For If Christ Is Not Raised (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)

If Christ has not been raised, Christian preaching and faith are empty, our sins remain unforgiven, and those who died trusting Him have no resurrection hope. That is Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19. He asks the Corinthians to consider what denying the resurrection would mean, then declares in verse 20 that Christ has indeed been raised.

The resurrection is essential to the gospel. Below, we will follow Paul’s argument about preaching, faith, forgiveness, and life after death, then consider why the risen Christ calls each of us to respond.

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We All Have Doubts

Having doubts is common. Sometimes we question ordinary decisions, such as a purchase or a job change. Questions about faith can feel much more unsettling. Paul does not leave the Corinthians with their confusion; he helps them examine what they believe and what follows from it.

Some Corinthians were denying the resurrection of the dead. Paul points out the contradiction between that denial and the gospel they had received:

1 Corinthians 15:12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Paul makes a logical point: “If you believe Christ was raised from the dead, you should believe Christians, or those in Christ, will be raised from the dead as well.”

Why Some People Rejected the Resurrection

When Paul preached in Athens, some listeners mocked the resurrection, others wanted to hear more, and some believed (Acts 17:32–34). The response was mixed. We should not assume every Gentile held the same beliefs or rejected Paul’s message for the same reason.

Jewish groups also differed. The Sadducees denied the resurrection, angels, and spirits, while the Pharisees affirmed them (Acts 23:6–8). This helps explain the Sadducees’ opposition to the apostles’ resurrection preaching in Acts 4:1–2. Their position did not represent all Jews.

What Makes People Heretics?

Christ’s resurrection is a non-negotiable part of the gospel. Denying it contradicts the message Paul preached. But having questions or struggling with doubts is not the same as deliberately rejecting the resurrection. Paul addresses the Corinthians as people who had received the gospel and shows them that denying a future resurrection undermines their own confession of the risen Christ.

Paul invites the Corinthians to follow their claim to its conclusion: suppose Christ had not been raised. What would that mean for everything they had believed? The consequences explain why the resurrection can never be treated as an optional Christian belief.

What It Means for Believers

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Preaching is Worthless

1 Corinthians 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 

Paul is working backward. If there’s no resurrection, then Jesus hasn’t been raised from the dead. If Christians can’t be resurrected, then Christ couldn’t have been raised.

The Greek word for vain is kenos, which means “empty.” It’s related to the word for “emptied Himself” in Philippians 2:7, where we get the doctrine of the kenosis, that at the Incarnation Christ emptied Himself.

We’ll return to faith in verse 17. First, consider preaching: if Christ was not raised, every gospel message announcing His victory over death would be empty. Sermons, Bible studies, and funeral messages offering resurrection hope would promise something that never happened. And it is not only preaching that would be in vain.

If Christ Is Not Raised, the Apostles Are False Witnesses

1 Corinthians 15:15 We 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. 

I preach Christ’s resurrection on the basis of the apostolic testimony. If that testimony were false, I would be repeating an error. Paul’s point in verse 15 is more direct: he and the other apostles would be misrepresenting God by testifying that God raised Christ. Paul then identifies witnesses to the risen Jesus:

1 Corinthians 15:4 that he (this is Jesus) was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas (or Peter), then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep (they died). 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me…11 Whether then it was I or they (referring to the witnesses of Christ’s resurrection he just mentioned), so we preach and so you believed.

Paul listed people who said they saw Christ after His resurrection. If Christ had not been raised, their testimony would be false, and those who trusted it would have been misled. Think of the sacrifices Christians have made because they believed that testimony. Paul wants us to see how much rests on whether the resurrection actually happened.

Regarding the twelve apostles lying, Charles Colson said:

I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.

Colson’s comparison illustrates the difference between suffering for a sincere belief and suffering for a story one knows is fabricated. It is an illustration, not a complete historical account of every apostle’s life. Paul grounds his argument in the testimony of the witnesses he names.

