The Resurrection of Christ. A. D. 57.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached
unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which
also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third
day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then
of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren
at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are
fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of
God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in
vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore whether it were I or they,
so we preach, and so ye believed.
It is the apostle's business in this chapter to assert and establish
the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which some of the Corinthians
flatly denied, v. 12. Whether they turned this doctrine into allegory,
as did Hymeneus and Philetus, by saying it was already past (2 Tim. ii.
17, 18), and several of the ancient heretics, by making it mean no more
than a changing of their course of life; or whether they rejected it as
absurd, upon principles of reason and science; it seems they denied it
in the proper sense. And they disowned a future state of recompences, by
denying the resurrection of the dead. Now that heathens and infidels should
deny this truth does not seem so strange; but that Christians, who had
their religion by revelation, should deny a truth so plainly discovered
is surprising, especially when it is a truth of such importance. It was
time for the apostle to confirm them in this truth, when the staggering
of their faith in this point was likely to shake their Christianity; and
they were yet in great danger of having their faith staggered. He begins
with an epitome or summary of the gospel, what he had preached among them,
namely, the death and resurrection of Christ. Upon this foundation the
doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is built. Note, Divine truths
appear with greatest evidence when they are looked upon in their mutual
connection. The foundation may be strengthened, that the superstructure
may be secured. Now concerning the gospel observe,
I. What a stress he lays upon it (v. 1, 2): Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached to you. 1. It was what he constantly
preached. His word was not yea and nay: he always preached the same gospel,
and taught the same truth. He could appeal to his hearers for this. Truth
is in its own nature invariable; and the infallible teachers of divine
truth could never be at variance with themselves or one another. The doctrine
which Paul had heretofore taught, he still taught. 2. It was what they
had received; they had been convinced of the faith, believed it in their
hearts, or at least made profession of doing so with their mouths. It was
no strange doctrine. It was that very gospel in which, or by which, they
had hitherto stood, and must continue to stand. If they gave up this truth,
they left themselves no ground to stand upon, no footing in religion. Note,
The doctrine of Christ's death and resurrection is at the foundation of
Christianity. Remove this foundation, and the whole fabric falls, all our
hopes for eternity sink at once. And it is by holding this truth firmly
that Christians are made to stand in a day of trial, and kept faithful
to God. 3. It was that alone by which they could hope for salvation (v.
2), for there is no salvation in any other name; no name given under heaven
by which we may be saved, but by the name of Christ. And there is no salvation
in his name, but upon supposition of his death and resurrection. These
are the saving truths of our holy religion. The crucifixion of our Redeemer
and his conquest over death are the very source of our spiritual life and
hopes. Now concerning these saving truths observe, (1.) They must be retained
in mind, they must be held fast (so the word is translated, Heb. x. 23):
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith. Note, The saving truths of
the gospel must be fixed in our mind, revolved much in our thoughts, and
maintained and held fast to the end, if we would be saved. They will not
save us, if we do not attend to them, and yield to their power, and continue
to do so to the end. He only that endureth to the end shall be saved, Matt.
x. 22. (2.) We believe in vain, unless we continue and persevere in the
faith of the gospel. We shall be never the better for a temporary faith;
nay, we shall aggravate our guilt by relapsing into infidelity. And in
vain is it to profess Christianity, or our faith in Christ, if we deny
the resurrection; for this must imply and involve the denial of his resurrection;
and, take away this, you make nothing of Christianity, you leave nothing
for faith or hope to fix upon.
II. Observe what this gospel is, on which the apostle lays such stress.
It was that doctrine which he had received, and delivered to them, en protois--among
the first, the principal. It was a doctrine of the first rank, a most necessary
truth, That Christ died for our sins, and was buried, and rose again: or,
in other words, that he was delivered for our offences and rose again for
our justification (Rom. iv. 25), that he was offered in sacrifice for our
sins, and rose again, to show that he had procured forgiveness for them,
and was accepted of God in this offering. Note, Christ's death and resurrection
are the very sum and substance of evangelical truth. Hence we derive our
spiritual life now, and here we must found our hopes of everlasting life
hereafter.
III. Observe how this truth is confirmed,
1. By Old-Testament predictions. He died for our sins, according to
the scriptures; he was buried, and rose from the dead, according to the
scriptures, according to the scripture-prophecies, and scripture-types.
Such prophecies as Ps. xvi. 10; Isa. liii. 4-6; Dan. ix. 26, 27; Hos. vi.
2. Such scripture-types as Jonah (Matt. xii. 4), as Isaac, who is expressly
said by the apostle to have been received from the dead in a figure, Heb.
xi. 19. Note, It is a great confirmation of our faith of the gospel to
see how it corresponds with ancient types and prophecies.
