Some of the Corinthians doubted Paul’s teaching regarding the resurrection of the dead, Their objection is not so much that what Paul said wasn’t true, but that it couldn’t be true; it was nonsensical. Paul gives them some illustrations to help them understand a concept which to them was simply not obvious.
“I went to a psychologist friend and said if 500 people claimed to see Jesus after he died, it was just a hallucination. He said hallucinations are an individual event. If 500 people have the same hallucination, that’s a bigger miracle than the resurrection.” (Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ)
Christ’s resurrection points to our resurrection; our resurrection gives meaning to this present life.
What’s the essence of the Christian faith? Is it honoring God with your life? Living a life of integrity? Not being selfish? Helping others? Can you love God, be sincere and ignore Jesus altogether? The whole heaven and hell thing – is that a misguided or outdated question, as many church-attending people now think and many church leaders, authors and speakers would now contend? In the first part of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul helps us to understand this issue more thoroughly.
Chuck Smith in his book Charisma Versus Charismania begins with a story of the abuse of the gift of tongues that he witnessed as a young man. The church in 1st Century Corinth bore some similarity to the church of Chuck Smith’s 20th Century youth. It seems some of things that made Chuck uneasy made the Apostle Paul uneasy too. Today’s chapter deals with a church’s prioritizing and use of the Holy Spirit’s gifts.
Central Reflections 