Witnesses of the Resurrection

We're going to look to the word of the Lord this morning from 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I want to read the first eight verses as we open this lesson. Paul writes, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which you have also received and wherein you stand. The same gospel wherewith you are saved, for if you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

That he was buried, and then he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And that he was seen of Cephas, and then of the 12, and after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain at this unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, and then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also as one born out of due time." For the past couple months we've been studying apostolic distinctives from the book of Acts, and so this final lesson is this is the final lesson in this series.

And since we're approaching Easter, I saved this for this time because we would want to look at the resurrection. The resurrection. And in process of this, this lesson is actually going to do double duty because our previous series was on 1 Corinthians, and I said at the end of that series that I would finish chapter 15 closer to Easter, so I'm not doing that today. So, it effectively will conclude both series of lessons. The resurrection is one of, if not the most important doctrine of Christianity. Paul explains its significance in 1 Corinthians 15:13 when he says this, "If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ is not risen." Well, that's bad enough, but then he goes on, "And if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is in vain." It's empty.

It's useless. And if that's the case, he said, "Then your faith is in vain." So, all that you're placing your hope and your believe in is useless and empty. Goes on in verse 16, "For if the dead rise not, then Christ is not raised. And if Christ is not raised," he says again, "your faith is in vain." But then he says this, "Ye are yet in your sins." So, you're still living separated from God. "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." So, there was no hope for them. And so, he said, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ." If you're just living for the here and now, okay, I believe in Jesus, but I don't believe in any afterlife or anything, he said, "We are of all men most miserable." When we look at the resurrection, all four of the gospels tell the resurrection story.

Each provide a different perspective with different points of contact between each of them. And in fact, even in the one fact that they share concerning those who discovered the empty tomb, we see it a little differently from each writer. Although they don't disagree with one another, they just approach it differently. John wrote, "The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark unto the sepulcher and seeeth the stone taken away." So, he mentions Mary Magdalene. Matthew 28:21 says, "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary." So, he adds that there was another Mary also that went to see the sepulcher.

Mark 16 records, "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene," again, "and Mary the mother of James," so, that must have been the other Mary, and Salome had brought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him. And then Luke says in chapter 24:1, he said, "Now at the first day of the week very early, they came unto the sepulcher." So, first he doesn't name them bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them. And then he gives a little bit of a list. Again, it was Mary Magdalene, so all four of gospels say that.

And Joanna, so we have someone new there, and Mary the mother of James, so she's mentioned again, and other women that were with him. So, that would include the Salome that we mentioned earlier and and others. So, we don't know exactly how big the crowd was, at least four, maybe more others that were with them. Luke would mention that Peter was would mention Peter going to the tomb, talks about that in his writing, but John adds that it wasn't just Peter, it was himself and Peter. So, the two of them that went. Only Luke mentions the names of the men on the road to Emmaus, although Mark refers to them, he doesn't tell us who they are.

And only John mentions Thomas and the incident Thomas when Jesus appeared in the room and said, "Thomas, come feel the nail prints in my hands, reach in my side." Only John mentions that. Only John mentions the incident on the seashore with Peter and the drought of fishes. Matthew probably says the least. He only mentions the women and then he talks about Jesus meeting the 11 disciples in Galilee some days later. So, that's pretty much what we get from the gospels. I think it's interesting. There are some things we can glean from them. There are some sermons we've preached from them, different kind of things.

It's interesting to kind of put them together each of the details, although they are few. I think it is interesting to me. It's kind of puzzling that each of these writers spent so much time recording the death and recording all of Jesus' ministry and his teaching and his miracles. They talked in detail, some of them, about the cross. They all talked about the resurrection. But what interests me is there's 40 days there before Pentecost that they're pretty much silent. They don't say a whole lot about. What happened during that time? Wouldn't you like to know that?

Luke tells us a little bit in Acts 1:3. It said Jesus showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 days and speaking things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Can't imagine what those 40 days were like. How must have it felt? You watch Jesus be crucified and now you see him. He's eating with them at one point and then he disappears and he comes in a room and he's walking with them on the road to Emmaus and they don't even realize who he is till till supper time and then then he he goes away again and why did they not record the conversations?

