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That You Might Believe (King’s Cross Church)
Christ Church on May 1, 2022
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Firstfruits of the Resurrection (Easter A.D. 2022—King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

The Bible teaches that the resurrection of Jesus is an historical fact with cosmic ramifications. The resurrection of Jesus establishes the forgiveness of human sins, the bodily resurrection of all believers, and the renewal of all things. And so the resurrection of Jesus is the ground of all Christian hope.

THE TEXT

“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?…” (1 Cor. 15:12-26)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul has just reviewed the basics of the gospel, emphasizing the witnesses of the resurrection, last of all Paul himself (1 Cor. 15:1-11). From that record, Paul asks how any of the Corinthians can be saying there is no resurrection (15:12). Paul ties the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of all believers together: you cannot have one without the other (15:13). And if Christ is not risen, the problems pile up: our preaching is in vain, our faith is in vain, the apostles are false witnesses, we are still in our sins, and all who have already died are lost (15:14-18). If the Christian faith is twisted into a message that merely makes people feel better in this life, we are a most pitiful lot (15:19). But Christ is risen from the dead, and therefore He is the first fruits of those who sleep in death – so it makes sense that He would rise first and afterward all who belong to Him (15:20, 23). It should not seem impossible that God might bring resurrection through the man Jesus, since the man Adam plunged us all into death (15:21-22). Finally, Paul insists that this harvest includes all authorities, all enemies, up to and including death itself (15:24-26).

FIRSTFRUITS OF THE RESURRECTION HARVEST

In the Israelite festal calendar was the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, a sort of harvest festival, but it began with the offering of firstfruits of the harvest (Lev. 23:10). This was kind a tithe, where Israel was required to give the Lord the firstfruits of the harvest in faith, trusting God for the entire harvest. Paul says that the resurrection of Jesus is like that: the resurrection of Jesus is the firstfruits of those who sleep (1 Cor. 15:23). When we proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, we are simultaneously confessing our sure and certain faith in the whole harvest, the resurrection of all who believe in Him, when He comes to judge the world (1 Cor. 15:23).

It may be that some were contemplating the heresy of “hyperpreterism,” which includes the notion that there is only a spiritual “resurrection” at death to heaven, and in another place, Paul specifically warns Timothy about profane and vain babblings that increase ungodliness, specifically those who say that the resurrection is past already (2 Tim. 2:18). But we know that the resurrection is not past already because one of the enemies that Christ has determined to put beneath His feet is death itself, the last enemy (1 Cor. 15:25-26). People are still dying, and therefore, that enemy has not been destroyed. But it’s not an accident that Paul calls death “sleep” throughout this text (15:6, 18, 20, 51). The clear implication is that those who sleep most certainly will wake. God is not an incompetent farmer. He does not plant and fail to get a harvest. As Job said, “I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh, shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-27).

CONCLUSION: EASTER FORGIVENESS & HOPE

The Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the apostles and hundreds of other witnesses lied, our faith is empty, those who have died already are lost, and we are still in our sins (1 Cor. 15:13-18). This last one leaves us the most miserable and hopeless. But if Christ is risen, then the power of death has been broken. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 8:28), but if a true man, a descendant of Adam has come back from the dead, then there is a way out, a way of escape. The debt of sin has been paid in full. So we are proclaiming forgiveness when we say, “He is risen!” So, how can you hold on to any grudges against anyone?

If Christ is risen from the dead, then the harvest has begun, and we have great hope beyond this life (1 Cor. 15:19-20). This is because God is the Farmer, and His harvest is certain. Winter is ending, the Spring has begun. And our hope is specifically that Christ must reign until all of His enemies have been put beneath His feet (1 Cor. 15:25-26). Hebrews quotes this same verse from Psalm 8 and says, “We do not yet see everything put under Him. But we see Jesus… that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man… that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:8-9, 14). All of this means that Christians must be robust optimists. All things serve Him. He holds the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18). Therefore, we are more than conquerors in life and in death, in prison or free, in perils, in success, in glory, in pain, and everything in between (Rom. 8:35-39).

Paul closes 1 Corinthians 15 with this exuberant celebration: “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:57-58). Earlier it says that our bodies are seeds that go into the ground (1 Cor. 15:37-44), but the implication here at the end is that our entire lives are a sort of seed, since our labor is not in vain in the Lord. Since God is the Farmer, He knows how to plant and water us and every detail of our lives perfectly so that we will yield the greatest crop. So do not grow weary in doing good. Be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. He is risen indeed.

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The Public Cross

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INTRODUCTION

Jesus was crucified in a public way, and His death necessarily has public ramifications. There is no way to be fully faithful to the message of His death and resurrection in private. Private faith in this public event cannot, in the very nature of the case, remain private.

