1 Corinthians 15:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Why are we in danger every hour?

NIV: And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

NASB: Why are we also in danger every hour?

CSB: Why are we in danger every hour?

NLT: And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?

KJV: And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

NKJV: And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

Paul is asking a series of questions to further make the case that Christians will be resurrected from the dead when the time is right. He asked what seems to be a rhetorical question in the previous verse, about a group that practiced baptism for the dead. This is not a Christian practice, so Paul asked what the point of that was for them if they did not also believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Now he asks why he and his fellow preachers of the gospel of Jesus live in constant danger if there is no resurrection from the dead. What danger? Paul will mention some of it in the following verses, but he was regularly and continually persecuted both by the religious Jews and the Romans. He asks why he would continue to do this if the gospel was false (1 Corinthians 15:14–19) or if he would not one day be resurrected as Christ was. What was all his sacrifice for if life ends, once and for all, at death (2 Corinthians 11:24–28)?

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.

Accessed 11/21/2024 7:01:07 AM