In our passage for study we look at a particular element in Paul's argument against those who believe in a spiritual resurrection of the dead, but not a bodily resurrection. Paul's argument is a simple one, if we deny the bodily resurrection of believers, then we deny the resurrection of Jesus, which was bodily, and by implication, we end up denying everything we believe in.

v12. In the opening verse Paul states, for the first time, the substance of the false belief held by some of the members of the Corinthian church. They came to believe that "there is no resurrection of the dead." They obviously believed in the Greek notion of a spirit afterlife where the soul leaves the body after death, but did not believe in a bodily resurrection of the dead. Paul questions how it is that the Corinthians doubt the notion of a bodily resurrection when the gospel they believe in rests on the truth that Christ bodily rose from the grave.

v13-14. In v20-28 Paul makes a connection with v1-11. The gospel, in which the Corinthians believed, focuses on the resurrection of Christ, whose life-giving power gives life to their being, both now and in the future. In this section, v12-19, Paul sets the stage for the loss of this "life". If the dead are not raised then, by implication, Christ was not raised, v13. If Christ is not risen, then the gospel is a worthless message, and a useless focus for faith, v14.

v15-16 Paul now extends the argument further. If Christ has not been raised (on the basis of their argument that the dead are not raised) then the apostolic gospel is a lie. Worse than that, it is a lie which implicates God. The gospel proclaims that Christ was raised, implying that God did the raising. The resurrection is a vindication of Christ's work on the cross and an effectual application of that work, both for Christ and for those who believe in him. Yet, if Christ is not risen, it is all a lie, a lie which implicates God.

v17. Paul goes on to draw out another implication of their position. If Christ has not been raised, then "you are still in your sins." To deny the resurrection is to undermine Christ's redemptive work which rests on both the cross and an empty tomb.

v18. And what of those who have already died? Their end is clear. If our justification is realized through the resurrection of Jesus, and yet Jesus has not risen from the dead, then those who have already died are lost in their sinfulness and therefore lost eternally.

v19. Paul now comes to his final punch line. For a believer to deny the resurrection of the dead is to deny the resurrection of Christ. By taking this stance, not only have they set aside the hope of their future resurrection, but they have lost their present hope in Christ; they have lost forgiveness of sins, their right-standing in the sight of God and their eternal salvation.

When it comes to the resurrection of the dead, Christians end up taking numerous positions. Popular thought has us rising as a spirit from the body after we die. We float about as ghosts, go to the spirit world, go to purgatory, or hell, go to heaven, or go to be with Jesus. At the other end of the spectrum, liberal theologians, such as Willi Marxsen, see the resurrection of Jesus as a theological interpretation rather than a historical event. Jesus, the source of life, becomes alive in the minds of those who believe in him. So, a general resurrection in some future day, is but a theological statement, a belief in a life-giving God.

Against such woolly notions, the apostle Paul establishes an integral link between the resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection. The failure of the Corinthians to take the bodily resurrection of Christ seriously had led to their denial of a bodily resurrection of believers, a stance which served to undermine their very salvation. To devalue the factual nature of Christ's resurrection is to undermine our own eternal salvation.

We can easily devalue the resurrection of Christ. Like Willi Marxsen and his ilk, we can deny the historical resurrection of Jesus. Sadly, this is not an uncommon stance in Christian circles. If we are going to take the apostle Paul's argument seriously, to deny a bodily resurrection of the dead is to deny the substance of our faith. It is to call into question the validity of our salvation, because our justification is effected through the resurrection of Christ.

We can also devalue the resurrection of Christ by inadvertently leaving the truth of the resurrection out of the gospel. This is not an unusual practice. A gospel message which fails to proclaim the bodily resurrection of Christ may well invalidate the salvation of those who respond to it. If the seeker does not believe in a risen saviour, how are they saved? The life-giving power of Christ's resurrection is available to those who rely on a risen Lord.

The message of the cross, of a crucified Christ (messiah), which is a "stumbling block" to some and "foolishness" to others, involves both a dying and a rising. When we hear and believe that message we are saved. We are saved through our identification with Christ in both his death and resurrection.

Here then is the gospel - "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." If we fail to grasp the centrality of Jesus' resurrection, we endanger our salvation. If we fail to proclaim his resurrection, we endanger the salvation of those who hear.

1. List the consequences if Christ has not been raised.

2. Is a bodily resurrection of Christ essential for salvation? Discuss.

3. In what way is Christ's resurrection denied today, both openly and inadvertently?

4. In what way is the resurrection of Christ integral to the gospel message?