I benefited greatly from this book. It is a study of 1 Corinthians 15 which, as it happens, is the chapter we are studying in our church currently. The book is very clear and logical throughout as the author unpacks both the familiar and the not so familiar in the chapter. I like his illustrations; they are consistently pertinent as lead-ins to his points. He expounds the five consequences of denying Christ’s bodily resurrection in detail, then explains how, just as we cannot have first fruits without an entire harvest, neither can Christ Jesus be raised from the dead without His people also being raised up on the last day.
The certainty of this declaration, based on 1 Corinthians 15, was a great comfort to me. The Saviour’s resurrection is the actual beginning of the Christian’s resurrection; the harvest is underway. The book is very challenging as the author seeks to apply the theology to our lives in a very practical manner. He reminds us that the resurrection should shape our lives as Christians and should change everything about the way we live in the present. Two questions that remain with me are:
- ‘Are you living a resurrection-shaped life?’
- ‘Will you surrender to serve Christ and embrace the risks, whatever they may be, to follow Him?’
Considering these questions should galvanise us daily to renew our commitment to live totally for Him in the period between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet.’
This book is available from Banner of Truth.
Judith Lewis, Tabernacle Welsh Baptist Church, Llwynhendy