Comparing the Teaching on the Resurrection in I Corinthians and the Thessalonian Letters
The purpose of this paper is to compare the teaching on the resurrection of Jesus Christ as it is noted in Paul's letter to the Corinthians and Thessalonian letters. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one of the primary doctrines of study in the Bible because it reveals the victory that believers have over death, hell and the grave. However, the belief in a bodily resurrection has been the central focus of controversy since the death of Jesus Christ.
So, before we begin with our comparison of Paul's teaching on the resurrection, we need to begin by understanding the definition or the literal biblical meaning of the word, resurrection'. Webster's Dictionary tells us that the word, resurrection' means, "a rising from the dead, or coming back to life" (Neufeldt 1145). In the biblical sense the word, resurrection' is taken from the Greek word, anastasis, which refers to a raising up, or rising. So, from these two definitions, we should be able to see that the basis for believing in a bodily resurrection is believing that one can die and be brought back to life.
Paul believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and he understood, at least to the point of human comprehension that one could die and be raised from the dead. This was his understanding and one of the reasons why he needed to write about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul spoke a great deal about the risen Christ, but there are some key passages that reveal Paul's understanding of the resurrection. If there is a section of Scripture in the Bible that provides us with a deta...
... middle of paper ...
...ection from the dead has always been a key element of the message about Jesus Christ. If there is no resurrection from the dead, you might as well through away all Bibles, stop all sermons, and close all churches. It is all useless and pointless, if there be no resurrection from the dead.
Works Cited
All Biblical quotations are from the King James Version.
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary On The Whole Bible: Acts To Revelation. Volume 6. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998.
McGee J. Vernon. Thru The Bible: I Corinthians Revelation. Volume 5. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983.
Neufeldt, Victoria. Chief Editor. Webster's New World Dictionary. 3rd Edition. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1998.
Shepherd, David R. Chief Editor. Shepherd Notes: I & II Thessalonians. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1998.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
After his conversion to Christianity, Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire and preached the Gospel, similar to Jesus’ own ministry across Galilee. Paul’s teachings were more focused on the community and the relationships of its members with each other and with non-Christians, whereas Jesus’ teachings were geared towards the individual and his/her personal relationship to God. Despite this discrepancy in their doctrines, Paul’s teachings remain consistent with those of Jesus. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul’s teachings, such as unity in the community and love for others, echo the teachings of Jesus as depicted in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Paul essentially reiterates the teachings of Jesus, and applies them to the lives of the people he preaches to, so that they may understand Jesus’ teachings and embrace Christianity.
The article Reasonable Doubt by Alice Camille presents reasons for defending the actions of Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ, and relates the factors that not only made Thomas doubt his faith, but the testimonies of the resurrection witnessed by Thomas himself. The article also discusses evidence demanded by Thomas to prove that Jesus had risen from the dead.
The most compelling description of Paul is that he is dependable, and will always be devoted to his unit even during times of hopelessness. Some soldiers gave up at the end of the war because they thought that the war would never end, and that the Allies would not give up until all the Central Powers were defeated. Paul is not one of those soldiers; instead he was the one that remained devoted to his country. In his description of war, Paul says, “…a great brotherhood, which adds something of the good fellowship...and of the desperate loyalty to one another of men condemned to death, to a condition of life arising out of the tension and forlornness of death” (272). This displays that Paul still remains whole, and that he hasn’t been impaired by
Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1996.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Smith, LaGard F.: The Daily Bible; New International Version: Harvest House Publishers; Eugene, Oregon 97402_1984. Pages 1449 – 1453.
The New King James Bible explains, "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all ... For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man ... If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (Acts 4:33 and 1 Corinthians 15:21 and 44). Paul explains that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected. Since Jesus was physically buried, then Jesus ' resurrection would represent Him physically rising from the dead. Moreover, Paul explains that we will be resurrected like Jesus because God created humanity. Humanity cannot be physically resurrected because the human body is perishable. However, the spiritual body is imperishable and will live for eternity. Therefore, our physical bodies will be resurrected into an imperishable spirit. The significance of the passage is to demonstrate the historical event that Jesus ' disciples taught the physical resurrection of Jesus and also humanity will be
New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997. Osborne, Grant R. Revelation. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Henry, Matthew, and Leslie F. Church. Commentary on the Whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1961. Print.
Theologians have been stuck on this topic as well. Without the Resurrection, the Christian’s faith
"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15), or as Paul puts it in Romans 6:23 " the wages of sin is death". Christ never sinned, and therefore did not earn the wages of sin. Therefore God raised him from the dead "having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." (Acts 2:24). The full story of Christ's death and resurrection can be found in Matthew 27 & 28, Mark 15 & 16, Luke 23 & 24, and John 18 - 21.
When other popular teachers died, their movement died with them. However, after the death of Jesus, his movement continued to build strength and grew rapidly. James, Peter, John and Paul, Jude and the writer of Hebrews were convinced of Jesus’ resurrection, they believed this with such conviction that they did not even try to defend or prove this. They stated it as fact. “In each narrative, names are given of those to whom the resin Christ presented himself (Barnett 130)”.
Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.