Text: Isaiah 25:1-8; 1 Cor. 15: 1-11; 16-20; 31-34
Introduction
In September 2016, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg along with his wife Priscilla Chan stood on a stage in front of a large crowd.
Behind them, in words magnified on a giant screen, was the question “Can we cure all diseases in our children’s lifetime?”
That’s the question they are hoping to answer “Yes” to as they began a new initiative to invest 3 billion dollars into advancing healthcare and technology, in hopes that they can cure all major diseases by year 2100.
Some have claimed they are trying “chase immortality”—yet even Zuckerburg admitted later that this doesn’t mean that “no one will get sick” nor can they cheat death.
There’s a big part of us that scoffs at this—but there’s an even bigger part of us that wishes it were true.
If someone was just powerful enough, wealthy enough, smart enough, etc. to cure all disease, sickness, and the death that results from it, what hope that would bring.
Yet, we realize that, with all of the technological advances the “fountain of youth” still evades us.
As the Philosopher Socrates once said, “Must not all things at last be swallowed up in death?”
But what if something—someone—swallowed what was consuming us?
This is the picture that Isaiah paints of God in Isaiah 25:7-8.
Isaiah and Israel’s hope was in the God who swallows death.
And we discover that he did that very thing within the gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 1:9-10; 1 Cor. 154).
This morning you may be here because of that very message (and the slight hope that it could be true)—so we want to focus on that together in 1 Cor. 15 on our lesson “The God Who Swallowed Death.”
A Central, Saving Message (1-3)
There’s a lot of people who have opinions about what Christianity should be all about—but it all comes back to the central, saving message of the gospel.
This message of the death, burial, and resurrection was of “first importance” (v. 3)—that is the essential, foundational message of Christianity.
What are the facts?
That Christ died for our sins.
That He was buried.
That He rose on the third day.
All of this was “in accordance to the scriptures”—that is, none of this took God off guard.
This was the fulfillment of passages like Isaiah 25 as well as Isaiah 53.
These are the “plans formed of old, faithful and sure” (Isa. 25:1).
Acts 2:22-32
This message has the power to save any man, but can only save them if it: received, believed, stood within, and held fast to.
Paul makes it very clear that, if the church hopes to be saved from death and eternal damnation, it must continue to believe and stand firm in this doctrine.
This accords with what he writes in Romans 10:9.
Some question whether you must believe in the actual bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to be a Christian—maybe you can take it is a metaphor, or a hallucination.
Make very clear: you cannot be a Christian, and you cannot be saved from the wrath of God, without a genuine, obedient faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is the central saving message of Christianity, and it must be believed, taught, upheld, and defended.
Yet, it isn’t necessarily an easy message for our modern minds to digest.
A Radical, but Reliable Truth (5-8)
The claim of the resurrection is a radical one.
Claiming that a man, 2,000 years ago was crucified and rose from the grave.
That this act was the definitive moment which showed he was the Son of God (Rom. 1:4).
Radical truth which you confess as a Christian to believe.
And, there is a unifying power within the church to that belief.
But, as radical as it is, we believe its extremely reliable—one of the main reasons has to do with eye witness testimony.
Secular historical data: was a man name Jesus crucified within the first century; followers did claim he rose from the grave and was Messiah—indisputable.
Within scripture:
Multiplicity or reliable witnesses:
Men who were Jewish that:
Taught from an earl
