The Amazing Resurrection of the DeadSample

1 Corinthians 15:1-34

Why is the Resurrection so important?

Paul calls teaching about the resurrection of Jesus a matter of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3). He gives several reasons why this is so (1 Corinthians 15:12-34).

If the dead are not raised then this would mean—

1. That Christ could not have been raised (verses 12-14). This, then, would undermine and nullify the gospel. The only thing necessary to refute the truth of the gospel is to find Jesus’s remains somewhere and prove he was still dead, something that no one has ever been able to do.

2. That asserting that Christ has been raised would be pointless (verses 14, 17). Consequently, our faith would be empty, devoid of true meaning. It would be no better than anything that myriads of pagan religions offer. What good would that do?

3. That every time we preach the gospel we would be misrepresenting God (15). How could we teach integrity, truth, love, and honour if our preaching was based on a lie?

4. That in reality those who have already died would have utterly perished (18). They would have fallen into a sleep from which they would never recover (19). In other words, they were no better off than anyone else.

5. That we would be the most pitiable of people because we had been hoodwinked into a monstrous scam (19).

So Paul goes on to declare that just as through Adam we are all sinners and subject to death, so in Christ we are all made alive (22).

He then makes an intriguing reference to believers who were baptised for the dead (29). People have pondered over this passage for a very long time. Some folks have misinterpreted it to mean we can be baptised on behalf of someone who has already died, even though this denies the primary prerequisite for baptism, which is faith.

The simplest explanation is found in the writings of the great third-century Christian apologist Tertullian, in his famous statement that the blood of martyrs is seed. As often as men and women were executed for their faith, Tertullian argued, others pushed forward eager to be baptised to take their place. ‘The more you kill, the more we are!’ he wrote.

This is very likely what Paul meant here. Who would want to take the place of executed people if there was no good reason to do so? On the other hand, who of us would be willing to be baptised if we knew that we might be the next ones to die?

We follow the risen Christ because he is the risen Christ. He has conquered death and defeated the grave. We have a sure and certain hope that one day we will join him in eternal victory over the last great enemy of our lives.

What next?

If you or I were called to face death for Jesus, what difference would believing in resurrection to eternal life make? What about your thinking today? Is the resurrection ‘of first importance’ to you? Why? (Or, why not?)

Read (aloud), record, repeat, and recall 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Can you memorise these verses?