-346

verse

Reflections on the evidence of Christ's resurrection.

SECT. who had every opportunity the most scrupulous doubt could xxviii. demand, of examining at leisure into its certainty. More than five hundred persons were witnesses to it at one time; and witnesses, who survived to many future years to attest this important fact, that our faith and hope might be in God: in God, who quickeneth the dead, and who by this resurrection of Jesus his Son, hath begotten us again to a lively hope of an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fudeth not away. As we have received, so let 1 us stand fast in this doctrine; and remember, that our salvation 2 depends on our steadfastly retaining it, and that we believe in vain, and worse than in vain, if we ever, on any considerations, make shipwreck of faith, and of a good conscience.

It is matter of joy and thankfulness, that St. Paul was added to this cloud of witnesses, who attested the resurrection of Jesus; that great apostle, in whom the grace of God was so richly magnified; magnified particularly in that humility which he here 9 expresses in so amiable a manner; calling himself the least of the apostles, and declaring that he was unworthy of the name of an apostle; and amidst all the labours and glories of this eminent station in the church, still keeping in his eyes that madness with which, in the days of his infidelity, he had wasted it. Shall we 10 not all learn of him to say, By the grace of God I am what I am? Let us be solicitous, that his grace bestowed upon us be not in vain; and ever bearing in mind the many sins of our unconverted state, and our great unprofitableness since we have known God, or rather been known of him, let us labour in our Lord's service with proportionable zeal; and when we have laboured to the utmost, and exerted ourselves with the greatest fidelity and resolution, let us ascribe it to that Divine agency which strengthened us for all, and say again, though some should esteem it a disagree able tautology, Not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

SROT. xxix.

SECT. XXIX.

The apostle shews the necessary connection between the resurrection of Christ, which he had established above, and the resurrection of the dead; and urges the importance of retaining that great fundamental of Christianity: in the series of his argument mentioning the surrender of the mediatorial kingdom which Christ shall make at the consummation of all things. 1 Cor. XV. 12—34.

1 CORINTHIANS XV. 12.

1 COR. XV. 12. OW if Christ be

OU have heard, my brethren, something Nopreached that

You

of the convincing evidence which attended this great and important doctrine of Christ's IV. 12 resurrection; but if Christ is thus preached,

1 Cor.

If the dead rise not at all, Christ is not raised:

347

1 Cor.

XV. 12

he rose from the that he was assuredly raised from the dead, how sECT. dead, how say some do some among you presume to say, That there xxix. among you, that is no resurrection of the dead? With what face there is no resurreccan any, who allow of Christ's resurrection, tion of the dead? pretend to deny the other, whether out of an attachment to Sadducean, or philosophical 13 but if there be prejudices? For it is certain, that if there is 13 no resurrection of no resurrection of the dead, if that doctrine be the dead, then Christ in the general altogether incredible, then neither

is not risen.

nesses of God; because we have testi

And this would be a conse- 14 14 And if Christ is Christ raised.a be not risen, then is quence, at once the most false, and the most our preaching vain, melancholy, that can be conceived; for if Christ and your faith is also be not raised, then our preaching, which pretends vain. to take its authority from a commission after his resurrection, in a view of declaring the certainty of it [is] vain; and your faith, founded chiefly upon the testimony which God then Yea, and we the 15 15 Yea, and we bore to him, [is] also vain. are found false wit- apostles, notwithstanding all the miraculous evidences we give of the truth of our mission, fied of God, that he are found, what I am sure you cannot believe raised up Christ we are, false witnesses of God; because you whom he raised not know that we bore this as our most important up, if so be that the and solemn testimony concerning God, that he raised up Christ, whom nevertheless he indeed did not raise up, if the notion of a resurrection in the general be, as they teach, an absurdity, I repeat it again, as 16 rise not, then is not a point of the highest consequence; for if the dead are not finally to be raised, neither is Christ 17 And if Christ raised; And what terrible consequences would 17 be not raised, your arise from hence? Surely such as might be faith is vain; ye are sufficient to strike us with horror: for if Christ yet in your sins. be not raised, all your faith in the gospel [is] vain, and ye are without any salvation: ye are in that case still in your sins, under the pres sure of their unexpiated guilt; for with the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, that of

dead rise not.

