Read 1 Corinthians 15
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 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? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.15 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Go Deeper
This chapter is one of the most pivotal in all of the New Testament when it comes to believers understanding the gospel and its implications. Evidently, there was a debate amongst the Corinthians about the resurrection of Jesus (and what that meant for them when they died, too). Paul uses this as an opportunity to go back to the basics of Jesus’ death and resurrection to ensure that the Corinthians had a firm foundation and understanding of what exactly happened and why it mattered.
With a passage like this, there are a dozen different points we could zoom in on, but one that really stands out is hope. This is a hopeful passage. Paul was trying to answer the same question people are asking today: What’s the point of all of this? Paul’s answer is simple: Christ was raised from the dead and that changed everything. For followers of Jesus, death isn’t the end, and the end isn’t hopeless. Your body doesn’t simply decompose into the ground and that’s it. We get new, resurrected, heavenly bodies. That’s hard for us to even wrap our minds around! But that’s what happens because of Jesus.
The final few verses in this passage sum up the hope we have in Jesus:
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
That’s a powerful reminder to us, that even when the world feels scary, dark, and hopeless that we, too, have victory because of Jesus. This week, let’s give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord and share that message of hope with a world that needs it.
Questions
In verse 10, Paul implies God’s grace was not without effect, that it is because of God’s grace Paul’s life changed and that Paul has any kind of ministry at all. Has God’s grace been without effect in your life? Has God’s grace affected your life? Explain. Spend some time reflecting on your answer.
Where are you placing your hope? How is that working for you?
Verse 58 says that our work for the Lord is not in vain. What does this verse mean to you? How can you apply it to your life?
Did You Know?
The concept of resurrection was difficult for the Greeks to envision. Many Gentile intellectuals affirmed the soul’s immortality without a future for the body. Some Gentiles denied an afterlife altogether. Traditional Greek mythology viewed the afterlife as a semi-existence without a body.
3 thoughts on “1 Corinthians 15”
I’m reminded by Paul’s words that God’s plan is good, unfathomable, incapable of being fully understood, but always to be trusted. That’s where faith must be employed. Because of Jesus, we have victory and are able to stand firm, let nothing move us, and have the assurance that our efforts unto the Lord are not in vain. He alone is our solid Rock in the midst of an ever shifting world.
“By the grace of God I am what I am…”1 Corinthians 15:10 This is a good wake up call for us. Because of what Christ has done we have victory, grace and hope. Discouragement comes easily and that comes when we take our eyes off of Jesus. There are lots of times we do not see the results of staying steadfast, and unmovable. This chapter is an encouragement to not give up vs 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.,
God thank You for victory, grace and hope in what Your Son has done for me through His death and resurrection. God thank You that I do not take my eyes off these things. God thank You for doing Your work even when I dont see it or feel it. Thank You for encouragement to and through each other every day in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!
v 54 “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Wow!