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Faith Is Worthless

1 Corinthians 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17a And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile…

Verse 16 sounds familiar because Paul said the same thing back in verse 13. He repeated it because it’s that important to consider what they’re saying: if people aren’t resurrected, then Christ couldn’t have been resurrected. Verse 17 also sounds familiar because Paul said this back in verse 14. He wants us to understand how worthless our faith is without Christ’s resurrection.

Years ago, a woman was cutting my hair and I saw a Chinese symbol on her arm. I asked her what it meant, and she said, “Faith.” I was immediately curious because I thought she might be a Christian. When I said, “Faith in what?” it seemed to catch her off guard. It took her a moment to come up with an answer, but finally she said, “Just faith. Believing. Faith in yourself.”

Her answer captures a common belief that simply having faith is good. The problem with this thinking is faith is only as good as the object we put our faith in.

The Importance of the Object of Our Faith

For example, when you drive, you demonstrate significant faith. You get into a vehicle that contains gallons of flammable gasoline. You start the vehicle and have faith that it won’t blow up even though parts of it became very hot and had sparks. If you aren’t driving, you have faith in the driver that he or she will get you safely to the destination. You also have faith in other drivers on the road. You head toward traffic in the opposing lane and believe that they won’t drift over even a few feet and crash into you head on.

Fail Army is a collection of videos of an army of people failing. They climb something but end up falling, drive something but end up crashing, or carry something but they end up dropping it. These people had misplaced faith in their ability to do certain things.

It doesn’t matter how much faith you have, if you put that faith in the wrong thing, you fail. If we put our faith in Christ, but He was not raised, our faith is misplaced. It is worthless. Christ didn’t do what we thought He did. We put our faith in the most significant event that’s ever happened, but it never happened.

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer’s Sins Are Unforgiven

1 Corinthians 15:17b and you are still in your sins. 

Jesus truly died, but His death was not ordinary: He died for our sins. His resurrection demonstrates His victory over death. Lazarus and others were restored to mortal life and would die again. Jesus rose never to die again (Romans 6:9). That is the lasting resurrection hope He gives His people.

His resurrection set His death apart, because His resurrection showed that He died a sinless man. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” Because Jesus didn’t sin, He couldn’t remain dead. As Peter preached on Pentecost, “God raised [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by [death]” (Acts 2:24). Death could not hold Jesus, because of His sinlessness. When He was resurrected it showed His victory over sin and death, and He passed that victory along to us.

Jesus’s Death or Resurrection for Our Sins?

Christ’s death and resurrection belong together in the gospel. He died for our sins, and His resurrection is essential to our salvation. Paul joins both truths in Romans 4:25; we should not set them against each other:

Acts 5:31 [Peter said], “God exalted [Jesus to] his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and FORGIVENESS OF SINS.”

Peter is talking about forgiveness of sins, so we would expect him to mention Christ’s death. But he mentioned Jesus’s resurrection and ascension because His resurrection demonstrated His victory over sin and death.

Romans 4:25 [Jesus] was delivered up for our trespasses and RAISED FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION.

We would expect Paul to say Jesus DIED for our justification, because we know He died for our sins. But Paul said He was raised for our justification, because His resurrection demonstrated He died as our sinless substitute.

This is why Paul asks the Corinthians to consider what they are saying if they deny the resurrection. They’re also denying that their sins are forgiven.

If Christ Is Not Raised, Those Who Died in Christ Have Perished

1 Corinthians 15:18 Then those also who have fallen asleep (or died) in Christ have perished. 

I understand Paul’s hypothetical here as the complete loss of life and hope beyond death: if there were no resurrection, those who died trusting Christ would have perished. This is an explanation of what denying the resurrection would imply, not a description of the actual future Paul teaches. He is about to affirm that Christ has been raised. For the distinction from the Bible’s teaching about final judgment, see eternal punishment and annihilation.