2. By the testimony of many eye-witnesses, who saw Christ after he had
risen from the dead. He reckons up five several appearances, beside that
to himself. He was seen of Cephas, or Peter, then of the twelve, called
so, though Judas was no longer among them, because this was their usual
number; then he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, many of
whom were living when the apostle wrote this epistle, though some had fallen
asleep. This was in Galilee, Matt. xxviii. 10. After that, he was seen
of James singly, and then by all the apostles when he was taken up into
heaven. This was on mount Olivet, Luke xxiv. 50. Compare Acts i. 2, 5-7.
Note, How uncontrollably evident was Christ's resurrection from the dead,
when so many eyes saw him at so many different times alive, and when he
indulged the weakness of one disciple so far as to let him handle him,
to put his resurrection out of doubt! And what reason have we to believe
those who were so steady in maintaining this truth, though they hazarded
all that was dear to them in this world, by endeavouring to assert and
propagate it! Even Paul himself was last of all favoured with the sight
of him. It was one of the peculiar offices of an apostle to be a witness
of our Saviour's resurrection (Luke xxiv. 48); and, when Paul was called
to the apostolical office, he was made an evidence of this sort; the Lord
Jesus appeared to him by the way to Damascus, Acts ix. 17. Having mentioned
this favour, Paul takes occasion from it to make a humble digression concerning
himself. He was highly favoured of God, but he always endeavoured to keep
up a mean opinion of himself, and to express it. So he does here, by observing,
(1.) That he was one born out of due time (v. 8), an abortive, ektroma,
a child dead born, and out of time. Paul resembled such a birth, in the
suddenness of his new birth, in that he was not matured for the apostolic
function, as the others were, who had personal converse with our Lord.
He was called to the office when such conversation was not to be had, he
was out of time for it. He had not known nor followed the Lord, nor been
formed in his family, as the others were, for this high and honourable
function. This was in Paul's account a very humbling circumstance. (2.)
By owning himself inferior to the other apostles: Not meet to be called
an apostle. The least, because the last of them; called latest to the office,
and not worthy to be called an apostle, to have either the office or the
title, because he had been a persecutor of the church of God, v. 9. Indeed,
he tells us elsewhere that he was not a whit behind the very chief apostles
(2 Cor. xi. 5)-- for gifts, graces, service, and sufferings, inferior to
none of them. Yet some circumstances in his case made him think more meanly
of himself than of any of them. Note, A humble spirit, in the midst of
high attainments, is a great ornament to any man; it sets his good qualities
off to much greater advantage. What kept Paul low in an especial manner
was the remembrance of his former wickedness, his raging and destructive
zeal against Christ and him members. Note, How easily God can bring a good
out of the greatest evil! When sinners are by divine grace turned into
saints, he makes the remembrance of their former sins very serviceable,
to make them humble, and diligent, and faithful. (3.) By ascribing all
that was valuable in him to divine grace: But by the grace of God I am
what I am, v. 10. It is God's prerogative to say, I am that I am; it is
our privilege to be able to say, "By God's grace we are what we are." We
are nothing but what God makes us, nothing in religion but what his grace
makes us. All that is good in us is a stream from this fountain. Paul was
sensible of this, and kept humble and thankful by this conviction; so should
we. Nay, though he was conscious of his own diligence, and zeal, and service,
so that he could say of himself, the grace of God was not given him in
vain, but he laboured more abundantly than they all: he thought himself
so much more the debtor to divine grace. Yet not I, but the grace of God
which was with me. Note, Those who have the grace of God bestowed on them
should take care that it be not in vain. They should cherish, and exercise,
and exert, this heavenly principle. So did Paul, and therefore laboured
with so much heart and so much success. And yet the more he laboured, and
the more good he did, the more humble he was in his opinion of himself,
and the more disposed to own and magnify the favour of God towards him,
his free and unmerited favour. Note, A humble spirit will be very apt to
own and magnify the grace of God. A humble spirit is commonly a gracious
one. Where pride is subdued there it is reasonable to believe grace reigns.
After this digression, the apostle returns to his argument, and tells
them (v. 11) that he not only preached the same gospel himself at all times,
and in all places, but that all the apostles preached the same: Whether
it were they or I, so we preached, and so you believed. Whether Peter,
or Paul, or any other apostle, had converted them to Christianity, all
maintained the same truth, told the same story, preached the same doctrine,
and confirmed it by the same evidence. All agreed in this that Jesus Christ,
and him crucified and slain, and then rising from the dead, was the very
sum and substance of Christianity; and this all true Christians believe.
All the apostles agreed in this testimony; all Christians agree in the
belief of it. By this faith they live. In this faith they die.
