What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:14? And if Christ has not been raised - Paul opens with a conditional statement, inviting us to imagine a world where Jesus’ tomb is still sealed. - Without the bodily resurrection, every prophecy from Psalm 16:10 to Isaiah 53:10 would have failed, and Jesus’ own words in Mark 8:31 and John 2:19 would stand disproved. - Acts 2:24 shows Peter declaring, “God raised Him up,” anchoring the early church’s message. Remove that event and the entire apostolic witness collapses. - Romans 4:25 ties our justification directly to Christ’s rising: “He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.” If He stayed dead, sin would still rule unsolved. our preaching is worthless - “Worthless” points to something empty, void of power or reliability. - Every sermon in Acts—Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:32), Paul in Antioch (Acts 13:30)—centers on the resurrection. Strip it away and what remains is moral advice, not saving gospel. - Romans 1:4 says Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power … by His resurrection.” If that declaration is false, the church’s proclamation loses all divine authority. - 2 Timothy 2:8 reminds Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David; this is my gospel.” Without that memory, gospel preaching becomes mere rhetoric. and so is your faith - Faith’s value is entirely bound to the reliability of its object. If Christ lies in a grave, trusting Him cannot rescue anyone from theirs. - 1 Corinthians 15:17 makes the point sharper: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” No resurrection means no forgiveness, no new birth, no hope. - 1 Peter 1:3 celebrates that God “has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Remove the resurrection and hope dies, too. - Thessalonian believers drew comfort about departed loved ones because “we believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). Without that belief, grief would reign unchecked. summary The resurrection is the hinge on which the entire gospel turns. If Christ remained dead, Scripture’s promises fail, preaching loses power, and personal faith dissolves into emptiness. Because He lives, the Word stands true, proclamation carries authority, and our faith holds eternal substance. |
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