To trust in and rely upon who Jesus Christ is and what He accomplished and that I appropriate that finished work of the cross on my behalf, by faith, I am taking God at His word.
Paul presents The Gospel for us in his letter to the people in Corinth. I have included a version from The Message. Feel free to look at other translations, but in any event, take time to get comfortable with it so that you can share it with others. But also . . . ask ourselves the questions posed above to strengthen our beliefs.
1 Corinthians 15 The Message (MSG)
Resurrection
1-2 Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I’m assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you’re in this for good and holding fast.)
3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.
10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.
12-15 Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Christ. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Christ, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there’s no resurrection.
16-20 If corpses can’t be raised, then Christ wasn’t, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren’t raised, then all you’re doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It’s even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they’re already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. 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!
29 Why do you think people offer themselves to be baptized for those already in the grave? If there’s no chance of resurrection for a corpse, if God’s power stops at the cemetery gates, why do we keep doing things that suggest he’s going to clean the place out someday, pulling everyone up on their feet alive?
30-33 And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I’d do this if I wasn’t convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? Do you think I was just trying to act heroic when I fought the wild beasts at Ephesus, hoping it wouldn’t be the end of me? Not on your life! It’s resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there’s no resurrection, “We eat, we drink, the next day we die,” and that’s all there is to it. But don’t fool yourselves. Don’t let yourselves be poisoned by this anti-resurrection loose talk. “Bad company ruins good manners.”
34 Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can’t afford in times like these. Aren’t you embarrassed that you’ve let this kind of thing go on as long as you have?
35-38 Some skeptic is sure to ask, “Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this ‘resurrection body’ look like?” If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a “dead” seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don’t look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
39-41 You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we’re only looking at pre-resurrection “seeds”—who can imagine what the resurrection “plants” will be like!
42-44 This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we’re raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! The corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful. The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!
45-49 We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit. Physical life comes first, then spiritual—a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven. The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly. In the same way that we’ve worked from our earthy origins, let’s embrace our heavenly ends.
50 I need to emphasize, friends, that our natural, earthy lives don’t in themselves lead us by their very nature into the kingdom of God. Their very “nature” is to die, so how could they “naturally” end up in the Life kingdom?
51-57 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I’ll probably never fully understand. We’re not all going to die--but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we’ll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:
Death swallowed by triumphant Life!
Who got the last word, oh, Death?
Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?
It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God!
58 With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.
I have been studying a variety of ways to draw nearer to God. Tonight we used "imagination" which is explained below. If we want to develop a closer relationship with our Lord, one of the ways is to:
Engage God through Scriptures
Here is what we already know . . . “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
DOCTRINE
The Bible is God’s revelation and, as evangelical Christians, we believe in the authority and power of the Bible. The Mission America Coalition’s statement of faith summarizes our beliefs. We affirm:
- The divine inspiration, truthfulness, and authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures in their entirety as the only written Word of God
- Without error in all that it affirms and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
- The power of God’s Word to accomplish His purpose of salvation.
The message of the Bible is addressed to all men and women. For God’s revelation in Christ and in Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God’s people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly through their own eyes and thus discloses to the whole church ever more of the many-colored wisdom of God.
SCRIPTURE
The Scriptures reveal who God is, who we are, and why we are here.
We engage in the Scriptures:
- Not to know more about God, but to know God.
- Not so we can win at Bible Trivia. Scriptures warn us that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1).
- To be with God and open ourselves up to His truths and guidance.
There is no magical formula or cookie-cutter approach to spiritual formation and Scripture reading, such as reading the Bible for 15 minutes each day. There is a balance between creating a habit of being in God’s Word but not allowing it to become legalistic. Devotionals and Bible-reading plans can be helpful, but it must not be reduced to a spiritual checklist for the day.
If you were to read the Bible today mostly out of a sense of obligation – hoping to finish the day’s reading quickly or simply to get it done – how would this help or not help you? We must be careful not to get pulled into the performance mentality and myth where we engage in Scripture as a way of staying on God’s “good side” so we will be “blessed” or focus on behavior modification but not changing our hearts.
SCRIPTURE AND SPIRITUAL FORMATION
As we engage in Scriptures we must not lose sight that biblical
- Knowledge is to deepen our relationship with God, transform our hearts, and lead us toward a life of righteousness.
- It is reading not for information, but for transformation
FORMS
Engaging the Scriptures takes on many forms. Each form has a different purpose and method.