THE TEXT

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified . . . Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory . . .” (1 Cor. 2:1-10).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In this text, we have many glorious things stated, and a number of other (surpassingly glorious) things only hinted at. When Paul first came to the Corinthians, he did not come as a showboating preacherman (v. 1). He resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and Him crucified (v. 2). But this does not mean what individualistic moderns might assume. Paul says that he was among them in a real state of inadequacy, as men would measure it (v. 3). He recalled his messages as being the same way (v. 4), not with man’s wisdom, but rather with God’s power. He did not want them to have faith in the wrong thing—in pretty boy preachers instead of God’s power (v. 5). We do speak wisdom, but it is not the wisdom of this world’s princes, who are coming to nothing (v. 6). We speak a hidden wisdom, now revealed (on the cross, remember), which God ordained before the world for our glory (v. 7). If the princes of this world had known what was up, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (v. 8). In doing this, they arranged for a spectacular blessing for those who love God (v. 9). And what this consists of is revealed to us by the Spirit (v. 10).

NOTHING BUT CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED?

You have many times heard us warning against the dangers of radical individualism. That danger can be clearly seen in this phrase from verse 2, “not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Now if this truth is all about getting individual souls into heaven after they die, then application of this will create private clubs (perhaps called churches) where people will think about this saving datum, to the saving of their private individual souls, by and by.

I grew up in a church which thought it was the responsibility of the church to preach the gospel every Sunday, with an invitation every Sunday. And why? Because of an assumption about the gospel. Preaching Christ and Him crucified was taken in a truncated way, limiting it to the salvation of invisible souls after they depart from this world. But note how Paul approaches this. This message is a message that topples the princes of this world, and every thing that previously had been under their jurisdiction—and this means arts, politics, economics, exploration, scientific investigation, cooking, and anything else that men might do. Rightly understood, preaching Christ and Him crucified is as broad as the world.

THEORIES OF THE ATONEMENT

In the history of the Church, three basic theories of the atonement have developed. They have frequently been articulated in opposition to each other, but this is not necessary at all. They all have a scriptural basis, and we have to learn how to see them together. If we do this, instead of opposing them to each other, we will start to see something of what Paul is addressing here. And when we take one view in isolation from the others, we start to drift toward a rejection of what Paul is describing in our passage.

Anselm—this is the view that has been emphasized in the Protestant Reformed world.

A version of this was first systematically developed by Anselm of Canterbury, this is the idea that Christ died as a “penal substitute.” We are familiar with the language of the substitutionary atonement, and it is right and proper that we are. It is very common in the New Testament. For example, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Pet. 3:18).

Abelard—this is the view that Christ died in order to set an example for us to follow.

The idea is that by sacrificing Himself in this way He provides a pattern of moral influence. We see immediately that this is pitifully inadequate in isolation, but it is in the Bible. “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). And husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church, giving themselves up for her (Eph. 5:25).

Christus Victor—in this view, the death of Jesus is seen as Him triumphing over the devil

and his angels. This too is biblical, but not in isolation. “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:13-15).

ALL HIS OFFICES

Notice that when we see this all these together as parts of a unified whole, we can see that Christ is exercising all His offices—prophet (Abelardian), priest (Anselmian), and king (ChristusVictor).

THE NEW HUMANITY AND THE OLD PRINCES

Jesus was not murdered in private by thugs, only to come back from the dead in secret, with a select band of initiates being told to whisper the news to another handful: “Pssst! Pass it on.” No, He was executed publicly by the authorities, and He rose from the dead in such a way as to declare His absolute authority over all the kingdoms of men, and over everything that they contain. We have to learn how to see the cross in these terms, which is what Paul is insisting on in our text.

So when we preach Christ and Him crucified, we are preaching the hope and glory of the world. What God has prepared for us (who love Him) here, on this earth, has not begun to enter the heart of man. What is God preparing to pour out over this whole planet? What is He planning to give to us? What is His saving intent for this world? He is going to inundate our sorry and sinful world with the “deep things of God.” When the earth is finally as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, those seas will be infinitely deep.

And in thinking about the greatness of the Great Commission, you do not have to worry about overdoing it.

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Psalm 16: The Unforsaken Son of David

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The Text

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
2 O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
3 But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.
4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
6 The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
8 I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalm 16 KJV).

1. For David Says concerning Him…

Acts 2:22-33

2. Davidic Covenant

2 Samuel 7

2 Samuel 23

Psalm 89

3. Speaking of Christ in OT Terms

Inheritance

Sheol

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Apostles Creed 12: On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction

Since the first century, the Christian church has commemorated the resurrection of Jesus from the dead by meeting on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). The Sabbath was ordained, as the Old Testament makes abundantly clear, for as long as the old creation lasted. Therefore, nothing would be adequate to shift the day from the seventh to the first short of a new heaven and new earth. And in the resurrection from the dead, this is precisely what we find.

The Text

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text

“Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection” (Acts 17:18Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).

