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April 7, 1985
Is belief in Jesus’ resurrection necessary for Christian faith? Looking at 1 Corinthians 15, Alistair Begg unpacks the apostle Paul’s response to the question of Christ having been raised from the dead. The truth that Christ was resurrected, says Scripture, is vital. Without it, faith is futile, and we would still be lost in sin without the hope of forgiveness. Scripture repeatedly declares that Christ is risen—and our response should be, “He is risen indeed!”
1Now I would remind you, brothers,1 of the gospel gI preached to you, which you received, hin which you stand, 2and by which iyou are being saved, if you jhold fast to the word I preached to you—kunless you believed in vain.
3For lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died mfor our sins nin accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised oon the third day pin accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that qhe appeared to Cephas, then rto the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to sJames, then tto all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, uhe appeared also to me. 9For vI am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because wI persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, xI worked harder than any of them, ythough it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, zhow can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, athen not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that bhe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and cyou are still in your sins. 18Then those also who dhave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If in Christ we have hope2 in this life only, ewe are of all people most to be pitied.
20But in fact fChrist has been raised from the dead, gthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For as hby a man came death, iby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For jas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then kat his coming lthose who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he delivers mthe kingdom to God the Father after destroying nevery rule and every authority and power. 25For he must reign ountil he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be pdestroyed is death. 27For q“God3 has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28When rall things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that sGod may be all in all.
29Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30Why are we tin danger every hour? 31I protest, brothers, by umy pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, vI die every day! 32What do I gain if, humanly speaking, wI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, x“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33yDo not be deceived: z“Bad company ruins good morals.”4 34aWake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For bsome have no knowledge of God. cI say this to your shame.
35But someone will ask, d“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36You foolish person! eWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42fSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43It is sown in dishonor; git is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45Thus it is written, h“The first man Adam became a living being”;5 ithe last Adam became a jlife-giving spirit. 46But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47kThe first man was from the earth, la man of dust; mthe second man is from heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, nso also are those who are of heaven. 49Just oas we have borne the image of the man of dust, pwe shall6 also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50I tell you this, brothers: qflesh and blood rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold! I tell you a mystery. sWe shall not all sleep, tbut we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For uthe trumpet will sound, and vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and wthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
x“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55y“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and zthe power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord dyour labor is not in vain.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
