“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that HE WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.”-{1 Cor 15:1-6}

SOME DOUBT THE RESURRECTION AND THE DIRE CONSEQUENCES IF THAT IS SO;

“…Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”– {1 Cor 15:12-19}

“BUT CHRIST,…”

“But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”-{v 20}

Paul builds his Faith on the Foundation of the Scriptures! Twice he says, “…according to the Scriptures,”-{v3, 4}. The Old Testament Scriptures Testified m such as Psalm 16;10. Psalm 22, Isaiah 53.

The Scriptures Testified. People Testified through witnessing the Risen Christ…

  1. He Appeared to Cephas{Peter} – “…He appeared toCephas,”-v5
  2. He Appeared to the Twelve-  “then to the twelve.” -v 5
  3. He Appeared To More Than Five Hundred- “After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;” v6 “
  4. He Appeared To James- “He appeared to James,”- v7
  5. He Appeared to ALL The Apostles -“then to all the apostles; “-v7
  6. -He Appeared To Paul; -“and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also…” -v8

These Witnesses Authenticated the Event Of The Resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ!

The Resurrection did not happen in some vacuum but Jesus PUBLICLY DISPLAYED HIMSELF so that People could see and testify He is Risen from the dead! “HE APPEARED”- He Showed Himself, They SAW HIM! The word, “APPEARED,”(horao) means “to see or perceive with the eye, to pay attention to, to understand or to experience. Horao is used a number of times in the NT referring to seeing visions but Paul here is clearly not speaking of a vision but the actual bodily appearance of our Lord.”={Preceptaustin}…”  “Ryrie makes the point that…The citation of these and other witnesses to Christ’s resurrection is of great apologetic value, especially in view of the fact that the Resurrection was still being attested to by living witnesses 25 years after the event”

1 Corinthians 15 was written 25 years after the Resurrection and there were still people at that time who were alive whom could be questioned, as they would have been known by name and could testify to what they had witnessed of the Resurrected Christ!

4 Witnesses;

The Scriptures Testified To The Resurrection

The People Testified Of The Resurrection

Jesus Testified by Appearing to them-

Those Who Received and Believed the Gospel Testified! -v 1-2

“I AM The Resurrection And The Life. Anyone Who believes in Me  Will Live, Even Though They Die” -{John 11:25 NLT}