1 Corinthians: Not in VainSýnishorn

One of the keys to a good ‘whodunnit’ is not to leave readers feeling like a rabbit has been pulled out of the hat right at the end of the story. The reader has to feel like they at least had a chance of actually working it out for themselves! 

As we come into the penultimate chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul gives us our big reveal moment as to where this church has been going wrong. It comes in verse 12: the Corinthians have stopped believing in the ‘resurrection of the dead’. By this Paul means the future day when Christians will be raised up with new bodies to eternal life. 

And yet you don’t need to be Poirot or Miss Marple to have spotted the clues throughout the letter. Paul has consistently challenged the Corinthians’ this-life-now perspective and urged them to instead adopt an eternal focus. Rather than simply dishing out empty commands, Paul has sought to show how an eternal identity will shape the motivations and choices we make in the present. (If you want a refresher, why not turn up some of these examples: 2:6–10; 3:12–17; 4:1–13; 5:12–13; 6:1– 6, 10; 7:28–31; 9:19–27; 10:31 – 11:1; 13:8–12.) 

It’s not that the Corinthians didn’t affirm that Jesus was raised. After all, his resurrection was intrinsic to the gospel message they first heard (vv. 1–3). It was also what the Old Testament Scriptures had foretold (v. 4; see also Ps. 16:9–11; Job 19:25–26; Is. 53:5–11), and had been witnessed by various people, including by Peter, Paul and over 500 individuals at one time. 

And yet Paul’s point is that it makes no sense to believe in Jesus’ resurrection if you don’t believe in our future resurrection. To disbelieve the latter is to suggest that Christ cannot be raised either (vv. 13, 16). And if Christ was not raised, then Christianity is a tragic joke and Christians should be pitied more than all people (v. 19)!

Reflection

Have you made the same connection in your mind between Jesus’ resurrection and our future resurrection? Re-read Paul’s description of the historical gospel events at the start of today’s passage, and give thanks that we can have the same certainty about our own resurrection.