WWUTT 1623 But Christ Has Been Rasied from the Dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-26)

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of 1 Corinthians 15, picking up where we left off yesterday.

I still have a couple of verses to finish up in the section we've been looking at this week, but I'm going to read a little bit further here.

So let's start reading verses 20 through 26 out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

This is the word of the Lord through the apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth. But now

Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be made alive.

But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits. After that, those who are

Christ's at his coming. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to the

God and Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death.

Let's talk today about federal headship. And you've heard me talk about federal headship before.

If you're regular to this program, you know that I have discussed it. We see it talked about here in 1

Corinthians 15. But before getting to that, a quick recap here. So right at the start of verse 20,

Paul says, but now Christ has been raised from the dead. If you read this in the English Standard Version, it's, but in fact,

Christ has been raised. So as Paul is laying out this defense for the resurrection of the dead, and therefore the resurrection of Christ from the grave, he begins by talking about the witnesses to Christ's resurrection.

He starts first with the clear gospel. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

He was buried and raised on the third day according to the scriptures. That was verses 3 and 4. And then the eyewitnesses to this.

Well, first of all, the scriptures. The scriptures bear witness. God's word. The prophets who came before had testified to the son of man who would rise from the dead.

And so he has. The scriptures say it and Christ fulfilled it. There's our first witness to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Then we have other witnesses, eyewitness accounts, the disciples themselves.

Even the half siblings of Jesus, more than 500 brothers at one time, some of whom have fallen asleep.

But there are many who are still alive. You can go to and talk with about this. And last of all is to one untimely born.

He appeared to me. Also, Paul said in verse eight. And so this was what was preached.

And you believed in this message that was proclaimed to you. Okay, this is what was said to you.

Paul says we preached Christ crucified and risen again.

He died. He was buried. He rose according to the scriptures.

Verse 11, whether it was I who said this to you or somebody else, one of the other apostles. So we preached.

And so you believed. And then from there, Paul goes into presenting the negative.

So let's say Christ didn't rise from the dead. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then not even

Christ has been raised. So what does that mean for you? And that's what we looked at yesterday. That's what we considered.

If Christ has not been raised, then you are still in your sin.

Our preaching has been vain. Your faith is in vain. If the dead are not raised, not even

Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, verse 17, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sin.

You've still not found a solution to the sins that you've committed against God and the death that results from that sin.

You're still going to die. What are you going to do about your sin problem and the death problem?

If Christ is not raised, we have no solution to this. And your faith is worthless. The Christian faith itself is meaningless if we do not have the resurrection of the dead and therefore the resurrection of Christ.

So he presents the negative first. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men the most to be pitied.

What is the point of even being a Christian if our sins are not forgiven and we do not have the promise of resurrection from death?

Then the Christian faith is pointless. So he presents the negative first. Let's say there is no resurrection of the dead and Christ has not been raised.

What does that mean? So we conclude with the negative presentation and now

Paul goes into the positive, the affirmative, right? So here we are picking up in verse 20, but now

Christ has been raised from the dead. And again, the ESV saying, but in fact, this is historical fact.

He established it as historical fact. It was prophesied. Those scriptures have been around for hundreds of years.

Even in a completed canon form, the way that they had it at this time, you could go and read the

Septuagint, which was the Greek translation of the Old Testament scriptures. They've been around for years, centuries before you even got here.

So you can go read about how it was prophesied. And then there are the eyewitness accounts, the people who were there, hundreds of them, even people who were previously skeptical, even myself who persecuted the church.

And Paul even brought that out. He said, I am the least of all of the apostles because I persecuted the church of God.

So even those who were putting Christians to death have since had their minds changed, saw the risen

Christ and believed. Consider the eyewitness accounts. There's just no other event that had ever happened in history that has as much affirmation as the death and resurrection of Christ.

You would never be able to dismiss this as a fable or a myth or something that didn't really happen.

It has more historical authenticity than any other event in history.

The fact that Jesus lived, that he died, that he was buried and that he rose again from the grave.

These things are historical facts, which is why I love the

English Standard Version rendition of verse 20, which says, but in fact,

Christ has been raised from the dead. It is a historical fact, his resurrection.

And as I said yesterday, you can be more certain of this fact, then you can be sure that you will see the sunrise tomorrow.

You can know with absolute faith and absolute certainty that when you die, you will stand in the presence of God.

And if you are in Christ, you will not perish, but you will have everlasting life.

You can know that with such confidence that it's more sure to you, then you'll live to see your next birthday.

You will know factually because God's word says so, because the spirit himself has testified and that Holy Spirit of God has filled your heart.

You who have faith in Jesus Christ. So now by the power of his spirit that lives within you and the power of the word that has been spoken to you, you can know with absolute certainty that Jesus died for you, that his blood has atoned for your sins, that you have received all the blessings of that by faith in Jesus Christ.

Your sins being forgiven, his righteousness being given to you, so that when you die, just as Jesus was raised from the dead, as history is affirmed, so you also have the promise of the resurrection of the dead.

