In 1 Corinthians 15, we have seen that there is hope in Jesus. Because He died for our sins and rose from death, He is able to free us from the guilt and shame of our past sins and to give us strength for our present calling.

We h...

This is a marvellous promise. We grieve because of how like Adam we are. How easily tempted. How prone to make excuses. How quick to blame others. How ready to hide from God. We bear the image of the man of dust!

But if you are in Christ, ...

All of this talk of the shortness of life may sound a bit miserable. But the whole point of our life in this world is to prepare us for the world to come. And if we live in the illusion that we will always be here, we will miss the point of this l...

The apostle Paul is drawing a contrast between Adam, the first man, and the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he describes as “the last Adam” (15:45). The contrast between them is that the first Adam was “from the earth,” while the second Adam was “from hea...

In the resurrection, you will have a spiritual body. That means your resurrected body will be fully responsive to the desires of your spirit. Think about how wonderful this will be. In this life, your spirit has two problems with your body.

Paul whets our appetite for the life to come with a fourfold description of the resurrection body.

1. Your resurrection body will be imperishable (15:42)
Jesus rose in “the power of an indestructible life” (Heb....

Paul makes two distinctions about our bodies in these verses—a distinction of kind and a distinction of glory.

God has made more than one kind of body.
God has made different bodies that are designed ...

It seems that the false teachers at Corinth were asking these questions cynically. That may be why Paul's first response is, “You foolish person!” (15:36). It’s not foolish to ask questions; it’s foolish to ridicule God’s truth (Gal. 6:7)...

The theme of 1 Corinthians 15 is the glorious truth of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the resurrection life that all who believe will share with Him.

If our hope is limited to what we can do or become in this world, we will...

As long as you feel that this life is all you have, you will feel that you have to hold on to it and preserve it for yourself. But if you truly come to believe in the resurrection, you will feel that you can spend your life, and if need be, lay do...

When you look at the good that has been done in this world over the centuries, you will find that a large part of it has been done by people who believe that they are preparing for a world to come—hospitals built, schools opened, children fostered...

A faith for “this life only” sounds liberating, but it leads to indulgence.

The words “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”, are in quotation marks because Paul is quoting a popular proverb. This is what people were saying about life...

The resurrection matters, and believing in the resurrection will give you a new hope, a new confidence, and a new purpose. But a “this life only” message will leave you without hope for at least three reasons.

1. Without t...

Some people would say, “This is just a different interpretation of Christianity, and it has some things to commend it.” But Paul says, “No. This teaching is like gangrene. If you embrace it, it will lead you into more and more ungodliness. It is t...

What was the message of the false teachers about the resurrection? Perhaps an analogy will help. The life of Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically cut short, but what he stood for continues through people who believe what he believed and teach wha...

The central truth of 1 Corinthians 15 is that Jesus was raised from the dead, and we who receive and continue in the gospel will share in His resurrection life.

But it seems that some at Corinth had denied this wonderful truth. That’s clear...

Many of the Corinthian believers were standing and holding fast to the gospel. But some were abandoning the faith they once professed.

The world is always inventing new words to describe old sins. One word you might be familiar with is the...

Whether you are a newer Christian, a long-time Christian, or you are still exploring the faith, Paul has something to say to you today.

1. Receive the Gospel
“ The gospel I preached to you, which you received...” (15:1...

Where did Paul get the energy to do the work he was called to do? Paul tells us what he endured as an apostle. He was beaten, stoned, lashed, and shipwrecked. He lists days without food, nights without sleep, and exposure to danger and cold. And t...

When we think of what we were, we can use it as a lens through which to view what Jesus has done in our lives. Our sins, horrible as they were, are what He has redeemed us from. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ has brought a change in our lives....

The word grace is used three times in these verses. This whole chapter is about how the grace of Jesus changes the future for all who believe. But Paul begins with the effect of grace on past sins.

Paul tells us we have redemption ...

Jesus dying for our sins would not have been good news if He had not been raised from the dead. If Jesus had not been raised, hope, for us, would have died and been buried with Him. But Christ was raised on the third day, and this is of “first imp...

Here are five things God says about sin in the Bible.

1. Our sins are offences against God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Sin is not an occasional lapse in standards we set for ourselves...

What Paul presents here, he says, is of “first importance” (15:3). Don’t lose sight of what matters most: “Christ died for our sins... he was buried... [and] he was raised on the third day” (15:3–4).

Notice, when Paul talks about what matter...

1 Corinthians 15 is a marvellous chapter, where the apostle Paul lays out the transforming power of the resurrection. This chapter is very practical and full of hope.

Where do you find hope when your body is failing? Where do you find hope w...

Asaph began Psalm 73 saying, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart” (73:1). What does it mean to say that “God is good to Israel?” The ancient philosophers —Plato, Socrates, etc.—used to debate what was the highest good in l...

This shows how far Asaph has come. In verse 15, the best thing Asaph could do for God’s people was to keep his thoughts to himself: “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed… your children.”

Now he has something to say, a st...

If you have been wounded by a version of Christianity that makes the gospel seem like an endless list of demands and expectations, you need to take in the grace of God from Psalm 73.

Asaph wrote out his story under the direct inspiration of ...

Psalm 73 ends with Asaph making a clear commitment to live near to the Lord, and to tell his story of what God has done.

Some folks think Christianity is about commitment. If you’re disciplined about your commitment, then you’re the real dea...