The Christ of Experience
Last of all he was seen of me also.
I Corinthians 15:8
In this marvelous and classic statement of the Gospel, Paul sets forth the Christ of history: “Christ died”; the Christ of doctrine: “Christ died for our sins”; the Christ of the Scriptures: “Christ died…was buried…and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Then he moved further to declare the Christ of experience, the experience of others, to begin with. “He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, of above five hundred brethren at once, of James, of all the apostles.” And finally he reaches a climax in the Christ of his own experience: “and last of all he was seen of me also.”
It is possible to know Christ as a fact of history, of doctrine, of the Scriptures, of the experience of others, but it avails nothing if we cannot add, “Last of all he was seen of me also.”
It was said of Thomas Chalmers that he had “an original experience of Jesus Christ.” Have you seen Him for yourself?