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`I delivered unto you that which I received'.
C
15:3,4. Evidence of Scripture
a Christ died.
b
He was buried.
c
He rose again.
C
15:5-8. Evidence of eye-witnesses.
a Seen of Cephas.
b Then of the twelve.
c Seen of 500
brethren.
a Seen of James.
b Then of all the
apostles.
c Seen of me also.
B
15:9,10. Paul's apostleship no self-appointment
`Yet not I but the grace of God'.
A
15:11.
`I or they'
`So we preach'
`So ye believed'.
This clears the ground for the great controversy. All the apostles
preached Christ risen. The Corinthians believed it as a vital part of the
gospel of their salvation, and many eyewitnesses were still living who
attested the fact; this converging evidence the apostle brings to bear upon
the doubts of the Corinthians regarding the fact and then the doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead.
We are now ready for the fuller structure of 1 Corinthians 15:12-34.
First of all it is important to realize that after the introductory words of
verses 1-11 which we have briefly considered, the remainder of the chapter is
one whole. Let us see this first:
1 Corinthians 15:12-58
A
15:12.
The fact of resurrection. `How?'.
B
15:13-33.
Adam and Christ. Death destroyed. `When?'.
C
15:34.
Exhortation. `Awake'.
A
15:35.
The manner of resurrection. `How?'. `With what?'.
B
15:36-57.
The first and last Adam. Death swallowed up
`When?'.
C
15:58. Exhortation. `Be stedfast'.
It will be recognized that the pair of members denominated B, B
contains the great theme of the passage, and the doctrine is crystallized in
the name Adam. We shall see this more clearly as we proceed, but it is
important to realize the unity of the theme at the beginning of the study.
We can now go back to the first half of this section and give it closer
attention.
1 Corinthians 15:13-33
A
15:13-18.
The fact of resurrection and its relation to doctrine.
B
15:19.
The fact of resurrection and the present life.
C
15:20-28.
The fact of resurrection and the purpose
of the
ages from the Second Coming to the end of the
Mediatorial Kingdom.
B
15:29-32.
The fact of resurrection and the present life.
A
15:32,33.
The fact of resurrection and its relation to practice.