(#18) The Early Resurrection Creed

  1. Share
6 2

(#18) The Early Resurrection Creed

When we come to the apologetic or defense against the argument that the resurrection is merely legend or myth, there are two key formal elements that must be well understood. The first is the “resurrection polemic” and the second is the “early resurrection creed”.  We looked at the resurrection polemic last time. Now, we want to examine the early resurrection creed. Here it is:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 1 Corinthians 15: 1-8

Paul is expressing a creed that appears fully developed and solidified, very early in the history of Christianity. 

First, what is a creed? The word comes from the Latin, credo, which means “I believe”. This is how we find it in Webster’s 1828 dictionary:

“A brief summary of the articles of Christian faith… as the Apostle’s Creed… that which is believed…”

Throughout the history of Christianity, we find that creeds arose, in many cases, if not all, to counter an attack upon the fundamentals of the faith. The Apostle’s Creed is familiar to many and it most likely arose to counter the heresy of Marcion; the Creed of Nicaea countered the Arian heresy; the Nicene Creed countered Apollinarianism; the Chalcedonian Creed countered the Nestorian heresy; etc. Creeds have been extremely important to the body of Christ. They have not only clarified our beliefs, but they have also provided a means of unity.

So, too, the earliest of Christian creeds—which we are dealing with here in 1 Corinthians. From its deep emphasis upon the resurrection of Christ, one can assume that it was in response to the challenge that Jesus didn't rise from the dead. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine, given the environment of the very early church, that the creed was an important, concise declaration of the facts concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus in the face of persecution. It emboldened them and it unified them.

Some might wonder why this passage in 1 Corinthians is called a creed. Isn’t it just a few verses of Paul’s writing? What makes it so different that we would bracket it as a creed[1]?

First of all, because Paul pretty much tells us so. He introduces it with words that are well-known rabbinical terms that would preface a creed or tradition: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received…”.

It would be like someone saying “Please stand and raise your right hand and repeat after me…” You immediately know that an oath is about to be quoted: “I swear to tell the whole truth…”

So, too, Paul’s words: “delivered to you… what I received” are the introductory words to the beginning of a creed, which he then follows immediately with a list, also typical of a creed:

  • Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture
  • He was buried
  • He was raised on the third day according to the Scripture
  • He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve
  • He appeared to more than 500 brethren…
  • He appeared to James, then to all the apostles

The form and style of the text, and even the words, are typical of a creed and they are non-typical of Paul, which further solidifies that Paul is quoting a well-known creedal declaration.

And, if Paul is saying that he had delivered this to the Corinthians earlier (which reinforces the notion of a repeatable creed), then that would have been somewhere around 51AD, only 20 years after the resurrection. But, note that if he were delivering it, then it had to be earlier than that, for this had been passed on to him. This might have been in 37AD when he went to Jerusalem after his conversion. Which means the creed had already, within a few years of the resurrection, been a part of the early believers worship. Some scholars think that it could have been formed within a few months after Jesus rose from the dead. Why might we think this? Because of the polemic. There were lies being spread that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, but instead His body had been stolen by the disciples. It is this challenge that gives rise to a creed. It must have been very tough, in those days, to be a new believer in the risen Lord, when the Jewish authorities were no doubt doing everything they could to stamp out this fast-growing faith in the resurrected Jesus.

So, why is this important? Because this early creed and the resurrection polemic both stand starkly against the charge that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus did not happen, but rather was a myth and legend that developed through the imaginations of men. But the early dates of both the polemic and the creed preclude this, because there isn’t enough time for a legend to develop. Myth and legends arise only after several generations have passed, when there are no longer any witnesses that can correct the false narrative. The polemic formed immediately, and the creed was developed possibly withing months of the resurrection.

However, there is something more for us here.

 Try to contemplate, if you will, the connection that you and I have all the way back to those very first believers… to Peter and James and Paul; to the jailer and the centurion, Cornelius; to Mary and Magdalene; to the 3000 souls that were added to the faith after Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. They were stating this creed as a statement of what they believed, that Jesus died for our sins, that he was buried and rose again, that He appeared to many. They were confirming, and we confirm with them, that Jesus conquered the grave. He is alive!

This is our heritage. Stand strong in the Lord.

[previous] [next]

 

[1] I suppose no one has addressed this better than Gary Habermas. If you want to go deeper, I recommend you read any of his books on the resurrection. 

