Sermon in Minneapolis 15.04.2007

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we will continue our services this evening on the first Sunday after Easter. And one text set aside for this day is from 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 through 11.

1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 through 11. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, son of the Twelve. After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at one time, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, or unto this time. But some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all of the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also. And I am the greatest of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 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 labored more abundantly, I was more holy than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. Amen.

I also likewise would like to bring greetings. My greetings are from Pelkey and Ishpeming, where I was with my wife and children for Good Friday and Easter services. As we heard already several times today, the theme for this Sunday is the witnesses of the resurrected Lord Jesus. The portion that we read now at this time for the second sermon this evening was the first text for this evening, both from Corinthians.

The Apostle Paul on his second mission journey around the year 54 AD visited the city in the vicinity of the city of Corinth, which was a very sinful city. We could say it was a city likened unto the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, people used to say at that time, just by visiting the city, a person would get infected. Or it would cling. The sinfulness of the city would cling to a person. And they also came up with an adjective that a person would become Corinthianized. And that was to become like the people living in the city of Corinth, living in a very sinful society and immoral lifestyle.

But on this second trip, second missionary journey, the Apostle Paul tarried here in the area of Corinth for 18 months or a year and a half. And I read somewhere that, and I was trying to find that source, flipping through my Bible, the Acts of the Apostles, just before or just during the previous sermon, I heard, I have read somewhere that Paul wanted, during the course of his stay, to leave because his life was threatened. And then God actually commanded him to stay a little bit longer. So this reference must be in another one of his epistles. I couldn't find it in the Acts or the Apostles. But anyways, be it as it may, he stayed there for a year and a half. And then after he left from the city, he continued on, eventually coming to the city of Ephesus, where he stayed nearly three years. And during his stay there in Ephesus, apparently it was at this time that he wrote one or some of his letters back to the people there in Corinth.

Some scholars have said that Paul perhaps wrote up to four letters to the Corinthians. But we know that in our Bible, if we look in the table of contents, we can only see Corinthians 1 and 2. Only two have been canonized or put into the final Bible. Or perhaps the other two were just simply lost. But in the writings of Paul, there are references to other letters as well.

So why then did Paul write this letter to the Corinthians? Soon after he left, as he says in the first chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, that there were contentions among you. So that was one of the main reasons why he needed to send this letter. There began to be divisions among the people, among the believers there in the city, among the congregation there in Corinth.

There are many, many issues that Paul addressed and touched. But one of the topics that was of much importance was devoted completely to in this 15th chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. And this 15th chapter of the letter to the Corinthians is sometimes called the letter of resurrection. Some people were disputing or wishing to deny any possibility of something like this happening or even being any possibility of it taking place.

The Apostle Paul, nevertheless, opens up this 15th chapter and says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand. So in order to be able to preach the gospel to another person, that person first needs to have received that gospel themselves. It is not an office of the letter, as we even heard reference of in the previous sermon, but it is an office of the Spirit.

There are those, in the world, those who are on the outside of God's kingdom, especially in areas where Christianity is more well known. For example, in the old country there in Finland. People have tried to mimic and imitate the sermons of believers, perhaps using some of the same phraseology and so on and so forth, thinking that it was and would be only in the use of certain words placed in a certain order, like a magic formula.

In fact, one unbelieving pastor, who was the head pastor in a certain area, began to mimic one of the pastors who was under him. And this pastor who was under him was actually a believer. And then after some time, the superior, the boss, asked the believing pastor that, how is it even when I speak in the same manner as you, your sermons have effect and my sermons don't seem to have any effect. And the person had to say that it is not in office of the word. It's just not in the certain words that we use. But the sermons of believers are enlivened, made alive, empowered by and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And so, moreover brethren, I declare unto you, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and in this gospel we stand. There is no other foundation than that foundation which has been laid, and that foundation is Christ himself. As the apostle Paul said, as the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians earlier on in this same epistle.

So this foundation is likened unto a firm, sure rock, which will not budge or shake or tremble. In a house that is, as Jesus says in a parable, that is built upon a rock, the winds would blow against it, the waves would beat against it, and the earth would shake and tremble. It will not fall, for it is built on a sure foundation.

Or another analogy we could use is the wedding garment, which is the cloak of righteousness, which Christ himself prepared. The old believers often said that the mission of Christ was to come down here into this world, and especially there on the cross of Golgotha, he then began to weave, began to knit and prepare this cloak of righteousness. And it nearly became complete when he cried out, it is finished.

But we could say that he was finally, ultimately completed when the last thread was drawn into this cloak of righteousness, on the morning of the third day on Easter, when Jesus rose victorious from the grave. This was the seal of his victory, when he won the victory over sin, over death, and over the power of the enemy of souls.

