...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.

Paul’s Appeal to the Corinthians Experience

The question at Corinith seemed not so much about Christ’s resurrection but about their own. Vs 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? The Greeks believed that the body was sinful, but the soul was pure. They already believed in a spiritual resurrection but they did not accept a resurrection of the body. This kind of belief ultimately becomes Christian Gnosticism.

To counter this Paul says if there is no bodily resurrection, then Christ is not risen. Even though that is what we preached and you believed, if you now say there is no resurrection of the body then that means Jesus did not rise from the grave.

Then building this chain of logical links, he says, 1 Corinthians 15:14-15 “if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses (liars, perjurers) of God”

He then gives the awful conclusion of not believing in the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:17-18 “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain (empty, worthless); ye are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”

Without the resurrection, faith is empty, preaching is empty, hope is empty. Paul’s closing statement shows the razor’s edge conclusion to his argument for the resurrection of Christ and all who believe in Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Our Personal Experience

We’ve already seen in the opening of this chapter that the Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This means that Jesus actually died, that his lifeless body was placed in a literal grave and then 3 days later he physically walked out of that grave on Sunday morning.

If we have been saved, then we were saved by believing exactly that doctrine. Anything less means your salvation is lacking this essential foundation and a lesser salvation is no salvation at all.

Go with me to Matthew 27:35-38 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. 36 And sitting down they watched him there; 37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

Matthew 27:46 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:50-5150 -- Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Matthew 27:57-60 57 When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: 58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.

Matthew 28:1-6 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 3 -- His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. 5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.

This the Gospel, this is what we believe! Jesus’ living body was nailed to the cross and He died. His dead body was placed in the tomb and then 3 days later, His once again living body came out of that stone covered, guard watched, Roman sealed grave.

This is what we have believed, this is our experience, just as it was the Corinthians. The resurrection is one of the three essential foundations of the Gospel. It is the foundation the Christian faith. It is the foundation of all that we have put our faith in. It is the foundation of all that we hope for in eternity to come.

In the first epistle ever written by Paul he says to the 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (the only thing that can rise is their bodies, for their spirits are already with the Lord.) 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Chris Tomlin’s song “I Will Rise” captures this sense of comfort and confindence because of Jesus' resurrection, I will also experience my own resurrection, a bodily resurrection.

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise, I will rise.

When Victor Hugo, the great French novelist and national hero, was near death he wrote this as he thought of his own death and belief in the next life.

I feel within me that future life. I am like a forest that has been razed; the new shoots are stronger and brighter. I shall most certainly rise toward the heavens--the nearer my approach to the end, the plainer is the sound of immortal symphonies of worlds which invite me. For half a century I have been translating my thoughts into prose and verse: history, philosophy, drama, romance, tradition, satire, ode, and song; all of these I have tried. But I feel I haven't given utterance to the thousandth part of what lies with me. When I go to the grave I can say, as others have said, "My day's work is done." But I cannot say, "My life is done." My work will recommence the next morning. The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. It closes upon the twilight but opens upon the dawn. - Victor Hugo