Paul
the apostle told the church members in Corinth how Jesus, “was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:”,
and he
declared, “if there be no
resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen”. In
chapter fifteen and verse fourteen of First Corinthians, Paul made
further comments to the church members in Corinth concerning the
“vanity” of their
“preaching”, “if
Christ be not risen”, where
we read:
The
verse begins, “And
if Christ be not risen, then is
our preaching vain,...” Paul
began with the words, “And if”
which means
“and whether” “Christ”
which means “the anointed one, the Messiah and the Son of God”
“be not risen”
which refers to “did not raise, rise or arouse from the dead”,
“then”
or “therefore, consequently and accordingly” “is
our preaching”
which means “Paul and his companions' heralding and proclaiming of
the gospel” “vain”
which means “empty, devoid of truth, empty handed, destitute of
spiritual wealth and without purpose or fruits of faith”. According
to Paul, if Jesus did not “rise from the dead”, then all the
“heralding and proclaiming” of the “gospel” by he and his
companions had no “purpose”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and
your faith is
also vain.” Paul
continued with the words, “and your
faith” which
refers to “and the church members' the conviction that God exists
and is the creator and ruler of all things, and is the provider and
bestower of eternal salvation through Christ” “is
also”
which means “is even and indeed” “vain”
or “empty, devoid of truth, empty handed, destitute of spiritual
wealth and without purpose or fruits of faith”. If Paul and his
companions' “preaching is vain”,
then the “faith”
of the people who believed them was “vain”
also.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we recognize the importance of the
resurrection once again. Paul knew if there was no “rising from the
dead”, then all the “preaching of the gospel” was “empty and
devoid of truth”, and in addition, those who believed what they
“preached” had “empty and vain” “faith” as
well. Jesus Christ desires for everyone to receive His “good news”
of salvation from their “sins”, and the “resurrection”
validates the authenticity of the “gospel” message.
Next
time Paul tells
the church members he and those who preach the resurrection,
“are found false witnesses
of God”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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