Transcribed and abridged from Cliff Notes: 1 Corinthians 15 I'd like to share with you from 1 Corinthians 15, as we look at scriptural evidence and testimonies that highlight proof of the resurrection.

The first evidence we find is the testimony of the scriptures. We see this in verses 3 and 4 (1 Corinthians 15). 'For what I received, I passed on to you as first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; that He was buried; and that He was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures.' What this means is that both the prophets and Jesus foretold of this long before it actually happened. That's what we see here in verses 3 and 4. Justin Martyr said, 'To declare that a thing shall come to pass long before it is in being, and then to bring it to pass, is the work of God.' This is nothing but the work of God. That is something for us to take to heart. We have the testimony in the scriptures and the fulfillment of prophecy.

We have the testimony of the eyewitnesses in verses 5 through 12 of first Corinthians 15. It says that He appeared to Peter, and on to verse 12, He appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, even though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. There were many who saw Jesus after His resurrection with their own eyes. They were face to face with the risen Savior and Lord. Paul refers to himself as one being abnormally born because he experienced the risen Lord on the Damascus Road, not necessarily face to face, but through actual presence and hearing His voice. How do we prove all of this? We prove this all by the number of, agreement of, and reliability of the witnesses.

Next is the testimony of the changed lives. The greatness we see here are the changed lives since the first apostle who discovered the empty tomb. All who have trusted in Christ Jesus has had their lives changed. We have all had our lives changed since the moment we accepted and trusted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We become new creatures in Christ. This is something for us to take to heart. This means that Jesus is risen, He lives, and now we can live. We have life now and forever through our faith in the risen Savior and Lord.

For my last point, I'll go down to verse 20 of our passage: 'But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.' Although Christ was not the first to rise from the dead (He raised Lazarus and others), He was the first to never die again. He is the forerunner for us and the proof of our eventual resurrection to eternal life.

Something we need to firmly understand is that the message of the resurrection is a reliable, trustworthy message. Christ, our risen Savior and Lord, is passionate about us being in a relationship with Him every single day. He's not apathetic toward us. He's not lazy in His role as a risen Savior and Lord. He wants to be active in our lives and for us to experience Him every day. The risen Savior and Lord wants us to be in a growing relationship with Him. We shouldn't be apathetic toward Him. We shouldn't be lazy in our relationship with Him because every day is a gift from God. We should be passionate about living for Jesus, our risen Savior and Lord. Remember to spend time in prayer each day and keep our focus upon the Lord. We have a risen Savior and Lord who will not leave us nor forsake us, and will help us to live a victorious life, bringing glory to His name.