Daily Devotionals

Charles Spurgeon's "Morning & Evening"

Devotional: October 18th

Morning

“If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-18

The apostle Paul has collected the evidence of our Lords resurrection, and has drawn from it the grand doctrine of the resurrection of all believers. His wonderful words have cheered mourners in all ages, and confirmed the faith of the saints. Let us read with deep attention 1 Corinthians 15:1-18.

1 Corinthians 15:1-7

This, then, is the gospel. It consists in great facts. Christ died for our sins, he has made atonement for our transgressions; Christ was buried and has risen from the dead; this is the gospel in a nutshell; those who heartily believe these facts, and rely upon the risen substitute for sinners, are saved.

1 Corinthians 15:1-7

Paul goes on to say that Jesus really rose,

1 Corinthians 15:1-7

Cephas or Peter

1 Corinthians 15:1-7

Nothing in history was ever better attested. The witnesses had nothing to gain, and many of them even lost their lives for maintaining their belief.

1 Corinthians 15:8

He refers here to the time of his conversion, when Jesus spoke to him out of heaven and plainly revealed himself to him.

1 Corinthians 15:9

God had forgiven Paul, but he never forgave himself; tears were ever in his eyes at the remembrance of his sin.

1 Corinthians 15:10

His modesty did not lead him to deny the grace of God. We ought to think little of ourselves, but it would be dishonouring to God to depreciate what he has done for us.

1 Corinthians 15:11-14

Christianity stands or falls with the resurrection of its founder. No man can be a Christian and doubt the resurrection of the Lord; if that had not happened, the whole matter would have been proved an imposture.

1 Corinthians 15:15

Who can believe the apostles to have been guilty of deliberate falsehood on this point? Their characters, their holy teaching, and their martyr deaths all forbid us to rank them with common cheats and liars. Their testimony is in all respects worthy of credit. Jesus did rise from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:18

If Jesus did not rise, those who died resting upon him were deceived, and have found no advocate at the bar of God; they are. therefore lost for ever. The Corinthian Christians were not prepared to believe this, and yet so it must be if Jesus did not rise.

Bless’d be the everlasting God,

The Father of our Lord;

Be his abounding mercy praised,

His majesty adored.

When from the dead he raised his Son,

And call’d him to the sky,

He gave our souls a lively hope

That they should never die.

What though our inbred sins require

Our flesh to see the dust;

Yet as the Lord our Saviour rose,

So all his followers must.

Evening

“But now is Christ risen from the dead.”

1 Corinthians 15:19-34

The apostle Paul proceeds with his argument upon the resurrection, and declares for himself and brethren 1 Corinthians 15:19-34.

1 Corinthians 15:19

If after all there is no resurrection, then the apostles suffered for nothing, they were wretched dupes, and having higher expectations than others their disappointment was proportionately bitter.

1 Corinthians 15:20

The risen Saviour is the pledge and guarantee of our resurrection; we shall surely live again.

1 Corinthians 15:22

By Adams sin all who are in him die, and by Christ’s righteousness all who are in him shall be made alive. There are two great covenant headships: the first was Adam’s headship under the covenant of works, by which we have fallen, and the second is the headship of the Lord Jesus under the covenant of grace, by which we rise to eternal life.

1 Corinthians 15:28

As Mediator, all power is given to our Lord Jesus in heaven and in earth, and this he will exercise until he has vanquished every foe. Then shall his mediatorial reign cease, the universe shall come under the direct sovereignty of God as God; and the Blessed Trinity shall shine forth before all the redeemed, and enter into immediate fellowship with them.

1 Corinthians 15:29

As one believer died another came forward to occupy his place, and so the ranks were filled up by fresh converts. Where was the reason for such enthusiasm if in death men cease to be? Baptism is itself a picture of burial and resurrection, and it loses all its meaning if there be no rising from the tomb.

1 Corinthians 15:30 , 1 Corinthians 15:31

His life was always in jeopardy: what was the use of enduring such perils if, after all, death turned out to be an endless sleep? The suffering Christian is the greatest of fools if the dead rise not.

1 Corinthians 15:32

The most sensible thing to do if this life is all and there is nought beyond it, is to enjoy all the pleasures we can while the days fly by us. The apostle had been exposed in the amphitheatre and had escaped: but why run such risks for a mere dream?

1 Corinthians 15:34

Living among philosophical sceptics, the Corinthian Christians had learned to doubt. Paul here warns them of the danger of such company, and rebukes them for having so shamefully called in question the fundamental doctrine of their religion. God save us from the evil communications of this infidel generation.

My life’s a shade, my days

Apace to death decline;

My Lord is Life, he’ll raise

My dust again, even mine.

Sweet truth to me! I shall arise,

And with these eyes my Saviour see.

My peaceful grave shall keep

My bones till that sweet day;

I wake from my long sleep

And leave my bed of clay.

Sweet truth to me! I shall arise,

And with these eyes my Saviour see.