Study Guide: Raised and Made Lord and Christ
Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.
The Big Idea
The big idea: God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day, with flesh and bones, as his disciples saw; he exalted him to his right hand and made him both Lord and Christ; and those who are his will be raised at his coming (1 Corinthians 15:4; Luke 24:39; Acts 2:32–36; 1 Corinthians 15:20–23).
Read Aloud
For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.
— 1 Corinthians 15:3–8
As they said these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” But they were terrified and filled with fear, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they still didn’t believe for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. He took them, and ate in front of them.
— Luke 24:36–43
This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you now see and hear. For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
— Acts 2:32–36
Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
— Philippians 2:9–11
But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruit of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s at his coming.
— 1 Corinthians 15:20–23
Where We Stand
Scripture says
- Christ was buried and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and he appeared to Cephas, to the twelve, to over five hundred at once, to James, to all the apostles, and to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:4–8).
- The women did not find his body in the tomb, and his witnesses ate and drank with him after he rose (Luke 24:3; Acts 10:41).
- The risen Jesus said, “a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:39); he showed his hands and his side, and he ate in front of them (John 20:20; Luke 24:43).
- Jesus spoke of the temple of his body, which would be destroyed and raised in three days, and his flesh did not see decay (John 2:19–21; Acts 2:31).
- God exalted Jesus by his right hand and made him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33, 36).
- God highly exalted him, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11).
- If Christ has not been raised, faith is vain; but Christ has been raised, the first fruits, and those who are Christ’s will be made alive at his coming (1 Corinthians 15:17, 20–23).
- Paul names two men who “have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past” (2 Timothy 2:18).
We conclude
- Our conclusion: the Scriptures Paul means in 1 Corinthians 15:4 include Psalm 16 (Acts 2:27, 31; 13:35).
- Our conclusion: the one who rose is Jesus himself, in the body that died, now raised to a life that cannot die (Luke 24:39; John 2:19–21; Romans 6:9).
- Our conclusion: 1 Peter 3:18 sets the death Christ suffered in the flesh beside the life God gave him in the Spirit (Romans 1:3–4).
- Our conclusion: the one made alive is the one put to death, in the body that was destroyed and raised (Acts 2:29–32; 13:36–37; John 2:19–21).
- Our conclusion: the body he told his disciples to touch was the body that was crucified, not one taken on for the meeting (Luke 24:39; John 2:19–21; 20:25–27).
- Our conclusion: what is raised is what was sown, given by God a body of glory as the grain is given its body (1 Corinthians 15:36–38, 42–44, 53).
- Our conclusion: natural and spiritual in 1 Corinthians 15:44 describe the kind of life the body has, not whether it is a body (1 Corinthians 2:14–15).
- Our conclusion: Peter speaks of what God gave the one born Christ the Lord, by raising him and seating him at his right hand (Acts 2:32–36; Luke 2:11).
- Our conclusion: this was authority over all, in power, as both Lord and Christ (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:9; Romans 14:9).
- Our conclusion: what God did for Jesus, the first fruits, he will do for those who are his (1 Corinthians 15:20–23; Philippians 3:21).
- Our conclusion: Scripture speaks of a new life now and of the raising of the body at Christ’s coming, and the first does not replace the second (Colossians 3:1, 4; Romans 6:4–5).
- Our conclusion: Paul counts his own sight of the risen Lord as a true appearance, and this does not make the earlier appearances visions (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8; Luke 24:39; Matthew 28:9; Acts 10:41).
The Hard Questions
- Was the tomb empty because the body had been taken away (John 20:2; Matthew 28:13–15)? See The strongest objection under God Raised Him on the Third Day, as the Scriptures Said.
- Did the disciples see Jesus in visions, as Paul did (1 Corinthians 15:8; Acts 26:19)? See A second objection under God Raised Him on the Third Day, as the Scriptures Said.
- Was Jesus raised as a spirit, with bodies taken on for each meeting (1 Peter 3:18; 1 Corinthians 15:44–45, 50; 2 Corinthians 5:16)? See The strongest objection under He Rose in His Body, with Flesh and Bones.
- How could God make Jesus Lord and Christ, when he was born Christ the Lord (Acts 2:36; Luke 2:11)? See The strongest objection under God Exalted Him and Made Him Both Lord and Christ.
- Has the resurrection already happened, as a new life within (Colossians 3:1; Ephesians 2:5–6)? See The strongest objection under Christ Is the First Fruits, and Those Who Are His Will Be Raised.
- When does Jesus take David’s throne? See When Jesus takes David’s throne under Questions Answered.
- Are the dead conscious before the resurrection? See Whether the dead are conscious before the resurrection under Questions Answered.
Discussion Questions
- What did Mary Magdalene think had happened at the tomb, and what changed her mind? (See the opening.)
- What did the risen Jesus say about a spirit in Luke 24:39, and what did he do next? (See He Rose in His Body, with Flesh and Bones.)
- What did Peter say about the Christ’s flesh in Acts 2:31, and how does it help in reading 1 Peter 3:18? (See the objection under He Rose in His Body.)
- According to Acts 2:32–36, what did God do for Jesus after raising him? (See God Exalted Him and Made Him Both Lord and Christ.)
- What would be true, Paul says, if Christ has not been raised, and what does he say instead in 1 Corinthians 15:20? (See Christ Is the First Fruits.)
- How does Jesus’ resurrection speak to the fear of death, or to a grief you carry? (See Hope.)
Hope
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3). To those who grieve, Paul writes that he does not want them to “grieve like the rest, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Jesus said, “Because I live, you will live also.” (John 14:19).
For the Leader
Allow about 45 minutes for one session. Read 1 Corinthians 15:3–8 first, then Luke 24:36–43, Acts 2:32–36, Philippians 2:9–11 and 1 Corinthians 15:20–23. Invite everyone to open and check each verse in their own Bible.
© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/the-good-news/05-raised-and-made-lord-and-christ-study-guide/
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