The resurrection of Christ is not an optional extra to the Christian faith – it is the truth upon which everything else stands or falls. If Christ is not risen, the scriptures are false, preaching is senseless, faith is useless, every preacher is a liar, no one can be redeemed from sin, and believers are the most pitiable people on the earth. But Christ is risen, and because he is, we know he is God, the atonement is acceptable, we can be reconciled to God, we are guaranteed a resurrection, we have a great high priest, and we have both a responsibility and a privilege to live for him and to share the gospel that has the power to change lives.
Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15 builds a devastating case by way of the negative before turning to the triumphant positive. The logic is relentless: if Christ is not risen, a cascade of consequences follows that would undo the entirety of the Christian faith.
First, the scriptures themselves would be false. The resurrection was prophesied in the Old Testament – Psalm 16:10 declares that God would not leave his Holy One to see corruption, and the whole of Isaiah 53 portrays the suffering and vindication of the coming Messiah. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ himself prophesied his own death and resurrection on at least three distinct occasions recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. If none of this came to pass, then scripture is reduced to cunningly devised fables rather than the sure word of prophecy that Peter describes in 2 Peter 1:16-21.
Second, preaching would be senseless. If the central truth proclaimed by every preacher across two thousand years – that Christ died, was buried, and rose again – is untrue, then every sermon, every commentary, every gospel tract, every hour of study and preparation has been in vain. The Great Commission itself becomes a pointless command, and Paul’s charge to Timothy to preach the word loses all force.
Third, faith would be useless. Faith takes its character from the message it believes. If that message is a lie and the preaching is vain, then faith placed in it has no real value. Christianity could not be true unless Christ had risen from the dead, because the whole system depends upon it.
Fourth, every witness to the resurrection would be a liar – not merely mistaken, but false witnesses of God. Mary, the women at the tomb, Peter, the two on the road to Emmaus, the disciples in the upper room, Thomas, the five hundred, Paul himself – all of them would be bearing false testimony. Every pastor, evangelist, and missionary who has ever proclaimed the risen Christ would stand condemned as a deceiver.
Fifth, no one would be redeemed from sin. Without the resurrection, humankind must still be in its sins – neither sanctified, nor justified, nor glorified. Isaiah 53 speaks of the Servant seeing the travail of his soul and being satisfied, justifying many by bearing their iniquities. Romans 4:25 ties the resurrection directly to justification: Christ was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. The illustration is vivid – sin stands between man and God like a dark barrier, and only the Lord Jesus Christ is able to take that sin away so that nothing remains between the sinner and the Heavenly Father.
Sixth, all those who have died in the faith have perished. The body would still be in the grave, the soul in hell – there would be no hope beyond the grave. And seventh, living believers would be the most pitiable people on the earth. If this is all there is, then every sacrifice, every bit of mockery endured, every act of self-denial is for nothing. There would be no resurrection, no rapture, no heaven, no judgment seat of Christ, no marriage supper of the Lamb.
But then comes the pivot – the word “but” in verse 20 that changes everything. “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” The evidence is overwhelming and verifiable. Men like Josh McDowell set out to disprove it and were converted by the weight of the evidence.
Because Christ is risen, we know he is God. Romans 1:4 declares him to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. His claim to deity – “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58) – was authenticated by the resurrection. If he had been lying about being God, then God would not have raised him.
Because Christ is risen, the atonement is acceptable. Hebrews 9 shows that without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and Christ’s sacrifice was not merely any blood sacrifice but the sinless, eternal God-man offering himself once for all. Because he is God and eternal, his sacrifice is sufficient for all people in all ages – unlike a mere man, whose death could atone for only one. The resurrection proves that God accepted the sacrifice.
Because Christ is risen, we are guaranteed a resurrection. The Old Testament concept of firstfruits illuminates this beautifully: the firstfruits were the initial portion of the harvest given to God, with the promise that more of the harvest was to follow. Christ is the firstfruits from the dead – the first part of the harvest taken up by God – and believers are the harvest that follows. The contrast between Adam and Christ is stark: in Adam, all die; in Christ, all shall be made alive. The question is which family you belong to.
Because Christ is risen, we have a great high priest. Hebrews 7 describes a priest who continues forever with an unchangeable priesthood, who is able to save to the uttermost, who ever lives to make intercession. Unlike the Old Testament high priests who daily offered sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the people’s, Christ offered himself once – the perfect, pure sacrifice. Because he is alive, he never ceases to intercede, and believers have answered prayer.
Because Christ is risen, there is a responsibility. Romans 14:9 establishes his lordship over the living and the dead. Believers are bought with a price – the precious blood of Christ – and are not their own. The response should flow from love: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). The love of Christ constrains believers to live not unto themselves but unto him who died for them and rose again. Paul’s own testimony illustrates this – someone shared the truth with him that exposed his lost condition, and everything changed.
The gospel itself is remarkably simple and pure: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, all according to the scriptures. Nothing can be added to it without turning it into works. It must be declared, received, and believed. It is the power of God unto salvation – not because of anything the believer contributes, but because of what Christ has already done. The whole gospel pivots on the resurrection. Every other religious founder remains dead in their grave. The difference is that the Lord Jesus Christ is alive.
Sermon Audio Id: 4526738526623