What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:11? Whether, then Paul has just rehearsed the historical facts of the gospel and the eyewitness accounts of Christ’s resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-10). With the phrase “Whether, then,” he signals a conclusion based on everything he has just said. • This “then” ties back to God’s grace working in Paul “yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (15:10) and anticipates the unbroken unity that follows. • It recalls other transitional “therefores” (Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:19) that move from doctrine to settled conviction. • The pivot challenges readers to weigh the evidence of the resurrection and the divine authentication behind every apostolic witness (Acts 5:32; 2 Peter 1:16). it was I or they Here Paul levels the ground between himself and the other apostles. • “I” refers to Paul, whose apostleship some questioned (1 Corinthians 9:1-2), while “they” stands for Peter, James, the Twelve, and the 500 witnesses already named (15:5-7). • By grouping himself with “they,” Paul underscores one gospel, one Savior, one mission (Galatians 2:8-9; Ephesians 4:4-6). • The focus is not on the messenger’s personality but on the shared, Spirit-empowered testimony to Christ’s resurrection (2 Corinthians 1:19; Acts 4:33). • Unity among God-appointed witnesses guards the church from factionalism (1 Corinthians 3:6-7) and verifies the trustworthiness of their proclamation (John 17:20-21). this is what we preach The message is fixed: Christ died for our sins, was buried, was raised the third day, and appeared to many (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). • “We preach” echoes Paul’s resolve: “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23) and “We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Corinthians 4:5). • The resurrection is not an optional add-on but the heartbeat of apostolic preaching (Acts 2:32; Acts 13:32-33). • Preaching here is declarative, not speculative. It delivers a finished work backed by eyewitness proof (Acts 10:39-41) and foretold by Scripture (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10-12). • Because the message is unchanging, every generation can be certain that genuine gospel proclamation still centers on the risen Christ (Galatians 1:8-9; Colossians 1:23). and this is what you believed The Corinthians’ faith rests on the same gospel they heard. • Paul already reminded them: “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:2). • Their conversion in Acts 18:8—“many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized”—confirms that belief is personal yet rooted in apostolic truth. • Saving faith involves trusting the risen Lord in the heart and confessing Him with the mouth (Romans 10:9-10). • True belief continues; it is not a fleeting sentiment. The saints in Corinth stand secure as they “hold fast” to that preached word (Hebrews 3:14; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). • The verse therefore marries proclamation and reception: an authoritative message and a responsive faith, both supplied by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). summary 1 Corinthians 15:11 seals Paul’s resurrection argument by stressing unanimity among the apostles, consistency in their preaching, and the Corinthians’ own experience of believing that same message. Whether proclaimed by Paul or any other authentic witness, the gospel remains the death-burial-resurrection of Christ. The verse reassures every believer that our faith rests on an unchanging, eyewitness-attested, Spirit-empowered proclamation that saves all who receive it. |
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