As the Apostle Paul writes to the Romans, that he suffered and died for our sins, but he rose from the grave, rose from the realm of death, for our righteousness' sake. This was the last thread that was now finally sewn into this complete finished cloak of righteousness, this wedding garment, in which when we're dressed, by and through faith, we are heaven acceptable.

So, he goes on to say, by which you also are saved. Saved by believing in this gospel message, the forgiveness of sins, which is through the merits of Christ Jesus. If you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

Is it possible then for a person to have believed, to believe in vain? When reading the Bible, we understand by faith the many great promises that the gospel and living faith promises to us as believers. Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life in heaven. We are on the journey on this narrow way of life, and we will one day enter in through the pearly gates into the glory of heaven, where we shall rejoice from everlasting to everlasting.

Why then would it be even possible to believe in vain? As Paul writes to the Romans, there is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There is no condemnation, no threat of the condemnation of everlasting hell and damnation.

But the Apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthians, and not only to them, but to us as well, and to people of all times, that it is necessary that we keep the faith. Of what benefit would it be if a person would have been believing for say, ninety-nine years, and at their final moments of life, on their deathbed, would then deny their faith? All of their former walk in faith, to that moment, would have been completely annulled. It would have been completely in vain, of no worth whatsoever.

As the prophet Ezekiel wrote to the people of his time, that when a person gives up their righteousness, their former righteousness is no longer even remembered. So therefore it is of utmost importance that we continue the walk in faith. Not of our own strength, our own reason, our own abilities, but alone by faith, through grace, through the merits of Christ Jesus.

The power is in the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

So then, the Apostle Paul, after these few opening statements as an introduction into the topic of what he is now wishing to expound, he then continues and explains what is the basis of this Gospel, of the hope of everlasting life.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

Now we must remember at the time when the Apostle Paul was writing this letter, perhaps one of the earliest letters that the Apostle Paul wrote, the New Testament Gospels weren't even in existence yet at that time, even though the events that took place, as are recorded in the Gospels, had already taken place. But they were not written down at that point in time. They were existing only as oral tradition. They only remained or were in the minds and in the memories of the people, the believers, at that moment, at that time.

And the first letters, documents that are preserved for us in the New Testament, were some of the letters written by the Apostle Paul. Apparently his letter to the Thessalonians were the first or the earliest.

So what does the Apostle Paul mean when several times here he mentions in these opening verses to the Corinthians in this 15th chapter, that according to the Scriptures? He is referring to the existing Bible at that time, which was what we know and call the Old Testament. The 39 books or how many books there are in the Old Testament which are recorded for us.

Time and time again, the Old Testament prophets are being recorded. The Old Testament prophets prophesied of the coming Messiah. He would live a period of time here upon this earth. And then he would be captured. He would be crucified on the cross. He would die, but then he would rise again on the third day.

And so Jesus is now referring to these Old Testament prophecies, and wishing to say that they are now fulfilled. As we remember on some of the first days after his resurrection, when there were two disciples not mentioned by name, who were downcast and dejected on their way to the city of Emmaus or Emmaus. And a third person joined their group and began to ask them why are you so sad, dejected and downcast?

And the two answered the third who joined them that are you the only stranger, the only foreigner in this part of the country who doesn't know or realize what has happened in the last few days? And then a conversation ensued. And the third person who joined their company began to then expound and explain unto these two downcast and weary troubled travelers. He began to explain and expound the prophecies of the Old Testament. What should happen to the promised Messiah? But then he eventually would die but rise again from the grave on the third day.

And so Jesus also was referring to the writings in the Old Testament. And Paul now is referring to the same.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I received. And the Gospel contains this: how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. But He did not get left there. If Christ would have risen and remained in the grave there would be no hope of everlasting life for any of us. There would be no forgiveness of sins. And all the former saints that are mentioned in the Bible they would have believed in vain. They would have died in vain. And no one would have the possibility of ever reaching our destination of heaven.

So Paul has to clearly state in a few verses later in this same chapter 15 of this letter to the Corinthians that if this matter of resurrection hadn't taken place all would be in vain. But Jesus rose from the grave.

But if there be no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen. And if Christ be not risen then is our preaching in vain and your faith is also in vain.

So Paul here continues in that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Again referring to the promises and the prophecies recorded for us in the Old Testament.

But then Jesus rose from the grave. And there were many witnesses and there were many proofs of this resurrection. And here the Apostle Paul is wishing to establish this fact by many of the witnesses who were able to actually see Jesus the resurrected Lord with their own eyes.

We remember when Easter Sunday morning the two Marys came just as the sun was about to rise. They came with their bottle of anointment, wishing to pay homage to the body of Christ. And they wanted to anoint the body of Christ. And thinking out loud in their minds that how is it possible that we are able to move that big stone which scholars and archaeologists have come to the conclusion that it weighed nearly one ton minimum perhaps up to two tons.

