12-13. Is denying bodily resurrection a biblical belief?

4) And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain, 15:14.
Why does Paul say the apostles’ preaching is in vain and their faith is in vain if Christ has not been raised?

5) 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised, 15:15-16.
What does Paul say is the error of denying the dead are raised in this verse?

6) And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins, 15:17.
Describe these two consequences if Christ has not been raised.

7) Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished, 15:18.
Why does Paul refer to the death of the Christian as “falling asleep”? What does Paul mean by saying that if Christ has not risen those who have died in Christ have perished?

8) If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied, 15:19.
Why does Paul say this? What do you think about statements such as “even if Christ wasn’t really raised from the dead, that doesn’t affect my faith, for Jesus is risen in my heart”? Does the way you live make sense only if Christ has been raised from the dead?

9) But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, 15:20.
The firstfruits are not just the first of the crops to come in. they are the guarantee of the full harvest. How does Paul apply this to the resurrected Christ being the firstfruits of the dead in Christ? What are some of the benefits of Christ’s resurrection, both in the present and in the future? How should these benefits impact our hearts?