SOME THINGS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER - 9
He Lives. Greater Works Shall We Do.
HE LIVES
“12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:12-20, KJV).
Loved ones, Christians at Corinth had been confused about the resurrection of the dead. In the fifteenth chapter of Paul's first letter to them Paul masterfully gave arguments for Christ's resurrection and the bodily resurrection of all mankind. The pagan religions had no definite doctrines concerning life after death. The Christian faith was alone in giving hope and certainty for life after death; and it still is.
Paul began this treatise by saying, “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” (vs. 3-4). The essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is His death, burial, and resurrection for our sins. This is the key to the message of the whole Bible.
Paul emphasized that His death was "according to the Scriptures" and that He was raised "on the third day according to the Scriptures." These facts were the fulfillment of God's age-old plan for salvation of the whole human family. This was a very deliberate act on the part of Divinity to save all fallen sinners. It was not an uncontrolled set of human circumstances.
It appears that the Corinthians were saying that Jesus was raised from the dead, but no one else would be. Paul countered by saying that if there is no resurrection for all, then even Jesus could not have been raised. He later states in this chapter that Christ is the "firstfruits" of those who are raised from the dead (v. 20), that after Christ's resurrection there are more to come (vs. 22-23).
Paul argued, “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen” (v. 13). This means that the early church preached the resurrection of Christ. This formed the heart of the message of Good News, which we call Gospel. This is the best news a world of constantly dying people could possibly have.
Young and old are dying every hour of every day, all over this planet. The one thing man needs to hear and wants to hear is that we can live again. And the best part is that we can live in the presence of the forgiving, loving Father and the Savior who died for us to make all this possible.
It is hard for us to understand why the world has so often rejected this truth. It is even harder to understand why Christians who supposedly have embraced the Christian faith live as though this life is all there is. Some seldom worship, study, pray, or give to the Lord. Many never talk of eternity, and yet we all know that this is "of first importance.”
Paul followed by saying, “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (v. 14). Faith is based upon the message preached. In Paul's Roman epistle he wrote, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
Faith is not all that mysterious. God tells us what we must believe, and we either accept it or reject it. If we accept, then we "live by faith" (Romans 1:17; Galatians 2:20; 3:11; Hebrews 10:38). Our whole life is guided, comforted, and upheld by our faith. And at the very heart of this faith is the strong belief that we shall live again after these few days, and that we shall live either in heaven or in hell.
Jesus also revealed this fact, along with the doctrine of resurrection. It is a package revelation. You have to take justice along with the love of God, punishment along with reward.
Paul closed this section of this great chapter by saying, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19). We are not to be pitied, dear believer. It is those who do not believe who have no hope. We do, because HE LIVES!
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GREATER WORKS SHALL WE DO…
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:12, KJV).
Loved ones, to understand any passage of the Bible, one must keep in mind four things especially: (1) who was speaking; that is, who made that particular statement; (2) to whom was it spoken; (3) when and under what age (before the law of Moses was given, after the law of Moses was given, or under the New Testament age) was it spoken; and (4) in what context was it said?
Too many subjects of the Bible have been misunderstood because people have failed to apply these four basic ingredients in learning from the Bible. For instance, those who claim today that they can heal people miraculously in the name of Jesus Christ quote from our text (John 14:12) to justify their claim.
Here Christ was speaking to His disciples before His death and ascension, and before the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit to receive power (Acts 1:4-8). What was the context of Christ's statement? He had just mentioned to them that He would be going back. They wanted to know where He was intending to go. Christ told them about the Father in heaven.
Philip, one of them, said to Him, “8 Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father” (John 14:8-12).
It is evident from the context of the discussion that Christ wanted His apostles, who were going to be His witnesses, to believe that He was God. Therefore, He told them, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”
What kind of works had Christ done? He had fed multitudes of people with a little food in His hand; He had raised the dead; He had healed instantly all people who had come to Him with all kinds of infirmities and diseases. The apostles, Christ said, would do the same if they would believe in Him.
Then the Lord told them, “17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover” (Mark 16:17-18).
By seeing the resurrected Lord Himself speaking to them and seeing Him ascending into heaven, their faith in Him was strengthened, and they returned to Jerusalem, as the Lord had commanded them, to wait for the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:1-10).
In Acts 2:1-4, we read about the apostles being baptized with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and thus they received the power, as the Lord had promised to them. “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen” (Mark 16:20).
The book of Acts is full of the accounts of the mighty works of the apostles. At one place we read, “12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. 13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them. 14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) 15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. 16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one” (Acts 5:12-16).
Thus, after fully believing in Christ, the apostles did signs and miracles as Christ had done before them. But Christ had told them that they would do “greater works” than His. What does this mean? The greater works are the SPIRITUAL works. The mission of Christ was spiritual, not physical. Thus, about three thousand souls were converted on the very first day when the apostles declared the Gospel of Christ (Acts 2:38-41).
These people believed in Him, repented of their sins, confessed Him as the Son of God, and were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and the Lord added them to the number of His saved ones – His church (vs. 41, 47), a feat far surpassing anything that was possible before Jesus returned to the Father.
Shared with you by Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35) – 11 September 2026