We don't know the answers to those questions, but here's what we do know. They are absolutely, there was no doubt in the disciples' minds that they knew Jesus had resurrected. No doubt. The one they saw crucified and the one they saw buried was now alive. In fact, we know from subsequent history that the resurrection made such an impact on them that they were willing to give their lives to preach this gospel and to witness to that resurrection. So while in the Gospels the record may be scant, Paul takes up the fact of the resurrection in the text we just read in that whole chapter in greater detail.

Scholars believe that Paul was probably converted to Christianity sometime between 18 months, year and a half to 3 years after Pentecost, somewhere in that time. He would have known many of those who saw Jesus after the resurrection. He would definitely have known the apostles and no doubt others and as such he expands the list of witnesses beyond what the Gospels record, places them in a a chronological order. So, we read about some of what he had to say. Uh it's exceptional among the chapters of the Bible because he dwells on this idea of resurrection probably more than anyone else.

To better comprehend Paul's purpose, I think even bringing up this idea of the resurrection, it's helpful to understand the mindset of the culture he was dealing with. He was writing to the church in Corinth. Corinth was a Grecian city. It was located about 48 mi west of Athens. And consequently, the Greek belief in immortality, they did believe in that immortality of the soul, but they rejected any idea of the resurrection of the body. They didn't believe in that. And sometimes I think some of those beliefs were starting to infiltrate some of the Christian communities as they talked about the the resurrection.

And And the Greeks were beginning to say, "Well, I don't know about that. You know, the body isn't going to come be risen again." And so, they held that the body, their idea was that was the source of all of our weaknesses and sin. It was this this material stuff. And you know, our soul is something that that's eternal. And this body is just going to pass away and not be anything left of it. And so, in their mind, the resurrection of the body would cause that liberated soul to have to come back into captivity in the body.

They didn't like that idea. Perhaps you remember Paul's defense and his and the outcome of that on Mars Hill in Athens just prior to when he went to Corinth. He said in 17:31, Paul's preaching, "Because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained." He's talking about God. He said, "Wherefore he hath given assurance unto men and that he hath raised him or he hath raised Jesus from the dead." And when those in Athens heard of the resurrection of of dead, some mocked. And some said, "Yeah, we'll talk to you later about this, Paul." And so, Paul left them.

And when he left Athens, as we said, he went to Corinth, and and perhaps he wrote 1 Corinthians 15 to rebut this philosophy of the Greeks and to establish the validity of the resurrection and its and its necessity to salvation. He begins his teaching with these words in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that we read, "I delivered unto you first of all which that which I received." So, I got this from others. How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures.

So, Paul wanted to make it very clear this wasn't just some new idea, it was in the scriptures. Now, when we think scripture, we think Old New Testament. Paul was only thinking Old here cuz there wasn't a New Testament. So, he was saying so you can look in the Old Testament and find this idea of a resurrection. Now, to be sure, Old Testament prophecies concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ are few. There was speculation about life after death, but little little or no direct connection between that and the the religion of the Jews. Interestingly, while some of Israel's neighbors might have believed in resurrection, some of the other Canaanites, the certain the chief concern of the Israelite was for a holy nation, and they really weren't thinking about eternal life.

So, there's little said, but there are exceptions. The oldest ref- reference that we know of is not found in the Old Testament, but it's referred to by Jude in the New New Testament. Jude writes in Jude 1:14, "And Enoch, the seventh from Adam." So, this is reaching way back in in history. He said, "He prophesied saying, 'Behold, the Lord cometh with 10,000s of his saints.'" So, he whatever Jude's source material or wherever he whatever he was reading from, it can be said that Enoch was the first to imply a resurrection. He doesn't mention it, but he does mention that the Lord is returning with his saints, so there must be a resurrection, right?

There must be something. The second oldest reference probably comes from the book of Job because Job was actually lived many years ago, probably in Abraham's time or maybe somewhere around there. And Job wrote in 19 verse 19 25, he said, "For I know that my redeemer liveth. And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall see God." So, he had a hope to say, "You know what? One of these days, even though it may be destroyed now, I'm going to see him." Whom he said, "I shall see for myself.

