1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (ESV)

    ¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

    ²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

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The Easter story, Christ’s resurrection, is the central fact of the Christian religion and sets Christianity apart from all other religions. The empty tomb alone gives meaning, direction, and power to every statement of Christian faith.  Everything the apostles preached hinges on Christ’s resurrection.  But what if the resurrection is not true? Then all Christian preaching is in vain and empty of any meaning.  Every sermon to instruct, warn, strengthen, comfort, and inspire those sick in the body or troubled in spirit is just empty words.  In addition to that, “your faith is in vain” (cf. 14).  When people forfeit their lives because of mistaken belief, it is a tragedy.  It would be far worse if one staked his or her relationship to God, for time and eternity, on the message that God had delivered them from sin, death, and damnation through the atoning death and victorious resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, only to discover all too late that they had been duped.

Paul continues, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in you sins” (17).  Simply put, if Christ did not rise from the dead, then the faith of everyone who believes in Him is fruitless, and people are still hopelessly lost in the condemning and controlling power of sin.  Paul contends that if Christ did not rise and conquer death, then sin wins the victory over everyone, and that defeat means eternal damnation is our sure destiny (cf. 18).  

“But in fact,” Paul says, “Christ has been raised” (20).  All the Apostles preached the same Gospel message: “Jesus is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!”  Because Christ has been raised, neither our preaching nor our faith is in vain. Every time you confess your faith in the words of the Creed, you are declaring that you believe in Jesus Christ, who rose again on the third day.  You are also affirming that you believe in the resurrection of the body.  The risen Christ is the pledge and proof of the resurrection of all God’s redeemed people to eternal life.  Through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, you are now declared righteous before our heavenly Father.  

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul declares what Christian’s believe, teach, and confess: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”  With His real body, Jesus lives and reigns to all eternity and He will come at the end of this age to take us to be His own: “And so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).  

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