1 Coríntios 15
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 Coríntios 15
Robertson observes that "There are ten appearances given besides the one to Paul. Nine are in the Gospels (Mary Magdalene in John and Mark, the other women in Matthew, the two going to Emmaus in Luke, Simon Peter in Luke and 1Corinthians, the ten apostles and others in Luke and John and Mark, the eleven and others in John, the seven by the sea in John, to over five hundred in Galilee in Matthew and Paul and Mark, to the apostles in Jerusalem in Luke and Mark and Acts and 1Corinthians) and one in 1Corinthians above (to James). It will be seen that Paul mentions only five of the ten, one, that to James, not given elsewhere. What he gives is conclusive evidence of the fact, particularly when re-enforced by his own experience (the sixth appearance mentioned by Paul). The way to prove this great fact is to start with Paul’s own witness given in this undoubted Epistle. (1 Corinthians 15 Commentary) John MacArthur quotes a lawyer and a historian regarding the certainty of the resurrection of Christ… Throughout history the testimony of responsible and honest eyewitnesses has been considered one of the most reliable forms of evidence in a court of law. Paul’s third evidence for Christ’s resurrection is in that form. Lawyer Sir Edward Clarke said, "As a lawyer I have made a prolonged study of the evidences for the events of the first Easter day. For me, the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the high court I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling. Inference follows on evidence, and a truthful witness is always artless and disdains effect; the gospel evidence for the resurrection is of this class, and as a lawyer I accept it unreservedly as the testimony of truthful men to facts they were able to substantiate." The historian Thomas Arnold of Oxford has written. -- The evidence for our Lord’s life and death and resurrection may be and often has been shown to be satisfactory. It is good according to the common rules for distinguishing good evidence from bad. Thousands and tens of thousands of persons have gone through it piece by piece as carefully as every judge summing tip on an important case. I have myself done it many times over, not to persuade others but to satisfy myself. I have been used for many years to study the history of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is better proved by fuller evidence than the great sign that God has given as that Christ died and rose again from the dead. (1Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Press) Related Resources: The Evidence of the Principal Fisherman - chapter 10 from Frank Morrison's classic apologetic on the resurrection - Who Moved the Stone? Who was Cephas/Peter in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org Who were the twelve (12) disciples / apostles of Jesus Christ? | GotQuestions.org DEFEAT - Thinking about the muddled mess of mankind, Gordon DePree lamented in his book A Time to Grow, "People sometimes disappoint me, and there are times when I disappoint others. This hurts. Ideals fall. Dreams fade. The concepts of life I was carefully constructing suddenly crumble into a rubble-heap at my feet … and I sit in the ruins, wondering if there is anything right about life, or if I even care." After Peter had denied Jesus three times, He knew that nothing was right about life. He had become a blunder mouth beyond belief. With a few foolish words he had wrecked his life, becoming a heap of twisted metal at the feet of his fellow disciples. He had failed Jesus. How Jesus dealt with Peter afterward is an example straight from God's body shop. Following the resurrection, Jesus reaffirmed His love for Peter. He evidently met with Peter alone (1 Corinthians 15:5) and later reminded him that He had a job for him—caring for God's children (John 21:17). No wonder Peter would later write that we can cast our cares upon Him because He really cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Even though we may be abandoned at the junkyard, Jesus is calling for a wrecker. He will lovingly restore us to mint condition. 1 Corinthians 15:6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. (NASB 1995 - Lockman) He appeared Mt 28:10,16,17 Mk 16:7 fallen asleep 1Co 15:18 Ac 7:60 Acts 13:36 1Th 4:13,15 2Pe 3:4 See detailed notes on The Resurrection of Christ 1 Corinthians 15 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries For in depth commentary see 1 Corinthians 15:6 (For the most part the notes below are not duplicated on the in depth commentary). CHRIST'S GRAND APPEARANCE After that - (1899) (epeita from epi = upon, at + eita = then) means then, afterwards, next. Expression of time. He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now (about 55-56 AD), but some have fallen asleep (euphemism for death of believers - koimao as with Stephen Acts 7:60+). - At one time indicates they were gathered together. Most of these witnesses had been alive and active witnesses for about 25 years to testify to the authenticity of the resurrection. These five hundred brethren would be part of the "many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3+) that make this the greatest event in history since the creation. Stevenson - You might get two or three people to admit to a lie and even have them die for it. It is perhaps believable that twelve people might die for a lie that they know to be a lie. But here we have over 500 witnesses. Paul says that most of these 500 witnesses to the resurrection are still alive. The implication is obvious. If you have any doubts about the truth of the resurrection, you can go to Jerusalem and ask them.
