The Christ Quarter
The Christ Quarter discusses God's Words through scripture, what those means and how they apply to our lives. I hope that God will speak to you through His Words and that my discussion of those words and will help to bring you closer to Him.
I am blessed to have this opportunity to share God's word with you and I thank you so much for listening.
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Thank you very much!
- Kirk
- TheChristQuarter@GMail.com
The Christ Quarter
Our Faith Is Not In Vain Because Christ Is Risen
What if the most important truth you hold has slowly faded into background noise? We open 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 and bring the resurrection back into sharp focus as the foundation of faith, the engine of hope, and the pattern for a new kind of life. Moving through Paul’s summary of the gospel, we trace the eyewitness testimony, the fulfillment of Scripture, and the logical stakes if Christ were not raised. Then we explore the good news Paul insists on; that Christ has been raised, the first fruits of a harvest that includes all who belong to him.
From there, we connect theology to daily practice. Adam and Christ frame the human story; death through the first man and life through the last Adam. That contrast reshapes baptism, identity, and community. Being “sown in weakness, raised in power” isn’t just a future headline; it informs how we carry ourselves today, with humility, courage, and responsibility. We talk about living as new people in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve, testify, and love without superiority, remembering we are saved by grace and sent to invite others into the same mercy.
Finally, we lift our eyes to the promise of a spiritual body; real, restored, and fit for God’s presence. We let that future hope steady us in daily work; prayers, conversations, quiet acts of care. The risen Christ anchors our faith in history, secures our destiny, and animates our mission, our work, today. If the grave doesn’t get the last word, neither does fear or futility.
Listen, reflect, and share this message with someone who needs hope today. If this encouraged you, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it along to a friend. Your voice helps this good news reach someone who needs to hear it.
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1st Corinthians 15: 1-8, 12-14, 20-23, 42-45
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
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Welcome to the Christ Quarter. I'm so glad you're here with me to take 15 minutes of this day to enjoy the presence of Christ and the words of Christ. Today we'll read a lengthy section of Scripture and discuss what it means and how it applies to our lives. It is my hope that God will speak to you through these words and bring you closer to Him. I am blessed to have this opportunity to speak with you, and I thank you so much for being with me today. Today's scripture selection is 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 through 8, 12 through 14, 20 through 23, and 42 through 45. The King James Version reads as follows. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again third day, according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of due time. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen, and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterwards they that are Christ at his coming. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown in natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the freedom and the ability to discuss your word and enjoy your presence. Help us to understand your word and your will for our daily lives more fully. We ask that you bless this discussion of your word, that it will speak to someone who needs to hear from you. We ask that you will use these words to bring someone closer to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The verses for today are foundational. Our Christian faith is based on Jesus having died, having been buried, and having risen from the grave, having defeated death. By trusting in Him and living for Him, we die to the world and to our flesh, and are reborn as new people in Jesus Christ. Our faith is based on these facts. Without them we have nothing. Paul makes this very clear in today's verses. So let's get right to it. The first section of today's text, first Corinthians chapter fifteen, verses one through eight, reads Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, but which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present. But some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me also, as one born out of due time. This section makes six main points. Jesus Christ died for our sins, he was buried, he was in the grave for three days, he rose from the grave on the third day. It can be proven through many, many witnesses, and lastly, all of this was predicted centuries ago. We so often hear that Jesus died for our sins. We hear it so often that it becomes almost background noise. It's very easy for us as Christians to feel that in order to become stronger in our faith, we need to move on from this and learn more about other parts of the Bible. Memorize scriptures, learn about the minor prophets, and so on. But if we move on from Jesus' death and neglect the facts surrounding his death, we are moving away from the foundation of our entire faith. It is an easy thing to do as seasoned Christians, and a tendency that Paul addresses here. Jesus died for us, falsely accused and without complaint. There is no doubt that Jesus lived, that he died, that he was placed in a borrowed grave for three days. These are historical facts. Paul is addressing the only part of this that the world wants to deny, that Jesus rose on the third day. We all die. But consider Lazarus. Lazarus died and was also raised from the grave. He rose from his grave at Jesus' command, but from that point forward he lived and died as an ordinary man. Jesus rose from the grave by the power of the Father, but did not live as an ordinary man. Jesus rose as we will with power. Jesus was seen by many people who then served as eyewitnesses to the doubters of that day that Jesus was truly alive. The fact that Jesus did what he did is amazing enough. But Paul points out that these events were also foretold centuries in the past. And this is the foundation of our faith. The second section of today's text, verses twelve through fourteen, and verses twenty through twenty-three, reads Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, after which they that are Christ at his coming. This section has three points. Death came through Adam, the first man, life came through Jesus, the last Adam, and without the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, our faith would be in vain. This reminds me of baptism. We are all born in flesh, just as Adam was, and we all struggle with this life because of our flesh. In baptism, we symbolically die to our flesh. We are submerged into a watery grave, and are then raised up anew in Jesus. This section emphasizes not only the foundational principles of our faith, but also the fact that in Jesus Christ, we are a new people and can move beyond our simple flesh and be so much more than that. We are new with a new point of view, a new relationship, and through the Holy Spirit, new abilities. We have moved away from the world and into the family of Jesus Christ. The last section of today's text, verses forty two through forty five, reads. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. So it is written. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit. This last section focuses on what we are. It compares our current natural bodies with our future spirit bodies. Our current bodies are dirty, almost worthless, other than a spare parts for other people's bodies, and will eventually go back to the earth that it came from anyway. However, our spirit bodies will be raised in power. The first atom was a body like our current body, but the last atom, Jesus, was made a quickening spirit, as we will also be when we rise to be like him. Here Paul moves from the present situation to the future that we are promised as Christians in Jesus Christ. The future when we will no longer be limited by our flesh in the way it pulls at us. This is wonderful and amazing and something I wonder about sometimes. I feel that there is so much that we will understand and so much that we will experience at that time. Being in the actual presence of Jesus Christ is difficult to consider. It is just too big, it's just too awesome. But in the meantime, we have work to do. We are new people in Jesus and we are no longer of this world, but we are still in this world, and we need to reach out to others and bring them into this journey with us. We Christians are saved. We need to reach out to others and bring them into this amazing journey so that they might also be saved. Keeping in mind that we are not better than anyone else. We as Christians should be very much aware of how unworthy we are and allow this awareness to lead us to humility so that we can, in humility, share our journey with others and lead others to Jesus Christ. Paul points out that we will be raised in power in Jesus Christ. As Christians, we already have the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and with great power comes great responsibility, the responsibility to further the kingdom of God. So take the time today to share the knowledge of Christ with someone close to you. That concludes our scripture discussion for today. Thank you for spending this time with me talking about, learning about, and enjoying Christ. It's my hope that God has used my words to touch you today and has brought you closer to Him. Please contact me if you wish to have further information about Christ. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debt to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.