Sunday LinkUp – February 16, 2025 – 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

SECOND READING

1 Corinthians 15:12-20

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?  ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain.  ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ — whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.  ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.  ¹⁷ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.  ¹⁸ Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.  ¹⁹ If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.  

Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,  ² through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you — unless you have come to believe in vain.  

³ For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures  ⁴ and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures  ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.  ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been 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.  ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.  

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 

• From the GCI Lectionary notes …
  • The word Paul chose to use to describe what he means by “dead” is the word nekros, which means totally separated from the living, a corpse.
  • Paul does not leave room for someone to claim that Paul meant a person’s spirit only is resurrected or her inner self or soul will go to heaven to be with the Lord.
  • Paul is being very specific with his word choice. We are talking about dead bodies, period.

¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then  our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain.  

¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ — whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.  ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.  ¹⁷ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. 

• From the GCI Lectionary notes …
  • For Paul, death is the great enemy which is linked to sin.  He states elsewhere that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
  • The gospel is a proclamation that Jesus has defeated death.  If this is not true, then we do not have a God who can defeat death and deliver us from it.  We have no hope.  If that is truly the case, then not only have we lost any hope of a future, but we have also lost our past.  All that God has done to deliver us has come to nothing.  And that leaves us with a miserable present reality.

¹⁸ Then those also who have died in Christ have perished.  ¹⁹ If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.   

WHAT HAVE WE SEEN SO FAR?

• IF there is no resurrection … THEN there are serious consequences …
• IF there is no resurrection … THEN …
  1.  the apostles were lying
  2.  the apostles were misrepresenting God
  3.  Christ has not been raised
  4.  our faith is vain (futile) … because Christ is still dead
  5.  we are still in our sins
  6.  those who died in Christ have perished

In summary … IF there is no resurrection, THEN Jesus Christ has not been resurrected … and, IF Jesus has not been resurrected, THEN there is no hope …

That is not Paul’s belief, however … as we see in verse 20 …

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.       

CLOSING SONG

CLOSING PRAYER

SERMON from HOME OFFICE …

Christ has Indeed Been Raised

1 Corinthians 15:12-20  NIV

As we saw last week, Paul laid the groundwork to refute the Corinthian believers who claimed there is no bodily resurrection. He did this by returning to the basics, the foundations of the gospel.  At the heart of that foundation is the fact that Christ is risen from the dead.

Today, we will look at Paul’s second approach as he counters this false teaching, as he builds on the foundation established in last week’s reading.  He will simply lay out a logical argument on the premise of the foundation laid out last week. He is using the Corinthian church’s own hearing and receiving of the gospel as the common ground to build on.  He does not bring up something new but rather reminds them of what they should already know.

Before we look at Paul’s logical argument, maybe we should ask ourselves today what difference does this make for us?  Do we really need Paul to make a case for a future bodily resurrection?  We may look around and say, “Well, I don’t see anyone preaching that there is no resurrection of the dead in this fellowship, so this doesn’t really apply to me.”  However, there are many forms of preaching that take place as soon as we roll out of bed and engage in our world.  If you remember back a few weeks, we talked about one of the biggest challenges for the Corinthian church was that it was being influenced by the culture around it.  That is always a present danger for all churches, and all believers who belong to them, through all times.  Today is no different.

Many believe we only get this one life, so our only hope is to get as much out of life as possible while we are breathing.  Nothing else matters.  We could also state this in a much darker and pointed way: we live in a culture of death.  Our society is hyper focused on youthfulness, strength, and power.  Commercials are geared to keep you looking and feeling younger and stronger, even when your age stubbornly argues against it.  Underneath it all, is the belief and fear that death has the final word.  So, you better live your best life while you can.  There is no life after death to look forward to.  As an old commercial claimed, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”  Taking note of these prevalent messages in our society, we would be naïve to think we haven’t absorbed some amount of thinking that goes along the lines of these believers who lived in Corinth.  Paul’s words to them are no less relevant for us today.

Let’s see what more Paul has to say to the church in Corinth, and to us as well.

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?  1 Corinthians 15:12 NIV

Paul builds on the foundation he laid in the previous section.  He reminds them that the gospel that they received entails the central proclamation that “Christ has been raised from the dead.”  The word Paul chose to use to describe what he means by “dead” is the word nekros, which means totally separated from the living, a corpse.  Paul does not leave room for someone to claim that Paul meant a person’s spirit only is resurrected or her inner self or soul will go to heaven to be with the Lord.  Paul is being very specific with his word choice. We are talking about dead bodies, period.  From here, Paul’s logic is straight forward: on the basis of what we all agree on, that the gospel preached necessitates that Christ has been bodily raised from the dead then it does not follow that you could claim that there is “no resurrection of the dead.”  Clearly there is, on account that Jesus has been raised.

Next, Paul pours on more logical connections.

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.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.  But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  1 Corinthians 15:13-16 NIV

Here, Paul essentially takes up their premise as true and works out the implications it would have, especially in regard to their preaching, which has been established as something they received and took their stand in.  So, in a sense, Paul says, “Ok, if there is no resurrection of the dead then there has never been anyone resurrected in the past, and there will never be anyone resurrected in the future.”  That would mean that the preaching they received about Christ being raised from the dead  is a lie.  And that means that they have no ground for their faith.  They are essentially believing and taking their stand in a lie.

Now Paul doubles down on his argument and adds one more bit of absurdity that comes from their premise.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  1 Corinthians 15:17-19  NIV

Paul now cuts to the chase to state the fact their faith in a Christ who “has not been raised” is a waste of time.  And not only that, but that would mean they are “still in their sins.”  For Paul, death is the great enemy which is linked to sin.  He states elsewhere that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  The gospel is a proclamation that Jesus has defeated death.  If this is not true, then we do not have a God who can defeat death and deliver us from it.  We have no hope.  If that is truly the case, then not only have we lost any hope of a future, but we have also lost our past.  All that God has done to deliver us has come to nothing.  And that leaves us with a miserable present reality.

And when we take an honest look around our society, is that not what we see?  When the present is all there is, we have no hope.  And that will mean we can’t even enjoy the present.  Paul indicates that if we really believe this is the way of things, then adding Christ to that belief system is even worse than not believing in Christ at all.  We would be better off just living out our present miserable lives till the clock runs out.

Thankfully, Paul will conclude with a thunderous “But Christ” statement to bring us back to reality and wake us up from this nightmare belief system the Corinthian church had fallen prey to.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  1 Corinthians 15:20 NIV

Praise God.  That’s a reminder that we have hope.  Not just for ourselves, but for everyone who has died or will die in the future.  The result of remembering the gospel and turning to it once again to take our stand is a hope for the future based on the concrete work of Christ in the past that fuels our present with rejoicing and joy.  May we continue to remind one another of the beautiful truth that “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.”

Small Group Discussion Questions