Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:12
What if Jesus had not risen from the dead? An unimaginable thought! Yet Paul briefly entertains it, but only in order to teach the Corinthian church the truth of the resurrection. They had no doubt that Jesus rose from the dead, but some wrongly thought the believers who had died would not be resurrected.
Paul effectively vanquishes such a misconception by showing that the believer’s resurrection is inextricably linked to Jesus’ resurrection. If Jesus rose, then those who put their faith in Him would likewise rise. Therefore, saying that the righteous dead will not resurrect at the Second Advent is tantamount to saying that Jesus didn’t resurrect from the dead. What? How could that be? And what would it mean if it were true?
If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead then all Christian preaching would be futile and ring hollow. Our faith would be just as empty. Even more depressing, it would mean that those who died in Jesus have died in their sins. And we will suffer the same fate. That would mean that all we have is this temporal life, filled with brevity and burdens. In other words, if Christ did not rise then we have no hope of eternal life! No hope, none, not a strand! If so, perhaps we should just “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” And if Christ did not resurrect, then we who believe are to be the most pitied of all. Why? Because we would have shunned the earthly realm and the eternal one to come would be but a mirage. We would be like Don Quixote, tilting at windmills. Of course, this is only if Jesus had not risen!
Paul emphatically declares, “But now, Jesus has risen from the dead!” The inspired apostle moves beyond the harsh hypothetical to pronounce the verified truth. Jesus’ tomb is empty! The biblical prophecies were fulfilled to a tee. The risen Christ appeared to many, including over five hundred witnesses all at once. And the power of his resurrected life is on full display in the transformation of those who believe in Him. Therefore it is guaranteed, assured, certain, inevitable, that the righteous dead will resurrect and be bestowed with immortality. Therefore, let us “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Why? Because as Christ rose, so shall we.
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