1 Corinthians 15:3-11

The wisdom of God is foolishness to our flesh. The Spirit within us tells us the truth!

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures.

He died in our place, for our sins, and the sins of the world. Only His death and resurrection saves us. BELIEVE!

The Risen Christ, Our Hope!

The apostle Paul shaped history, yet Paul would die in the jail of a despot. No headlines announced his execution. No observer recorded the events. Doesn’t look like a hero. The fellow who changes the oil in your car could be a hero. Maybe as he works he prays, asking God to do with the heart of the driver what he does with the engine. I know, I know, it doesn’t fit our image of a hero. Max Lucado

This hope we have in Christ is both present and future. Right now, we live in light of what He's done to redeem us, justify us and sanctify us (1 Corinthians 6:11). We know His promises are sure (2 Corinthians 1:20-22).

We also look forward to the fulfillment of God's promises regarding our eternal future with Him. We feel the sting of death now, but we know Christ has won the victory over the grave (Corinthians 15:54-55). We look forward to the day when we will be with the Lord forever (2 Corinthians 5:1;  2 Corinthians 5:6-7). First5

1 Corinthians 15:3-11

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 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. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. The New King James

Paul did not originate the proclamation of Jesus that he delivered to the Corinthians; he simply gave the Corinthians what he himself had received. He viewed himself as a link in a long chain of witnesses to the truth of the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Christ died for our sins. Christ’s death dealt decisively with our sins. He suffered in our place to endure the just wrath of God against us. Christ lived and died in accordance with the prophecies about Him in the OT. 

The Resurrection verifies the fact that Christ’s death paid the full price for sin. The Greek term translated rose here is in the perfect tense, emphasizing the ongoing effects of this historical event. Christ is a risen Savior today. 

At the time of Paul’s writing, a person could have verified the truthfulness of the apostle’s statements. The majority of the five hundred people who saw the risen Christ, as well as all the apostles and James (the half brother of Jesus), were still living. 

Born out of due time is probably Paul’s comment on the unique way he became an apostle. Unlike the other apostles, who had the benefit of an initial training period with Christ, Paul became an apostle abruptly, with no opportunity for earthly contact with Christ or His teaching. 

Paul considered himself the least of the apostles because at one time he had persecuted the church. Even though Paul got a late start and did not have the discipleship training that the other apostles did, he traveled further, established more churches, and wrote more Scripture than all of them. But Paul attributed his success to the grace of God. 

Paul did not care who got credit for the Corinthians’ faith. He cared only that the Corinthians believed. The NKJV Study Bible

Paul emphasizes the continuity of his message with the early church’s teaching. Burial signifies the confirmation and finality of death. He appeared refers to a physical sighting of Christ with his eyes—not merely a vision. The number of witnesses adds credibility to the claim. In the same way that a person sleeps and awakes, the Christian who dies will arise to life. All of these people saw the risen Christ. 

One born at the wrong time refers to the abnormal manner in which Paul became an apostle. The Greek word used by Paul here, ektrōma, sometimes translated as “abortion,” suggests that Paul considered himself different than the other apostles. For Paul, this “abnormality” serves as proof of his apostleship. Paul considers his apostleship to be a sign of God’s grace and mercy because he did not deserve it. 

Paul uses the Greek word ekklēsia here to refer to all Christians, especially those in Jerusalem. 

Paul acknowledges that he become an apostle through God’s grace. He recognizes that he does not deserve such a gift. Faithlife Study Bible

Isaiah 53:10 

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, 

He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Mark 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

Luke 24:34 saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

Luke 24:36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”

Acts 26:22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—