And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:14 (ESV)
Can the dead live again, taking on physical form? Many of the Greeks thought the idea of a resurrection was silly. While the soul may escape the body and continue to exist, there was no thought of a person’s body returning to life. It made no sense to them (Acts 17:32). And some within the Corinthian church apparently still held to this.
Paul sought to counter this claim in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. He began by sharing a creed of the early church (1 Cor. 15:3-5). More important than anything else is that Jesus died for our sins and that he was resurrected from the dead. Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection are at the heart of our faith–of first importance.
He went on to use the resurrection of Jesus as the primary ‘proof’ for resurrection in a more general sense. Jesus’ return from death to life demonstrated the reality of resurrection. If he experienced resurrection, then resurrection is a possibility for us.
What If There Is No Resurrection?
But what if the resurrection scoffers were correct? In that case, then not even Jesus had been raised from the dead. And if Jesus had not been raised, then, Paul said, our preaching is in vain. Paul had been proclaiming the resurrection everywhere he went. If there was no resurrection, then he was just wasting his time and causing unnecessary suffering for himself.
But even more significant is that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then our faith is also in vain. Our life as believers is challenging and often hard. But if this life is all there is, then why bother? Would we not be better off enjoying this life as much as possible (1 Cor. 15:32)?
It Is Our Great Hope
Our great hope is not in this life. It is what comes after death. And, because Jesus has been raised from the dead, we can expect to follow him in his resurrection and experience the life he has prepared us for.
How important is Jesus’ resurrection? His resurrection is of the greatest importance. Without it, we are without hope and lost in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17).
