Sermon Notes

15 20 “But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. 21-28 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. He won’t let up until the last enemy is down—and the very last enemy is death! As the psalmist said, “He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them.” When Scripture says that “he walked all over them,” it’s obvious that he couldn’t at the same time be walked on. When everything and everyone is finally under God’s rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending! (The Message)

In the final lesson of the summer quarter, we explore Paul’s understanding of how the Kingdom/Kindom of God would be ultimately realized during the end times. Although Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is primarily concerned with pastoral theology that corrects contentious behavior, in chapter 15 he addresses the topic of bodily resurrection to highlight how the community will unitedly, share in Christ’s victory upon his triumphal return.
After introducing the overall purpose of his letter, discussing Christian community, socio-sexual issues, eating meat dedicated to idols, communal questions, and proper worship practices, Paul takes a deep dive into eschatological theology by going back to the core essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ—that Jesus of Nazareth suffered, bled and died—but God raised him from the dead! Apparently with all of the drama in the Corinth Church—sexual/ethical issues, communal strife, majoring on minor religiosity at the expense of Christian love—the ekklesia had clearly forgotten what was most important, and Paul takes this time to remind them that the Gospel is the main thing—not the side thing.
As Paul reminds the church at Corinth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he reinforces that the Kingdom/Kin-dom of God will only be attained by those who embrace death and resurrection as the doorway into a radically alternative vision of community.

In Paul’s time, the city of Corinth was a commercial, military, and religious hub for the Roman province of Achaia in southwestern Greece. Corinth was originally founded as a Greek city. However, the Romans destroyed it in146 BCE and reestablished the city as a Roman colony in 44 BCE, repopulating it with people from other parts of the empire.
As the seat of the Roman province of Achaia, Corinth enjoyed “colony status’’ a designation that ensured a special relationship with Empire whereby all Roman laws were in effect. Because it was located near the Isthmus of Corinth—a narrow land bar that connected the Peloponnesian peninsula to mainland Greece—the city functioned as a strategic crossroads for Roman military defense, commercial trade, and diverse religious worship.
Militarily, Corinth was built into the 1500-foot rock elevation of Acrocorinth, and set back from the shoreline—unlike its sister cities, Lechaeum on the Bay of Corinth to the north, and Cenchreae on the Saronic Bay to the east. Further, and it had abundant fresh springs which provided an unlimited supply of water. Commercially, the city was known for its artisan bronzes, pottery and earthenware, in addition to the goods that various merchant ship enterprises provided. In terms of religion, Corinth’s location as a maritime crossroads ensured religious diversity, with Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Christian, and other religious faiths maintaining various houses of worship. Archaeological evidence points to no less than twenty temples, shrines, and altars being found within the city. Reportedly, there was even a temple “for all gods.” Because of its religious diversity, Corinth enjoyed vigorous theological and philosophical debate. One topic, bodily resurrection, would have been discussed by people from different faiths.
Educated Corinthians, like most educated people in the Roman world, would have had serious problems with the idea of bodily resurrection. Such a notion ran counter to the dominant philosophical assumptions inherited from the ancient Greeks, who believed the soul attained immortality, but not the body. Most Jews in the ancient world also believed only the soul transitioned into the afterlife. The only exception to this thought pattern was the Jewish apocalyptic tradition, which believed the bodies of the dead were raised. Jewish apocalyptic writings, like the book of Daniel (12:1-3) often imagined eschatological scenarios where the dead were raised together from the grave for the final judgment. Because it appears that the Corinthians are questioning bodily resurrection in 1 Cor. 15:12, “How can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead,” Paul writes to defend bodily resurrection as believed in Jewish apocalyptic tradition.

“20 “But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. 21-22 There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ.
In the opening verses of the lesson text, when Paul speaks of Christ as “the first in a long legacy,” in The Message, or as “first fruits” in the NRSVUE, he is using a literary device known as a double typological elaboration to help the readers to identify with Christ and Adam. Paul wants the Corinthians to identify with Adam as a symbol for all humans who will eventually die. However, the Corinthians should also identify with Christ, because through him, all Christians come alive in the present life, and the eternal one to come (15:45-49). Paul employs the Adam-Christ typology several times in this letter to the Church at Corinth in 15:21-22, 45-49. He does the same in Romans 5:14-21.
As Paul employs the Adam-Christ comparison, he is starting with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, then he looks back to the Hebrew scriptures—the only scriptures he would have affirmed—and interprets the biblical figure of Adam through the lens of Jesus of Nazareth. Adam, then, becomes a way to explain how physical and spiritual death is overcome through Christ Jesus.
23-26 “But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming, the grand consummation when, after crushing the opposition, he hands over his kingdom to God the Father. He won’t let up until the last enemy is down—and the very last enemy is death!
In these verses, Paul again refers to Christ as the “first”—then rebukes the Corinthians, saying they, “have to wait our turn.” Paul teaches the Corinthians have so spiritualized and internalized the impending bodily that will occur during the future day of judgment, that they have elevated themselves above all other people. They even think more of their elevation and gathering during the end times than Christ. This attitude, Paul says, is out of order. The Church at Corinth is “out of order!” They have to wait their turn after Jesus Christ, who will return first. The proper order for the eschatological events that will occur in the last days is Christ, as “the first fruits,” will return, then those who are Christians will be bodily resurrected with Christ. After that, Christ will vanquish the last enemy and turn over the kingdom/kindom to God. This is the “proper order.”

27-28 As the psalmist said, “He laid them low, one and all; he walked all over them.” When Scripture says that “he walked all over them,” it’s obvious that he couldn’t at the same time be walked on. When everything and everyone is finally under God’s rule, the Son will step down, taking his place with everyone else, showing that God’s rule is absolutely comprehensive—a perfect ending!
In the last verses of the lesson, Paul further elaborates how God’s kingdom/kindom will be established with a reference to Psalm 110:1 which says, “The word of God to my Lord: “Sit alongside me here on my throne
until I make your enemies a stool for your feet” (MSG). Paul interprets Psalm 110 as God placing everything under Christ’s feet at his return to Earth. Until Christ returns, there is no bodily resurrection of the dead or the final defeat of death. According to Paul, at that time Christ will also be subject to God, because God who raised him from the dead and initially put the plan of salvation into motion from the beginning. The Son, Christ, will step down and worship God whose rule is, “all in all” in the NRSV, or “comprehensive” in the MSG.

Paul is unwilling to let go of the notion of bodily resurrection in favor of the immortality of the soul because it undermines the idea of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. For Paul, this is the central tenet of the Christian faith—that Jesus died and God resurrected him from the dead. This tenet is not a belief, it is faith—living, breathing, transforming faith that informs his life and the life of the Church.

Because we read the New Testament in English translation, we can miss that the Greek word for faith is both a noun and a verb. Ancient Christians, they did not believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead, they faithed it! They faithed that due to their relationship with Christ, God would also resurrect them from the dead. For contemporary Christians, the importance of having faith in Christ’s bodily resurrection is more than a belief that can be discarded at a whim. It is a matter of faith. If God did not resurrect Jesus, then it negates God’s ability to resurrect us. Our faith mandates that we believe in resurrection because it underscores that we too can be resurrected from any situation, circumstance, trial, or tribulation as well. We don’t believe God can do this, we faith it!