I just hope for you that that is so beautiful a message to you.

You can hardly contain yourself over it. You could probably hear how excited

I get over it. It is such a certainty for us, we who believe in Christ, that we will not die.

We will not perish under the judgment of God. That there is an answer to what happens after our body dies and we will stand in the presence of God and we will be received by him forever into his glorious kingdom.

We can know these things. We can be sure of them. In fact, John writes, 1

John 5, I have written these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life.

These things are given to us for assurance that we who are in Christ have the resurrection of the dead.

In fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, which means there are others who are going to come after him.

He's the first one to conquer death and death will never conquer him.

Death is never going to have anything on him. He will never die again.

The death he died, he died once for all, as it says in Romans and in Hebrews.

And so death has no hold on him. He is the firstfruits of those who have risen from the dead and will not die again.

And all others who are in Christ will likewise. Those who have fallen asleep in Christ Jesus will be raised again on the last day.

So going on in verse 21, now Paul is going to explain. Okay, so we're in the affirmative now, right?

He's now stating affirmatively, factually, Christ has been raised from the dead.

I've given you the assurances. I've given you the historical evidence. It's all there. He's the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

So we can be sure that we who are in Christ will likewise rise with him. And then verse 21 for since by a man came death.

By a man also came the resurrection of the dead for as in Adam all die.

So also in Christ will all be made alive. Now we're getting into federal headship.

I mentioned this term to you at the beginning. What is it? Well, what does that word federal mean?

If I mentioned the word federal to you, you are probably thinking of the federal government, right?

The government that has authority over us. But we in the United States of America tend to lack an understanding of federal headship as it would apply to the biblical doctrine, federal to the biblical doctrine, because we elect our governing officials.

They are chosen by the people. And if we don't like that official, we just wait till their term is up, and then we elect somebody else to replace them.

So we think of the government as existing by the people and for the people, right?

Now, if our government declares war against another nation, well, then the entire nation is going to be at war against that nation.

Let's say the United States declares war against Russia. Let's say that that happens. Then it's all of the

United States against all of Russia. It's not just the authority powers that are fighting against one another.

There are going to be civilian casualties. People are going to die if two nations go to war against one another.

So in that way, that federal headship application applies even as it pertains to our own constitutional republic that we live in here in the

United States. But generally, as you think about federal headship, it's easier to understand as it applies to a monarchy.

So if one king declares a war against another king, then those two nations are at war.

When we have the federal government the way that we do, you have a bunch of elected officials, and we're not really under any one elected official.

But when you have a king, an entire kingdom is under that king. He is the federal head.

So whatever that king decides affects the entire kingdom, and every person in that kingdom must be subject to that.

So if you have a king of the blue nation that goes against the king of the red nation, everybody in those two nations are now at war against each other because these two kings decided to go to war against one another.

So that's the concept of federal headship. Now, as it applies to theology, and especially what we're reading here in verse 21, 1

Corinthians 15 .21 is the doctrine of federal headship applied right here or being demonstrated right here.

As it applies to theology, everybody who is born, every single person, is under the federal headship of Adam.

Adam rebelled against God, and so everybody who is descended from Adam has likewise rebelled against God.

And we have received his sin nature. God put a curse upon Adam, and so everybody that is born in his line has the same sin nature of Adam.

We're all born under the federal headship of Adam. Hence this statement here in verse 21.

By a man came death. We all die. Every single person dies because we're all born in that line of Adam.

Since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

So it's because of Adam that death came into the world. Romans chapter 5 talks about the same thing.

It's not a concept that is exclusive to 1 Corinthians 15. It's Genesis 3, right?

Because Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed mankind, and they would now die.

That was the promise that would happen to them if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

For the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. That was proclaimed back in chapter 2. So this is exactly the consequence for Adam and Eve disobeying

God. Death came into the picture. There was no death in the world until Adam and Eve sinned, and death is the consequence.

Romans 6 .23, for the wages of sin is death. That's what we earn for our sin.

And it comes upon every person because we're all born in the line of Adam. From our very conception, we are in sin.

David said as much even in Psalm 51. In sin did my mother conceive me.

So all born in Adam under his federal headship in sin, and therefore the result is death.

Since by a man came death. And then we have this next part, verse 21. By a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

So it's through Adam death came. It's through Christ that the resurrection of the dead comes.

So we're born under the federal headship of Adam. But all who put their faith and trust in Christ are born again under the federal headship of Christ.

Adam is no longer our federal head. We do not receive the results of the curse. We'll receive the results of the blessings.

In Christ, all will be made alive. Everybody who is in Christ Jesus, though the body will die.

Because we're born in the likeness of Adam, really as it comes down to it. But we are being remade into the image of Christ.

So the body will still die. There still must be a body of death because of sin. Paul talks about that in Romans 7.

So everybody in the flesh will die, but our soul will not perish. It has been born again and will be with Christ forever in glory.

We've been given that promise and that assurance. And even with regards to the body, though the body dies, we have the promise that the body itself will be raised to be like his glorious body by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, as it says in Philippians 3.

