1 Corinthians 15:1-11
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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS
The Resurrection of Christ is Essential to the Gospel
BACKGROUND NOTES
DOCTRINAL POINT(S)
- The resurrection of Christ is a part of the gospel. 
- The resurrection of Christ is a fact of history. 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
- Don’t let God’s grace toward you be in vain. 
QUESTIONS
- What is the great theme of 1 Corinthians 15? 
- What was the Corinthians’ specific problem with resurrection? 
- Why is the resurrection of Christ essential to the message of the gospel? 
- How do Christ’s post-resurrection appearances show without a doubt that His bodily resurrection was real? 
- How was Paul different from the other apostles? 
ANSWERS
- Resurrection. 
- They had some doubts concerning the bodily resurrection of the believer. 
- Without the resurrection of Christ there would be no tangible proof that God was satisfied with the work of Christ. 
- There were literally hundreds of eye-witnesses who were still alive at the time that Paul wrote this. They would have confirmed that Christ’s bodily resurrection was true. 
- Paul had not walked with the Lord during His earthly ministry as the other apostles had. He had also persecuted the Church before his conversion. 
DISCUSS/CONSIDER
- Discuss how the Old Testament Scriptures pointed forward to Christ’s death and resurrection. Include in your discussion Isaiah 53, Psalm 16, and types such as in Genesis 22. 
- Paul was frank about his past and used it as a testimony of God’s grace in saving a lost sinner. What about your past? Can you give a testimony about God’s grace in your life? 
CHALLENGE
- How do you show appreciation to the Lord for His grace that He has shown to you? 
KEY VERSES
- “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 
- “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:10