1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (KJV)
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
There were apparently people in the church at Corinth who, though they acknowledged the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, denied that there will be a future resurrection of the believers.
The influence of the Sadducees must have crept in.
In their theology, Jesus' resurrection gave way to Christianity but Christianity gave no way for eternal life. They saw the Christian faith, I suppose, as a practical tool for moral good. Like those Paul referenced in 2 Timothy 3:5, they had the form of godliness but denied the power thereof.
Paul's argument turns this around and demands that if there is no power for resurrection then Christ cannot have been resurrected and Christianity is vain - useless.
Worse, it is miserable.
The point is that the force of the Christian faith is its supernatural nature.
- If Christianity offers no future
- If Christianity bears no power through God
- If Christianity is nothing more than a kind of social order
then Christianity is worthless.
The Christian faith looks deeply into life after death. It quickens the dead, gives hope to the most difficult of circumstances and provides power, yes, more than inspiration, supernatural power.
Faith in Christ offers the believer
- Weapons for spiritual warfare
- Directions for traversing darkness and
- Tools for removing mountains
If it does not then it is wasted.
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1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (KJV) Otherwise, It Is Wasted
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