Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:16-17 In the resurrection, you will have a spiritual body. That means your resurrected body will be fully responsive to the desires of your spirit. Think about how wonderful this will be. In this life, your spirit has two pr...
Jul 22, 2025•3 min
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 Paul whets our appetite for the life to come with a fourfold description of the resurrection body. 1. Your resurrection body will be imperishable (15:42) Jesus rose in “the power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16), a...
Jul 21, 2025•3 min
Not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars... So is it with the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:39-42 Paul makes two distinctions about our bodies in these verses—a distinction of ...
Jul 20, 2025•3 min
Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 1 Corinthians 15:35 It seems that the false teachers at Corinth were asking these questions cynically. That may be why Paul's first response is, “You foolish person!” (15:36). It’s not foolish to ask questions; it’s foolish to ridicule God’s truth (Gal. 6:7). But having rebuked the cynics for pouring scorn on the resurrection, Paul offers an answer. Q: “How are the dead raised?” A: “ What you sow does not come to l...
Jul 19, 2025•3 min
"If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 The theme of 1 Corinthians 15 is the glorious truth of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the resurrection life that all who believe will share with Him. If our hope is limited to what we can do or become in this world, we will be disappointed. But Jesus has risen to a glorious ...
Jul 18, 2025•3 min
If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 1 Corinthians 15:32 As long as you feel that this life is all you have, you will feel that you have to hold on to it and preserve it for yourself. But if you truly come to believe in the resurrection, you will feel that you can spend your life, and if need be, lay down your life, in serving God by serving others. Who will be ready to endure hardship so that the gospel will be taken to the ends of the earth? Those who truly ...
Jul 17, 2025•2 min
If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 1 Corinthians 15:32 When you look at the good that has been done in this world over the centuries, you will find that a large part of it has been done by people who believe that they are preparing for a world to come—hospitals built, schools opened, children fostered. Believing in the resurrection will shape how you live. Here is a glimpse of how the apostle Paul lived: he was “in danger every hour” (15:30), and he “die[d] ...
Jul 16, 2025•3 min
If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 1 Corinthians 15:32 A faith for “this life only” sounds liberating, but it leads to indulgence. The words “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”, are in quotation marks because Paul is quoting a popular proverb. This is what people were saying about life in this world, and the saying is so old that it was quoted by Isaiah in the Old Testament (Isa. 22:13). This is the wisdom of this world, as it has been through the ag...
Jul 15, 2025•3 min
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father... For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 1 Corinthians 15:24-25 Paul shows us that although a faith for “this life only” sounds relevant, it cannot deliver. Every generation wants to make the world a better place, and we can thank God for progress in medicine, science, technology, education, justice, and human rights. But there is also a profound sense in which the world never changes. Every human inn...
Jul 14, 2025•3 min
If Christ has not been raised... your faith is in vain... Your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17 The resurrection matters, and believing in the resurrection will give you a new hope, a new confidence, and a new purpose. But a “this life only” message will leave you without hope for at least three reasons. 1. Without the resurrection, your faith would be futile “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile” (15: 17). Dead men can teach you through thei...
Jul 13, 2025•3 min
Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 2 Timothy 2:16-18 Some people would say, “This is just a different interpretation of Christianity, and it has some things to commend it.” But Paul says, “No. This teaching is like gangrene. If you embrace it, it will lead you into more and more ungodline...
Jul 12, 2025•3 min
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 2 Timothy 2:17-18 What was the message of the false teachers about the resurrection? Perhaps an analogy will help. The life of Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically cut short, but what he stood for continues through people who believe what he believed and teach what he taught. It may be that Hymenaeus and Philetus said something like this about Jesus: “The life of Jesus was ...
Jul 11, 2025•3 min
If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:12 The central truth of 1 Corinthians 15 is that Jesus was raised from the dead, and we who receive and continue in the gospel will share in His resurrection life. But it seems that some at Corinth had denied this wonderful truth. That’s clear from verse 12: “How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” They denied that believers will rise fr...
Jul 10, 2025•3 min
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received… 1 Corinthians 15:3 Many of the Corinthian believers were standing and holding fast to the gospel. But some were abandoning the faith they once professed. The world is always inventing new words to describe old sins. One word you might be familiar with is the word deconstructing . We hear about people deconstructing their faith. They have concluded that the faith they once professed is merely a human construct—that it was put tog...
Jul 09, 2025•3 min
The gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Whether you are a newer Christian, a long-time Christian, or you are still exploring the faith, Paul has something to say to you today. 1. Receive the Gospel “ The gospel I preached to you, which you received...” (15:1). Jesus offers grace for your past, present, and future. But you must receive this grace by believing the go...
Jul 08, 2025•3 min
I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 Where did Paul get the energy to do the work he was called to do? Paul tells us what he endured as an apostle. He was beaten, stoned, lashed, and shipwrecked. He lists days without food, nights without sleep, and exposure to danger and cold. And then he says, “There is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). These are good verses to reach for when ...
