One In Jesus

Paul continues arguing that resurrection is an essential element of Christianity —

(1Co 15:17-19 ESV)  17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.  18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Again, if Christians don’t experience a resurrection, leaving behind empty graves, then neither was Jesus resurrected. If God can’t resurrect Christians, then why believe that he resurrected Jesus?

“Fallen asleep” is a standard Jewish (and now Christian) euphemism for death. The point is not that people are unconscious, but that from the perspective of those who survive, their loved ones are as though asleep — and they’ll awaken when Jesus returns. How death appears to the dead pending the resurrection is quite another question (and discussed in the Wineskins series although not discussed by Paul in this chapter). Continue reading →

Paul next turns to the topic that will consume the rest of the chapter: the resurrection of Jesus and its implications for the resurrection of Christians —

(1Co 15:12-16 ESV) Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

Okay. Paul presents us here with a discussion on the necessity of the resurrection. And I just posted a nine-part series on the resurrection over at Wineskins, which I don’t care to repeat and doubt that you care for me to re-post. If you’ve not read those posts yet, here are the links: Continue reading →

This is a chapter I’ve been wanting to exegete for a long time. I’ve covered much of 1 Corinthians in previous posts over the years, but only bits and pieces of 1 Cor 15 — and it’s a chapter I find myself turning to more and more often. I’m thrilled to finally get started (and I’m sure you’re glad we’re getting near the end of the book).

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

It’s a dramatic change in subject. For some reason, near the end of the book, Paul wants to return to the subject of chapters 1 — the gospel. He also calls it “the word.”

Interestingly, most translations translate euaggelizo “preached” in v. 2 although the Greek is clearly “gospeled” or “good news-ed” or “preached good news” (just to confuse us barbarians, a double-g in Greek is pronounced “ng” — hence euangelizo). Continue reading →