1 Coríntios 15
Robertson says mataios is a stronger word than kenos in 1 Cor 15:14. This adjective describes an ineffectual attempt to do something or an unsuccessful effort to attain something. Mataios emphasizes aimlessness or the leading to no object or end and thus is used to describe false gods or idols in contrast to the true God (see below). 6v - Acts 14:15; 1 Co. 3:20; 1 Co. 15:17; Tit. 3:9; Jas. 1:26; 1 Pet. 1:18 Sins (266) hamartia literally conveys the idea of missing the mark as when hunting with a bow and arrow (in Homer some hundred times of a warrior hurling his spear but missing his foe). Later hamartia came to mean missing or falling short of any goal, standard, or purpose. Hamartia in the Bible signifies a departure from God's holy, perfect standard of what is right in word or deed (righteous). It pictures the idea of missing His appointed goal (His will) which results in a deviation from what is pleasing to Him. In short, sin is conceived as a missing the true end and scope of our lives, which is the Triune God Himself. As Martin Luther put it "Sin is essentially a departure from God." I would add "sin" is the middle letter capitalized and emphasized (the "big I"). Dave
1 Coríntios 15
Robertson - The Talmud shows that the Rabbis believed that the particles of the body which died would reunite at the resurrection and form the same body again. Chrysostom asks, Why does not the Apostle appeal to the omnipotence of God? and replies, Because he is dealing with people who do not believe
1 Coríntios 15
Robertson adds that their "question (in 1 Cor 15:35) may seem to be clever, but it is really very foolish, and daily experience answers it. The seed which you yourself sow can have no new life given to it, unless it dies." This is surely a bit of Pauline irony, as he sarcastically refers to the “wise” Corinthians as "fools!” They are not using their understanding. They were fools for considering death the end of existence and to in effect exclude God from consideration (that is the essence of what a "fool" does in the Bible, men like Nabal 1 Sa 25:25)! If they were truly wise, they would know that death of a seed (its planting) was not the end of its existence but the beginning of a new existence (the plant that grows from the seed). And so Paul's first point is that there must be death before there can be new life and he proceeds to illustrate this truth with the analogy of a seed that is planted ("dies") but then grows into a new plant ("life"). Ray Stedman on you fool - Why did he say that? It is a normal question, almost everybody asks it, and yet Paul immediately brands it as a foolish question. The reason, of course, is evident in what he says next. It is foolish, he says, because everywhere around you are examples of what is happening in resurrection. He is referring to the normal process of plants growing from seeds or bulbs that are placed in the ground. They die, they lose their consistency, and out of them emerges another kind of body which is yet identical to the seed that was placed in the ground....Easter, therefore, always falls in the midst of the awakening of earth from its death in winter and the coming to life again of things that once were dead. Thus Paul is pointing out that we have ample evidence in the processes of nature itself to believe in a resurrection of the body. Nature teaches us two obvious lessons. (The New Body - What is it Like?) That which you sow (speiro) does not come to life (zoopoieo) unless it dies (apothnesko) - Notice Paul says "you" pointing to the Corinthians themselves, who had surely sown seeds. Now Paul reminds them that although the sown seed falls into the ground and dies, death is not the end of the seed, but it gives life when the new plant comes up. Thomas Gray speaks of death in “Elegy written in a Country Churchyard” (take a moment and slowly read the lengthy poem pondering Gray's profound prose). The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r, And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave. Arnold - Apparently he did not have much patience with people who said they believed in God but did not see Him as a supernatural working God. He used an illustration from nature, from the vegetable kingdom. Death is a necessary process in resurrection. Far from being an obstacle, death is essential to resurrection. (The New, Resurrected Body) Robertson - Only by dissolution of the material particles in the seed is the germ of life, which no microscope can detect, made to operate. The new living organism is not the old one reconstructed, although it has a necessary and close connexion with it; it is neither identical with the former, nor is it a new creation (John 12:24). Dissolution and continuity are not incompatible; how they are combined is a mystery beyond our ken, but the fact that they can be combined is evident, and death setting free a mysterious power of new life is part of the how. Hodge - Fool! says Paul, a seed cannot live unless it does die. Disorganization is the necessary condition of reorganization. If the seed remain a seed there is an end of it. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit, John 12:24. The seed is as much disorganized, it as really ceases to be a seed when sown in the ground, as the body when laid in the grave. If the one dies, the other dies. Death is not annihilation, but disorganization; the passing from one form or mode of existence to another. How then can the disorganization of the body in the grave be an objection to the doctrine of a resurrection? (1 Corinthians 15 Commentary)
