Why the Resurrection is Important

Intro:

Last week in this passage Paul began laying a foundation for an important truth the Corinthian church needed to know. The belief that Christ physically and bodily arose from the grave is a central truth of the Christian faith. It is not a side doctrine, and it is not merely symbolic language. The resurrection is the beating heart of the gospel itself.

Because Christ truly rose, the church can sing in confidence. Our hymns are filled with the language of victory, life, and hope because the tomb is empty and our Savior lives. When Christians gather, we do not sing about a memory—we sing about a living Lord.

We can stand and sing songs like this:

“I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today; I know that He is living, whatever men may say.”

That hymn reminds us that the resurrection is not merely a historical claim; it is a present reality. Christ is alive today, ruling and reigning, walking with His people and sustaining His church.

Another familiar hymn declares:

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow; Because He lives, all fear is gone.”

The resurrection gives believers courage for the future. If death itself could not hold Christ, then the believer’s future is secure in Him.

We also sing these triumphant words:

“Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o’er His foes.”

That line portrays the victory of the resurrection. Christ did not merely escape death—He defeated it.

And another hymn gives us this confident testimony:

“Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried, He carried my sins far away; Rising, He justified freely.

1 Cor. 15:12-13,16 Logic says: Christians must believe in the resurrection of the dead

The Corinthian church clearly believed in the resurrection of Christ, or at least some form of resurrection, else they would not have been addressed as believers. For in order to be a Christian, you must believe in a risen Christ.

Many Corinthian believers likely struggled, however, with the fact that there would also be a resurrection of believers—a physical resurrection of the body one day.

Their understanding of pagan culture had shaped their Christianity. Many Greeks of that day subscribed to the belief that everything physical was, in some way, evil. Therefore, if a physical body were resurrected, it would inherently receive evil again.

Not only in Greek culture was the belief prevalent that there is no resurrection , but a certain sect of Jews known as the Sadducees also did not believe in the resurrection.

Understanding that Our belief in a life after death is not formed merely by Paul's words, but by the words of God throughout all of Scripture is very important.

Job 19:26 CSB

26 Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet I will see God in my flesh.

Psalm 17:15 KJV 1900

15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Daniel 12:2 KJV 1900

2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:28 KJV 1900

28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

John 5:29 KJV 1900

29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

John 6:44 KJV 1900

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Acts 4:1–2 “1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”

In spite of all the OT assurance, and NT clarity given by the apostles, the Corinthians still had some confusion regarding this issue.

In verse 13 and again in verse 16, Paul appeals to reason.

If —there is absolutely no resurrection of the dead—no physical resurrection of the body

Then — Christ Himself could not have physically risen from the grave

For if you believe that the dead do not rise from the grave, then you must logically conclude that Christ did not rise either

this abrupt and disturbing fact should shake us all to our core, for if there truly is no resurrection of Christ, then there is no redemption of the dead. if Christ is dead, then we are dead, if he is in the ground, then we will die and remain in the ground, If he is eternally defeated, then we are eternally defeated.

The early church members in Corinth did not fully realize the grave error in their thinking. Faith in a risen Christ must come to its full and necessary conclusion—a future resurrection of risen believers.

1 Cor. 15: 14-19 What are the consequences of no physical resurrection?

to borrow from the commentary of john MacAurther, listen to the following 6 consequences of no physical resurrection:

Preaching Christ would be senseless (14)

2. Faith in Christ would be useless (14)

3. Proclaiming the resurrection would make us liars (vs 15)

4. No one would be redeemed from sin (vs 17)

5. All former believers would have perished ( vs 18)

6. Christians would be the most pitied people on earth (vs 19)

1. Preaching Christ would be senseless (v.14)

It would indeed be senseless. For we would have nothing to proclaim. He would be dead. He would not possess the power to create life, give life, or sustain life. If He is dead, then we will be dead eternally.

Our preaching—that is, the proclaiming and heralding of Christ by pastors, laymen, church members, and everyone who claims the title Christian—would be in vain. It would be as vain as belief in Buddha. It would be as vain as atheism. It would be as vain as being an unbeliever and defiler of all things righteous.

You see, it would all be empty—no substance, no hope. Not a single ounce of salvation could come to unbelievers.

