Sunday April 17, 2011

1 Corinthians 15 & 16
Today’s reading ends the book of 1 Corinthians. In this letter, Paul addressed several problems plaguing this church. Two dominating issues were spiritual immaturity and divisions in the church body. Other problems that seemed to stem from these were sexual immorality, a misunderstood representation of spiritual freedom and disorganization in worship and church ministry. To resolve many of these problems, Paul emphasized the importance of loving your fellow brother and sister in faith. Through exemplifying love, one should perform certain actions that raise other believers up. Still, other behaviors should be avoided if they cause other believers to stumble in their faith.
In viewing the last two chapters, their topics could not be better timed for Easter. The final issue Paul deals with is the disbelief in resurrections. Due to Greek influence, some believers questioned this event. Paul used this opportunity to restate the Good News and how everyone placed their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul continued as he explained how vital the resurrection is to completing the identity of Jesus as the Messiah. As with Bro. Bobby’s sermon today, Paul refers to the same situation in 15:21-22, as he stated that one man (Adam) brought death into the world and new life is given through another man (Jesus) through his resurrection. Paul laid out a clear line of understanding: 1) If there is no resurrection then Jesus was never raised. 2) If Jesus was never raised then we are all still guilty of sin in the sight of God. 3) if we are guilty in the sight of God, because of no covering we are doomed.
During this time of year, however, we can rejoice over the fact that Jesus did rise from the dead as he said he would and sits at the right hand of the Father, acting as our intercessor. Paul concluded on this topic by stating that through Christ’s resurrection and defeating death, deceased believers will someday be resurrected and all (including the living) will be transformed into eternal bodies what a glorious gift.