The Salvation Army: Australia Southern Territory
Easter Sunday Sermon Outline / 1

I want to know Christ

Easter Sunday - 1 Cor 15: 20-26, 42-54 (Resurrection of the dead)

I Want To Know Christ Series

The theme for this sermon series is “I want to know Christ” and concentrates on our identification with Christ in his death and resurrection, and in the paradox of His greatness and triumph in His self-emptying (kenosis). The outline for the series comes from Philippians 3:8-11 with the following emphases:

  • Palm Sunday – King on a Donkey
  • Maundy Thursday – Christ as the Lord who serves
  • Good Friday – Christ as King of the Jews, Son of God
  • Resurrection Sunday – Christ as First-fruits of the Resurrection

How to Use This Outline

The emphasis of this outline is on the exegetical material for the chosen passage. It seeks to link in with the series as well as cover the material for Easter Sunday. The emphasis of this sermon is on the following issues:

  • Christ is the Firstfruits of the Resurrection
  • As Christ was after his Resurrection so shall we be
  • The General Resurrection is God’s Final Victory over Death

The outline will need to be customised and contextualised by each Corps Officer for the congregation to whom the sermon will be preached:

  • Adding appropriate illustrations that will connect with the specific congregation
  • Modifying language to be appropriate to the socio-cultural setting of the Corps
  • Modifying sermon style if you prefer a topical rather than expository sermon style
  • You may also wish to make the application more specific to your context.

PowerPoint slides have been provided for the following:

  • Theme Slide– Title Slide for this Sermon – Slide 1
  • Scripture Slide– 1 Cor 15: 20-26, 42-54 (whole passage) – Slide 2-4
  • Scripture Slide– 1 Cor 15: 22-23(highlight verse) – Slide 5
  • Scripture Slide– 1 Cor 15: 47-49 (highlight verses) – Slide 6
  • Scripture Slide– 1 Cor 15: 54 (highlight verses) – Slide 7
  • Doctrine 11 Slide – Highlighting “in the resurrection of the body” phrase – Slide 8
  • Blank Slide – which you can customise if you wish – Slide 9

Easter Sunday

Key Passage - 1 Cor 15: 20-26, 42-54 (NIV)

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

…

42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

SermonOutline – Christ as First-fruits of the Resurrection

INTRODUCTION

  1. Starting on Palm Sunday, through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we have been looking at a statement Paul made while he was in a Roman prison. Since his conversion he had given up all of his status. Before his conversion he was a top-class Jew. He was circumcised, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. He was a member of the party of Pharisees who held the law in high regard. He had loved the law so much that he had even persecuted the church. As far as the law went, he was faultless[1]. Sitting in that prison, having lost everything, he had nothing to rejoice about, and yet whilst awaiting his martyrdom he wrote these stirring words:

“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:8-11)

  1. Over the last week we have focussed on the “fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” portion of Paul’s statement. We have seen that fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings includes rejecting earthly power, and instead walking in humility and gentleness. We have seen that instead of Lording it over others, the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s suffering means slave-like service to others, as Christ washed his disciples feet, and commanded that they do likewise. On Good Friday we saw that fellowship with Christ in his sufferings means being rejected by the religious and political powers, and ultimately giving up one’s life for those that have despised and mistreated us. This is the path that Christ walked, and if we are to be his disciples it is the road that we walk as well.
  2. However, Paul does not finish with fellowship with Christ in his suffering… He says he wants to know the “power of his resurrection” and to somehow “attain to the resurrection from the dead”. The way Paul says it weaves the suffering and the resurrection together. Listen to his words, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead”. For Paul, sharing in Christ’s sufferings is not the final goal; it is so that he can also share in Christ’s resurrection. He sees the two as interwoven together; if something doesn’t die, it cannot be resurrected. So let’s look at why Paul values resurrection life so much and what Jesus’ resurrection from the dead means for us today, and for our futures.
  3. Read 1 Cor 15: 20-26, 42-54

Christ is the Firstfruits of the Resurrection

  1. Death is one of those uncomfortable realities of life. We don’t like to think about it too much, because it prompts too many questions. After generations of people dying, as a race we have come to accept it as a normal part of life. However the Bible testifies to a different reality with regards to death. Death is a terrible thing that destroys life, it is the last enemy and with its overthrow salvation will be complete[2]. Death belongs together with sin, and stands opposed to the eternal life that is God’s intention for us[3].
  2. In this passage, Paul compares Adam and Jesus. We all die, because we are descended from Adam; and those who are in Christ will all be made alive again. Death came through a man; the resurrection of the dead comes through a man. The really exciting thing about Jesus’ resurrection is that it signals that there has been a fundamentalshift in the tectonic plates of reality. At that point in time, Jesus’ resurrection was completely unique. Other people had been resuscitated, but then died again. But no one had died, been resurrected and stayed alive. “Christ’s resurrection marked the dawn of the end-time, the beginning of the cosmic eschatological process of resurrection”[4]. That is to say, that in Christ’s resurrection God has started to bring about his end-time Kingdom where there will be no death or disease. What God has done for Christ is a promise and down-payment for what he is going to do for each person who is in Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit[5], and for the whole of creation[6]. 1 Cor 15, “echoes and alludes to Genesis 1-3. It is a theology of new creation, not of the abandonment of creation”[7].
  3. In the Old Testament, “Passover was the time when the first crop of barley was presented before the Lord. Pentecost, seven weeks later, was the time when the first fruits of the wheat harvest were presented. The offering of the first fruits signifies the great harvest to come. At the salvation-historical level, of course, Passover commemorated Israel coming out of Egypt, while Pentecost, seven weeks later, commemorated the arrival at Sinai and the giving of Torah…”[8]. The point of calling Jesus the first fruits of the resurrection is to point out:
  4. That there will be many more resurrected, as Christ has been
  5. The link between Jesus’ Passover (Easter) and the symbolism of the OT delivery from Egypt – thus the general resurrection is the defeat of “the great slavemaster, the great Egypt, sin and death” when Jesus passed through the “Red Sea of death”[9].

