Does the resurrection make a difference in your life?
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul famously writes that if there is no resurrection, his preaching of the gospel is in vain and that Christians are of all people most to be pitied. In other words, the resurrection is foundational to the gospel. Without it, we have no hope.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul famously writes that if there is no resurrection, his preaching of the gospel is in vain and that Christians are of all people most to be pitied. In other words, the resurrection is foundational to the gospel. Without it, we have no hope.
The inverse is also true, though. That is, if there is a resurrection, then Christians of all people have the greatest reason for hope. In other words, believing in the resurrection should make us live and die with conviction. Is that true for you? Are you living as though the resurrection has really happened?
As we've prepared for Easter the past few weeks, I've shown you from 1 Corinthians 15 three distinct ways the resurrection should make a difference in our daily lives. We've looked at the resurrection's implications for death, its implications for hope, and its implications for life. Below, in our final Easter devotional, we'll examine the resurrection's implications for work.
In the first part of verse 58, Paul commands us to stand firm and let nothing move us. How is it possible to hold one's ground when there is discouragement all about us? More and more, we are told that what we do and stand for as Christians is irrelevant.
In the next portion of verse 58, Paul encourages us to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord because the resurrection will occur by divine necessity. To give oneself fully is to live without reservation, even if it should mean sacrifice, loss, or even death. One can give himself with such abandon because he recognizes that God must raise his body to life and must defeat death.
Finally, Paul encourages us that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. That is, we may work confidently recognizing that we are investing in a similar but superior future existence. Nothing we do for the glory of Christ will be lost. It will be established as eternally significant. Our prayer must be the same as Moses’s in Psalm 90: “Establish the work of my hands.” That is, we pray that everything we do, no matter how menial, might be performed as an act of worship and last for eternity.
Monday, April 11 — The Resurrection: A Foundation for Working Energetically
We have now come to the end of this great chapter on the resurrection, and with it comes one of the most triumphant declarations of the entire Bible. Christ's resurrection provides the greatest inspiration for serving energetically and confidently in a fallen world that opposes us at every turn.
The main application of the whole chapter is found in verse 58. Paul tells us that because the resurrection is true, we must serve energetically, and that energy will specifically be characterized by steadfastness, fullness, and confidence.
Steadfastness
In the first part of verse 58, Paul commands us to stand firm and let nothing move us. How is it possible to hold one's ground when there is discouragement all about us? More and more, we are told that what we do and stand for as Christians is irrelevant.
How do you maintain your equilibrium when you are in an unrewarding, competitive work environment? Why should you remain steadfast in the Christian values you insist on for your family, when the whole culture undermines them? Why should you continue to share the Gospel when people don’t seem to listen to you? Why should you keep teaching in a school system that is decaying or medically treat bodies which are going to die, or build good houses though the world is going to be destroyed, or beautify places that will not last forever?
Paul's answer is found in verses 45-49, and it is one we have already encountered. It is the certainty of our resurrection which guarantees not only our own restoration but that of the whole created order. Remember, ours is a defiant hope. Whatever we do for Christ’s glory here gives testimony to his coming victory and will somehow be established as eternally significant in that world which is to come.
Fullness
In the next portion of verse 58, Paul encourages us to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord because the resurrection will occur by divine necessity. To give oneself fully is to live without reservation, even if it should mean sacrifice, loss, or even death. One can give himself with such abandon because he recognizes that God must raise his body to life and must defeat death.
God must raise us to life because he must defeat death to uphold his Word. Isaiah and Hosea prophesied that death would be swallowed up in victory (Is. 25:8; Ho. 13:14). To defeat death, God must defeat sin. If we are not raised to life, then death is not defeated, meaning sin has not been either.
What makes death so fearful to an unbeliever is his own sin. Every time he thinks about his death, his conscience pains him because he knows he has sinned and has an innate fear of judgment. That is the “sting” the Bible describes. The thought of one’s sin makes the anticipation of death like the sting of a scorpion or the prick of a sharp goad.
What sharpens that sting is the law. Paul says elsewhere that God has written the requirements of the law on every man’s heart (Ro. 2:15). One of the purposes of the law is to expose sin and drive to despair. It performs that function every time an unbeliever shudders at the thought of death and the subsequent condemnation that will come as a result of his sin.
However, the law performs such a purpose in order to drive us to Christ who fulfilled the law. If one receives Christ's gift of salvation, then he need not fear death, because the law and its demands have been satisfied, and his sin problem has been solved. There is therefore no more sting in death because the power of sin to condemn has been removed.
Confidence
Finally, Paul encourages us that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. That is, we may work confidently recognizing that we are investing in a similar but superior future existence. Nothing we do for the glory of Christ will be lost. It will be established as eternally significant. Our prayer must be the same as Moses’s in Psalm 90: “Establish the work of my hands.” That is, we pray that everything we do, no matter how menial, might be performed as an act of worship and last for eternity.
Our confidence for such investment comes from the explanation of the continuity and discontinuity of our bodily life after resurrection. In our future physical existence, we will still be ourselves, and our bodies will bear some resemblance to the present ones, but they will also be very different and superior. Paul’s explanation is very rich.
First, to illustrate how our bodies can change without changing who we are, he compares them to seeds. A seed planted in good soil with sufficient moisture and warmth will germinate. As the seed disintegrates, it gives way to a new and different kind of life. Though the plant has a different appearance, it shares the same essence as the seed.
The same is true of human bodies. If you were not to see me again for four years, there is a sense in which I would have a new body—different finger nails, hair, and even skin! But I would still be the same person. Likewise, when we receive our resurrected bodies, they will have a different look, but we will still be the same people.
So how do we live like we believe in the resurrection? We believe that our future existence will leave behind all that is sinful and fallen from this present world. At the same time, it will continue and supersede all that is good. Our confidence in our present work is that just as God will maintain the best of who we are and transform the glory of the present body into an even better glory, so too he will reflect that work with us in the creation. He will take what has been done for his glory here and transform it into an even better glory.