Bible

In the Bible room today, we conclude the reading of the book of I Corinthians. Here is Session 7, the summaries of chapters 15 and 16.

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I Corinthians

Session 7

Chapter 15. Risen

Again, my fellow believers, I am delivering to you the gospel

• Which you have already believed, and by which you are saved,
• If you genuinely believe it; The message I have delivered to you
• Is that which I also have believed, that Christ died for our sins,
• As written in the Scriptures, and, after being buried for three
• Days, He came out of the grave alive, being seen by the twelve
• Disciples, first by Peter, then the others; After that, He was
• Seen by a gathering of believers numbering over five hundred,
• Most of whom are still alive today, but some have passed on;
• James saw Him also, along with all the apostles;
• Finally, I saw Him too, like I was the last to be born; I don’t
• Even consider myself worthy of being called an apostle, as I
• Had caused so much suffering among the believers; But God,
• By His grace, changed me into what I am today: And I have
• Worked harder than anyone to be an apostle; But it’s not me,
• It is the grace of God working through me; And regardless of
• Who delivered the gospel to you, whether me or someone else,
• You have heard and believed;
• The gospel that we preach, and you believe, is that Christ has
• Come back from the grave alive, but there are some among you
• Saying that it is not possible that anyone could come back from
• The dead; If what they are saying is true, then Christ has not
• Risen from the dead, and everything we have told you is false,
• And you have nothing in which to place your faith; That would
• Make us unreliable witnesses of God, since we have said God
• Has raised Christ from the dead;
• If Christ is not risen from the dead, then your faith is worthless,
• And you have not been forgiven of your sins, and those who
• Have died believing in Christ, are lost forever; If the hope we
• Have in Christ is only for the life we have now, then we have
• Little to offer others;
• But Christ is risen from the dead, and, as He is the first One,
• That brings hope for all who have died with their faith in Him;
• The certainty of death was brought about by a man, and now
• The assurance of life after death is accomplished by another
• Man; For just as Adam died, so does everyone, but in Christ,
• Everyone can be assured of a new life; Christ was the first, then
• We all who are His, will follow when He returns;
• Right now, God has assigned Christ to control everything, except
• Himself, and when Christ has put an end to death, the final
• Enemy, He will hand over the kingdom to God, His Father, and
• That will be the end of all the earthly kingdoms; Then God will
• Be everything in everything;  
• If there is no life after death, why are there baptisms for the
• Dead? And why then are we in jeopardy every day for the
• Message we preach? I can assure you that my life is threatened
• Every day because of what I am teaching you; If the message of
• A life after death is false, what did I have to gain by facing men
• Acting like wild animals at Ephesus? After all, we could just eat
• And drink today, for tomorrow we will all die anyway;
• But do not let these evil people around you deceive you into
• Changing your correct beliefs; I know there are some in the
• Church who are still unbelievers, and it is shameful that you
• Have accepted them, but just keep preaching what is right, and
• Stay away from sinful habits;
• Now I am sure someone will ask, ‘How can a body come back
• From the dead, and what would that body look like?’ Don’t be
• Foolish, the seed you plant in the ground must die before it will
• Come back alive; And when you plant, you don’t plant a grown
• Stalk such as wheat or another crop, you plant only a seed of
• Grain; Then God gives it the proper body according to the seed;
• Just as all living things on earth are different, like men, animals,
• Fish, and birds, there is also a difference between heavenly
• Bodies and earthly bodies; The light from the sun is different
• Than the light from the moon, and also the light from each star
• Is different from another star;
• It is the same for the human body that comes back from death:
• When it dies, it decays, but when it is resurrected, it comes
• Back as a new human being that will never decay; Put into the
• Ground at death, it will one day rise into the heavens; Dead,
• The lifeless body will come back with the power of a new life;
• The natural body put into the grave, will come back a spiritual
• Body; Actually, we all have two bodies—our natural body and
• Our spiritual body; The scriptures tell us that Adam, the first
• Man, came into life a ‘living being;’ But the last Adam came as
• A ‘life-giving’ spirit; But for man, the order is: natural body
• Comes first, followed by a spiritual body; Adam, the first man,
• Was earthly, from the ground, but the second Adam, the Lord,
• Is from heaven; Just as Adam was earthly, so are we, but we
• Who are heavenly minded are like the second Adam; On the earth,
• We all look similar to the first Adam, but in spirit, we want to
• Look like the Man from heaven;
• This natural body will not inhabit the kingdom of God, as it is
• Subject to decay, for in God’s kingdom nothing decays;
• Here is something you may not know: Not all humans will die,
• But we will all be instantly changed, quicker than the eye can
• Twinkle, at the sound of the last trumpet; Then, dead, decaying
• Bodies will be raised up to never die or decay again, and we
• Will be given new, immortal bodies; As the scripture says,
• ‘There will be a final victory over the sting of death;’ The law
• Tells us that sin brought the sting of death, but, thank God,
• Victory has come to us through our Lord Jesus Christ;
• So, my fellow believers, hold fast to the truth, never wavering
• As you work for the Lord.

Chapter 16. Strong

Concerning your offerings to support the believers:  

• These are the same instructions I have given to all the churches
• In Galatia, and I expect you to follow also:
• Bring your offerings to the church on Sundays, and save them
• So that there be no collections when I get to you; Then, you
• Can select someone to take your gift to the church in Jerusalem
• Along with your letter, or, if you prefer, you can hold it until I
• Get there and when I leave, I will go back with it;
• I am planning a trip to Macedonia, and I will stop to see you as
• A part of that trip; Perhaps I will spend the winter with you
• Before I continue on, although I have no specific plan as to my
• Next destination; I am not coming to see you right now, but I
• Will come later, and stay a while as the Lord leads; I’m staying
• Here in Ephesus until after the day of Pentecost, as there are
• Many places to preach, but there are also many who are
• Opposing me; If Timothy gets to you before I get there, make
• Him feel welcome, treat him kindly as he is doing the same
• Work in the Lord as I am;
• I have urged Apollos to come to you with some other believers,
• But he wants to wait a while longer before getting to you;
• So, be diligent, be strong, but do everything in love; Work with
• All those who have worked with us, including Stephanas,
• Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for they have helped you, and me;
• The churches of Asia send greetings to you, along with Aquila
• And Priscilla who are holding church in their home;
• All the believers here send you their warmest greetings;
• I, Paul, have written this salutation myself;
• I am looking for the return of the Lord, and may the grace of
• Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you;
• I love you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

End of Session 7 of the book of I Corinthians.

(This concludes the reading of the book of I Corinthians.)