16 For if the dead and the dead rise not all.

Christ raised:

b

a Neither is Christ raised.] This argu- accomplished in the Son of God. Com, ment, on which the apostle dwells in so pare verse 1, note *. copious a manner, would appear to be of Still in your sins.] This plainly shews great moment, whatever the principles than reformation, were by which the doctrine of the resur- how necessary it was that there should rection was assaulted. It could not be said, be something more that was in its own nature impossible, which was plainly in fact wrought, in orwhich was accomplished in Christ; and der to their being delivered from their it would prove, that the hope of a resur- sins; even that atonement, the sufficiency rection was not, as the Gentiles represent- of which God attested by raising our ed it, a mean and sordid hope, since it was great Surety from the grave.

348 But Christ being raised, is the first fruits of them that slept.

SECT. the efficacy of his atonement is inseparably

1 Cor.

perished.

xxix. connected. And then also there would be this 18 Then they also deplorable consequence farther attending, that which are fallen aXv. 18 they who sleep in Christ, are perished; even all sleep in Christ, are deceased Christians, not excepting the most excellent of them, who have died for their religion. They have lost their life and being together, on this supposition, in the cause of one, who, if still among the dead, must have been an impostor, and false prophet.

19

20

all men moɛt miser

And this scheme, which would represent 19 If in this life those that sleep in Christ as perished, would, only we have hope I am sure, be a very terrible doctrine to us the in Christ, we are of apostles of Jesus, in such a circumstance as able. this; for if it were in this life only that we have hope in Christ, we, who are exposed to such a variety of calamities and dangers for his sake, were of all men in the world the most pitiable: since it is evident, that amidst such evils as these, nothing could comfort and support us, but the hopes of immortality; and we must be at once the vilest and the most wretched of mankind, if, while we make such pretences to them, we were indeed governed by any lower views.

But we will now dwell no longer on these 20 But now is melancholy suppositions, for we assuredly Christ risen from the know that Christ is indeed risen from the dead,a dead, and become

Of all men the most pitiable: exservolego.] It is quite foreign to the purpose, to argue from this text, as some have done, that "if there were no future state, virtue would make men more miserable than they would otherwise be." It is evident, St. Paul here speaks, not of the case of good men in general, if their hopes of future happiness should after all be disappointed; but of the case of the apostles, and other preachers of Christianity, if amidst all their hard. ships and persecutions, they were not supported by this hope. Destitute of this amidst the extremest sufferings, they must have been perpetually subjected to the upbraidings of their own minds, for sacrific. ing every view of happiness in this world or another, to advance what they knew to be a pernicious falsehood. Perhaps there never were men on earth so criminal, and so wretched, as they must, on this suppo

sition, have been. See the thought illustrated at large in my Sermons on the Power and Grace of Christ, &c. Ser. ix. p. 259–262. d Christ is indeed risen, &c.] It is a great mistake to imagine that the apostle is employed throughout this chapter in proving the resurrection. The proof lies in a very little room, chiefly verse 12-19, and almost all the rest of the chapter is taken up in illustrating, vindicating, or applying it. The proof is indeed very short, but most solid and convincing, that which arose from Christ's resurrection. Now that not only proved a resurrection to be in fact not impossible, but, which was much more, as it proved him to be a Divine teacher, it proved the doctrine of a general resurrec tion, which he so expressly taught. It was natural for so good a man also, to insist on the sad consequences which would follow with respect to himself and his

For as all die in Adam, all shall be made alive in Christ: 349

the first fruits of [and] we are sure, that in this his resurrection, sect. them that slept. he is become the first fruits of them that slept ;e xxix. 21 For since by so that it is the security of ours. For as death man came death, by [came] on the whole human race by means of resurrection of the one man, who brought mortality on all his pos

man came also the

dead.

