Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-04-21
LESSON FOR APRIL 2a
EASTER LESSON.


GOLDEN TExT-Now hath Christ been
raised from the dead, the first fruits Of
them that are asleep.-I Cor. 1920.
II teachers can impress indelibly
upon the minds of their scholars the
fact that Jesus rosa from the dead and
is as truly alive today as when walk
ing the hills of Galilee this repetition
of the Easter story will lot be in vain.
For the pupils to take notes of the
points of the argument and to recite
upon those notes at the end of the
class hour would greatly help to fix
the facts in their minds This account
considered today is perhaps the old
est written record we have Of this
great fact, written about Sc A D..
hence the significance of verse six.
l. The Triumphant Fact Tvs. 1-4). If
Christian workers would be more ia
miliar with this passage they would
more intelIigently understand what
the term Gospel" means. The fact OF
the resurrection loomed larger in
Pauls mind than the virgin birth; the
former was and is the greater miracle
This, one of the supreme chapters of
the Bible, tells US what the Gospel is,
and what its results are to be- ID
What it is. Not new cure for tuber-
culosis, nor new social environment,
but the good news of one who was God
incarnate paul does not use his earth
ly name Jesus), Christ the Amounted
One, who died for our sins just as the
Scriptures had foretold, and was bur-
| led. On the third day, according to
the Scriptures" He rose again and is
i now and ever shall be alive. ANY Cos
pei that ignores the incarnation, pas
sion and resurrection of Jesus is false
to the Scriptures and lie. (2) The
result of preaching or testifying to
this great program is twofold: first,
salvation, saved, restored to right
relations with God;" and second, per-
severance, wherein ye stand" The
"God-story," good news, evangel or
gospel-they are all the same-is the
power of God unto salvation" and the
strong doctrine of the resurrection
will cause men to walk straight, to
stand upright. Christ died for my
sins according to the Scriptures Qso.
53:5-10).
II. Witnesses to the Fact Tvs 5-l2)
Paul ". 81 received the resurrection
truth from many witnesses, whom he
proceeds to enumerate, for it was not
a matter of his own invention The in
credulity of the disciples at the first
is frankly recorded luke 24:12). Je
sus did not appear first to John, PLATE
or the Sanhedrin, but to a woman, ant
the change of the apostles from q
spirit of despair to that of confident
joyous certainty was most astonishing
There are eleven recorded appear
ances of Jesus after his resurrection
and not one of them was made to his
enemies. Paul does not mention al
of the appearances. He is probabl!
naming only those persons, witnesse.
Of his appearances, with whom he haU
conversed, or at least few from eacf
group. % Peter, referred to indirect
ly in Luke "a: "a; (2) the apostles, tt
be exact, the first ten, Judas being
dead and Thomas absent; 80 the apos
ties with Thomas present; (4) five
hundred, the only record of this grea
company, though perhaps implied il
the brethren of Matt 28:10. Hal
a thousand witnesses are enough tt
: establish any case" Of these thu
greater number were alive twenty-ffv,
years altar the event; (5) James, prob
ably our Lords brother, the honoreC
head of the Jerusalem church; Is
Then all the apostles larger cir
Gle than the twelve (see Luke %: As
Acts 1853 This may have been tn,
3 appearance in the morn at the Sea o
5 Gailee; CD me also" The winnin.
2 Of the prosecutor who had looked
upon this wild tale of a crucifed ant
} risen teacher as a sacrilege and dis
grace to his nation, is the most sigma
and significant triumph of the Chris
tian faith. The Damascus road vic
/ tory was far more portentious thai
any other battle of history That vi
sion converted Paul and supporter
him amidst the most astounding trial
and testings. "Out of due season,
: like an abortive child, like a child o
: untimely BIRTH Paul was unworthy c
4 the name of a child. He had seen tn
n martyr Stephen die, he had persecute
those who believed, and although fol
given by God, yet he was filled wit
}, a lifelong regret for his misused il
n fuence and misspent years. There
e fore he terms himself, least of th
r apostles" But he is saved an
o through the grace of God can e1
t. claim, Il am what l am The ev
Il dence of the resurrection is more pre
d ponderant and definite than the his
: toric evidence we have that Caesa
h Augustus or Abraham Lincoln eve
lived. 1t is a greater strain upon HI
n man intelligence not to believe thi
y fact than it is to deny the evidence c
" wireless telegraphy.
d III The Fact Applied. Tvs. 1920,
IL The Corinthians, to whom Paul wa
l. writing, did not deny Christs immol
s tality, but seemed to deny that tn
n same power which had raised hir
could be applied to US who are onl
- human. Paul answers this by presen
ing four arguments:
u % The resurrection of Chris
10 proves the possibility of the resurre,
y ton from the dead, if only of Jesu
u The Sadducees taught the contrar7