This contrast is from Clarence Larkin
07
Jan
2026
Christ
28
Dec
2025
2 Cor 5:19-20 – For Whom Did Christ Die?
Problem: As ambassadors of Christ we are to go to all men with the word of reconciliation. How can we tell lost men and women to be reconciled to God if no such reconciliation has been provided? But if God has indeed reconciled the world unto Himself, then we can go to the world with a message of reconciliation. Christ’s act of suffering provides a righteous basis for God to welcome the rebel’s return. For those who are enemies of God and for all those who are enemies of God, we have a message of good news! We have a word of reconciliation! We have a message of hope because “He died for all” (2 Cor. 5:14-15). God is the Reconciler of all men (verse 19, “the world”), especially of them that believe (verse 20 where reconciliation is limited to those who respond in faith). Compare 1 Timothy 4:10.
20
Dec
2025
1 Cor 15:50 – If flesh and blood cannot enter heaven, then how can there be a physical resurrection?
Problem: The Bible speaks of the resurrection of the physical body from the grave (John 5:28–29), which is composed of “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39) and which leaves an empty tomb behind (Matt. 28:6). However, according to this verse, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”
14
Dec
2025
1 Cor 15:20-23 – Christ the Firstfruits
Problem: In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul wrote at length concerning the resurrection of the dead, because some of the Christians in Corinth taught “that there is no resurrection of the dead” (vs. 12). As one of his proofs for the Christian’s eventual resurrection, Paul pointed to the fact of the resurrection of Christ, and showed that the two stand or fall together, saying, “if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (vss. 16-17)! After hypothetically arguing from the absurd in an attempt to get the Corinthian Christians to see that their stance on the final resurrection completely undermined Christianity, Paul proceeded to demonstrate that Christ had risen, and thus made the resurrection of the dead inevitable. It is in this section of scripture that some find a difficulty. Beginning with verse 20, Paul wrote:
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13
Dec
2025
1 Cor 15:20 – Was Jesus the first one ever to be resurrected from the dead?
Problem: The Bible seems to claim here that Christ was the first one ever to rise from the dead, calling Him “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” However, there are many other resurrections recorded in the Bible before Jesus’ resurrection, both in the OT (cf. 1 Kings 17:22; 2 Kings 13:21) and in the NT (cf. John 11:43–44; Acts 20:9). How then could Jesus’ resurrection be the first one.
11
Dec
2025
1 Cor 15:4 – Did Jesus Rise “On” or “After” the Third Day?
Problem: The most frequent reference to Jesus’ resurrection reveals that He rose from the grave on the third day of His entombment. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Jesus as prophesying that He would arise from the grave on this day (Matthew 17:23; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:22). The apostle Paul wrote in his first epistle to the Corinthians that Jesus arose from the grave “the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). What’s more, while preaching to Cornelius and his household, Peter taught that God raised Jesus up “on the third day” (Acts 10:40, emp. added). The fact is, however, Jesus also taught (and Mark recorded) “that the Son of Man” would “be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31, emp. added). Furthermore, Jesus elsewhere prophesied that He would be in the heart of the Earth for “three days and three nights” (Matthew 12:40). So which is it? Did Jesus rise from the dead on the third day or after three days?
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10
Dec
2025
1 Cor 15:3-4 – For Whom Did Christ Die
Problem: What was the gospel message which Paul preached to lost men? The Apostle Paul very specifically sets forth the gospel that he preached in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. In 1 Corinthians 15:3 we learn that the central part of the gospel message is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” In 1 Corinthians 15:1 Paul says that this is the very gospel which he preached to the Corinthians, and obviously when they first heard the gospel they were unsaved and unregenerate, and Paul did not know which ones in his audience were among the elect. He just knew that God had “much people” in this city (Acts 18:10). To these unsaved Corinthians, including some who would never be saved, Paul preached this gospel: “Christ died for OUR sins (yours and mine)!”