But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
- 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Last week when we started looking at 1 Corinthians 15, we saw that Paul began his discussion on the resurrection by looking at how both Scripture and eyewitnesses testify that it happened. This included Paul’s personal testimony of how Jesus appeared to him, even though he was persecuting the early church. Here, Paul looks at how our faith as believers is impacted by the resurrection of all believers.
It is apparent from verse 12 that some in the first-century Corinthian church did not believe that people would be resurrected after dying in this life. Paul has just shown that Christ has been raised from the dead so that refutes the people’s belief that there is no resurrection for anyone. The verb tense used there in Greek emphasizes the present reality along with the completed action. It is a completed action that Jesus Christ was resurrected, and it is an ongoing reality that He is still alive.
The other side of the argument is that if resurrection never happens, then even Jesus could not have been resurrected (verse 13). Paul is trying to show them that because he proved that Jesus rose from the dead, then there is hope that people will also continue to live beyond this life. Paul is appealing to their sense of logic, laying out the facts about why Jesus’ resurrection is so key to their faith.
How does this impact our faith? Well, it’s useless if Jesus has not been resurrected (verse 14). If Jesus had died and stayed dead, then there would be no hope for those who believe in Him. There is no use believing in a God who is dead. The Greek word translated as “useless” by the NIV can also mean empty, foolish, meaningless, or ineffective. Why spread a message that is foolish and meaningless, especially at the risk of persecution?
Not only is preaching and faith useless if the resurrection is not true, but then Paul and the other apostles would all be false witnesses (verse 15). Paul has not only made it his life’s mission but he risked his life to spread this message; he would not do that if he did not believe with his whole being that this message was true and valuable to everyone.
Paul takes it one step further and connects Jesus’ resurrection to the fact that all of the dead will be raised. If no one will be raised, then surely Jesus was also not raised, which Paul has shown cannot be true (verse 16). This reiterates Paul’s thoughts in this section, concluding that resurrection happened for Jesus and it also happens for all people.
In the last few verses of this section, Paul brings up some more concluding points. Not only is faith useless and meaningless, but it is also futile and the people will be stuck in their sins if there is no resurrection (verse 17). The Greek word for “futile” has similar meanings to the word for “useless”; it can mean worthless, useless, empty, etc. Paul is driving the point home that their faith has no value if Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead. If their faith is futile, then there is no forgiveness of their sins, and they will forever reap the punishment for them.
Without the resurrection, believers have no hope for those who have already died, even if they had faith in Christ (verse 18). One of the most comforting things for believers who have lost loved ones is knowing that if they had faith in Jesus, we will see them again one day and they are able to live on in eternal life with Jesus Christ. If there is no resurrection, then we no longer have that hope and comfort.
If this life is all there is, then there is really no hope (verse 19). We should be pitied in this life if there is no hope for a life beyond this one. If the resurrection is not true, then none of this matters! But as Paul has done his best to prove that the resurrection of Jesus and of all who die is true, then this truth should change everything in how we live on this earth. Paul will talk more about this in 2 Corinthians 5; in verse 1, he says, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”
As believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we know that this life is not all there is. Our earthly bodies will be destroyed by death, but we will be able to live forever in heaven with God. It is only because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we too, as those who have faith in Him, can also experience resurrection one day. We have a continual hope throughout this earthly life that this is not all there is. Whether we are enjoying our time on earth or if it’s a daily struggle, we know that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, one day we will experience eternal glory with God!
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