1 Corinthians 15:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

NIV: And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

NASB: and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.

CSB: and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.

NLT: And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

KJV: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

NKJV: And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

Paul is building a series of logical connections to make clear the implications of believing there is no bodily, physical resurrection from the dead for Christians. He wrote in the previous verse that if Christians can never, one day, be raised from the dead, then Christ could not have been raised from the dead, either. Paul does not allow for any possibility that Christ was raised back to physical life and those in Christ will not be. Either both resurrections are true or neither is.

Earlier in this chapter, Paul carefully laid the groundwork for his next point. He showed both that he and the other apostles taught that Christ was, indeed, raised from the dead. In fact, they saw Him alive after he was dead. He also showed that faith in Christ's resurrection is as essential to the gospels as faith in Christ's crucifixion (1 Peter 1:21). Both must be believed for someone to be saved.

But if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ was not raised, Paul began. If Christ was not raised from the dead, then the gospel message itself is false. Paul says that, in that case, his own teaching would have been vain or worthless. In fact, it would have been false, a lie. That being so, the Corinthians would have placed their faith in a falsehood, believed a lie, making their faith worthless.

This verse marks a unique aspect of the Christian faith. Followers of Jesus ground their belief in real-world events, with objective measures of truth. "Blind faith" is a ridiculous charge to throw at a belief system rooted in eyewitness accounts, and one which makes statements such as the one found in these verses.

First Corinthians 15:12–34 describes all the implications for Christians if there is no resurrection, at all. Most importantly, that would mean that Christ was not raised from the dead. If Christ was not raised, then Paul's preaching of the gospel was false, and the faith of those who believed it was worthless. All remain in their sins. Christ, though, was raised from the dead, and when He returns for those who are His, all who have died in Christ will be resurrected to new life, as He was after the crucifixion. Finally, Christ will reign on earth before delivering the kingdom to the Father.

Paul provides thorough teaching about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. This is a direct counter to some group of Corinthians who did not believe in such a resurrection. He shows that natural death is not the end of life for Christians; it is the last step before receiving a glorified, resurrected body like that of the risen Christ. That ''spiritual'' body will be as different from our current bodies as a star is from a fish. In that moment, for all who have believed in Christ, living and dead, death will be defeated for good.

In chapters 12, 13, and 14, Scripture focused on the concept of spiritual gifts and how best to use them. This follows several other ideas where Paul corrected errors in the Corinthians' thinking. Chapter 15 contains extensive teaching on one last issue about which some Corinthians were confused or misled. Apparently, they harbored some doubts about the physical resurrection of Christians from the dead. After clearing up these confusions, Paul will address various other items, of a less doctrinal nature, and close out his letter.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.