1 Coríntios 15:10
Robertson - This is sober fact as shown by the Acts and Paul’s Epistles. He had tremendous energy and used it. Genius is work, Carlyle said. Take Paul as a specimen. Andrew
1 Coríntios 15:58
Robertson writes that in 1Co 15:58 Paul declares the "Practical result of this great assurance (Ed: A sure Resurrection and Victory over death). They must get rid of the unsettled and unfruitful state of mind caused by habitual skepticism, and must learn to be firmly seated, so as to be able to resist the false teaching and other hostile forces that would carry them away (Col 1:23-note). Let there be less speculation and more work. (Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of the Corinthians) Someone has said "If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then nothing in life really matters. But if He did rise from the dead, then nothing else in life really matters!" Spurgeon introduces his sermon on this verse with the following thoughts… THE apostle had been putting forth all his strength to prove the doctrine of the resurrection, yet he was not diverted from his habitual custom of making practical use of the doctrine which he established. He proves his point, and then he goes on to his "therefore," which is always an inference of godliness. He is the great master of doctrine: if you want the Christian creed elaborated, and its details laid out in order, you must turn to the epistles of Paul; but at the same time he is always a practical teacher. Paul was not like those who hew down trees and square them by rule and system, but forget to build the house therewith. True, he lifts up a good axe upon the thick trees, but he always makes use of that which he hews down, he lays the beams of his chambers, and forgets not the carved work thereof. He brings to light the great stones of truth, and cuts them out of the live rock of mystery; but he is not content with being a mere quarryman, he labors to be a wise master builder, and with the stones of truth to erect the temple of Christian holiness. If I shift the figure I may say that our apostle does not grope among the lower strata of truth, hunting out the deep things and spending all his force upon them, but he ploughs the rich upper soil, he sows, he reaps, he gathers in a harvest, and feeds many. Thus should the practical ever flow from the doctrinal like wine from the clusters of the grape. The Puritans were wont to call the end of the sermon, in which they enforced the practical lessons, the "improvement" of the subject; and, truly, the apostle Paul was a master in the way of "improvement." Hence in this present chapter, though he has been dealing with the fact of resurrection, and arguing with all his might in defense of it, he cannot close till he has said, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord." (Motives for Steadfastness) MORE ON WHY THE "THEREFORE" IS HERE… First Corinthians 15:58 is a command issued in light of the marvelous truth associated with the resurrection (see related resource: The Two Resurrections - "First" and "Second"). Doctrine of the resurrection is used by Paul to spur believers onward in their dutiful service in (and to) the Lord. Christ has won the battle over sin and death, which should motivate all believers to live with a sure sense of the hope because of Christ's resurrection from the dead. In Acts Paul clearly links the resurrection with hope, Luke recording that when he perceived… that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!" (Acts 23:6+) Comment: Remember that in the NT, "hope" (elpis [word study]) is not like our secular word ("I hope it won't be a rainy day tomorrow.") but reflects an absolute assurance of future good, specifically that God will do "good" to us in the future. And again in his defense before the governor Felix, Paul linked his hope to the truth of the resurrection of the dead which in turn served as a motivating force in his life and ministry… (Paul declared that) having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this (similar to the "therefore" in 1Cor 15:58 - In light of the truth of a future resurrection and a future judgment), I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men (He does his best because he is motivated by belief in the resurrection and judgment). (Acts 24:15,16+) Ellicott on therefore "So then" or "Consequently," "as the victory is thus assured"" Exhortation flowing from the thankful assurance of the last (1Cor 15:57) and the immediately preceding verses (St. Paul's First epistle to the Corinthians - Online) Alan Carr remarks that "The word therefore draws our minds back to all that Paul has said in these verses (Ed: For context read 1Co 15:1-57). He is telling us that the hope (Ed: Not a "hope so" but an absolute assurance of future good) we possess is a motivator to spiritual action for God’s glory (Ed: Cp 1Jn 3:2-note, 1Jn 3:3-note). Being saved, sure and secure does not mean that we can just sit back and rest in what we have to wait on the rapture or death. Being saved means we are to get to work for the glory of God! Knowing the truth about God and salvation is a powerful motivator for service. You see, belief always affects behavior! Believing the right things about Jesus and about the future will cause us to get busy for His glory. (Walking in Absolute Hope) Ryrie agrees noting that "A firm belief in the resurrection and a solid hope for the future gives incentive for service in the present." John Piper (in a Jan, 2006 sermon in which he announced to his congregation his recent diagnosis of prostate cancer) writes that… Paul intends—God intends—that there be a practical effect of what he has said. He intends for the effect to be verse 58. And the word “therefore” shows that he intends for verse 58 to happen because we know and remember 1Cor 15:51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 (Ed: Take a moment to read these great passages. Consider committing them to memory. See Memorizing His Word). Christ has come. He has died for you. He took all your sins on himself. He satisfied the demands of the law for you. The sting of death is removed. There is no condemnation. No hell. No fear. Though your body be laid in the grave, Christ will come and the trumpet will sound, and this mortal body will put on immortality and this decomposing, decaying body will become imperishable. Death is swallowed up in a great, blood-bought, Christ-wrought victory. To die is gain. Away from the body, at home with the Lord. THEREFORE … Verse 58 is God’s will for my life—and yours. And Paul says, it happens THEREFORE, that is, because you know and remember what is in verses 51-57. Therefore our obedience to verse 58 rests largely on our reading and memorizing these verses. If you know it and you believe and you meditate on it (Ed: See related resources: Meditate and Primer on Biblical Meditation) and memorize it and remember it, it will fill your mind and your heart in such a way that verse 58 happens. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58 How God's Word Produces Our Work) (Bolding and color added) Disciple's Study Bible - Hope concerning the future victory of Christ, with the abolishing of death and the establishing of God's kingdom, encourages faithfulness. Such hope makes possible unmovable steadfastness of character and joyful abandon to the work of the Lord. After all, faithful labor has promise of eternal reward. Charles Hodge - Such being the truth and importance of the doctrine of the resurrection, Christians should be firm in sticking to it, not letting themselves be moved by the specious objections of philosophy falsely so called. They should remember that if the dead do not rise, then Christ did not rise; and if Christ did not rise, their faith is in vain, and they are still in the power of sin. But as Christ has risen, and as his resurrection illustrates that of his people and makes it certain, what is more natural and proper than that they should give themselves fully to the work of the Lord? (An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians - Online) Bob Deffinbaugh makes a good point stating "First, the comfort which Paul communicates on the basis of our Lord’s death and resurrection is intended to comfort only Christians… "therefore, my beloved brethren". And then he says that their toil is not in vain “in the Lord.” One of the saddest things to observe at a funeral is a preacher giving comfort to non-Christians by using Bible texts addressed to Christians. These words are addressed to Christians, and the hope which Paul speaks of is for Christians only. Death has no power, no sting, to those who are “in Christ.” I must ask you, my friend, do you know for certain that you are “ in Christ,” and that you will spend eternity in the presence of God? If not, then receive God’s gift of salvation in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who suffered, died, and rose again in your place. Second, true doctrine (the doctrine of the gospel, of the resurrection of Christ, of the resurrection of the dead) gives us stability ("… steadfast, immovable… "), even in the midst of troubled times and in the face of false teaching. False teaching destabilizes Christians; true doctrine stabilizes us (1Corinthians 15 A Refresher Course on the Resurrection of the Dead) John