Theme Week: Death and the Kingdom – 1 Corinthians 15
Old Testament: 1 Kings 17 & 18
Poetry: Psalm 124
In this devotion I will use words like “philosophical” and “deconstruction” and will even translate a Latin phrase. However, these are not scary concepts, and they are infinitely practical. So please bear with me. This is centrally important.
In our world today, there are many people “deconstructing.”
“Deconstruction” is a term from Jacques Derrida, a postmodern philosopher, which means, basically, picking apart every idea and belief we have to find the core, deep, central “dialectic”, words that are opposites (e.g., “being” and “nothing”) and hierarchy of ideas (e.g. that “being” is better than “nothing”). In a nutshell, Derrida believed we must pull apart an idea until we see what is at the “bottom”. Derrida believed that at base, every idea had opposing words or thoughts that in turn governed how we thought (like “being” and “nothing” governing our idea of “existence”). He believed these words, in opposition and conflict, were needed to make sense of the world, but we need to be aware of them.
However, the “Destruktion” of Derrida has changed.
Today, when people say they are deconstructing, it is almost exclusively of “traditional” Christian values and beliefs. The approach they take to marriage, LGBTQ+ issues, abortion, and other “hot-button” or political topics usually pushes people to reexamine their moral understanding of scripture AND their belief in the factual claims of the Bible. Many have “deconstructed” and no longer believe in large parts of scripture: from famous YouTubers, to our best friends, to some of us reading right now.
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Latin, though a “dead” language, is used a lot to convey ideas that might otherwise be clunky. (e.g., “E.G.” comes from “exempli gratia”, or “for example”, which doesn’t really prove my point , i.e., that Latin helps with clunky phrases (“I.E” stands for “id est” or that is.))
“Sine qua non” is a phrase that means “without which, nothing”. The sine qua non is the most essential element of any political body, philosophical system, or religious doctrine; if you take away the sine qua non, that thing no longer functions, it ceases to be what it was.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul expresses to the Corinthians the sine qua non of Christianity. Paul says that it was of first importance that Christ died for our sins. That he was buried. That he rose. And that he appeared to many disciples.
However, the rest of the chapter focuses primarily, not on his death, but on the resurrection. Paul indicates a couple things to his readers.
- If there is no resurrection, Christ has not been raised.
- If Christ has not been raised, we misrepresent God, because the Christian faith says God raised him.
- If Christ has not been raised, then we should be pitied above all other people.
If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and our faith is futile, and we remain in our sins. (v.12, 17) In short, the Resurrection is the sine qua non of the Christian faith.
Paul is talking to people who were deconstructing. We can almost hear them speaking through the years. “Well, I held to the resurrection for a long time, but I think I have finally given it up. Why believe in something so backwards, so barbaric, so physical? I think it must have been a spiritual raising. Or, possibly, no real resurrection at all, but that the Christ-Spirit that pervades the universe now lives in our hearts.” Paul is saying “you are losing the essential quality of the faith!” This is THE central point!
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Today, you or someone you know might be deconstructing for a number of reasons.
You want “freedom” from the “ancient oppressive norms.”
You want “reality” instead of “naive wish fulfillment.”
You want “truth” rather than “the superstitious ideas of barbaric goat herders.”
But Paul is not claiming that you must believe in oppressive norms that crush the spirit of people, nor is he saying that he believes the reports of people he has never met, nor did he even want Jesus to be raised from the dead.
Paul, in a book that every scholar agrees comes from his own pen, claimed that he saw the man named Jesus who then changed his life. Then Paul, who had nothing to gain and everything to lose, gave up EVERYTHING, nearly died multiple times, to preach about Jesus to people who would often try to kill him. Paul did this all with sophistication and love that preclude the possibility that he was insane.
The resurrection is a fact.
Paul is saying that he would like his readers to trust Jesus; not Paul, not the church, Jesus.
Jesus, the one who gives freedom, because he gives us a new life now and a new life in the world to come. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Jesus, the one who is the bedrock for reality, and the cornerstone of the new kingdom of God. Christ at the end will “reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
Jesus, the fountain of truth, the one who can say “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
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The Christian faith comes with a lot of question marks.
Those hot buttons issues are *hot* for a reason.
The Bible *is* frustrating. So many people have claimed it says different things! And when we actually read it, often the Bible tells us that the best way to live is the opposite of the way we are living right now.
Your questions, your doubts, are pulling at your heart because the world is messy. And dark. I’ve been there too. Where questions and doubt are big, and I feel like I am at the bottom. I look up at the questions wondering “why would I hope? could life get better? wouldn’t it just be better if I wasn’t here?” Too much loss, too much pain, too much death.
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death”
Paul is not playing at wish fulfillment, norms or superstitions. The Jesus he met, the Jesus Christ-followers met, the Jesus the church has met, has led to the fitting conclusion that “death is swallowed up in victory.” Death is no longer victorious. Death can no longer sting. Because we have been given victory.
I have been given victory.
And you have been given victory, if you choose to accept it.
God is not scared of your questions. He is not scared of your doubts. He is not scared of your failures.
What God wants to do is to give:
To give you victory that conquers your failures. Yes, you’ll still make mistakes, but always moving closer to God rather than in circles of pain.
To give you hope, purpose, and passion that will bolster your faith in doubts. You may still ask questions, and you will need other people to sharpen your beliefs, but always moving closer to the God of all comfort.
To give you the Spirit who teachings us all things and guides us into all truth in our questions. You will still have questions but it is no longer the project of deconstruction, of “Destrucktion” where every belief is torn down, but where in the end, they are built anew of Christ the Solid Rock.
In short, “Thanks be to God, who *gives us the victory* through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
-Jake Ballard
(If you need someone to pray for you today, or to hear your questions and doubts, or to tell you it’s gonna be OK, please consider emailing Jake Ballard (jakea.ballard@yahoo.com) or text at (937-561-1000), or find him on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ballard.336_) or Instagram (@jakea.ballard). However, the best thing you can do, is find a local pastor you trust, and speak to them in person. God bless you all.)
Reflection Questions:
- Do you believe in the resurrection of Jesus? If so, why? How would you describe it to someone who has never heard of the resurrection? If not, why not?
- If you believe in the resurrection of Jesus, does that prompt you to live your life differently? If so, how?
- What is the timeline of events Paul gives in 1 Corinthians 15?
- What is the final verse of 1 Corinthians 15 and how can you put it into practice?
Seek Grow Love 