My eyes shall behold and not another, though my reins be consumed within me." So, he was convinced he was going to raise again. In those latter days. David, the great psalmist, spoke prophetically of the resurrection of Jesus in his song in Psalm 16:10. He said this, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption." Of course, we know and if you were here for uh uh Brother David Norris's things, that word hell there is translated Hades. He would not leave me in that place of the dead, neither will thou suffer your holy one to see corruption.

So, his body was not going to decay, he was going to rise again. So, apparently David did not refer to himself as God's holy one. The reference was a prophetic of the Messiah. So, the words of this prophecy, while that directly not stating a resurrection, it does indicate that he was not going to stay in the grave. The prophet Isaiah alluded to the resurrection in Isaiah 53:10. Of course, we know Isaiah 53, the chapter that talks probably the most about the crucifixion. Says this in verse 10, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief.

When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." See, yes, he was going to be bruised, he was going to be put to death, his soul was going to be an offering for sins, so he was going to die, he was going to give his life for the sins of his people. Yet, he should see his seed and prolong his days. So, it's talking of a resurrection. Daniel, the first great prophet of the apocalypse, wrote this in Daniel 12:2, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt." So, he would also was looking for a resurrection time.

Paul's use of the words he said that we read in verses 3 3 and 4. He said, "Christ died and rose again according to the scriptures." I think he was echoing the words of Jesus. To the Jews, Jesus offered this challenge. He said in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures for if you in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me." So, he said, "Look to the Old Testament and you will see reference to a resurrection." To the disciples in Luke 24:26, he said, "Ought not Christ to have suffered?

Shouldn't this have happened? These things and then enter into his glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures things concerning himself. So, both of those times, what we're saying is the resurrection was God's plan. By the beginning of the New Testament era, the Pharisees, we know those believed in a resurrection, but the Sadducees did not. And we hear a lot about that in the book of Acts. Paul actually using that to his advantage uh to save his life at one point. Jesus teaching did not introduce the doctrine of resurrection into the Jewish religion.

Some did believe in it, but throughout the Gospels, he did state many of the prophecies concerning his own. Repeatedly, he taught his disciples about he would rise again on that third day. And those who heard these initial prophecies attested to their validity later as they would write the New Testament scripture. There are 19 references to the third day in the Gospels. All the writers telling of both the prediction and the fulfillment. So, they were they remembered Jesus saying that in three days he was going to rise again. There's no doubt Jesus understood he would be resurrection resurrected.

Probably most telling from John 10:17, "Therefore doth my Father love me because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it up again." We believe in the resurrection. Next, Paul takes up the fact of the resurrection it was witnessed by many people, and he goes through a long list there that we read. He saw Pete mentions Peter. He sees the the 12 others, and then he mentions he was seen after by 500 brethren at once.

The greater part of were still there. He was seen of James, and last of he was seen of me. Find it interesting that he didn't mention the ladies that went to the tomb. Um and I won't defend Paul. It was just his culture he was in. He was coming from a legal standpoint. He was writing in in a legal sense, witnesses could never be women in the culture he was in. The law of the Jews concerning an oath of testimony only applied to the men and not the women. The historian Josephus said, "From women, let no evidence be accepted." So, this was a cultural thing.

They didn't believe that a woman couldn't testify in court. And since he's writing about these are witnesses to the resurrection, in a judicial sense, he was saying it had to be men, and so he listed the men. I'm sure he knew that the women also were there as well. The second point to be made from this list is Paul's choice of wording. He says four times he mentions that Jesus was seen. He was seen of this one. He was seen of that one. He was seen of 500. English translations are probably pretty fairly divided of the a seen as as either was seen or some of them say he appeared to them.

But the word always refers to they saw him with their eyes. They saw Jesus. There was no doubt about it. And if seeing is believing, then these witnesses said to believe in the resurrection because they saw it with their own eyes. They saw Jesus Christ. John brings that up in his later writings in in first, second, third John, but he said, "That which we have known. That's what we have seen. That's what we have touched. That's what we have handled." And what there he was saying is we know Jesus rose again. We saw him. We touched him.

We were able to eat with him, and those kind of things. This brings us to the third point. Paul mentions the 500 who saw Jesus at one time. Now, we don't know who they are. He's the only one that mentions them, but I think he added that because he said, "Of whom the greater part remain under this presence." I think what he was saying is, "You don't believe me, go ask them. There's a bunch of them. Just go talk to them, and they will let you know." And then of course he said, "And last of all, he was seen by me." Paul believed in the resurrection.

