1 Corinthians 15:1–6, 12–18, 50–52, 54b–57

1 Corinthians 15:1–6, 12–18, 50–52, 54b–57

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Assistant Professor, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile

Can I Believe in Resurrection?
1 Corinthians 15:1–6, 12–18, 50–52, 54b–57

It Is the Gospel (1–6)
Paul spent Chapter 15 dealing with the resurrection of the dead, a crucial element of the gospel message. In the opening verses, Paul set out to remind the Corinthians of the gospel that he preached and emphasized that this gospel is the only way to be saved. Some people today believe that there are many roads to get to heaven. In this chapter, Paul declared that there is only one gospel and if you believe otherwise, then you have believed in vain. After his opening, Paul expounded the gospel. First Christ died for our sins, a point that is supported with Scripture. This was not something that caught Christ by surprise; Christ came to earth fully knowing that He was going to die. Not only is this found in the Old Testament but also throughout the Gospels as Christ comments about His upcoming death. Because our sin separates us from God, our sin must be atoned for. The atoning work of Christ through His death is an important aspect of what takes care of this sin, washing it away. Paul then affirmed that Christ was buried, confirming His death — Christ was not merely knocked out or in some sort of coma; He truly died. However, He rose again on the third day, another point that Paul derived from the Scriptures. Paul contended that this is not some sort of myth, because the risen Christ was seen by many people, including Peter and the Twelve, not to mention more than 500 others. Paul declared that some of those who had seen the risen Christ were still alive, so that if one wanted to, then he or she could talk to an eyewitness. We can be certain of Christ’s resurrection because this is an event attested by many witnesses. Not only can we find reasons to believe this but we also must believe this if we are to be saved from our sins.

It Is Reasonable (12–18)
In this section, Paul responded to some of the Corinthians’ apparent denial of the physical resurrection. If this is the case, Paul argued, then the preaching of the apostles is useless since it is a lie. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then even Christ was not raised, which Paul just established is the heart of the gospel. If Christ was not raised, then the gospel is false, and why should people believe a false gospel? What hope is there if Christ has not defeated death? Christ’s death is necessary since it is through this defeat of death that we have hope in the resurrection of our own bodies. If Christ has not been raised, then His body lies in a tomb somewhere and death still holds power over us all. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then we are still under condemnation for our sins. The resurrection of Christ shows God’s acceptance of this sacrifice, making it a true atonement. If the resurrection did not happen, then all of those who have perished died in their sins and had no hope. The resurrection of Christ is the completion of the atonement and provides assurance of the forgiveness of our sins.

It Is Certain (50–52, 54b–57)
In this last part of Chapter 15, Paul gave a glimpse of what will happen when believers die. The bodies that we currently have are perishable. We feel pain, we bleed, we cry and we grow old. But when Christ returns, when the trumpet sounds, believers (both those who have died and those living) will be made imperishable. We all will have new bodies at this point, bodies incapable of feeling pain and growing old. These bodies will never die because death has been defeated by Christ’s resurrection, a point highlighted by Paul’s quotation of two Old Testament passages. Death is defeated and this is the hope of Christians. Through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, Christians have an eternal hope, one in which we will live forever with God without any more suffering. This is why Christians preach the gospel to all nations, because apart from this belief in Christ and His atoning work, there can be no salvation. And as Paul established at the beginning of the chapter, there is no other gospel, no other way to heaven apart from this work of Christ.