Jul 07, 2025•2 min
By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:10 When we think of what we were, we can use it as a lens through which to view what Jesus has done in our lives. Our sins, horrible as they were, are what He has redeemed us from. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ has brought a change in our lives. We are no longer the person we were. The answer to our shame and regrets from the past is more than, “It’s ok, because I’m forgiven.” The answer is to say,...
Jul 06, 2025•2 min
I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 The word grace is used three times in these verses. This whole chapter is about how the grace of Jesus changes the future for all who believe. But Paul begins with the effect of gra...
Jul 05, 2025•3 min
I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ... was raised on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Jesus dying for our sins would not have been good news if He had not been raised from the dead. If Jesus had not been raised, hope, for us, would have died and been buried with Him. But Christ was raised on the third day, and this is of “first importance.” The Bible records twelve occasions when the risen Lord appeared to His disciples, and Paul lists six of them here ...
Jul 04, 2025•3 min
Christ died for our sins. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Here are five things God says about sin in the Bible. 1. Our sins are offences against God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Sin is not an occasional lapse in standards we set for ourselves. It is our consistent falling short of the life to which God calls us. 2. Our sins alienate us from God. “They are… alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:18). This is the reason why the default human experience is that God seems f...
Jul 03, 2025•3 min
I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins... that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:3 What Paul presents here, he says, is of “first importance” (15:3). Don’t lose sight of what matters most: “Christ died for our sins... he was buried... [and] he was raised on the third day” (15:3–4). Notice, when Paul talks about what matters most, one thing he includes is that “Christ died f...
Jul 02, 2025•3 min
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 1 Corinthians 15 is a marvellous chapter, where the apostle Paul lays out the transforming power of the resurrection. This chapter is very practical and full of hope. Where do you find hope when your body is failing? Where do you find hope when your ministry is discouraging? You have been labouring for the Lord. You are faithful to the gospel, but there doesn’t seem to be much fruit, and sometimes you f...
Jul 01, 2025•2 min
But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge. Psalm 73:28 Asaph began Psalm 73 saying, “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart” (73:1). What does it mean to say that “God is good to Israel?” The ancient philosophers —Plato, Socrates, etc.—used to debate what was the highest good in life. They used an old Latin phrase —the summum bonum—which is the highest good. What is the highest good? Asaph says to us: “It is good to be near to God” (73:28). In ...
Jun 30, 2025•3 min
I [will] tell of all your works. Psalm 73:28 This shows how far Asaph has come. In verse 15, the best thing Asaph could do for God’s people was to keep his thoughts to himself: “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed… your children.” Now he has something to say, a story of God’s grace to share that will bring strength to other believers. Every Christian has a story of God’s grace. Your story is still being written. Every time you go through an Asaph experience another chapter ...
Jun 29, 2025•2 min
I [will] tell of all your works. Psalm 73:28 If you have been wounded by a version of Christianity that makes the gospel seem like an endless list of demands and expectations, you need to take in the grace of God from Psalm 73. Asaph wrote out his story under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit and it has been preserved for our encouragement in the Scriptures. God has given us this psalm because Asaph is not the only one on this journey. When you go through an Asaph experience you may find...
Jun 28, 2025•3 min
Behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. Psalm 73:27-28 Psalm 73 ends with Asaph making a clear commitment to live near to the Lord, and to tell his story of what God has done. Some folks think Christianity is about commitment. If you’re disciplined about your commitment, then you’re the real deal. Their focus is entirely on per...
Jun 27, 2025•3 min
There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25 Asaph is not saying that there are no other legitimate desires on earth. He is simply saying that, besides the Lord Himself, all other desires are secondary. This is the same thing the apostle Paul said: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). Knowing Jesus is what really matters to Paul. This is the driving ambition of his life. He did not say, “I want to be a great...
Jun 26, 2025•3 min
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Psalm 73:25 Imagine Tom and Mary, a young couple engaged and about to be married. The wedding is just five days away, and Tom takes Mary out for a candlelight dinner. “Five days to go,” Tom says, “I can hardly wait for Saturday to come.” Mary smiles as she looks into his eyes across the candles, “Tell me why you’re so excited about Saturday.” Now, all Tom has to say is, “Because on Saturday, I get to marry yo...
Jun 25, 2025•2 min
Whom have I in heaven but you? Psalm 73:25 The first thing you need to know about heaven is that it is God-centred. When the Apostle John was given a vision of heaven, he saw that the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ) was at the centre (Rev. 5:6; 7:17). God wants you to know that He is the centre of all things in heaven, and that is why a person who lives wisely will make Him the centre of all things on earth. Who do you have in heaven? Some have a grandmother and a grandfather in heaven, whom they wer...
Jun 24, 2025•3 min
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:21-26 Notice how Asaph moves from the misery of preoc...
Jun 23, 2025•3 min