Aside from the Bible, the availability of histor- history from the New Testament is scarce other than the New Testament. Josephus, as we mentioned before, he did say this in his book of Antiquities of the Jews. He said, "He was the Christ, and those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day." So, we read that in Josephus, and of course, we also know that there is an empty tomb that for millennia has been set aside. This is where Jesus lay. Everyone understands that this is the tomb of Jesus.

Perhaps the most significant of all is the witness of Jesus' followers. Think about that. At the crucifixion, they all fled except John. Yet, all of them but John would later face martyrdom. So, that question, I mentioned it earlier. Why would you give your life? Why would you die? Why would you let Some were stoned, some were torn asunder, some were hung on crosses, different kinds of things. Why would you do that if you were just trying to cover up something? It wouldn't be worth it, would it? They were convinced. They knew Jesus had risen from the dead, and they were willing to die for that knowledge.

Now, since this is series concerns the book of Acts, as I said, we this is what we are currently studying. I want to look at that. We're looking at Corinthians to conclude the last series. We're looking at Acts to conclude this one. And so, in its 28 chapters, the word resurrection is used 10 different times. Talks about raised when referring Jesus being raised from the dead 13 times. And one reference states that he had risen. Let's look briefly at those. In chapter 1, as the disciples sought to replace Judas, they gave this stipulation in Acts 1:22, and one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

So, they understood the person that replaced Judas had to be someone that had saw Jesus after the resurrection. Paul's sermon in Acts 2 makes several references to the resurrection. That really was the whole point of his sermon. In Acts 2:24, he's talking about Jesus. He said, "Whom God hath raised up having loosed the pains of death, because it is not possible that he should be holding out of it." holding of it. And then in Acts 2:27, he quotes the Psalm we read earlier. He said, "Because thou will not leave my soul in hell. Thou will not suffer thy holy one to see corruption." In verse 30 through 32, he said, "Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne." He's talking about David was a prophet and and he he prophesied that he would raise up Christ to sit on the throne.

His He seen this before spake of the resurrection that his soul was not left in hell. Peter's sermon in Acts 3. He He looks at those of the council that were around him and he begins to preach. He said, "But ye killed the prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead, wherefore we are witnesses." And then he concluded, "Unto you first God having raised up his son Jesus." So, this was so important to him. He mentions in Acts chapter 2 in his sermon. In Acts chapter 3 as he was invited preach, he as he was there preaching, he says the same thing.

He talks about Jesus being risen from the dead. In Acts chapter 4, the Jewish council brings him in to talk to to and he said, "Be it known to you." and in verse 10, unto all of you then the all the people of Israel but by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead." And at the end of chapter 4, we know that's when the apostles come together and they begin to pray, "Lord, let signs and wonders be done by the sign of your power of Jesus and and all these things." And Acts 4:33 said, "And with great power gave the apostles witness of what?

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ." So, this this was central, is what I'm trying to say, to the book of Acts church. This is central. You'll see it all throughout the book of Acts. In Acts chapter 5, Peter is brought before the high priest and he says this in verse 30, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you slew and hung on a tree." Again, preaching the resurrection. He goes and he sees Cornelius, the gospel going to the Gentiles and in verse chapter 10 verse 40, he says, "Him God raised up the third day and showed him openly.

Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." So, Peter was convinced in his mind and he wanted everyone to I am a witness of this. I'm telling you, I saw him after the resurrection. In Acts chapter 13, now we turn to Paul and Paul's very first sermon after becoming a missionary, after he is sent out him and Barnabas in Acts chapter 13, the first sermon that we actually hear. He says this, "And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and they laid him in a sepulcher, but God raised him from the dead.

And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem who are his witnesses unto the people." So, Paul was convinced. He said he is risen. From Acts 17, we've already mentioned his speech on Mars Hill where he talked about the resurrection. And in Acts 23 and 24, Paul speaks of being apprehended uh of being apprehended for his proclamation of the resurrection. He said, "That is why I'm arrested is because I talked about the resurrection." And the Sadducees did not like that. All these references make it abundantly clear that the resurrection was the focus of the apostles' preaching.