2. Faith in Christ would be useless (v.14)

That’s right—useless. Useless as a car with no wheels, useless as a lamp with no bulb, useless as a well with no water.

We would simply have nothing to place our faith in. What would we believe? That He was merely a good teacher? So was Joseph Smith. So was Mother Mary to many. So was your grandmother. (faith in Christ would be useless)

Saving faith does not come through believing in good teachers, prophets, or moral examples alone. It comes through the risen Christ—the Good One, the Just One, and the One who gives life.(who is alive)

The gospel is not about a better you- It is about receiving new life through the resurrected Christ.

3. Proclaiming the resurrection would make us liars (v.15)

It is simply a fact: if we claim a resurrection that did not exist or happen, then we would be liars before God.

We would be bearing false witness about the very nature and power of God Himself. It would blaspheme His name as the living God who has all power over life and death. And our message would have no value whatsoever.

John Owen wrote, “If Christ be not risen, the whole foundation of the church is taken away, and the faith of believers is vain.”

4. No one would be redeemed from sin (v.17)

This is a simple and obvious point—one we make again and again as the exposition of this passage unfolds. It belongs to Christ to give life, restore fellowship, and redeem souls.

If He could not raise Himself from the dead, how could He possibly raise anyone else?

Charles Spurgeon said, “The resurrection is the seal of all Christ’s work. If He had remained in the grave, we should have had no assurance that our sins were put away.”

5. All former believers would have perished (v.18)

Paul makes it clear. Our eternal life—and the eternal life of all believers before us—must have something solid to hold on to.

That foundation is the truth that Christ arose. And because He arose, they too shall live. The resurrection is the guarantee that those who have died in Christ are not lost, not gone forever, but awaiting the resurrection life that He secured for them.

6. Christians would be the most pitied people on earth (v.19)

1 Corinthians 15:19 (ESV) “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

No explanation is really needed. People should simply feel sorry for us if our only hope in Christ were limited to this life.

For the life of a believer is not built upon earthly rewards. In fact, Christians often endure hardship, sacrifice, and suffering for the name of Christ. If there were no resurrection, then the believer’s life would indeed appear more miserable, more pitied, and more useless than anyone else’s.

John Owen “The resurrection of Christ is the great foundation of the faith of the church.”

If Christ be not risen, there is no justification, no salvation, no hope for sinners.” — The Works of John Owen, Vol. 1

Thomas Watson “The resurrection of Christ is the cause, pledge, and pattern of our resurrection.”

Take away the resurrection of Christ, and you take away the sun from the Christian religion — A Body of Divinity

John Bunyan “The resurrection of Christ is the seal of all the promises of God.” — The Resurrection of the Dead and Eternal Judgment

1 Cor. 15:20-21 Completed in Christ

Paul says: as a personal witness to the risen Christ, and as many that have seen Him before me- we relay to you that with all assurance, he is risen! And based on this fact, he now becomes the first one of many to be risen.

all of scripture confirms this.

Acts 26:23 (KJV) “That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”

Christ is not merely one who rose—He is the first in a new order of resurrection life.

Colossians 1:18 (KJV) “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

His resurrection gives Him preeminence, because He is the first to rise in a glorified, never-dying body.

Revelation 1:5 (KJV) “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.”

Romans 8:29 (KJV) “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Christ rises first, and many brethren follow after Him.

John 14:19 (KJV) “Because **I live, ye shall live also.”

The resurrection of Christ guarantees the resurrection of His people.

verse 21

Paul brings his argument to a powerful conclusion in verse 21:

In the wisdom and sovereignty of God, the problem that entered the world through a man would also be answered through the man.

Through Adam came sin, and through sin came death. Every grave, every funeral, every tear shed beside a tomb traces its origin back to that first man’s fall in the garden. Death spread to all humanity because all are connected to Adam.

But the glory of the gospel is this: just as death entered through one man, resurrection life has entered through another. Jesus Christ, the second Adam, stepped into human history, took on flesh, and conquered the very enemy that Adam unleashed upon the world.

Because Christ rose from the grave, the power of death has been broken. His resurrection is not an isolated miracle—it is the beginning of a great harvest of resurrected saints. The empty tomb of Christ guarantees that the graves of believers will not remain closed forever.

Death came through Adam, but life comes through Christ. The first man brought the curse, but the second Man brings the cure.