Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.
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Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 4012 | If No Resurrection…
Cara Garrity
Have you ever had a hard time believing something the Bible says about Jesus Christ? The virgin birth. Healing the blind. Walking on water. Raising the dead. There are many things about Jesus’ story that challenge our reason. As a result, sometimes we try to force-fit our big God into a box of our own understanding or suspend our logic and reason to be a Christian?
The apostle Paul had to address the resurrection of Jesus. A good number of the members of the Corinthian church did not believe in the possibility of the dead coming back to life. Ironically, Paul used the style of writing popular with philosophers to make a logical argument proving the reality of the resurrection. He began by quoting evidence—including eyewitness testimony—of Christ being seen after his death. In his conclusion, Paul stated:
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. … But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
Paul saw the resurrection as foundational to our faith and a reason for our hope. Yet, he also understood it was a hard thing to believe. This was why he was so meticulous in putting together a logical argument for the more skeptical Christians in Corinth. Apart from God, resurrection is illogical. But with God, it is possible, because God can do all things. Resurrection still stretches the imagination, however, we serve a supernatural God who is powerful beyond description.
Paul did not want his audience to disregard their logical minds or try to fit God into their pre-conceived notions of logic, rather he wanted them to use their minds to explore a greater reality. In this season of Epiphany, we are challenged to see and encounter the God revealed in Jesus Christ. The truth is Jesus disrupts our belief because he is greater than we can possibly imagine. We cannot wrap our minds around his love, his power, and the lengths he is willing to go in order to redeem humanity.
I pray that you would allow God to renew your mind and awaken you to the ways of his reality. I am Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 4012 | If No Resurrection…
Cara Garrity
Have you ever had a hard time believing something the Bible says about Jesus Christ? The virgin birth. Healing the blind. Walking on water. Raising the dead. There are many things about Jesus’ story that challenge our reason. As a result, sometimes we try to force-fit our big God into a box of our own understanding or suspend our logic and reason to be a Christian?
The apostle Paul had to address the resurrection of Jesus. A good number of the members of the Corinthian church did not believe in the possibility of the dead coming back to life. Ironically, Paul used the style of writing popular with philosophers to make a logical argument proving the reality of the resurrection. He began by quoting evidence—including eyewitness testimony—of Christ being seen after his death. In his conclusion, Paul stated:
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. … But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
Paul saw the resurrection as foundational to our faith and a reason for our hope. Yet, he also understood it was a hard thing to believe. This was why he was so meticulous in putting together a logical argument for the more skeptical Christians in Corinth. Apart from God, resurrection is illogical. But with God, it is possible, because God can do all things. Resurrection still stretches the imagination, however, we serve a supernatural God who is powerful beyond description.
Paul did not want his audience to disregard their logical minds or try to fit God into their pre-conceived notions of logic, rather he wanted them to use their minds to explore a greater reality. In this season of Epiphany, we are challenged to see and encounter the God revealed in Jesus Christ. The truth is Jesus disrupts our belief because he is greater than we can possibly imagine. We cannot wrap our minds around his love, his power, and the lengths he is willing to go in order to redeem humanity.
I pray that you would allow God to renew your mind and awaken you to the ways of his reality. I am Cara Garrity, Speaking of Life.
Psalm 1:1-6 • Jeremiah 17:5-10 • 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 • Luke 6:17-26
This week’s theme is hope. In our call to worship Psalm, the blessed man is one who delights in the Lord and His ways with the result of prospering like a tree planted by streams of water. The Old Testament reading in Jeremiah makes a stark comparison between those who trust in the Lord and those who place their trust elsewhere. Those who trust in the Lord bear fruit and are not anxious. Our reading from 1 Corinthians grounds our future hope in the resurrection of Christ. The Gospel text in Luke recounts Jesus’ teaching of present longings being filled for those whose hope is in the Lord.
Christ has Indeed Been Raised
1 Corinthians 15:12-20 NIV
As we saw last week, Paul laid the groundwork to refute the Corinthian believers who claimed there is no bodily resurrection. He did this by returning to the basics, the foundations of the gospel. At the heart of that foundation is the fact that Christ is risen from the dead. Today, we will look at Paul’s second approach as he counters this false teaching, as he builds on the foundation established in last week’s reading. He will simply lay out a logical argument on the premise of the foundation laid out last week. He is using the Corinthian church’s own hearing and receiving of the gospel as the common ground to build on. He does not bring up something new but rather reminds them of what they should already know.
Before we look at Paul’s logical argument, maybe we should ask ourselves today what difference does this make for us? Do we really need Paul to make a case for a future bodily resurrection? We may look around and say, “Well, I don’t see anyone preaching that there is no resurrection of the dead in this fellowship, so this doesn’t really apply to me.” However, there are many forms of preaching that take place as soon as we roll out of bed and engage in our world. If you remember back a few weeks, we talked about one of the biggest challenges for the Corinthian church was that it was being influenced by the culture around it. That is always a present danger for all churches, and all believers who belong to them, through all times. Today is no different.
