Reading… and Thinking

   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, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve…
   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. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

— 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, 16-20 (ESV)

The death and resurrection of Jesus are, as Paul says, “of first importance”. The very core, in fact, of our faith. The importance of Christ’s death would be acknowledged by anyone claiming the designation ‘Christian’. But the significance of the resurrection is missed by many, just as it had apparently been lost sight of in Corinth.

Paul starts by saying it’s vital, and then cites the eyewitnesses who could testify that Jesus rose from the dead. Let there be no doubt about it being a literal event! Then he goes on to lay out its importance. Life out of death is our whole hope! If Christ wasn’t raised, and if we aren’t going to be raised as well, there is no hope.

But, as he goes on to say, Christ has indeed been raised, and he is the “firstfruits”. Further down, in verse 23, he tells us that our turn will come “at his coming”.

The true hope of eternal life is presented with crystal clarity in this chapter. There is no hope, aside from resurrection. Then (and only then) will God’s people be given immortality. Further along in the chapter, verses 51-54, Paul writes:

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

 
What a victory! What a hope! This is something we can hang onto, that will motivate us and carry us through every trial. Paul concludes with a shout of triumph and an encouragement that echoes down the centuries (verses 57-58):

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.