THE KING’S BUSINESS
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“have perished,” i.e., they are in misery and torment. If Christ hath not been raised, then it is only in this life that we have hope in Christ and “if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable.” Why? Because we are sacrific ing everything, being persecuted and suf fering the loss of all things, for a delu sion. Deny the resurrection of the body of believers and you also deny the resur rection of Christ; deny the resurrection of Christ and you undermine everything. Wednesday, December 26. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22. Verses 20 to 28 are remarkable verses. They contain some of the most important truths of our faith, and should be read and reread -and meditated upon with closest attention. Paul had been speaking of what would be the direful consequences “if Christ hath not been raised” : our faith would- be shattered, our preaching vain, our testimony false, and’ we of all men most pitiable. But now he changes his method of putting it. He will dwell no longer upon this "if” for it is a supposi tion contrary to fact; so Tie turns from this dark and erroneous supposition and bursts forth in triumphant assertion of the real fact, namely, “Now hath Christ been raised from the dead.” He begins with “but” and one can almost picture the look upon Paul’s face and the emphasis in his thought when he wrote the word. “ C h r is t HATH BEEN RAISED FROM TH E DEAD.” That is a fact, an absolutely certain fact. Not only has He been raised Himself, He is also “the first fruits of them that are asleep,” i. e., He is simply a Sample, an earnest of the harvest that is to follow. As the first sheaf of the harvest that was presented to Jehovah (Lev. 23:10, 11), was the prophecy of the;whole harvest that was to follow, so the risen Christ is a prophecy of the great harvest of risen ones. There was no true resurrection until, Jesus was raised (Matt. 27:52, 53). Lazarus and others were merely resurrected for a time, they were to die again and their bodies to crumble into dust. These resurrections
opinions of softie in the church today. Therefore, Paul proceeds to prove the res urrection of the body, not merely the immortality of the soul. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves the resurrection of believers. The head and body are so iden tified that if the head rises the body must also. If there be no resurrection of the body, Then of course Christ is not risen, but the resurrection of Christ is the very corner stone of our faith. It is the one fundamental fact of Christianity that car ries everything else with It. With the bod ily resurrection of Christ, Christianity stands or falls. So, “if Christ hath not been raised,’’ says Paul, “then is our preaching vain (empty), your faith also is vain.” This argument of Paul’s is unan swerable. Those in the church today (and alas there are many) who deny the resur rection of the body are pulling out the very foundation of our faith. If there is no resurrection of the body, then Christ hath not been raised, and “if Christ hath not been raised” all preaching of the gos- and void. “If Christ hath not been raised” the apostles “are found false witnesses of God,” that is to say, they are liars of the worst sort. Everyone who denies the res urrections of the body, makes every apos tle a liar against God. “If Christ hath not been raised” the apostles “are found false witnesses of God,” that is to say, they are liars of the worst sort. Everyone who denies the resurrection of the body, makes every apostle a liar against God. “If Christ hath not been raised,” continues Paul, “your faith is vain ( useless , the word trans lated vain in verse 17 is not the same word tfanslated in verse 14) ; we are yet in our sins.” The resurrection of Christ is the proof that God has accepted the atone ment, which Christ made for our sins, and of our justification (Rom. 4:25): if then Christ hath not been raised, the atonement has not been accepted of God and we are not forgiven, so we are “still in our sins. Furthermore, if Christ hath not been raised, those then who have “fallen asleep in Christ” are not with Him in bliss; they
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