Doctrine of the Resurrection- Page 1
Christ's resurrection is central to the gospel of salvation; it is the very foundation of the Christian faith.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
(Read 1 Corinthians Ch.15 v1-58)
Fact of the Resurrection v1-11
If the resurrection is not a fact and if the resurrection never occurred, then the redemption of man, which Christ came to accomplish, He failed to perform, for His resurrection was the demonstration of the perfection and efficacy of His atonement. If Christ was not risen, then sin was not put away; the Gospel was not true; the Corinthian Church had believed in a fable; the Apostles were false witnesses; the Christian faith is not a reality and is only for this life, and eternity is not a future prospect.
Paul reminds us in the first chapter that the Gospel of God's grace is based on certainty.
"What is this certainty"?
"What is the Gospel of God"?
It is found in the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, these doctrines are the two great foundational stones of the Gospel, and if either of them were denied, then the Gospel ceases to exist because the Gospel of God's grace concerns
A person......... . The Christ of scripture and of history
His death........ For our sins according to the Scriptures
His resurrection....... He was buried and was raised again on
the third day according to the Scriptures.
For if Christ did not die as an atoning sacrifice for sins, then sin has never been put away, nor has God's eternal claims satisfied, and, consequently, there is no deliverance from its power and doom. If the Resurrection were denied, then Christ failed to accomplish what He purposed to perform, for He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself as a Sin-offering (Hebrews:9 26).
These two great foundation doctrines are based upon the Scriptures of the Old Testament; and those writings being from God their testimony silenced all discussion and controversy.
His burial is asserted as the evidence of His death; and that He was seen, alive is declared as proof of His resurrection. This is the Gospel that Paul proclaimed and preached, that the early Church accepted; and by which men and women are saved.