1 Cor.

xv. 21

terity as the consequence of that one great offence, so likewise by means of another man [cometh] the resurrection of the dead; and our happy relation to him, abundantly repairs the damage we sustained by our fatal relation to the 22 For as in Adam former. For as in Adam all are dead, and a 22 all die, even so in sentence of inevitable death is come upon us all, Christ shall all be made alive. as descended from him; so we Christians have joyful persuasion for ourselves, and for our brethren, that, (though we are neither capable of effecting or meriting such a change,) in 23 But every man Christ we all shall also be made alive. But it 23 in his own order was fit that every one should be reanimated, Christ the first fruits, raised and glorified in his own order: it was afterward they that are Christ's, at his fit that Christ, after a very short abode in the grave, should rise as the first fruits, and as such should present himself to God, and use his recovered life in his service; and they who are Christ's property, the whole body of those that belong to him, should be raised up a consider. able time afterwards, and appear as a glorious harvest in full maturity, at the important hour of his coming, when his voice shall awaken, and his almighty hand restore them.

soming.

24 Then cometh

shall have delivered

And then [shall] the end of the world [be,] 24 the end, when he the grand catastrophe of all those wonderful up the kingdom to scenes that have held in suspense so many sucGod, even the Fa- ceeding generations; when he shall publicly ther; when he shall and solemnly deliver up the mediatorial kingdom have put down all to God, even the Father, by whose commission

he has held it, and to whose glory he has always
administered it; when he shall have abolished

brethren, from giving up so glorious a xa here is explained by xospenderTeshope; and the cordial manner in which verse 18, and both must refer to Christhe speaks of this, is a noble internal argu. ians, of whose resurrection alone, and not ment, which I hope many of my readers that of the wicked, he evidently speaks in will feel, though I have been obliged to be this whole chapter. less copious in the paraphrase than I could have wished.

• First fruits of them that slept.] It is without sufficient reason, that Mr. Flem ing, (Christ. Vol. I. p. 218,) would render awaşxy, ruler, governor, or commander. Kı

f Abolished and deposed.] The word xalaguai, generally signifies, "divest ing a thing of some power, whether lawful or usurped, which it formerly had, and reducing it to an incapacity of exerting that energy any more." Thus it is used of

350

1 Cor.

and death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed.

25 For he must

reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

SECT. and deposed all principality, and all authority, rule, and all authorxxix. and power, that has opposed itself to his gov. ity, and power. ernment, and shall have triumphed over all the xv. 24 efforts, which either men or devils could ever make against his ever growing empire and do25 minion. For we know, that according to the tenor of that ancient prophecy, (Psal. cx. 1,) which carries with it so illustrious a reference to the Messiah and his kingdom, he must reign, till he have put all [his] enemies under his feet; so as that they should become his footstool, and subserve that exaltation which they have en26 deavoured to prevent. And so universal shall the triumph be, that the very last enemy, [even] that shall be destroydeath, shall be deposed and destroyed: that enemy which continues in some measure to hold the subjects of Christ under its dominion, even when the temptations of the world, and the malice of Satan, can hold them no longer, and when every remainder of corrupt nature and human infirmity has long since ceased in the perfect holiness of the intermediate state, and its unmingled serenity and joy..

27

26 The last enemy

ed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under

This, I say, must necessarily be implied; for it is elsewhere said, he hath put all things his feet. But when under his feet, (Psal. viii. 6,) and it must ac- he saith all things cordingly be accomplished; but [it is] evident are put under him, it is manifest that he enough, that when he saith, that all things were subjected to him, it is with the exception of him did put all things unis excepted which by whom all things were thus subjected to him. der him. None can surely imagine, that the Son was ever to reign over the great and glorious Father of all; but on the contrary it may naturally be concluded, that he would still direct his administration to the glory of him from whom he 28 received his kingdom. But when the Father shall have fulfilled this promise in its utmost extent, and all things shall be subjected to him, shall the Sun' also so that it shall appear to every eye, that he is himself be subject indeed Lord of all; then shall the Son also unto him that put all himself, amidst all the glories of that triumph, things under him, be, and declare himself to be, subject to him

that subjected all things to him, by a public act,

28 And when all

things shall be subdued unto him, then

Satan, Heb. ii. 14; of death here, and verse 8 Then shall the Son also himself be sub26, and 2 Tim. i. 10; of temporal princes, jeet, &c.] I hope I shall be forgiven, if 1 Cor. i. 28, chap. ii. 6; and of the sere- after the best attention I could use, I have monial law, Eph. ii. 15.