Broadway Baptist Church Maryville Tennessee

This morning, we consider the doctrine of man and the unique relationship between God and man.

The “grand meta-narrative” of Scripture, the Bible is the “self-revelation” of God. In this “self-revelation,” God reveals Himself in “Trinitarian” form.

This morning we will seek to gain a deeper understanding of the existence, nature, and activities of God as He has revealed them in Divine revelation, the Bible.

Our text this morning is a most familiar text. We often refer to it as the “love chapter”. We hear it read and recited at wedding ceremonies, renewal ceremonies and wedding anniversaries. While this passage is applicable to our marriage relationships and even appropriately read at weddings, it was not written with marital harmony in mind. It was written with church harmony in mind.

This passage is primarily written about living in Christian community in a way that glorifies God by treating one another as God has treated us. The use of the Greek word agape reminds us that this love, which Paul is writing about, is much more than feelings or emotions. It involves a “strong desire for the best interest of another person”.

The context of sanctification: Being sanctified by the Word of Truth happens in the local church where believers in Christ gather together and are united by the Spirit of God. Jesus' prayer for His disciples to be sanctified immediately becomes a prayer that they will be the church united.

These verses are perhaps the greatest declaration of victory and conquest found in the Holy Scripture, written by the Apostle Paul concerning the ultimate, infinite and eternal victory of Christ over all His enemies. This references two passages in the Old Testament: Isiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14.

Oh glorious thought! Christ is risen indeed and the reality of His resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection. As Paul continues his discourse on the resurrection, he anticipates a possible question. Someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with kind of body do they come?” Paul then passionately replies to what he considers a “foolish” question.

Having established both the validity and the centrality of the resurrection from the dead, Paul now draws his readers into the glorious truths concerning the One Who has defeated death! He begins this section with a glorious declaration, “But Now, Christ has been raised.”

In verse 20 Paul answers the “what if” question considered in verses 12-19. Paul's declaration is simple, “but now Christ has been raised from the dead.” Paul is speaking of a present reality not a future reality.

This morning we continue our examination of 1 Cor. 15 and consider the implications of life without a resurrection. It would be sorrow without any hope! As Christians, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the grave and seek tolive in light of this glorious reality! It is without question the greatest “game changer” in human history. The resurrection of Jesus is the central, foundational, and critical truth of the Christian faith.

Paul continues this chapter by emphasizing the eye-witness testimony concerning the risen Savior. The things that Paul and the early church believed were grounded upon reliable, unbiased, eye-witness testimony of personal encounters with the resurrected Christ!