THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Key verse: 12

NIV

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead,(A) how can some of you say that there is no resurrection(B) of the dead?(C) 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised,(D) our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 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.(E) But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.(F) 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep(G) in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.(H)

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, (A)how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, (B)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 (C)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. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and (D)you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who (E)have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope[a] in this life only, (F)we are of all people most to be pitied.

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Corinthians 15:19 Or we have hoped
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. The resurrection of the dead (12-13) The Corinthian church believed in the resurrection of Christ. So, what was the problem? They didn't believe in their own resurrection! They were not connecting these two wonderful truths. Paul asks, "how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" The resurrection of the dead is an essential part of our Christian faith. Do we believe that God can resurrect our bodies the same way Jesus was resurrected? I hope so! Rejecting the resurrection of the dead doesn't make any sense. If it is impossible for God to raise the dead, then how was Christ raised from the dead? 2. Devastating consequences (14-19) Paul says that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. If that is the case, then Paul's preaching was futile, and their faith was pointless. If Christ was not raised, his death on the cross was of no value and the burden of our sins would remain. No matter what we did, we would still face death in the end. Think of it. It would be horrible, wouldn't it? Do you see how wonderful and important it is to believe in the resurrection of the dead? It is the basis of all our hope and faith.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, fill us with the hope of your resurrection. Because you live, we too shall live.

One Word: The dead will be raised