Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 1 Corinthians 15:12–19
From the earliest days of the church there have been false ideas about the resurrection. Some insisted it never happened (1 Corinthians 15:12). Some claimed the final resurrection had already past (2 Timothy 2:18). The apostle Paul shows us authoritatively that Christianity either stands or falls with Christ’s resurrection.
Paul places the resurrection of Jesus at the very core of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:1–11). In this passage he shows us that it is in fact part of Old Testament prophecy, just as Jesus Himself tried to show (Luke 24:44–46). The resurrection is supported by abundant evidence, including (in Paul’s day) literally hundreds of eyewitnesses (1 Corinthians 15:5–8). This crucial doctrine was preached everywhere the gospel went, including Pentecost (Acts 2:30–32), the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:40), Thessalonica (Acts 17:3), Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:1), and even Athens (Acts 17:31–32), where the crowd scoffed at the teaching. When Paul stood trial before the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, he stated that it was for “the hope and resurrection of the dead” that he was being examined (Acts 23:6–8). He tells the Roman saints that our very obedience to the gospel involves a reenactment of the resurrection (Romans 6:3–4, 17).
Several vital components of Christianity fall without the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12–34). Without it, our faith is vain (v 14). Without it, every evangelist is a liar (v 15). Without it, we are just as much lost in sin as we ever were (v 17). There is no victory over death without the resurrection (v 18). Furthermore, even baptism is meaningless if the resurrection is not a reality (v 29). Without the resurrection, there is no group of people on the face of this earth that is more deserving of pity than Christians (v 19).
The resurrection embodies both mystery and victory (1 Corinthians 15:35–58). There are some questions regarding the final resurrection that remain to be answered: When will it be (1 Thessalonians 5:2)? How will we appear on that day (1 John 3:2)? Although we haven’t been given answers to these intriguing questions, we can see that the resurrection will mark the decisive victory over death, the final enemy. Because of the resurrection, we needn’t sorrow when we lose loved ones as others do without this hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13–15). God gives us the assurance that “death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54; cf. Isaiah 25:8). This glorious victory is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:57), and it gives us confidence in the belief that our labor is never in vain when it is wrought in the name of Jesus (v 58).