1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Christian Standard Bible
Resurrection Essential to the Faith
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.[a] 15 Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.
Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Today, people refer to “canceling” as a way of expressing their disapproval of something or someone in a public forum.
People cancel others to try to stop the spread of objectionable ideas. And those who have been canceled see it as the suppression of their right to speak freely.
Followers of Christ have always faced pressure from those who disapprove of aspects of the gospel message.
Historically, Christians have believed that the resurrection of Jesus was an actual historical event.
Even the apostle Paul wrote that if the resurrection didn’t happen, Christianity as an entire belief system would be false. He wrote, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).
But this is not so important in progressive Christianity.
Today, the metaphor of resurrection stands for many Christians as a symbol of the call to new life, as an appeal to practice resurrection here and now.
According to this counterfeit truth, it’s not necessary for a Christian to believe in the miracles of Jesus—including his resurrection. Rather, it’s enough to just simply focus on the meaning, ethical and moral lesson behind these narratives.
In Corinth, this disapproval was aimed at the gospel’s emphasis on bodily resurrection, which seemed incompatible with a dualistic philosophy that saw the material world as being incompatible with the spiritual.
Such scorn caused some Corinthians to suppress the unpopular aspects of the gospel they had received from Paul.
One result was their assertion that there was no bodily resurrection (v. 12).
Paul’s method of dealing with this error was to start with their premise and explain what it would mean if that were actually true.
He does this with a series of “if…then” assertions which show that once the foundation of the bodily resurrection of Christ is removed, the hope of the gospel collapses entirely (vv. 13–19).
Without the resurrection, faith in Christ is “useless” (v. 14).
Apostolic authority for the gospel is eliminated (v. 15).
If Christ did not rise “you are still in your sins,” and those “who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost” (vv. 18–19).
Paul summarizes with this blunt conclusion in verse 19:
“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
The good news is that Jesus “has indeed been raised from the dead” (v. 20).
We are now waiting for the full effect of the victory Christ has already achieved to become a reality (vv. 22–28).
Go Deeper
What unpopular aspects of the gospel message do you feel pressured to suppress? How does their cancellation, removal, distort God’s message?
In the name of God, the father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song to him;
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;[a]
he puts the depths into storehouses.
8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.
18 But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him—
those who depend on his faithful love
19 to rescue them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait for the Lord;
he is our help and shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in him
because we trust in his holy name.
22 May your faithful love rest on us, Lord,
for we put our hope in you.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 