I BELIEVE IN JESUS’ DESCENT AND RESURRECTION (5 OF 11)
by Joe Alain
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
This content is part of a series.
I Believe in Jesus’ Descent and Resurrection (5 of 11)
Series: The Apostles Creed
Joe Alain
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Series: The fifth sermon in a series of eleven sermon on “The Apostles’ Creed, These Things We Believe.”
We have more on the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15 than perhaps anywhere else in Scripture. And there’s a reason for that. Like many of the challenges that Paul dealt with in Corinth, the denial of the resurrection by some in the church had been reported to him (15:12). Why was the resurrection such a problematic issue? Corinth was a Greek city, and the Greeks for the most part did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. When Paul first preached in Greece at Athens, some in his audience “laughed” and ridiculed him (Acts 17:32, NCV). The Greeks rejected the resurrection on philosophical grounds. The two prevailing schools of thought were the Epicureans and the Stoics. (1) Epicureans: The absence of pain, pleasure, tranquility, peace. And whatever “soul” exists ends at physical death and there is no judgment afterwards. So for them this life was all there was and the resurrection was not necessary, it made no sense.
(2) Stoics: Emphasis on reason, logic, virtue, passion is irrational. Unlike the Epicureans who live by feelings (the heart), the stoics emphasize the intellect (the head), what we can know (proven), observe, understand, what is logical. The resurrection is illogical, it is not rational, it is not possible. Because the Corinthians had a dualistic mindset between body and spirit, this led to some extremes in some of their practices and you see these evident in Corinthian letters. If the body does not matter, then it does not matter what you do with it – eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Others practiced an extreme form of self-denial, denying their bodies of feelings, passions, even food and sex, anything that would hinder the spirit.
Paul begins to address the denial of the resurrection on the p ...
Series: The Apostles Creed
Joe Alain
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Series: The fifth sermon in a series of eleven sermon on “The Apostles’ Creed, These Things We Believe.”
We have more on the resurrection of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15 than perhaps anywhere else in Scripture. And there’s a reason for that. Like many of the challenges that Paul dealt with in Corinth, the denial of the resurrection by some in the church had been reported to him (15:12). Why was the resurrection such a problematic issue? Corinth was a Greek city, and the Greeks for the most part did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. When Paul first preached in Greece at Athens, some in his audience “laughed” and ridiculed him (Acts 17:32, NCV). The Greeks rejected the resurrection on philosophical grounds. The two prevailing schools of thought were the Epicureans and the Stoics. (1) Epicureans: The absence of pain, pleasure, tranquility, peace. And whatever “soul” exists ends at physical death and there is no judgment afterwards. So for them this life was all there was and the resurrection was not necessary, it made no sense.
(2) Stoics: Emphasis on reason, logic, virtue, passion is irrational. Unlike the Epicureans who live by feelings (the heart), the stoics emphasize the intellect (the head), what we can know (proven), observe, understand, what is logical. The resurrection is illogical, it is not rational, it is not possible. Because the Corinthians had a dualistic mindset between body and spirit, this led to some extremes in some of their practices and you see these evident in Corinthian letters. If the body does not matter, then it does not matter what you do with it – eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Others practiced an extreme form of self-denial, denying their bodies of feelings, passions, even food and sex, anything that would hinder the spirit.
Paul begins to address the denial of the resurrection on the p ...
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