11/17/2020
1 Corinthians 15:1-8: "Now brothers and sisters I want to remind you of the gospel that I've already preached to you, which you received and which you have taken your stand...For what I received I passed on to you of first importance: "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He rose again according to the Scriptures and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter) and then to the Twelve. after that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time the great part of whom are still with us but some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all of the apostles and at lat he appeared to me also as to one abnormally born."
The fact of the Resurrection of Christ is respected more today, even by liberal New Testament critics, than at any other time in history. The reason; more evidence has surfaced in the last few years than was available before. It is significant that Christianity is the most evidential religion in the world. Unlike most all other religions the events of Christianity took place in a time/space continuum that can factually be verified because the events described happened in the recent past not in the far distant, unknowable past.
The Resurrection of Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. It is so significant that if it did occur it demonstrated that Christ was everything He claimed to be and Christianity is true. If it did not occur then, as the apostle Paul said, "...we are of all men the most to be pitied."
One of the common objections we have heard from skeptics is that the resurrection accounts in the Gospels were not written by eyewitnesses but was the product of legend, written decades later to justify the existence of the church. We know now that this is complete conjecture on the part of those who desperately try and and explain away the resources we have that clearly set forth the truth of this vital component of Christianity.
The fact is that we don't even need the Gospel accounts to prove the truth of the resurrection. We have the writings of Paul. Of all of the New Testament writers, Paul seems to be the liberal critics' darling. While liberals do not accept the fact that Paul wrote all of the letters that are accredited to him in the New Testament, even the most liberal agree that he did write 1 Corinthians and Galatians.
Why is this significant? Because it is first Corinthians and Galatians that demonstrate the truth that the preaching of the Resurrection was the message of the Apostles and the early church from the very beginning. Keep reading and I will explain.
1 Corinthians was written in 54-55 a. d. This, all credible scholars including liberals agree on. That puts us within 21 years of Jesus' death and resurrection. That in itself shows that the Resurrection was believed farcearlier than some skeptics claim. But wait there is more! Paul had come to Corinth and preached the Gospel to them and established the church in late 51 or early 52 a. d. What is the Gospel? The preaching of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ! Now we’re only 18-20 years from the resurrection. But it doesn’t stop there, for then Paul says in verse 3 chapter 15, I brought to you what was of first importance and I gave to you what was given to me namely, “How Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, how that he was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures and then he gives a list of people that Jesus appeared to after His resurrection. Actually it’s three people and three groups. He appeared to Peter, to James (Jesus’ half brother) and then Paul said, and last of all he appeared to me as one abnormally born. The three groups who saw him were the Twelve, called so even though by this time Judas was gone, that’s how they were known; above 500 brethren at one time; (may have been more people because these are just the men, their wives and kids may also have been present) and then to all of the Apostles, perhaps the twelve plus those who were deemed apostles but weren’t members of the 12. So Paul says, I gave to you what I was given. So, you have to ask yourself, when was this information given to Paul? Remember, he wasn’t a part of the original Apostles who were the first eye witnesses of the resurrected Christ, so where did Paul pick this information up? Well, first of all it is important to understand that scholars, even liberal scholars like Dr. Bart Ehrman (the leading liberal New Testament critic of today) now know that 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 was a creed, probably the very first creed of the Christian Church. When was this creed given to the Apostle Paul? Paul gives us a hint in Galatians chapters one and two. “Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas (or Peter) and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.”
What do you think Peter, James and Paul talked about? I love what Professor. C.H. Dodd of Cambridge University said. It’s a very famous saying in the world of academia. He said, “Paul spent two weeks with Peter and James and it is safe to say they didn’t talk about the weather.” When Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians the theme of this great letter and the point Paul is making is about the Gospel-3 elements-the deity of Christ, the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. Don’t you think that it’s logical that Peter, James and Paul shared with each other their Resurrection experiences? Reason tells us that this is where Paul was given this ancient creed. That’s the only way he could’ve gotten this information in such detail. So here we have proof that the Resurrection of Christ was a part of the message of the Apostles from the very beginning. According to Dr. Bart Ehrman,whom we mentioned above, even though he doesn’t believe the NT Gospels are accurate, even though he is an agnostic, he is honest enough to admit that this Creed which Paul received about the resurrection can be traced back to within 1-2 years of Jesus’ death on the cross. Remember, Paul heard it from Peter only three years after his conversion-but Peter heard the creed before that. Peter may have even been instrumental in creating the creed himself. There is a reason for the fact that this ancient creed was formulated. It was presented in the oral tradition first because many in that day were illiterate and couldn’t read. So they would memorize creeds and other useful bits of historical and religious significance. The oral tradition was a very important part of Jewish life and culture in the first century. There were no tape recorders, iPhones, iPads or digital recorders. They relied on the oral tradition to learn, as we said, because many people could not read. So, they would memorize the information and it would be handed down to their children, it would be passed on to their friends and neighbors and to large groups and communities who would gather to listen. They would memorize the oral tradition in detail so that it would be accurate. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus had already been circulating in the oral tradition by those who knew Him, before it was ever written down in a Gospel. This ancient creed was passed from person to person, community to community and region to region within months of the resurrection of Christ. So the earliest accounts we have through this Creed proves that the Resurrection was the center of the Apostle’s message from the very beginning and was not invented decades later as some skeptics have said in the past. And it also proves that we have eye witness accounts to the postmortem appearances of Jesus!
We are told by Peter that we are to be ready always to give an answer to those who ask us for the reason of the hope that is within us with gentleness and respect. God has not left Himself without witness. The evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus is overwhelming. It is my prayer that all who read this short article will let it boost your faith and that you might use it to win men and women to Christ which is the purpose of our ministry at Truth Aflame.
