By James Riley Strange, Ph.D.
Professor of New Testament, Samford University
Why the Resurrection Matters
1 Corinthians 15:20–28, 54–58
On this second Sunday of Easter, as we witness and experience the global effects of COVID-19, we understand why, for the present time, we must live “always excelling in the work of the Lord” (15:58).
This week we continue following the line of Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15. Some Christians at Corinth doubted the resurrection of the dead (15:12; compare the Athenians’ reaction in Acts 17:32), and some probably doubted that Jesus Himself rose.
They might have accepted the claim that His soul lived on apart from His body, but that is not what Jesus’ disciples experienced.
On Easter morning, the tomb was empty and the risen Lord walked and talked with them, offered His body to them (Luke 24:39; John 20:27) and ate with them (Luke 24:41–43; John 21:9–15).
According to Paul, this is how we will be raised.
Re-read all of chapter 15 for context.
Christ’s resurrection makes our own resurrection possible. (20–22)
“First fruits” indicates that Jesus’ resurrection was the first of many. The key for understanding Paul’s argument is the meaning of “death.”
For Paul, death is not merely the mortality of the body, but also a power. It works with another power, sin. Both powers are active because of “one man” (Adam). Both separate us from God, and we are helpless to do anything about either. Through His death, Christ defeated sin, and He defeated death through His resurrection. Because of this, we too “will be made alive.”
As with death, “life” is more than life: it is resurrection, yes, but it is also living — finally and eternally — in right relationship with God (v. 58).
Christ’s resurrection means He reigns as Lord over all. (23–28)
Paul says that the resurrection of the dead will happen “at His coming.” Those who are alive when Christ comes “will be changed” into the same sort of beings that the resurrected have become (vv. 51–53).
For Paul, Christ can reign because He has been raised (compare Rev. 20:4–6). A Messiah who was still dead could not have “all things” subjected to Him. In verses 25–27, Paul draws on Psalms 110:1 and 8:6.
Victory in Christ means what we do for Him matters. (54–58)
Paul is continuing what he started in verse 35, responding to what was probably a sarcastic question about what kind of body could be raised to new life.
Paul says not, of course, the kind of body we have now, which dies and rots (it is “perishable”). God must grant our bodies what they do not possess on their own: imperishability and immortality. This requires a transformation into a new and different kind of body.
To celebrate the defeat of death (characterized as a beast with a stinger), Paul combines parts of Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14.
Paul ends this section as he typically does. He is rarely satisfied merely to teach. He teaches because he wants his readers — and God wants us — to live in a particular way. It is not just that we will one day rise transformed to live victoriously with our Lord. Because the powers of death and sin have been defeated, we are transformed now to live as Christ wants us to live. Jesus also talked about this transformed and transforming way of life (see especially the Sermon on the Mount).
Paul’s succinct command in verse 58 has real force this Easter.
COVID-19 has no effect on this exhortation to “be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord.” Our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
On this second day of Eastertide, more than ever, let us live what we proclaim: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
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