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Comments

To view comments or leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

25
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then (#1) the Seal Was Broken
We don’t spend much time talking about the seal that was placed upon the tomb, but I think it is significant. Here is the historical record: The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27:62-66 The historical account states that the chief priests and the Pharisees “made the tomb secure by sealing the stone…”.  This seal was most likely several ropes that were drawn across the stone and then affixed to the tomb walls with a soft clay imprinted with some symbol of authority. It was also likely that the ropes were also sealed at their juncture in front of the stone. In this way, no one could move the stone or the ropes without breaking the dried clay and destroying the “seal” affixed upon the clay.  The seal was there to “put on notice” that no one was to mess with the tomb. Rome could deal quite nastily with those who did so. Now, this doesn’t mean much to us today, for we are long past the norm of using “seals” as they were utilized in ancient times. but in those days, a seal was inviolable[1]. It represented authority, authenticity, and finality. No one messed with a seal. In the book of Esther, when King Ahasuerus issued the order to save the Jews, he commanded them to “seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked.” (Esther 8:8) When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, “… a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel." (Daniel 6:17) In the vision concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, the Scripture says this: And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Isaiah 29:11 The permanence of a seal against all who were unauthorized to break it was an inviolable part of their world.  It becomes even more apparent when John is caught up to heaven and there beholds the scroll with seven seals. John begins to weep because there was “no one worthy to open the scroll or to look into it” (Revelation 5:4). Of course, we find that the Lamb, “standing as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6), was worthy to break the seals. And when each of those seals were broken, great calamity came upon the earth. Seals in the Scripture mean something. And John had wept, because the seal represented an inviolable wall to anyone who did not have the authority to break it. Seals show authority. They show authenticity. And they show finality for all except the one who had the authority to break them. And so, we now come back to the tomb. The seal, whether it was a Roman seal or the High Priest’s seal, represented a fixed closure that no one was allowed to breach. When it was set upon the tomb, there was a finality, a stamp of ultimate authority, that said, “this tomb is closed”. Ah, but God is not subject to the laws or seals of man. I can imagine that when the earth began to shake and the stone was rolled aside, that those clay seals with the authority of man impressed upon them broke into a thousand pieces and lay as trash littering the ground. If Jesus rose from the dead, then the seal of man, meant to keep Him in the grave, had been utterly and completely destroyed. But there is one more thing that must be mentioned regarding “seals”. It is important to note that God has given us this detail in the record to help substantiate the reality of the accounts of the empty tomb and the risen Lord Jesus. But it also brings our minds to something quite wonderful. In John 6:27, Jesus said this: Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” If God seals something, it is sealed! In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13 “… it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 1:21 This is God’s seal of authority, authenticity, and finality. You are His, sealed with His guarantee. Oh, my, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! How deep is the steadfast love of God that He should do such mighty things to secure us to Himself and then tell that He has put His own seal upon you and me. As David writes: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” Psalm 139:6 [previous] [next]     [1]Inviolable /ĭn-vī′ə-lə-bəl/: never to be broken, infringed or dishonored; unassailable; secure from violation or assault or trespass
10
If Jesus Rose from the Dead, then... (#0)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important event in history. It is the most important truth claim in a biblical worldview. It is the key apologetic for Christianity. Over the next seven weeks, I would like for us to think through forty compelling arguments and implications that are true if Jesus, indeed, “rose from the dead”. This will take us through Ascension Day and Pentecost. Both are important days of remembrance following the Resurrection and we will highlight them. But more importantly, I want for us to see the tremendous significance of the Resurrection by looking at not only the many proofs, but also the many implications. And this, I pray, will lead to deep contemplations in our hearts and minds. Paul states that without the resurrection, our faith would be in vain and we would still be lost.  “… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”      1 Corinthians 15:17 This is not a minor statement, and it should cause us pause, for it puts this unique historical event into sharp perspective. Without the Resurrection, we are hopelessly lost. We are without a true faith and we are unforgiven, still condemned in our sins. We should probably read that verse over several times before plowing forward. It is easy for me, and possibly you, to treat Easter as another Christian holiday marked by multiple, and possibly extensive, preparations. Church choirs rehearse diligently and on overtime, special services are prepared (think Good Friday and sometimes Sunrise Services), thousands of lilies are tended and provoked to bloom at the right time and are purchased to line sanctuary rails, special meals are planned and prepared and joyously consumed, treasure hunts are created, painted eggs are hidden and Easter baskets are filled with chocolate bunnies, peeps, and who knows what else the market has, and will, come up with.  The point here is that just like Christmas and Thanksgiving and every other holiday, including birthdays, anniversaries, and the multitude of “take-your-boss-to-lunch” kind of days, they are preceded with much preparation, happy execution, and then forgotten except to toss the wrappings into the trash and press on with life as usual. When I was at the White House, the annual “Easter Egg Roll” on the south lawn was a big deal with weeks of preparation, followed immediately by a massive clean-up and the Secret Service hustling folks out of the “compound”. For the Resurrection, however, Paul implies that it is something so critical to our faith that it should be an ever-present reality. The astounding cry, “He lives!” should be ongoing, not a one-and-done holiday. I believe it is important for us to frequently ponder and meditate upon the deep implications that the tomb was really, truly empty and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is absolutely true… a historical fact that has everyday implications. So, we will look at not only these implications, but also the apologetic propositions and the incredible truths that logically follow this unmatched historical assertion. We will not go through these in any particular order. We are not going from the least to the greatest or vice versa, although we will generally lay down the apologetic arguments first and then deal with the implications. And hopefully, after seven weeks, we will have imprinted these truths deep in our hearts such that they will help us with our walk into the darkness we call future. Because it is the Resurrection of Christ that stands at the forefront in the apologetic reality of who Jesus is and what God has done for us. As a famous hymn states: "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow." [Next: The Seal Was Broken]