Without it, church, we're not a church. Without it, Christianity is not what it's intended to be. Our introduction referred to the significance of the resurrection for Paul. Verse 12, he said, "That now if Christ be not preached that he rose from dead, how say some of you that there is no resurrection of the dead?" If there is no resurrection, Christ is not risen. He's not risen, your preaching is vain, your faith in is vain. All of Christianity, all of what we are, all of what we believe hangs on the reality of the resurrection. You can't take it away.

As Paul makes it clear, remove the resurrection and it's all useless. You might as well turn out the lights, tear down the building, put something else here. Might as well forget about it, he said, "without a resurrection." I find it interesting there are some that wish for a Christianity based only on the teachings of Jesus. They they they like to look at the Gospels and they like to look at his teaching, "Love your neighbor, you know, do good to others." And and there's nothing wrong with that because we we should do those things. But they don't want to admit the miraculous and they don't want to admit to a resurrection and they don't want to look to a life beyond this life.

They want to focus everything on this current world. There There those that think, "You know what? The the way that God's kingdom is going to be established is when we just convert the whole world to Christianity and we're all living here happy. We're still dying and, you know, disappear and then the next generation. No. We have a hope of a resurrection. To accept Jesus teaching without his resurrection is having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Do you notice when you when you look at Jesus teaching and then you look at the book of Acts and you look at Paul's letters and and the letters of Peter, you look at those things.

The preaching was not simply a re-preaching of Jesus message. Other than James who takes time and kind of goes through some of the things that Jesus taught, you don't see them just simply re-teaching, you know, let me tell you the parables that Jesus taught and just going through the things that Jesus talked about. They didn't preach that. They didn't preach Jesus message. It was a proclamation of Jesus resurrection. That's what was important to the apostles. Not that Jesus teaching wasn't important for daily living, but the gospel, the good news was not love your neighbor as yourself.

The good news was Jesus rose again. And he sent his same power, the same spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead will make you alive in Jesus Christ. So, it was a proclamation of a resurrection. There was a turn from Jesus Jesus gospel, Jesus good news that the kingdom was coming to the gospel about Jesus that he is the good news. The resurrection is the good news. From Jesus as a proclaimer to Jesus as one we proclaim. We proclaim Jesus and not just Jesus, but we proclaim a risen savior. A difference between that pre and post-resurrection preaching.

Let's look at some of the significance of the resurrection for us. First off is this. There are many points of significance regarding the res- resurrection, theological, practical. Some of them that really they impact our lives. One of the first is this. It's a practical one. And here's the hope we have. Death is not final. To many people, death just seems so conclusive and final. It's over with. You're just going to die. They natural perceive it perceive it as the end. But it's not. It's the beginning of an eternity for those filled with the spirit. Paul said, you know, it's nice that I'm here for if I'm here with you, then then we can have fellowship with one another.

But if I die, I'm with Jesus. Aren't you thankful for that hope? I mean, yeah, it's great living with saints of God and feeling the power of God. And none of us really look We don't look forward to death. And look forward at particularly because this old body doesn't want to die and it's not fun going through that process. At least from what we can observe, none of us have done it yet. It's not fun. We've seen it. It's painful. It's hard. It's difficult. But when it's over, we have a promise. When it's over, it's not over.

Through his resurrection, Jesus demonstrated once for all that he had power over death, hell, and the grave. First Corinthians 15:54, Paul writes, "So when this corruptible, this flesh, has put on incorruption, when this mortal body puts on immortality, then shall be be forth the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory." And so then he asked the question, "O death, where is thy sting?" "O grave, where is thy victory?" Jesus took the sting for us. Jesus conquered the grave. Here's the other thing about the resurrection. The resurrection demonstrates the power of God and reveals his plan to destroy Satan's work on the earth.

The devil's stranglehold on this world is destined for ultimate full defeat. And I know we look at our world, and the Bible does tell us that as we get closer to the end time that evil men and seducers are going to be waxed worse and worse, and it it it's not getting better, church, when we look at it from that. And here's what we know, John wrote, "He that committeth sin is of the devil. The devil sinned from the beginning. But for this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." Because of the resurrection, the power of the enemy is going to be defeated.

