1 Corinthians [chapter 15]

​Young Adult (College/Post-Grad) Life group
THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS
He was Raised on the Third Day [chapter 15]
REMINDER HE WAS RAISED (15:1-11)
(Question #1) We arrive at one of the most important chapters in our Bible. 1 Corinthians 15 is the central text about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There was a problem in the Corinthian church – some were saying that there is no resurrection of the dead (verse 12). Why? Perhaps because even after Jesus rose from the dead, Christians kept dying and the graves were filling up. No one was being raised back to life. Certainly, that is true today – death is still universal, and no one has come back to life, yet. In times like this, just like the Corinthians, our hearts can stray to doubt the resurrection. What does the apostle Paul do to not only remind them of the reality, but also the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection?
[*REFLECT #1] How do I need to be reminded about the resurrection of Jesus Christ today? What experiences of death (family, close friends) have caused me to doubt Christ’s resurrection? How can I fight my doubts with the evidence the apostle Paul lays out for Christ’s resurrection in the many people who witnessed it and Paul’s own transformed life? How can my transformed life be the best evidence of the resurrected Jesus living within me?
REASON HE WAS RAISED (15:12-34)
(Question #2) The apostle Paul entertains the idea – if Christ has not been raised, what are the results (verse 12-19)? On the other hand, if in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, what are the results (verse 20-28)? Even using a godless-pagan practice of being baptized on behalf of the dead and other godless attitudes, how does Paul prove his point that there must be a resurrection even for them (verse 29-34)?
[*REFLECT #2] If Christ has been raised, are we still in our sins? Apostle Paul says, “Bad company ruins good morals” (verse 33). What are the bad company people/places/practices we are surrounding ourselves with that is ruining our faith in Christ’s resurrection? How, like Paul, do we need to die every day to live into the resurrection, and lay aside the lies that Jesus is dead and that death is king?
BODY HE WAS RAISED INTO (15:35-49)
(Question #3) The earthly body must die to be raised into the imperishable-resurrected body. The Corinthians thought they were one in the same body. Paul says that is foolish thinking. Both are bodies, but different in every respect. How is the earthly body different than the resurrected body?
[*REFLECT #3] How are we living for the earthly body? What perishable, dishonorable, weak, and natural things do we idolize over the resurrected body to be gifted to us – imperishable, glorious, powerful, heavenly, and spiritual? Is the resurrected body to come like a ghost, or a reality of an imperishable gift? How can you hope in it more today?
VICTORY HE WAS RAISED FOR (15:50-58)
(Question #4) In Christ, what must we put on at the sound of the last trumpet, in a twinkling of an eye (verse 50-57)? Therefore, what ought we be doing (verse 58)?
[*REFLECT #4] We will all be instantly changed to an imperishable body. How does this produce an inexpressible joy in you? How does it encourage you to always be abounding in the work of the Lord until then?
HOLY SPIRIT MOMENT
(APPLY #1) Spend two minutes inviting and listening to the Holy Spirit to show you the joy of Jesus raised on the third day.
(APPLY #2) Write two ways Christ’s resurrection can change your body, your hope, and your work of faith for Him.
(1) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(2) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(APPLY #3) Share one of them with the group, and a first practical step you can take to accomplish it.
(APPLY #4) Write a sentence-prayer for it: _________________________________________________________________________________________
(APPLY #5) Share spiritual life – How are you? What is one thing about Jesus that carried you through this week? What is one thing you prayed for today? How has God answered in prayer, or asked us to keep requesting in prayer?