The Resurrection: How Important is it? 1 Corinthians 15:1-8

The Resurrection: How Important Is It? - 1 Corinthians 15:1-8


THE RESURRECTION: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT? 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-8
INTRODUCTION:
This is possibly the strangest Easter that any of us have ever
celebrated. But our circumstances do not change the fact that on this day we celebrate the greatest event in all of history, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The tomb is empty, and the Lord of Glory is risen! Hallelujah!
These are the two facts that we celebrate on Easter morning, we have heard Luke’s record of this event, but why is the empty tomb and the resurrection so important? What do they mean to us? How important is it? We are going to explore those questions this morning.
I. THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)
a. Paul begins this passage to the church in Corinth by stating that he wants to remind them of the ______________ which he had
shared with them.
b. Paul had spent two years in Corinth teaching the Corinthians
the Gospel and all that had been _______________ to him by God, the Holy Spirit.
II. THE GOSPEL EXPLAINED (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
a. Paul then goes on to remind his readers what the Gospel was
that he _____________ to them.
b. 1. “...that Christ ____________ for our sins according to the
Scriptures...” (1 Corinthians 15:3b, NASB95) (Isaiah 53:4-6)
c. 2. “...and that He was ____________...” (1 Corinthians 15:4a,
NASB95) (Isaiah 53:9; Mark 15:42-45)
d. 3. “...and that He was ______________ on the third day
according to the Scriptures...” (1 Corinthians 15:4b, NASB95)
(1 Corinthians 15:17)
e. My question at the beginning of this message was ________ is
the resurrection and the empty tomb important to us? (Psalm 16:9-10; Isaiah 53:10-11)
f. Jesus many times during His earthly ministry predicted His resurrection from the dead understanding that without it there would be no _________________.
III. THE EYE-WITNESS PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)
a. The proof of the empty tomb and the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus Christ are the ____________________, or those who saw
Jesus after He was raised from the dead.
b. Paul begins with the Apostle ________ whom he calls Cephas,
the Aramaic rendering of Peter. (Luke 24:34)
c. Then Paul writes that Jesus appeared to the twelve __________
and this was more than once, but at least five times that we have recorded in Scripture. (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-51; John 20:24-29; 21:1-25)
d. Then Paul speaks of our risen Lord appearing to more than ______ at the same time, possibly just before He ascended back into heaven.
e. Then Jesus appeared to __________, the Lord’s half-brother, the son of Mary and Joseph.
f. Then Paul says that He appeared to all the ___________. (Acts 1:4-10)
g. Finally, Paul says that he too was an ________________ to the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
h. This is Paul’s proof of the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
Why is the resurrection important for us today? It is the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God and justification possible. If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, there would be no salvation. His resurrection is the proof that Jesus was who He claimed to be and the evidence that sin is paid for in full and death is conquered. It is the guarantee of our future resurrection from the dead and our future glorification.