An Exposition of 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Paul is going to use a specific type of conditional statement throughout
this section where what he does is says, for the sake of argument, let’s
assume that it is true that Christ isn’t raised. I want to demonstrate your
bad thinking by taking it to its logical conclusion. Let’s play this thing
out together.
Jesus of Nazareth was God and man united in one person. That one person
died. The body stopped breathing, no pulse, no brainwaves, no circulation.
The soul lived on, as is the cause when we die. Then the body of Jesus was
raised in newness of life, in resurrection power, and his soul was reunited
to his body.
If you deny the bodily resurrection, then you deny this reality. We don’t
have enough details to know how the Corinthians who were struggling with
this doctrine reconciled these things. It is suggested that perhaps they
denied the humanity of Jesus. The challenge I see is that Paul doesn’t ever
correct them for disbelieving in a resurrected Christ. It seems to me that
they were believing that Jesus was raised. The problem then is that there
other position is inconsistent.
What Paul does next is not an argument for the resurrection. He doesn’t
appeal to their faith and say, “think of how sad and hopeless you would be
without the resurrection… it must be true.” It isn’t emotional reasoning.
It isn’t working backwards from faith. It isn’t a proof. Paul gives the
evidence before and after this paragraph. Here he is playing out the fact
that all of Christianity hangs on whether or not Jesus actually rose bodily
from the grave or not.
If you are playing Jenga, theology-edition, the crucifixion block is the
one block that will always knock the entire stack over. It is a lynchpin,
it is a keystone, it is the essential ingredient. You takeaway Jesus
conquering the grave and you lose Christianity.
So, Paul now adopts that line of thinking. Let’s play this thing out to its
logical end. I’m going to take up this new premise: Jesus did not rise from
the dead. With that new premise in mind here are six necessary conclusions
that will result.
6 Tragic Consequences if Christ Isn’t Raised (1 Cor. 15:12-19)
Paul’s argument is established in vv. 12-13, repeated in v. 16
1. Preaching is pointless (14a)
2. Believing is worthless (14b)
3. Apostles are misleading (15)
4. Salvation is nonexistent (17)
5. Death is decisive (18)
6. Christians are pathetic (19)
1 Corinthians 15:12–19—12 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? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead,
not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then
our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even
found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that
He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact 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 worthless; you are
still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ
have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of
all men most to be pitied.