- Bible study
- Devotional reading
- Meditation
- Memorization
- Imagination
Bible study involves engaging the mind and heart. It is focusing attention on Scripture in an attempt to understand and apply truth to every part of life. It allows us to have Scriptures shape and form our thinking and lifestyle so we are maturing in Christ. It puts us in a place where God can instruct and correct our behavior and attitudes.
Bible study can be practiced alone or in groups. When studying the Bible, context is king. Questions are asked about the passage such as . . .
- Who was the passage written to?
- What was the purpose the passage?
- What is being said?
- Where is it taking place?
- What does this passage say to me today?
- How can I apply it to my life? (Commentaries may be helpful.)
Inductive Bible Study Method – another Bible study method is the inductive Bible study which helps you find the central truth of a passage and build that truth into your life. It is an investigative approach to the Bible and uses three basic approaches:
- Observation
- Interpretation
- Application
Meditation
- Christian meditation is not about emptying the mind, but about opening us to the mind of God through His Word.
- It is where you savor the text and enter into it.
- Like a cow chewing its cud, you chew on and ruminate over God’s Word
- You let the text ask questions of you, and you let God speak to you
- Meditation is often mentioned in the Bible – fifteen times in Psalms alone
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)
When Scripture talks about meditation, it often is followed by the encouragement to obey.
“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips: meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).
Ways to meditate include slowing down; selecting a verse, chapter or book of the Bible; and
- Soaking in and absorbing the meanings of words;
- Looking for a word or phrase that speaks to you;
- Picturing the ideas expressed or scenes described in the passage;
- Enjoying how words are combined, such as obedience and meditation, and “connecting the dots” between these ideas;
- Personalizing words of Scripture with specifics by inserting your own everyday activities (“all day long”) or common sins (“every evil path”) into the text;
- Reading the passage aloud and waiting for a word or phrase to resonate;
- Reading it aloud and simply resting or waiting.
Memorization
- Memorization is a way of remembering Scripture so that it is always with you.
- The Holy Spirit may bring memorized Scripture to our mind when we are tempted or need comfort, when sharing the gospel and when we need guidance.
- It is a way for our minds and hearts to be transformed.
- A way to be able to find references more easily.
Imagination
St. Ignatius of Loyola encouraged the spiritual exercise of using ones imagination when reading Scripture. One way to do this is to enter a gospel scene using your imagination and senses. You enter a biblical scene as an observer - a fly on the wall, as one of the participants, a bystander in the crowd, or as an object.
- The participants imagine what they would see, hear, smell, touch or taste if they had been present in the biblical scene
- As they hear the dialogue of the text, they need to let God speak to them, asking them questions, challenging them or comforting them.
- The imagination is guided by the exact words of Scripture.
So tonight we used our imagination as we studied the Scriptures. In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man. We read the story, paired up assuming roles. Now . . . "the role" meant they experienced the Scripture in that role - they used their senses - they smelled, they tasted, they touched, they heard, and they saw what was happening from "their role". They created a dialogue to tell the story from their assigned perspective and presented the Scripture from their role to the rest of the group. How do you "assume a role?" Here are a few examples:
The mat: “Wow, what is happening? Where are we going? We’re on top of the roof. Whoa, I hope he doesn’t fall off.”
The owner of the house: “Hey, what’s happening? There’s dust falling from the ceiling.”
The following roles were assigned (2 people each):
- people in the crowd
- the mat
- the friends
- the paralytic man and one of his friends
- the homeowners
- the parents
After we discussed and answered questions, we used our imagination again with Mark 4:35-41 where Jesus Calms the Storm.
If you weren't with us - here's some examples of using our five senses: hearing the storm; feeling the boat being tossed and thrown; hanging onto the rails and feeling the motion of the boat; smelling the fish from previous trips; feeling the water spray on your face; listening to Jesus' words and watching His actions; being someone on another boat watching from a distance, but not being included; one of the disciples calling out to God for help. Ask yourself "How is God speaking to me through this passage?"
The roles here were:
- the waves and wind
- the boat
- the disciples
- other boats and occupants
- the disciple who calls out
- observers - "fly on the wall" (interestingly, those chosen for this role changed it and became two reports for the NIV Gazette!!!)
So . . . I encourage you to engage God through the Scriptures - remember they are God-breathed. Blessings and love . . . Judi