Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. It's International Challenge Week. If you don't know anyone who lives in a different country, how about a different state or province? Or better yet, see if your church supports any missionaries and send them our info as an encouragement. Missionary life can feel lonely and can lack support and resources, so we'd love to be one of the ways they can feel more connected. Now on to the podcast. Today, we wrapped up 1 Corinthians, which is Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, at least because there's also the book we're calling Zero Corinthians. If you're doing our New Testament plan, you just finished your ninth book, and if you're doing the whole Bible, you just finished your 48th book. Congratulations. Paul spends most of chapter 15 driving home the importance of the resurrection, which was a point of debate in the church at Corinth. Some even seem to be on the same train of thought as the Sadducees, who don't believe in resurrection of anyone. So Paul lists a bunch of evidence proving that Jesus rose from the dead, including the 500 witnesses, many of whom are still alive at this time.

In other words, Paul is saying, You can go ask them. He calls Christ's resurrection the most important thing about our faith. If Jesus didn't have victory over death, we would be hopeless. But because he did, that hope permeates every area of our lives. But Paul knows it's easy to forget this with everything that happens in life. He reminds them that time is the test of what we truly believe. If God has given us new hearts, then he's given us His Spirit, and His Spirit reminds us of the truth, and His Spirit seals us for the day of redemption. So if we truly belong to God, we will persevere in the faith. He will finish what He started in us. But those who only affirmed the truth without it taking root, like the rocky soil and the thorny soil we read about in Mark 4, those are the ones who believed in vain. If Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, Paul says, Then much of what He has been doing is lying about God. If Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then everyone is still in bondage to sin. If Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, there is no afterlife and there is no hope.

He points to the hope that Christ's resurrection demonstrates. He calls it the first fruits. This is a nod to Leviticus 23 and the Feast of first fruits. This is where the priests and the people praised God for the first harvest of the season because it represented a greater harvest still ahead. They trusted there was more coming. The resurrection of Jesus foreshadows the resurrection of all God's into eternal life. While Adam brought death, Jesus, who is referred to as the second Adam or the last Adam, brings life. He will put all his enemies under his feet. He will destroy death itself, and he will reign forever. Then Paul says something that isn't referenced anywhere else in scripture. So our rule of thumb here is we don't scream where scripture whispers. We don't build a doctrine or practice around something unclear. This idea in particular refers to being baptized for the dead. Paul never endorses what they're doing. He just addresses it. Some people say they were washing the bodies of the dead as a baptism, and others say they were personally being baptism stand-ins for people who were already dead and buried. But either way, Paul uses their actions to make his point, which is if you don't believe in the resurrection, then why are you doing that?

If there's no afterlife, then those people are ended. Because some of the Corinthians don't believe in the afterlife, they're living it up in the meantime, doing whatever they want. One of the wicked side effects of disbelieving the resurrection is that people often feel like whatever they do doesn't matter. So Paul says, Knock it off. Don't deceive yourselves. This life isn't all there is. He knows they'll want him to explain what these resurrected bodies look like. So he uses descriptive words, but without really painting a full picture. It's powerful, glorified, imperishable, distinct. Our resurrection bodies are more glorious than our earthly bodies because the image of God isn't tainted by our sin nature. And here's a Paul-adjacent comparison that might be semi accurate or helpful. If our earthly bodies are like acorns, our resurrection bodies are like oaks, except oaks that can't die. All the material needed to grow the oak exists in the acorn, like us with the Spirit. But what grows is a completely bigger, better thing altogether, like our resurrection bodies. Paul wraps up in chapter 16 with some greetings and final instructions. He's been instructing the churches to collect money to help support the believers in need in Jerusalem, like a reversed missionary fund because they all share with whoever is in need, and they each give according to their means.

Lots of scholars point out that Paul's instructions for them to collect this money on the first day of each week indicates that the church is meeting on Sundays in honor of the day Jesus rose from the dead, as opposed to the traditional Jewish meeting day of the Sabbath, aka Saturday. Paul says he'll come visit them as soon as he finishes his time in Ephesis. But he wants to stay in Ephesis for a while because there are lots of enemies of the gospel there, which Paul considers a great opportunity to share the gospel. Probably not my perspective, but that's why I'm not Paul. He tells them he's sending Timothy to see them first, though. Timothy has two strikes against him. First, he's Paul's mentee, and there's all this obvious tension between Paul and Corinth in this letter, so there's a chance they may treat him as guilty by association. And second, he's a bit of a spring chicken. He's a young guy. So Paul tells them to treat him with honor and help him. Paul wants Apollis to come visit them, but the fact that Apollis is resistant to it gives us even more of an indication of the tension going on in this church.

They're a mess, but Paul loves them and says he hopes to stay with them for a while if the Lord permits. What was your God shot today? Mine was in 15:9-10, where Paul talks about his role as an apostle. He acknowledges that he doesn't deserve to serve God as an apostle because of his past. He has a right view of himself and of God, and this shows us God's great mercy that he doesn't punish Paul like he deserves, but instead gives Paul a high calling and a huge role in building up the early church. Paul knows his unworthiness doesn't call the shots. His God calls the shots, and he jumps at the chance to serve the kingdom. Through all he's done, he has seen God working through him. He says, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. He gives all the credit to God for the works he has done. He knows it's grace-driven effort, not Paul-driven effort. God not only appoints us and equips us, but he sustains us as we work for his glory. He is the source, supply and goal, and he's where the joy is.

Tomorrow will be starting at second Corinthians. It's 13 chapters long. We're linking to a short video overview in the show notes that will set you up for success, so check that out if you've got eight minutes to spare. We want your church or your small group or your home group or your CG, or whatever you call it, to join us in reading the Bible next year. It's still not too late to get everyone set up and ready to join us on January first. So whether you're on staff at a church or you're a group leader or you know someone who is, we'd love for you to mention the Bible recap and suggest us as a way to help you read through the Bible next year together. And if you're on staff at a church that will be following along with us, we'd love to have you fill out the form on the church page of our website so we can stay connected with you and know how to serve you well. So go to the church page for churches or go to the start page to get information on how to get your group started.

Or for both, you can just click the link in the show notes. Hey Bible readers, have you listened to Hope Nation's brand new Christmas podcast? It's called Scrooge, a Christmas carol podcast. Check out the brilliant storytelling and pick up on the Christmas themes of forgiveness, finding peace and combating fear. It's a great way to show family and friends the lasting hope of Jesus. To listen to the podcast, click the link in the show notes.