Based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-22 (New King James Version)
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
I believe that it should be understood that the most important aspect of the Gospel, apart that it’s about the Person of God through Christ, is the resurrection. There is nothing more important in the Christian faith than this because it demonstrates that God is the Almighty, that Jesus is God also, and what should be of most interest to us personally is that through the Person of Christ, we all have the hope of the resurrection. What is most puzzling that the Apostle Paul is dealing with is that some in this church have lost the notion of the resurrection. That’s why Paul is talking about this subject because there was a falling away in their faith. What can we see through this?
If we read the epistles to the Corinthians from beginning to end, we would see that it was a very conflictive church, with many gifts, but with many problems, with problems of faith, moral disorder problems, such that were even seen as bad in the world, problems with pride and arrogance, lack of love, and so on. And what is most strange about the issue is that it happened with the church that had the most solid foundation laid, starting with the testimony and power that the Gospel was announced to them. In other words, the church was started resulting from many people that had converted to Christianity in that place, and that they received good and thorough teaching. So then, the problem didn’t happen because they had a lack of instruction or because there was a lack of God’s power tangibly. So then, what did happen? They were seduced by their sin.
The first thing we need to see is that the resurrection is really for everyone, or God will resurrect every human being that has ever existed, and He will resurrect them for something very specific, for judgment. Each person, both believer and unbeliever, will need to stand before God’s throne. This is what the Word says: “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:1-3. So then, after that universal resurrection is that God will decide who will live forever, and who will not. This is what the Scriptures say also: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15. And so, it is very clear that not only is there a resurrection, but also that there is a great universal judgment, and that it will be determined then every person’s eternity, depending on what God finds written about each of us.
Now then, who are the ones that will find themselves written in the book of life? And here we need to pay a lot of attention because here is where many bad doctrines that are taught commonly will be discredited. Enduring this judgment or being written in the book of life is not that easy. There are many that believe that it’s just about faith. There are others that say that it has to do with the spiritual gifts because they have a supposed manifestation of the Holy Spirit. And also, there are many that believe that you do not need to repent from your sins, and that He will forgive everything. And there are many that preach that works are not necessary. And this is only to just mention a few of the many deviations. This is what the Scriptures say: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. From the moment Paul writes including himself means that we will all give an account for what we did in this body, and that we need to seek to be well pleasing to this Almighty God. The Lord said this also: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23. Therefore, faith in Christ is not subject to a personal opinion, but rather, it is something serious and that this faith needs to be lived without any hypocrisy, not looking to do our will, but always subject to the Lord, doing the Father’s true will. Those who do the Father’s will starting with complete repentance and conversion from all sins, making Jesus the literal and effective Lord of their lives, and abiding in that faith and obedience until the end are the ones that will be resurrected and receive eternal life. So then, are you doing the will of the Father for eternal life? Lord bless! John