As Christ was after his resurrection so shall we be

  1. This passage teaches that as Christ’s body was after his resurrection, so shall ours be.“Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (v49). “God’s people are promised a new type of bodily existence, the fulfilment and redemption of our present bodily life… The resurrection body of Jesus, which at the moment is almost unimaginable to us in its glory and power, will be the model for our own”[10].
  2. So the question is, what do we know about Jesus’ resurrection body? What does this tell us about our future resurrection bodies?
  3. Jesus’ wounds were healed (John 20). The resurrection life is one of wholeness; we will not be afflicted by the diseases and health issues that plague us now. All prayers for healing are answered with a resounding “yes” in the resurrection of the dead. However, some of the marks of our life here may remain. “just as his wounds were still visible, not now as sources of pain and death but as signs of his victory, so the Christian’s risen body will bear such marks of his or her loyalty to God’s particular calling as are appropriate, not least where that involved suffering”[11]
  4. Jesus ate and drank with his disciples, which would be impossible for a disembodied spirit[12]. Our resurrection bodies will function like bodies, we will eat and drink. This also implies other natural digestive functions. However, we will not marry, and so the sexual functions of the body will cease (Mt 22:30). This does not necessarily mean there will be no gender distinctions though[13].
  5. Jesus could appear/disappear at will (John 20).Some of the limitations of our current bodies will be different. Jesus could be recognised, but could also prevent people from recognising him[14]. This is may be partly because the incorruptibility of Jesus’ resurrection body was an entirely new thing in the world, it would have been strange sight for them[15].
  6. Paul makes the distinction between the “natural body” and the “spiritual body”. However this translation is misleading, as the distinction Paul is making is between the “present body, corruptible, decaying and doomed to die, and the future body, incorruptible, undecaying, never to die again”[16]. The term translated as “natural” in the NIV, is psychikos which is related to psyche, that is the soul. So the body we have now is “soulish”, empowered by the soul[17]. In comparison the body we will have will be spiritual, that is empowered by the Spirit of God[18]. (This is where the indwelling of the Spirit is also firstfruits of the redemption of our bodies – Rom 8:11, 23).

The General resurrection is God’s Final Victory over Death

  1. In God’s redemption plan, the general resurrection of the dead at the end of time will be his final victory over death. We live in an in between time, where Christ is working to “destroy all dominion, authority and power” (v24) and to “put all his enemies under his feet” (v25). The last enemy to be destroyed is death (v26). When he has done this he will hand the kingdom over to God the Father (v24). The work of Christ is the destruction of death. Death is the last enemy, and with its overthrow salvation will be complete[19]. This is what Christ’s resurrection promises us, because God has resurrected Christ, so He also will resurrect us and so completely defeat death.

Conclusion

  1. So we’ve now caught a glimpse of what Paul was talking about when he said, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:11). Over the past week we have seen that fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings includes rejecting earthly power, and instead walking in humility and gentleness. We have seen that instead of Lording it over others, the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s suffering means slave-like service to others, as Christ washed his disciples feet, and commanded that they do likewise. On Good Friday we saw that fellowship with Christ in his sufferings means being rejected by the religious and political powers, and ultimately giving up one’s life for those that have despised and mistreated us.
  2. Today we have seen in the resurrection of Jesus that death is nothing to fear. We can throw ourselves wholeheartedly into the work of the kingdom, renouncing power, walking in humility and gentleness, giving slave-like service to others, experiencing rejection by both religious and political power structures, even to the point of death. Because there is nothing to fear. If we share with Christ in his sufferings we will share also with him in his resurrection. As Paul said in Romans 8 (another passage that speaks of the general resurrection of the dead) “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the assurance that Christ’s resurrection gives us!
  3. God is working to bring about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. We are to partner with him. We are safe in throwing our whole lives into that task, in walking the road of suffering, service and rejection that Christ walked. Because even if the world kills us for it, what awaits us is worth the price, as Paul wrote, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). There is truly NOTHING to fear.

[1]Philippians 3:5-6 (NIV)

[2] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament Abridged (TDNT-A), athanasia; thanatos; apothenēsko; thnētós, p312-5

[3]ibid

[4]New International Dictionary of NT Theology (NIDNTT). ‘The Resurrection in Contemporary Theology’ article, 1.e

[5] N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, 2007, p91

[6]ibid, p107.

[7]Ibid, p167.

[8]ibid, p109.

[9]ibid

[10]Ibid, p159, 160.

[11]Ibid, p172.

[12]NIDNTT, ‘Resurrection’ article, NT 2.

[13] Ibid, NT 2.f

[14]Ibid, NT 2

[15]Wright, p173.

[16]ibid, p167.

[17]Ibid, p168.

[18]Ibid, p168.

[19]TDNT-A, athanasia; thanatos; apothenēsko; thnētós, p312-5