1 Corinthians 15

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I Corinthians 15:12-14, 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. 

Paul is asserting in this chapter that the resurrection of Jesus is central to the Gospel.  Apparently, there were Christians at Corinth who were espousing the view that Jesus was not raised and that the resurrection was not true.  It's possible that they were reverting to their old Greek view of immortality of the soul and not the body.  It's also possible that they were simply skeptics who were trying to poke holes in the resurrection story.  But Paul is stating here that if resurrection did not occur, our faith is totally useless. That would mean that Jesus did not defeat death, it would mean that we are misrepresenting God, and it would mean we are still dead in our sins. 

This may be longer than normal for me but I find this a very important topic.  Some thoughts:

The resurrection is SIGNIFICANT.  All that Jesus did, his whole life was vindicated with the resurrection.  The resurrection proved that Jesus was who he said he was, God is who he said he was, and affirmed Jesus’ divinity.  Think about Paul's words in Romans 1:4 “and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

The resurrection is so important in that it provides assurance and hope that our physical death is not the end.  It not only points to life after death but also the future resurrection of believers.  Let's visit Romans again, 8:11 says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”  Jesus’ resurrection promises victory over death. 

But the resurrection is also TRANSFORMATIVE.  It is transformative for us as individuals and for us as the body, for the church. I think the most important aspect of believing in the resurrection is that Jesus’ resurrection is what provides the power to change us now.  It provides the power for complete transformation, to bring what was essentially dead to something that is alive and vibrant and productive.  When someone says yes to Jesus Christ, a spiritually dead person becomes united with a life-giving Savior.  When that happens, his resurrection produces a resurrection in us.  The word resurrection actually comes from the same root as resurgence or rising again.  We become connected to a life-giving power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.  This resurrection power has the ability to revive us, restore us, renew us, transform us.  The apostle Paul states in I Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

There are certainly no shortage of books that detail the evidence for Jesus' resurrection.  One good one that is short and easy to digest is Lee Strobel's The Case for Easter.

What are your thoughts on the resurrection?  Spend some time in prayer about this today.

Let's pray...Lord Jesus, You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We are in awe of you and the mystery of faith - you came, you died, you rose.  We are grateful and we are changed because of it.  Continue to work within us, Lord, to transform us and to form us into the people you have called us to be.  In Your Name, Amen.