For If Christ Is Not Raised a Believer Should Be Pitied

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

If there’s no resurrection, we have hope in this life only because this life is all there is. The pronoun “we,” which Paul uses twice, refers to Christians. If this is the only life there is, “we” are worse off than everyone else and should be the most pitied:

• We waste our time serving and worshiping Christ.
• Everything we do is false and foolish.
• We believe lies and live based on those lies, making us deceived and gullible.
• We deny ourselves, give up earthly pleasures, and forfeit enjoyment to live holy lives for no reason.
• Every sacrifice we make has been worthless.
• We suffer with no hope of glory in the next life.

If Christ had remained in the grave, Christianity’s promise of victory over death would be false. We would have sacrificed for a hope that could not save us. Paul is describing that terrible hypothetical, not his conclusion. His next words turn from what would follow if Christ were dead to the assurance that Christ is risen.

What It Means for Unbelievers

Because Christ Was Raised an Unbeliever’s Works Are Worthless

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

This is the dramatic change! Paul turns from the consequences of denying the resurrection to what is true because Christ has been raised. That truth gives believers hope and also calls those who have not trusted Him to respond.

Firstfruits were the first produce of a harvest, pointing to the harvest to follow. Calling Jesus the firstfruits means His resurrection is the beginning and assurance of the resurrection of those who belong to Him (1 Corinthians 15:20–23).

We are saved by grace through faith and not by works:

Ephesians 2:8 By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT YOUR OWN DOING; it is the gift of God, 9 NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no one may boast.

If unbelievers don’t repent of their sins and put their faith in Christ, they’re going to be judged by their works. God will look to see if their works have been good enough to get them into heaven. Revelation 20:12 and 13 both state “[unbelievers will be] judged according to their works.” Then Revelation 20:15 says they will be thrown into the lake of fire, because nobody’s works could ever be good enough to get them into heaven. In that sense, works are worthless. If our works could be good enough, then Jesus died for no reason!

Because Christ Was Raised New Testament Authors Are Watchmen

Ezekiel 33:3 The watchman blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then if anyone who hears the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.

Watchmen did just what you would expect: they warned the people. They were responsible for telling the truth. But they weren’t responsible for people’s responses.

Because Christ was raised from the dead, the apostles’ testimony is true. The New Testament writers serve like watchmen by proclaiming Christ and warning people to repent. That is an application of Ezekiel’s illustration, not a claim that every writer personally saw the risen Jesus. They faithfully communicate the warning, but they cannot control how people respond.

Because Christ Was Raised an Unbeliever’s Sins Are Unforgiven

Acts 4:10 God raised Jesus from the dead…12 And THERE IS SALVATION IN NO ONE ELSE, for THERE IS NO OTHER NAME under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

If unbelievers reject Christ there is no other way for their sins to be forgiven. There is no other way for them to be saved. There is no sacrifice they can offer or religion they can follow. They will die with their sins unforgiven and stand guilty before God.

Because Christ Was Raised the Dead Live Eternally in Hell or Heaven

Matthew 25:46 Jesus said, “[The unrighteous] will go into eternal punishment (referring to hell), but the righteous into eternal life (referring to heaven).”

If Jesus wasn’t raised, then nobody would be raised. We would all cease existing as already discussed. Because Jesus was raised, believers and unbelievers will all be raised. Every person who has ever lived will be sent to one of these locations to spend eternity. Your response to Christ’s sacrifice determines which location.

Because Christ Was Raised an Unbeliever Should Be Most Pitied

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

In verse 19, Paul is speaking about believers under the hypothetical that Christ had not been raised. The following is my application to unbelievers, not a rewritten quotation of Paul: because Christ lives, rejecting Him means rejecting the only Savior. That should move us to compassion and to share the gospel, not to look down on those who do not believe.

No matter what they do in this life, no matter how much they accomplish, no matter how good they think they are, if they reject Christ, it all means nothing.