What is the gospel message Paul reminds the Corinthians about?

Paul reminds the church of the simple gospel he first preached to them. He says that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. This is the message they received, in which they stand, and by which they are saved if they keep holding to it. The death and resurrection of Jesus are not side details, but the center of the good news about how God saves people from their sins and gives them hope beyond death.

Why does Paul say faith is empty if Christ has not been raised?

Paul argues that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ Himself has not been raised. If Christ is not raised, then preaching is empty and their faith is also empty. They would still be in their sins, those who have died trusting in Christ would be lost, and believers would be the most miserable because their hope would only be for this life. The resurrection shows that God accepted Christ’s death for sin, broke the power of death, and gives real hope for life after the grave.

What does it mean that Christ is the “firstfruits” of those who have died?

When Paul calls Christ the “firstfruits,” he uses a picture from harvest time. The first part of the crop was offered to God and showed that more of the same kind of crop was coming. In the same way, Christ’s resurrection is the beginning of the great harvest of all who belong to Him. He rose first, never to die again, and this shows that those who are His will also be raised. His risen life is like the first sheaf that guarantees the full harvest of resurrected believers at His coming.

What does “in Adam all die, in Christ shall all be made alive” mean?

Paul explains that death came into the world through a man, Adam. All who share in Adam’s fallen nature share in his death. In contrast, Christ is the new man from heaven. Those who are joined to Him share in His life. “In Adam all die” speaks of the death that spreads to all people because of sin. “In Christ shall all be made alive” speaks of the sure hope that all who belong to Christ will be raised from the dead, each in the order God has set, with Christ raised first and His people at His return.

How does Paul describe the resurrection body in this passage?

Paul answers the question about what kind of body the dead will have by using the picture of a seed. A seed must be buried and die before it grows into a very different plant. Our present bodies are sown in corruption, dishonor, and weakness, but they will be raised in incorruption, glory, and power. He calls our present body a natural body and the future one a spiritual body, meaning a body fitted for God’s kingdom and ruled by the Spirit. It will still be a real body, but changed and freed from decay and death.

What does it mean that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God?

When Paul says “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,” he is not denying that we will have real bodies. He is saying that our present, weak, dying condition is not suited for God’s eternal kingdom. What is corruptible and decaying cannot share in what is incorruptible. So God must change His people. At the last trumpet, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and those still alive will be changed. This mortal condition will put on immortality, so that God’s people can live with Him in a body that no longer dies.

What is the “mystery” Paul shows about being changed at the last trumpet?

The “mystery” is a truth that was not clearly known before. Paul says that not all believers will “sleep,” meaning not all will die, but all will be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised with bodies that cannot decay, and those still living will be transformed too. This sudden change will remove mortality and corruption. Then the words will come true that death is swallowed up in victory. God will fully remove death’s power from His people through Christ.

Why does Paul say, “O death, where is your sting?”

Paul cries out, “O death, where is your sting?” after speaking of the resurrection and the change from mortal to immortal. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Death stings because sin brings guilt and judgment, and God’s law shows how serious sin is. But through Christ’s death and resurrection, God deals with sin and its guilt. When believers are raised and changed, death can no longer harm them. So Paul thanks God, who gives victory through the Lord Jesus, and invites believers to see death as a defeated enemy.

How should believers respond to Paul’s teaching that their labour is not in vain?

Paul ends by saying that, because of the resurrection and the sure victory over death, believers should be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Knowing that their labour is not in vain in the Lord changes how they face hardship, risk, and daily service. Even if the world does not see or reward their efforts, God does. Because Christ is raised and they too will be raised, nothing done for Him is wasted. This hope should steady them and encourage them to keep serving God with all their hearts.

What is going on with “baptized for the dead,” and why is it difficult?

Paul mentions people being “baptized for the dead” as part of his argument that belief in resurrection shapes how people live. The exact practice he refers to is not fully explained, and faithful readers have understood this line in more than one way. What is clear is Paul’s point: if there were no resurrection, such actions would make no sense, and his own suffering and daily danger would be pointless. Whatever the phrase means in detail, it supports his main argument that hope in resurrection changes how believers face life and death.

1Cor.15.1

1 Corinthians 15:1

KJV

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

The Resurrection of Christ

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15 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.

16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

The Order of Resurrection

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit.

46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Where, O Death, Is Your Victory?

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Cross References

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