So the body will die, but it will be raised just as Christ's body was raised, will be raised imperishable.

Paul is going to talk about this as we go further into 1 Corinthians 15. So all of this is going to play out here.

So since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, verse 22, as in Adam, and everybody who is in Adam all die.

So also in Christ all will be made alive. Now that's a verse that some universalists will use to say that everybody rises again from the dead.

Because as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be made alive. Well, if you're going to say that everybody in Adam is going to die, then you must apply that same principle to the next part of the statement.

So also in Christ will all be made alive. Therefore, everybody dies in the body, but everybody has a resurrection life.

And so therefore, everybody is raised from the dead and will all be with God forever in glory, right? Well, you can't stop at that verse.

You have to go on to the next one. As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

But each in his own order, verse 23, Christ the firstfruits, as he's already been called in verse 20,

Christ rises first. He conquers death first. He is risen first. He is the first who will never die again.

Christ the firstfruits. And after that, those who are

Christ's at his coming. So who is it that is made alive?

Only those who are in Christ Jesus. Only those who belong to him.

Only those who have put their faith in him. It's not making a contrast between everybody who's in Adam dies in the body, but they will be resurrected forever to be with God.

And so therefore, everybody goes to heaven. That's not the argument that Paul is making here. Everybody who is in Adam will die.

Everybody who is in Christ will be made alive. And that's only those who have put their faith and their trust in Jesus Christ.

So that Adam is no longer our federal head. But in Christ, he is our federal head.

And he will raise everyone from the dead who is in Christ Jesus. I will raise them up on the last day, as Jesus says several times in John chapter 6.

But each in his own order. Verse 23, Christ the firstfruits. After that, those who are

Christ's at his coming. And then verse 24, then comes the end. When he hands over the kingdom to the

God and Father. When he has abolished all rule and authority and all authority and power.

Now, it might be funny there to see that definite article there describing God. Right? Then comes the end when he,

Christ, hands over the kingdom to the God and Father. If you read it in the

ESV, it says to God the Father. So it's interesting to see that definite article right before God.

But that is the literal reading of that verse in the Greek. The definite article comes before God.

It's not unlike Paul to use this elsewhere. In fact, in his very next letter, 2 Corinthians 1 .3.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. You may not be used to seeing it, but this is the most literal rendering of the

Greek into English. The legacy standard Bible. So once again, then comes the end when he,

Christ, hands over the kingdom to the God and Father. When he has abolished all rule and all authority and all power.

So remember at the end of the book of Matthew, before Jesus is about to ascend into heaven, he says to his disciples, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Then after Jesus leaves his disciples, he ascends into heaven. They watch him go. We have that at the end of the book of Luke, beginning of the book of Acts.

He ascends back into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of God. So he is enthroned in heaven now.

And he is even now, through his church, bringing all of his enemies into subjection under him.

As we go out with the gospel, these powers and rulers and authorities, these are being defeated by the spread of the gospel in the world.

By the expansion of the kingdom of God through the work that the church is doing. The Holy Spirit doing this work through his church.

And Christ must reign. He's reigning now in heaven. We're not waiting for a reign to happen later.

He's reigning right now. He must reign until he has put all of his enemies under his feet.

That work is being done right now. And then verse 26, the last enemy to be abolished is death.

So as this work is being done, the authorities, the rulers, and the heavenly places, and all this being destroyed by the work that God is doing through his church, this work will continue until the last enemy is destroyed.

And that last enemy is death. And when that happens, we live with God forever in his glorious kingdom.

Christ is working now. He is fighting now against his enemies. And the last one that will be destroyed is death.

And when that happens, no more death, no more dying, no more pain, no more suffering. All tears will be wiped away.

We will live forever with God in his perfect kingdom, the end. Amen? And all of this under our federal head, who is

Christ, who is putting all of these things into subjection under him.

If we are in Christ, we are seated with him on that heavenly throne.

Paul talks about that in Colossians 3. We read about that in Revelation 3, Jesus saying,

He who conquers, I will give a place to him to sit with me on my throne. We will reign forever with him in glory.

And Paul has even said earlier in 1 Corinthians, back in chapter 6, that we will even judge angels.

And so have confidence in Christ that this is our inheritance.

We who will reign with him forever and ever. Amen. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this word that we've read today.

May it bring us to a deeper understanding of who we are in Christ, what he has accomplished for us, the assurance, the confidence that we have, that death has no mastery over us, for Christ is our federal head.

We have been given the victory over death, and in fact been made fellow heirs with Christ of his eternal kingdom.

Help us to live in this confidence today, that we may live for Christ Jesus more and more, and sharing the gospel of our

Lord Jesus Christ, that we bring all of his enemies in subjection under him, but also that the world may know the only salvation, the only forgiveness of sins, the only salvation from death, is to believe in the

Lord Jesus Christ and live. It's in his name that we pray. Amen. For more about our ministry, visit us online at www .tt