03 December

Bible In 365 Days                                                 

1 Corinthians 15-16

1 Corinthians 15

The last fact of the "spiritualities" is the resurrection, and the Apostle first gives the proof of the resurrection of Christ. His final proof was his own experience.

It is evident that there were some in the Corinthian Church who were holding rationalistic views and denying resurrection. To deny resurrection is, of course, to deny Christ's resurrection, and to do this is to do away with Christianity. If Christ rose not, then the apostolic testimony concerning God is false, for that has been that He raised up Jesus. If that testimony is false, then also are the doctrines of the forgiveness of sins and the ultimate salvation of men. The further result is that those who have fallen asleep in Christ, that is, who have passed away in quiet confidence, resting their souls on Him, have perished.

The suppositions are swept aside by the Apostle's, "But now." "But now," seeing that men are loosed from sins, and that all the other facts are thereby demonstrated, the foundation truth of Christ's resurrection is absolutely demonstrated.

Having dealt with all the glorious issues of the resurrection, the apostle's argument turns to the manner of resurrection. Two things are certain. These two matters he argues at length: first, that there will be continuity of personality in resurrection; and, second, that there will be a difference in the risen one.

The ultimate injunction of the epistle should be read in connection with the fundamental proposition (1 Corinthians 1 :9). To understand the meaning of this injunction aright we should carefully inquire what the work of the Lord is. His work, as He Himself clearly declared, is to seek and save the lost. That, then, is the work of the Church. In this work we are called to steadfastness, that is, continuity and perseverance and immovableness, that is, steadfastness even in spite of opposition; and to be always abounding that is, to overflowing service more than the mere observance of duty.

1 Corinthians 16

The last chapter of the epistle is local and personal. In the first sentences important principles are revealed as to the true method of Christian giving. It is to be regular and systematic rather than occasional and spasmodic. It is to be personal and alone, for laying by in store does not mean placing in a collection basket in a meeting, but privately apportioning and guarding.

There follow references full of suggestive beauty to Timothy, and Apollos, and injunctions which are epigrammatic and forceful, "Watch ye," "Stand fast in the faith," "Quit you like men," "Be strong." These four injunctions are really but two, the first two being complementary and correlative, and also the last two.

The letter ends with matters of a personal nature, all of which breathe the same spirit of love and fellowship. Finally, the apostle took the pen into his own hand. Let it be noted at once that the character of what he wrote is defined by the opening, in which he declares that he is writing a salutation; and by the closing, which speaks of the grace of the Lord Jesus, and Paul's love to all. Between these lie the words which some have thought of as malediction. As a matter of fact, they have nothing of the spirit of anger. They contain the solemn statement of an established fact, something from which there is no more escape than from the certainty of death to any who are deprived of sustenance; or from the necessity for penalty to those who violate the laws of nature. Paul's view of the Lordship of Jesus is such as to drive him to declare that if any man love not the Lord, there is no alternative other than His anathema.