This last week I spent some time studying and preparing a study out of 1 Corinthians 15, which focuses on facts about the resurrection of the dead. There were some saying that there is no bodily resurrection which caused great concern to the believers. I spent some time reflecting on this passage in light of my own faith and ministry and studied Paul’s rebuttal.

I considered the following conditions; if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. This would make the gospel message that I have believed and preached empty. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then the message of the gospel, and by extension God, would be a liar. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Jesus didn’t conquer death, and the consequences of sin still remains. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christianity is a lie, and there is no hope beyond this life.

The gospel message is centered on the bodily resurrection of Jesus and declares that all my sins have been atoned for by the sacrificial death of Jesus. Gal. 1:4 says, ““who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,” and is the foundation of hope. In faith and by the work of God, I am given new life through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, as Paul declares in Romans 6:4, “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Why would the Corinthians entertain such an idea that undermines their faith? It seems that the Corinthian believers were so influenced by worldly philosophy and secular thinking that they began to entertain false doctrine and question the core of the gospel message. Doubt is a tool that Satan will use to derail faith. In Gen. 3, Satan said, “did God really say…,” and questioning God has been a basic tool of the Devil ever since then because it works. Worldly philosophers like Plato said that the human body is a prison, and death releases the soul. Epicurus denied the resurrection; believing that one should eat and drink today because tomorrow you die has become two of the main worldviews today.

I find that it is imperative that I continue to hold fast to the truth of the gospel that has transformed my life. Worldly philosophy will continue to press in upon my mind, and Satan seeks to create doubt in my soul in order to undermine faith. But like Paul, I must continue to contend for the truth of the gospel and share the true gospel with everyone who will listen.

Pastor Cary