How would it be possible for two women to move this stone? But when they arrived at the graveside they noticed that this huge stone had been moved aside. The opening into the cave was the door to the cave was open. And in they stepped into the cave which were the graves at that time. They actually walked in. There was an entryway and there beyond later on was a bench on which bench then they laid the deceased and mummified person.

There they were able to converse with a person clad in white garments which was an angel. And the angel told them greetings. The person you are looking for is not here. He has arisen. Go on to Galilee. And tell this news also to the disciples.

And so the stone was moved. They went in. They saw that the body was not there. And the white linens in which the body had been mummified or wrapped were lying on the ground unmoved as if untouched in the exact same location.

And so listening and obeying to the angel they ran to tell the greetings to the apostles. And Peter and John came running. And one of the evangelists said that they had a foot race and was it John who in the end won out and was the first to enter into the cave.

And so it says that he was seen of Cephas. This is another name for Peter. Cephas is a Greek name which means rock. And we remember that Jesus said unto Peter that Peter upon this rock I will build my church. So he received a second name.

And so John's name isn't mentioned but John was in that company. So he was seen of Cephas or of Peter. And then later he was seen by all of the twelve.

As we heard mentioned or the text for this morning or for this day is from John 20 when Jesus appeared behind the locked doors. The doors remained locked. The doors or the windows remained unopened. And suddenly Jesus appeared.

The disciples were afraid and were fearful. They thought that he is a ghost or a spirit. Jesus said a ghost and a spirit does not eat. Give me some bread. Give me some honey. Give me some fried fish. I'm sure they saw that his jawbone was chewing the food and his Adam's apple was moving up and down as he was swallowing the food. He was in a human body. He was not a spirit or a ghost.

And Thomas we recall wasn't there. And he told the disciples when they brought this message I won't believe it. I will absolutely not believe it unless I witness it with my own eyes.

So a few days later they were again behind locked doors. And now Jesus appears the second time. And this time we could say especially for this doubting Thomas. He tells Thomas come take your fingers and put them into the print that the nails have left in my hands and also left in my feet. And take your fist and thrust it into the wound that has been left in my side. And do not be a disbeliever, a doubting Thomas, but believe.

But then Jesus continued and he said words, words which are for you and I this evening. Blessed are you Thomas when you have seen you have believed. But blessed are those who have not seen but still yet believe.

And so then after that he was seen at one time by 500 brethren. Who knows exactly what this event is? Perhaps this is at the event of Mount Olives when Jesus was ready to ascend into the glory of heaven. Who knows? This is only an assumption. And of whom of these 500 the greater part remain or still are alive at this time. But some of them have passed away.

And then he was seen by James and then by all of the apostles. And then he continues and says and last of all he was seen of me by me as one born out of due time.

So what does this mean? What does apostle Paul refer to when he says he was born seen of me born out of due time? We remember when the apostle Paul or then Saul was on his way to the city of Damascus. And he was on a mission. His mission was to gather together and capture all of the followers of Christ that he could find. Put them into prison and eventually have them all put to death.

And he had received a letter of authority. And this letter of authority was from the high priest Gamaliel himself. But he was stopped in his foot tracks on the way to the city of Damascus. When he was struck blind by a bright light. It was so bright that he was physically blinded.

And then a voice began to talk to Saul. Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me? Saul did not see anything. Of course he was physically blind but he still wouldn't have seen anything even if he wasn't blind. Because after resurrection Jesus was seen only by his own. Only by his disciples. Only by the believers.

And so it is even yet today. One is able to see the resurrected Lord Jesus through eyes of faith that have been enlightened and opened up by and through the eyes of the Holy Spirit.

But anyways he heard the voice. Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me? Saul didn't even know whose voice it was. Who are you whom I am persecuting? How had Saul been persecuting Jesus? When he had never even physically been in the company of Jesus. This was even before his time.

The Bible says in this way that when you persecute one of my followers, one of my believers, at the same time you are persecuting me. And when you persecute one of my followers it is like you are taking your finger and poking it into the apple of my own eye. For the followers of Christ believers are all members of the one body of Christ.

And so that is why Jesus says to Saul or questions him Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me? And so the apostle, the later the apostle Paul now Saul was stopped in his tracks. He was taken hold of by we could say the law of God. As Paul later writes that I knew nothing about sin. But when the law came it slew me. Sin revived. It slew me. And I died.

He now realized when he had three days and three nights after being led into the city of Damascus to think about his condition. And I am sure he realized if he would die in that condition he would be but fuel for the fires of hell.

