Whom God Raised from the Dead

Paul said, "For if the dead are not raised, then the Messiah has not been raised," 1 Corinthians 15:16 

Just reading this verse will give us a lot of understanding.  Some people believe in myths such as the immortality of the human soul when the Bible flat out says "None can keep alive his own soul" (Psalm 22:29).  These stories were introduced by Greek philosophers who believed in other things the Jews did not such as multiple gods and their gods coming down in the form men.  Paul saw all of this for what it was, pagan belief.
So if inside we believe that the Messiah Yahshua raised himself up because he was really "God in human flesh", the above verse from Paul makes no sense.  The Bible clearly says over and over again that GOD raised Jesus from the dead.

"but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses." Acts 3:15

The apostles were witnesses to the fact that GOD raised Jesus from the dead, not that Jesus raised himself!  If we believe that Jesus is God and as such was able to raise himself from the dead by his own power, where does that leave us?  We are not God!  Paul was facing the same sort of pagan philosophies in his time hence his letter to the Corinthians.  Gnostics and other 1st century groups were saying that Jesus was really only a spirit (God) and not a flesh & blood man or human.  To these heretics, he only appeared to be human but did not sweat, urinate or perform any other normal bodily functions.  Some cults to this day believe that Jesus was originally an angel despite the first chapter of Hebrew's clear testimony to the contrary.  Paul stated:

"By this ye know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ hath come in the flesh, is from God:"  1 John 4:2

In the Hebrew mind and religion, these is no such thing as pre-exisitance so when they speak of "come in the flesh" they are simply saying that Jesus was a flesh and blood man and not a spirit.  Remember that only God Almighty Yahweh is immortal meaning not subject to death.  If Yahshua was equally immortal, he could not have really died and been raised from the dead.  It follows that if this is the case, Paul says:


"And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless." 1 Corinthians 15:14

So it is very important to 1.) Test the spirits.  2.) Believe that Jesus was 100% human and truly died.  3.) Believe that God raised him from the dead as a reward for his faithfulness.  If we overlook these key points, our faith and preaching will likewise be in vain.