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Priscilla: I Corinthians 15:12-19
The Resurrection of the Dead – Part 1

Dear God, my Beloved Father, I offer up words of praise and gratitude to You. Through Your love, You created humanity and bestowed upon them the salvation of God. I am thankful to You for allowing me to understand and accept the Gospel, which has restored me to the position of Your child. I am grateful that You have granted me the resurrection of my physical body and eternal life in the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Dear Father, today I would like to present my meditation on I Corinthians 15:12-19, regarding the resurrection of humanity.

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Verse 12: I understand that the Apostle Paul asked the people of God in the city of Corinth how some of them could not believe in the resurrection after death, knowing that Christ had died and risen again. He questioned how they could have heard the preaching and believed, yet still doubt that those who sincerely repent of their sins and accept His atoning death would be granted the resurrection of their mortal bodies and eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

Verse 13: I understand that the Apostle Paul is emphasizing that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ Himself could not have been raised. Therefore, the resurrection of Christ is evidence of the resurrection of the dead. In fact, after the Lord Jesus Christ suffered death on the cross, His physical body was buried and remained in the earth for three days and three nights. On the third day, His physical body was resurrected, as it is written: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (I Corinthians 15:20).

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

15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

Verses 14 and 15: I understand that the Apostle Paul affirms that the preaching of the Gospel concerning the death and resurrection of Christ and the glorious resurrection of those who believe in Him is truthful teaching. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ Himself did not rise again. If Christ did not rise again, then the Gospel that he and the other apostles are preaching is false, a deception, and of no value. In that case, those who believe in the Gospel would be trusting in a lie, and their faith would be in vain. Paul and the other apostles would be guilty of bearing false witness about God when they preached: “And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers” (Acts 13:29-32).

16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Verses 16 and 17: I understand that the Apostle Paul restates his point to emphasize that if the dead are not raised, then Christ Himself was not raised. If Christ was not raised, then the faith of those who believe in the Gospel becomes meaningless because the consequence of sin is that death still remains in their mortal bodies.

18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Verse 18: I understand that ‘those who have fallen asleep in Christ’ refers to those who have died in the faith of the Gospel. They lived holy lives, wholeheartedly obeying God’s commandments after accepting the Gospel. They remained steadfast in their faith, faithful until death, and now rest in Christ: “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:10). If there is no resurrection of the dead, then their mortal bodies would remain in a state of decay for eternity.

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Verse 19: I understand that if God’s people only have hope in Christ in this life, enduring poverty, persecution, and suffering in their mortal bodies for the sake of God’s name without any reward in the afterlife, then they would be the most pitiable of all people. Their sacrifice would be in vain. The truth is that God’s people have hope in Christ, both in this life and in the life to come. In this life, through their hope in Christ, they remain steadfast in their faith through every adversity. In the afterlife, through their hope in Christ, they receive their reward from Him. Their mortal bodies will be resurrected in glory and made immortal. They will reign with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven for eternity.

Dear Father, I thank You for granting the blessing of hope to Your people. I firmly believe that on the day when Christ comes to take the Church out of the world, all the mortal bodies of God’s people will be transformed or resurrected in glory. Amen!

In the grace of Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Priscilla Christian Huynh
06/01/2023