But God did not leave him in this state, in this condition. But sent unto him a believer whose name was Ananias. And Ananias was able to put his hands upon him and preach the gospel. And now he became a child of God. And the scales fell from his eyes. In the physical sense but more importantly yet in the spiritual sense.

And so he was Saul was not saved on the way to the city of Damascus. His conscience, yes, was awakened. He realized his condition. But he was saved when he heard the oral proclamation of the gospel that Ananias a believer a child of God was able to preach and proclaim unto him.

And so then after this the apostle Paul says for I am the least of the apostles and I am not even meet, I am not even acceptable to be called an apostle because I have persecuted the church. It got left as a lasting memory in his mind. Even though his sins, his crimson blood red sins had been forgiven. Still the scars remain.

Oh how I persecuted the believers. Oh the many things that I did to them. They are forgiven. And God has forgotten them. But these scars still remain. And so he often says for I am the least of the apostles and not even acceptable, worthy to be called an apostle.

But then he goes on and says 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 labored more abundantly than they all.

Now it sounds almost as if the apostle Paul is boasting that he has labored, he has done more work in the vineyard than everyone else combined. This is almost what it sounds like. It almost sounds like he is boasting.

There is no room for boasting. We remember when the resurrected Lord Jesus needed to send greetings to those various angels in the seven different churches in Asia Minor. And there was that one angel of the church of Laodicea who actually had grown in himself. He says I am rich and I have need of nothing.

Greetings needed to be sent to this person, this angel. That don't you realize that you are blind, you are naked, you are maimed and you are but a great sinner.

And so then he goes on and says but I labored more abundantly than they all. But he then adds to this yet not I but the grace of God which was with me.

We have to say that in me as the apostle Paul says that is in my flesh there dwells no good thing. For the good that I would wish to do this I often find. This I often find myself not doing. And the evil that I would wish not to do this I often find myself actually doing.

Oh wretched man that I am says the apostle Paul. It's not me but it's the sin that's in me that dwells in my flesh. Oh wretched man that I am who can deliver me from this body of sin and of death.

And so he concludes here therefore whether it were I or they so we preach and so you have believed.

So the apostle Paul is as if here saying that we are all but servants. We are all but workers in the vineyard. Here in this vineyard which is a level headed block. The gifts are many but the spirit is one.

And we know that the apostle Paul is no longer preaching. We know that the apostle Peter is no longer preaching. They have all long since gone to their rest. It was during the time of Lysadius. Lysadius had just recently passed away.

And I'm sure people were downcast and dejected thinking of how the work of God's kingdom will now continue when this tool of God in the vineyard of the Lord has now passed from our midst. How will the work of God continue?

And then it is recorded that one of the preachers of that time whose name is Antion Piety was able to see as if a vision. And during this vision he saw events that took place all the way from the beginning of the time of the Old Testament.

How many of the Old Testament characters, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and many of the prophets entered into a room and then spent a short period of time and then they departed.

Then many of the New Testament workers of the vineyard, the apostles and the apostle Paul and so on and so forth, one by one entered into this room and then spent a short period of time in this room and then continued on.

Then Luther came into the room and soon he departed as well. Then in came Lysadius. He was in the room for a short period of time and then he departed as well.

But then last of all into the room came Christ Jesus himself. He stayed in that room and he did not leave that room. This is, as I mentioned already, our foundation of faith.

There is no other foundation than that foundation which has been placed and it is like a firm, sure rock and it is Christ Jesus himself. He paid that ultimate price, that price of redemption, not offering any possessions of this world, no gold or silver, but he offered his own innocent holy blood which was shed to the last drop on the middle cross of Golgotha.

And when he cried, it is fulfilled. That veil that separated the holy from the most holy was rent into from top to bottom and there was now access into the most holy, that is, as the writer to the Hebrews says, into heaven.

That road that was, that passage into paradise that had clanged shut after Adam and Eve were chased out of the Garden of Eden, after they ate of that forbidden tree. Adam and Eve were chased out of the Garden of Eden and the door, the gate, flanged shut and an angel was put to guard the way into paradise with a flaming sword.

And now that pathway, as God had promised and the Old Testament saints had believed it through the promises of faith, now it was fulfilled. That pathway was opened onto the most holy, that is, the glory of heaven.

When he himself, Christ Jesus, went through that veil, that is, through his flesh, into the most holy. And so, brothers and sisters, the promises are fulfilled and we can be happy and free and assured this evening that we are his children and through his merits and through his blood that he has shed, it is that power that gives us strength, that cleanses our undying soul, it refreshes our weary minds, it lifts, it carries, and will one day bring us to our heavenly home.

So even now we can conclude our evening services by believing even the last doubts and cares and worries forgiven in Jesus' name and precious atonement blood. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, Amen.