As we will see, the apostolic proclamation of the gospel centered in an important way on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is apparent in multiple places, and here on Mars Hill it comes out in a curious way. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis, and the philosophers there thought that Paul was preaching strange gods. Note the plural. They thought this because he was preaching about Jesus and about Anastasis. The resurrection featured so strongly in his preaching that they thought Resurrection was one of a pair of gods.

When the disciples replaced Judas, they wanted someone who had been with them since the baptism of John down to the ascension. That apostle’s job was to be witness, together with them, of the resurrection (Acts 1:22Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). The enemies of the gospel were grieved that the early Christians were preaching the resurrection of the dead through Jesus (Acts 4:2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). The orthodox Jews believed in a resurrection of the dead, contra the Sadducees, but the Christians were preaching that this resurrection had surfaced in a strange and unexpected place, through the resurrection of Jesus. This is why Paul was able to divide the Sanhedrin on this question (Acts 23:6Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 8Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). There would be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust and the Jews knew it (Acts 24:15Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). But there was something they did not know.

A Brief Word about the Third Day

As we saw in the previous message, Jesus had predicted that He was going to spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)), just as Jonah had spent that time in the fish. This raises a question for the curious—how on earth can you get three days and three nights to fit in between Friday afternoon, and Sunday morning? The brief answer is that you cannot, and despite all the Good Friday services we hold, Jesus did not really die on Friday. The thing that makes some people think He did is that the gospel of Luke tells us that He was crucified on the day of preparation, as the Sabbath drew on (Luke 23:54Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). But the Jews had more Sabbaths than just the weekly Sabbath. The Scriptures refer to high holy days that are not the weekly Sabbath as Sabbaths (Lev. 16:29-31Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 23:24-32Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 39Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)), and Jesus was crucified just before the Passover. So there were two Sabbaths that week. After that first Sabbath, the women purchased spices for use on His body (Mark 16:1Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). The weekly Sabbath was the second Sabbath that week, and Luke 23:56Open in Logos Bible Software (if available) tells us the women, after they had prepared the spices, rested on the Sabbath (Luke 23:56Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). How could they buy spices after the Sabbath, and also rest on the Sabbath after they had prepared those spices—unless there were two Sabbaths that week? So, without belaboring the point, I think we should assume that the first day of Passover that year was Thursday. Jesus died Wednesday afternoon, and was laid in the grave around sundown Wednesday night. Thursday night was one day, Friday night the second, and Saturday night the third. For the Jews, the first day of the week would start at sundown our Saturday night, and that is when Jesus rose. So when the women came on our Sunday morning, the grave was already empty.

Some Mocked

“And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.” (Acts 17:32Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).

One of the things that the unbelieving heart loves to do is take certain obvious things for granted, in order to suppress and ignore them, and to do this in order to ridicule the coming glories as incredible. One time I was with Christopher Hitchens on Joy Behar’s show, and they were making merry over the fact that I believe the Bible, meaning that I believed in talking animals—like the serpent in the garden, or Balaam’s donkey. “How can you believe in talking animals?” My response was, “But we’re animals, and we talk.” And nobody knew quite what to do. In short, everybody believes in talking animals.

And what about life from the dead? Everyone believes in that too. The evolutionist believes that inanimate matter one day jumped the chasm and became animate—life from death. And it did this all by itself. And Christians believe that God formed Adam from the dust of the ground. When He breathed the breath of life into him, that inanimate matter became a living soul (Gen. 2:7Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). Everyone believes that life came from death. What our faith in the resurrection means is that we believe it will happen again. But why on earth would anyone declare a miracle an impossibility the second time? “Sure, you walked on water once, but a second time is plainly impossible.”

Inside Out History

Having no doctrine of creation, a common pagan assumption about history involved it in endless recurring cycles. The Jews had a doctrine of creation, and so they had a linear view of history. It was a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The resurrection from the dead would occur on the last day. Jesus said the general resurrection would happen on the last day (John 6:39-40Open in Logos Bible Software (if available), 44Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). Martha expected to see her brother Lazarus at the last day (John 11:24Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). Unbelievers would be judged by the words of Christ on the last day (John 12:48Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). And this is all true enough, as far as it went.

But the startling thing that God did was this. By doing this, He transformed the entire nature of human history. He punched a hole in the fabric of history, right in the middle of it. That hole was the tomb of Christ. He reached through that hole, grabbed the last days, and pulled them through the tomb. The resurrection of the last days has begun, and it began in the middle of ordinary time. Christ rose in the middle of history, which means that all our reckoning has to be adjusted accordingly.

Resurrection on the Move

Everything that was entailed in the resurrection of the last day has been accomplished in Christ. He rose from the dead bodily. His resurrection was the down payment on what will be for the rest of us. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20–21Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).

The last day will still see wonderful things—our bodies will be transformed then, just as the Jews expected. But because Christ’s body was transformed in the middle of history, what was pulled after this? Christ’s resurrection pulled our regeneration (our spiritual resurrection from spiritual death), and our regeneration pulls our bodily resurrection after it. “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom. 8:10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).

But of course it is the hand of God that is doing all the pulling.

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