Faith-building Bible studies and articles

• 16 Dec

  1 Corinthians: Chapter 15 (verses 1–19)

  1 Corinthians 15 is the longest chapter in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, and the third longest chapter in the New Testament. This chapter covers the topic of the resurrection in detail. Because of its length and the importance of the subject matter, it will be presented in three sections.

  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain (1 Corinthians 15:1–2).

  In this chapter, Paul is writing to clarify some misunderstandings among the Corinthian church regarding the resurrection. These issues were likely raised to him in the letter written to him by the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 7:1). In order to address this topic, he started in the first verse by asking them to think of the gospel as he first preached it to them when he established the Corinthian church. He reminded them that they received the gospel, the message of God’s grace through Christ, and they are being saved by the gospel that he preaches.

  When Paul writes about salvation, he uses past, present, and future tenses. Those in Christ have been saved (Ephesians 2:8), meaning that our sins are forgiven and our place in eternity is secure. We are being saved (1 Corinthians 15:2); God is presently sanctifying us to be like Christ. We will be saved (Romans 10:9–10) when the time comes for us to stand before God in eternity, and we are free from all sin.

  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

  Paul rehearsed to the Corinthians the core beliefs that they had received and believed about the gospel, which was preached by the apostles and the early church. This section provides us with the clearest, earliest summary (approximated AD 53) of the apostolic gospel, which Paul describes as “of first importance.”¹

  Paul explained why it was important for the Corinthians to understand and believe his teaching about the resurrection. He insisted that the resurrection was central to the message of the gospel. Why was it so important?

  Paul summed up the gospel as having two main concerns: the death and the resurrection of Christ. These both took place “in accordance with the Scriptures.” Paul repeated this phrase to emphasize the importance of the scriptural witness and of the resurrection. Nothing was more fundamental or more important in Paul’s understanding of the gospel than these teachings.²

  He spoke first of Christ’s death, stating, “Christ died for our sins.” His death on behalf of believers brought reconciliation to God and eternal salvation to all who would receive Him and believe on His name (John 1:12). When Paul said that Christ’s death was according to the Scriptures, he likely had in mind Isaiah’s prediction that the son of David would suffer on behalf of the people of God (Isaiah 53:1–12).

  Paul then referred to the resurrection, recounting that Christ was buried, but “he was raised on the third day.” Paul didn’t teach that Christ raised Himself, but rather that God the Father raised Him from the dead.³ Elsewhere, he wrote, “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” (Galatians 1:1).

  And that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:5–7).

  Paul stated that three days after Christ’s resurrection, He appeared to Cephas (the Aramaic name for Peter), then to the twelve. After appearing to the disciples, Jesus appeared to over five hundred believers at one time. He then appeared to James, the brother of Jesus, who would become a leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18). Lastly, He appeared to “all the apostles.”

  Paul made the point that most of these believers were still alive when he was writing this epistle. On this topic, theologian Leon Morris commented, “Paul’s insistence that most of them were still alive shows the confidence with which he could appeal to their testimony. They could be interrogated and the facts elicited.”⁴ Paul was establishing the historical reliability of Jesus’ death and resurrection, laying the groundwork for his argument for the resurrection of all deceased Christians.⁵

  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Corinthians 15:8–9).

  Paul stated that Christ had appeared to him on the road to Damascus “last of all, as to one untimely born.” Various interpretations have been given as to Paul’s wording last of all. Some scholars propose that perhaps he was chronologically the last person to see the resurrected Christ, while others propose that this relates to his statement about himself as “the least of the apostles.”

  Viewing the resurrected Savior was one of the qualifications for apostleship (1 Corinthians 9:1). However, Paul’s entrance into apostleship was different from the original twelve disciples because Christ came to him in a miraculous manner after His ascension. As such, Paul saw himself as having been “untimely born.” This wording is only found here in the New Testament and is somewhat difficult to translate. One Bible commentator wrote, “In an effort to express his humility, Paul compared himself to an untimely born child, indicating some measure of inferiority to those who had lived with Jesus during his earthly ministry.”⁶

  Paul considered himself “the least of the apostles” because he had persecuted the believers and the church before his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. He also didn’t know Jesus in His earthly life and ministry.

  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me (1 Corinthians 15:10).

  Paul went on to defend his authority by pointing to God’s choice of him, despite his background. Given his history of persecuting the church, he had no doubts that he had been called as Christ’s apostle only “by the grace of God.” He considered his conversion and apostleship to be a wholly undeserved gift of God (Ephesians 3:7–8). Elsewhere Paul taught that the Christian life begins by grace and continues through God’s grace received by faith. As one author wrote,

  By the grace of God emphasizes Paul’s sense of the awesome generosity of all God’s dealings with him though he is totally undeserving. This grace, however, was not wasted on Paul but became effectual to energize his labors and sufferings beyond the other apostles (2 Corinthians 11:22–29).⁷

  The gift of God’s grace that Paul received led him to “work harder than any of them,” and his reliance on God made him one of the most effective apostles.

  Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed (1 Corinthians 15:11).

  Paul reiterated his earlier point to the Corinthians that there is one gospel that he received and passed on to them: that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). The Corinthians must believe in the resurrection of Christ, which is central to the gospel. All the apostles continued to preach this message, and the Corinthians at one time had believed it when they became Christians.

  Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised (1 Corinthians 15:12–13).

  Paul went on to make an argument for the future resurrection of the believers based on Christ’s resurrection from the dead. He began by challenging those who were in denial of the resurrection of the dead: If Christ was raised from the dead, and the Corinthians had believed it, how could they deny the resurrection of the dead?

  It is not clear exactly what those among the Corinthians who doubted the resurrection of the dead believed would happen to Christians after death. Perhaps they believed that all the benefits of faith in Christ were experienced in this life and then the soul simply ceased to exist. Many in the Greco-Roman era believed that death was the end, with no afterlife to follow. Others believed the death of the body released a person to a purely spiritual existence.

  Whether the Corinthians had been influenced by false teaching or were mixing Christian truth with local cultural beliefs, Paul proceeded to use logic to correct their thinking, first by making a direct connection between Christ’s resurrection from the dead and the future resurrection of Christians. One Bible scholar explained this as follows:

  As far as Paul was concerned, any argument that opposed the bodily resurrection denied Christ’s bodily resurrection. Because believers’ eternal resurrection and Jesus’ are of the same type, one cannot be possible and the other impossible. If people cannot be resurrected bodily, then Jesus was not resurrected. The fact of Christ’s resurrection invalidated any philosophical objection to the possibility of resurrection.⁸

  Paul’s conclusion that if there is no bodily resurrection of the dead, then Christ himself could not have been raised from the dead makes the point that Christians must believe in the resurrection of the dead. The Corinthians’ denial of the resurrection of the believers ultimately denied Christ’s resurrection, even if they claimed to believe that Jesus was resurrected.

  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised (1 Corinthians 15:14–15).

  Paul proceeds again to use logic to outline the consequences of the Corinthians’ thinking: If there was no bodily resurrection, then the apostles’ preaching—and thereby the faith of the Corinthians—would be in vain, or as the NIV translation puts it, “useless.” This in turn would render the apostles’ testimony false, making them guilty of teaching a lie and “misrepresenting God” by testifying falsely about Him. The implication of denying the bodily resurrection is that Christianity would be a senseless religion and the believers’ faith would be in vain.

  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:16–19).

  Paul felt compelled to reiterate for the fourth time in this chapter that if the dead cannot be raised, then Christ has not been raised. In such a case, the Corinthians’ faith would be “futile,” similar to his earlier assertion that it would be “in vain.” In this case, however, not only would there be no benefit to their faith, but they would still be in their sins, and such believers would be “of all people most to be pitied.” Christ’s resurrection from the dead was the proof that His death was the substitutionary sacrifice for sin, which is why Paul referenced Jesus’ death for our sins and His resurrection as of “first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

  “If Christ has not been raised,” then His death did not pay for our sins, and “if we have hope in this life only,” we have no hope of eternal life with God in heaven. The implications of such a belief would be that Christians who had already died would not receive Jesus’ promise of eternal life: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish” (John 10:28). Thus we see how central the resurrection is to the gospel message. “Christ’s resurrection, grounded in the truth of eyewitness testimony (1 Corinthians 15:4–8), changes everything.”⁹

  (To be continued.)

  ---

  ¹ Alan F. Johnson, 1 Corinthians, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (IVP Academic, 2004), 284.

  ² Richard L. Pratt, Holman New Testament Commentary—1 & 2 Corinthians. Vol. 7 (B&H Publishing Group, 2000).

  ³ Pratt, Holman New Testament Commentary—1 & 2 Corinthians.

  ⁴ Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, Vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (InterVarsity Press, 1985), 180.

  ⁵ Crossway, ESV Study Bible (Crossway Bibles, 2008).

  ⁶ Pratt, Holman New Testament Commentary—1 & 2 Corinthians.

  ⁷ Johnson, 1 Corinthians, 287.

  ⁸ Pratt, Holman New Testament Commentary—1 & 2 Corinthians.

  ⁹ Crossway, ESV Study Bible (Crossway Bibles, 2008).

   

  
• Dec 2 The Life of Discipleship, Part 6: Love for Others
• Nov 11 1 Corinthians: Chapter 14 (verses 26–40)
• Oct 28 The Life of Discipleship, Part 5: Seeking First His Kingdom
• Oct 14 1 Corinthians: Chapter 14 (verses 1–25)
• Sep 30 The Life of Discipleship, Part 4: Relationship with God
• Sep 16 The Life of Discipleship, Part 3: Abiding in Christ
• Sep 2 1 Corinthians: Chapter 13 (verses 1–13)
• Aug 12 The Life of Discipleship, Part 2: Loving God with Our Whole Being
• Jul 29 1 Corinthians: Chapter 12 (verses 12–30)