The Ultimate Grace of God

I Corinthians 15: 1 – 11 (February 7, 2010)

1) The Text

15Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. 3For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

2) The Context

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 is an important passage because it is the earliest written account of Jesus' resurrection. Because Paul states that the account of resurrection appearances was passed on to him by others, it is earlier than its usage in 1 Corinthians (which is dated no later than 55 AD).1 In addition to being very early, the appearance tradition cited in 1 Corinthians refers to people that Paul knew and had talked to personally, such as Paul and James. So not only did Paul inherit an early tradition, he had the opportunity to discuss it with some of the witnesses cited within it. Thus, this passage constitutes the earliest surviving written tradition of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, pre-dating those in the canonical Gospels by decades, and it is attested by someone who had the opportunity to discuss it with at least some its sources.

Unlike the gospels, however, Paul does not cite the empty tomb as part of his proof. Perhaps he did not know the story, although we must assume he would have not been surprised. Nor does he mention the women, perhaps for the same reason. He mentions that Christ appeared to Peter and this may indicate that he thinks this appearance lies at the foundation (the rock) of the tradition, a view reflected elsewhere, but he does not stop there. He mentions others, including the twelve, James and the apostles. The list will have been part of the information he received; it uses categories which otherwise play no role in Paul's writings (like the 12) or which are understood differently (like the apostles).

3) Interpretation

Sometimes fear, confusion, and panic shakes our world and sends us adrift. Struggle and fear have always been part of the human condition. Paul understood the fear and disarray of life and moral failure and he spoke to it a couple of millennia ago and he speaks to it now. He saw a world where the purposes of God went one way and the lives of the people went another.

Paul said there is only one hope for you and for the world and that is the resurrection, the ultimate grace of God. He knew it because he'd experienced it. I don't know what you've done wrong in your life, but Paul was guilty of murder. He hunted down and destroyed believers in Christ until all of a sudden one day he met that Christ. And Jesus offered him grace, he who was least worthy to receive it, which is what makes it grace, and then Paul spent the rest of his life living into it that grace.

And so he wrote to friends in distress: Back to basics, friends. I give to you what I received, the most important thing, that Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day and then appeared to one, to twelve, to many, many more including me, even me.

Believe this and live as if you do. Because if you do, you will receive the grace, which is life, you believe and you become it for others.
But the question becomes, how? How do we live what we believe? How can we challenge ourselves as a church and as individuals to live God's grace through the practice of Christ's hospitality?

We can begin anew, living the hospitality of Christ that invites God to come in and make us bigger, more gracious than we are. The hospitality of Christ brings life. It places us within the grace of God. It walks us in the way of humility. You receive it by believing it and living it. Try to live it, for example, by welcoming guests not usually invited to a family celebration or make a guest room available to the relative of a neighbor you have never met before.

As we go deeper into the practice of hospitality, we will see that it is not simple, not superficial. There is accountability, risk, self care, and responsibility on the guest's part. Hospitality requires forgiveness, repentance, reconciliation. This is not cheap grace we are talking about. It is about small deaths and little resurrections.

It is easy to fail sometimes to practice or receive the grace of God. We are perfectly capable of walking in the ruts of anger and resentment. Small kindnesses by neighbors can make us experience little resurrections - to glimpse how life could be by the grace and power of God. Why not be people who keep talking of God and pointing to Christ by the humble hospitality of our lives, and trusting the rest to God!

Then, with Paul we can say, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and God's grace has not been for nothing."

4) Thought Exercise

How have you experienced “little resurrections” recently?

How has your hospitality enabled others to experience “little resurrections”?