Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 
Day 
Day 198

"He was seen..."

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:5

THE RISEN CHRIST

The doctrine of the Risen Christ was questioned by some. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul devoted the whole chapter to defend the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ Jesus!

“And that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once,
of whom the greater part remain to the present,
but some have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born of due time.”
1 Corinthians 15:5-8

1. Citing of significant people as eye-witnesses of the Risen Christ

a) Cephas (Peter)
i) He was the leading apostle.
ii) He was a strong eye-witness.
iii) His life and ministry would stand him in good stead as a reliable eye-witness.
b) James (the half-brother of Jesus who was also the author of the Epistle James)
i) James became a significant leader in the Church in Jerusalem.
ii) He was a New Testament author.
iii) He was called a pillar of the Jerusalem church (Galatians 2:9).

2. The apostles

a) The twelve (this is not a reference to the original twelve)
i) Matthias was elected as an apostle.
ii) He was numbered with the eleven apostles (Acts 1:26).
b) All the apostles
i) The twelve
ii) James
iii) Barnabas (Acts 14:14)

3. Five hundred brethren at once

a) Many were still alive at the point of Paul writing 1 Corinthians.
b) But some had died (some died as martyrs).

4. Paul offered himself as witness

He was not privileged to be one of the original twelve. However, he too saw the Risen Christ (Acts 9).