Welcome to

Flushing Bible ChurchThe grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God

stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Is Our Faith Worthless?

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Is Our Faith Worthless? The Gospel and the Resurrection

The Purpose of Christ’s Resurrection

The Purpose of Our Resurrection

The Purpose of the “end time” Resurrections

The Gospel and the

Resurrection Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I

preached to you, which also you received, in which also you

stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word

which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. (1 Cor

15:1-2)

… make known… Now I will tell you what the gospel is,

BROTHERS, i.e. you who have believed.

… which also you received… parelabete (paralabete): take

to oneself, take over, receive

“Sometimes the emphasis lies not so much on receiving or

taking over, as on the fact that the word implies agreement or

approval, accept.” (BDAG)

The Gospel and the

Resurrection Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I

preached to you, which also you received, in which

also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you

hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you

believed in vain. (1 Cor 15:1-2)

… in which also you stand, ἵστημι (histeemi): present

active indicative. They are living in light of what they

believe

… by (through) which also you are saved… swzw

(sozo) present passive indicative. Present tense =

sanctification

Three Tenses of Salvation

Justification Sanctification Glorification

(Past) (Present)

(Future)

Penalty Power Presence

The Gospel and the

Resurrection … in which also you stand, ἵστημι (histeemi): present

active indicative. They are living in light of what they

believe

… by (through) which also you are saved… swzw

(sozo) present passive indicative. Present tense =

sanctification

… if you hold fast (then you will be sanctified)… unless

you believed in vain (your faith is worthless/dead,

James 2:14-26)

The Gospel and the

Resurrection For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also

received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 1 Cor 15:3-4

… first importance… prwtoiς (protois) plural, all the things he taught them, justification, sanctification, etc.

Christ died… according to the Scriptures

Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12:10, Genesis 3:15, etc.

Christ was raised… according to the Scriptures

Psalm 16, Matt 16:21, 17:23, 20:19, Luke 18:33, 24:7, and every passage that foretells His second coming!

The Gospel and the

Resurrection Christ appeared to hundreds of people! 1 Corinthians

15:5-8

Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from

the dead, how do some among you say that there is no

resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection

of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if

Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain,

your faith also is vain. (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)

WHY?

The Purpose of Christ’s

Resurrection Because of who He is: Acts 2:24

To fulfill prophecy: Acts 2:25-31, Rom 1:4, Jer 33:20-21,

Luke 1:31-33. David’s Son who would reign forever

cannot die.

To become the bestower of life: Rom 7:4, 1 Cor 15:45

To impart power: Eph 1:19-20, Rom 6:4, Matt 28:18-20

To be Head over all things to the Church: Eph 1:22-23,

Col 1:18

To become the means of justification: Rom 4:25

To be the first fruits: Phil 3:21, 1 Cor 15:22-23

The Purpose of Our

Resurrection But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first

fruits of those who are 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 all

will be made alive. (1 Cor 15:20-22)

All believers will be resurrected

Why?

What is Our Resurrection? Our resurrection is the Rapture of the Church

“Rapture”: derived from the Latin word “rapio,” from the

Vulgate (Latin translation from the Greek)

To catch up, caught away, take away

Greek word is ἁρπαζω (harpazo)

1 Thess 4:17; Acts 8:39; 2 Cor 12:2-4

John 14:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Corinthians

15:50-57

The Purpose of Our

Resurrection To give us hope for the future: Titus 2:11-14, Romans

8:30, 1 Peter 1:3-5

To save us from the wrath to come: 1 Thess 1:10, 5:9-

10, Rom 5:9, Isaiah 26:20-21

To remove the restrainer of the Antichrist: 2 Thess 2:1-8

To reward us for the lives we have lived: 1 Cor 3:8, Rev

22:12

To give us a body fit for eternity: 1 Thess 4:17, 1 Cor

15:50-53

Kingdom Now? 1 Cor 15:50

The Purpose of “End Time”

Resurrections: The Jews Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have

opened your graves and caused you to come up out of

your graves, My people. (Ezekiel 37:13)

So that the Israelites will know that He is the “I Am”.

Ezekiel 20:33-38

To bring them into judgment, so that the righteous will

populate the Millennial Kingdom

Daniel 12:1-2

Bodies fit for eternity

The Purpose of “End Time”

Resurrections: Unbelievers Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it,

from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

Given bodies fit for eternity: a sobering thought

Is Our Faith Worthless? Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast,

immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (1

Corinthians 15:58)

Don’t fall into the trap of vain faith

Live in light of the power of the resurrection

Live with hope for the future, our future resurrection…

Therefore, comfort one another with these words!