God manifested himself through Jesus Christ so that he could destroy death and all the other works of Satan. And through Jesus' resurrection and the resultant pouring out of his spirit upon us, he's given us power over the works of the flesh, over the temptation, and over the work of the devil, anything that he can bring. Why? Because of the resurrection. Not because of good teaching about loving one another and good teaching about how to live and being salt and light and all that that's all part of what we become, but it is only possible because of the resurrection.

Repentance and remission of sin sounds like a good idea. I'm thankful that our sins can be washed away. However, without the power of the Holy Ghost, without the power that is comes from an empty tomb, that power of the resurrection. Without that, it is in vain. Paul wrote in Romans 8:10, "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin." But the spirit is life. Now, he doesn't mean your body, physical body, dies. What he is saying is it is no longer it is dead, it's not influencing your actions because the spirit is life because of righteousness.

And the Holy Ghost he puts in you can overcome what the body, what the the flesh wants to do. And he said, "But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised him up will quicken, he'll make alive your mortal bodies by that spirit that dwells in you." It's all because of the resurrection. It's because of the resurrection. Power of the Holy Ghost. Now, Paul goes on and he writes, he he talks about this resurrection, and he talks about the things that will happen there. And and he he talks about being raised up in a new life.

And then he said this, "But some men say, how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come?" One of the verses we read earlier said, "From the dust of the earth he's going to bring bring us out." Cuz dust we are and dust we shall return. That dust could be scattered over thousands of miles. Where is it at? Wind blows where it list and pushes it around. Once you're gone, how does God put it all together? Here's what he said. "Thou fool, that which you sowest is not quickened except it die." It's not made alive.

The thing you put in the ground. And what he's talking about is he's he's referring here to a seed. Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall in the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. Now, he was talking about himself. If I die, I'm going to come back and bring forth much fruit. In the same sense, Paul says, "And that which you sowest, you sowest not that body that shall be, but you sow bare grain." In other words, if you put a seed put an acorn in the ground, it doesn't start growing into a huge acorn above ground.

It grows into an oak tree. It's not the same thing. So, I don't know what this body is going to be like. You don't know exactly what it's going to be like, but when this body, if you will, this seed is sown in death, it's going to come back. God, it says in verse 38, "Giveth it a body as it pleased him to every seed his own body." We're going to come back, and that's where he eventually goes and says this corruptible is going to put on incorruptible, this mortal is going to put on immortality.

I don't know what it is going to be like, but here's what I do know. When we see him, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. I don't know what that body I mean, obviously the apostles saw it after the resurrection. They handled it. They felt the nail prints. So, obviously it it looked similar, but then it disappeared. Can any of you do that today? No, we can't, right? Be here 1 minute and gone the next and pop right back in. Can't do that. It's a different body. I don't understand all that, but what we do know is he is going to quicken us.

He is going to make us alive. The resurrection is the most prominent and important doctrine of the Christian faith. Must have it. It lends credence, it lends power, it lends authority to every other doctrine. Everything we teach hinges on the resurrection. Every teaching of scripture is important, but without the resurrection, it all falls apart. The significance of it is clear. It provides the power and the basis of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Aren't you thankful to know that he's alive? He's alive. But not only that, aren't you thankful that that life has been poured out in the Holy Ghost and can live in you?

Wow. What a concept. No wonder Peter wrote in one of his letters, a verse that just every time I read it just blows my mind. Whereby given to us exceeding great and precious promises, but by these promises you might be partakers of the divine nature. Woo. Christ in you, the hope of glory. There's nothing like a church. Let's stand. You know the power of that resurrection through the power of the Holy Ghost, why don't you just give him a great praise right now? So thankful, God, for the power of the Holy Ghost that works in us.

Hallelujah, that is in us because you rose from the dead, Jesus. Hallelujah, you poured out your spirit, gave it to each and every one of us. We're so thankful for that, Lord. Hallelujah, we give you glory, we give you praise, we thank you, Lord. Hallelujah, and if you do not have that power, it can be yours before you leave this place today. He wants to pour it out. He didn't die and rise again just for two or three. He did it for anyone that is willing to believe in faith. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

Take a few minutes and we'll go into morning worship time. Hallelujah.