Many believe we only get this one life, so our only hope is to get as much out of life as possible while we are breathing. Nothing else matters. We could also state this in a much darker and pointed way: we live in a culture of death. Our society is hyper focused on youthfulness, strength, and power. Commercials are geared to keep you looking and feeling younger and stronger, even when your age stubbornly argues against it. Underneath it all, is the belief and fear that death has the final word. So, you better live your best life while you can. There is no life after death to look forward to. As an old commercial claimed, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” Taking note of these prevalent messages in our society, we would be naïve to think we haven’t absorbed some amount of thinking that goes along the lines of these believers who lived in Corinth. Paul’s words to them are no less relevant for us today.
Let’s see what more Paul has to say to the church in Corinth, and to us as well.
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:12 NIV
Paul builds on the foundation he laid in the previous section. He reminds them that the gospel that they received entails the central proclamation that “Christ has been raised from the dead.” The word Paul chose to use to describe what he means by “dead” is the word nekros, which means totally separated from the living, a corpse. Paul does not leave room for someone to claim that Paul meant a person’s spirit only is resurrected or her inner self or soul will go to heaven to be with the Lord. Paul is being very specific with his word choice. We are talking about dead bodies, period. From here, Paul’s logic is straight forward: on the basis of what we all agree on, that the gospel preached necessitates that Christ has been bodily raised from the dead then it does not follow that you could claim that there is “no resurrection of the dead.” Clearly there is, on account that Jesus has been raised.
Next, Paul pours on more logical connections.
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 1 Corinthians 15:13-16 NIV
Here, Paul essentially takes up their premise as true and works out the implications it would have, especially in regard to their preaching, which has been established as something they received and took their stand in. So, in a sense, Paul says, “Ok, if there is no resurrection of the dead then there has never been anyone resurrected in the past, and there will never be anyone resurrected in the future.” That would mean that the preaching they received about Christ being raised from the dead is a lie. And that means that they have no ground for their faith. They are essentially believing and taking their stand in a lie.
Now Paul doubles down on his argument and adds one more bit of absurdity that comes from their premise.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1 Corinthians 15:17-19 NIV
Paul now cuts to the chase to state the fact their faith in a Christ who “has not been raised” is a waste of time. And not only that, but that would mean they are “still in their sins.” For Paul, death is the great enemy which is linked to sin. He states elsewhere that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The gospel is a proclamation that Jesus has defeated death. If this is not true, then we do not have a God who can defeat death and deliver us from it. We have no hope. If that is truly the case, then not only have we lost any hope of a future, but we have also lost our past. All that God has done to deliver us has come to nothing. And that leaves us with a miserable present reality.
And when we take an honest look around our society, is that not what we see? When the present is all there is, we have no hope. And that will mean we can’t even enjoy the present. Paul indicates that if we really believe this is the way of things, then adding Christ to that belief system is even worse than not believing in Christ at all. We would be better off just living out our present miserable lives till the clock runs out.
Thankfully, Paul will conclude with a thunderous “But Christ” statement to bring us back to reality and wake us up from this nightmare belief system the Corinthian church had fallen prey to.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20 NIV
Praise God. That’s a reminder that we have hope. Not just for ourselves, but for everyone who has died or will die in the future. The result of remembering the gospel and turning to it once again to take our stand is a hope for the future based on the concrete work of Christ in the past that fuels our present with rejoicing and joy. May we continue to remind one another of the beautiful truth that “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.”
Rick Shallenberger—Year C Epiphany 6
February 16, 2025 — 6th Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
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Program Transcript
Rick Shallenberger—Year C Epiphany 6
Anthony: Let’s pivot to our next pericope of the month. It’s first Corinthians 15:12-20. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany on February 16.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
So, Rick, if you’re proclaiming this text to your congregation what’s going to be the focus of that proclamation?
Rick: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope in God’s kingdom. It’s the foundation of our hope in the future, our internal life.
It’s the very basis of our faith in the resurrection of all — I’m going to say that over. It is the very basis of our faith in the resurrection of all to live with Father, Son, and Spirit for eternity. Something else, obviously we cannot grasp. So, I would preach this passage with the theme that Jesus and His resurrection is the center of the center.
It is the center of life. It is the center of the universe. It is the center of our reason for being created. It is the center of our identity as the beloved of God, the center of our hope, the center of our future. If Jesus was not raised, we would have nothing. Life would simply be about the here and now. And that’s not a lot.
Now for some that doesn’t sound so bad, after all; they see health, wealth, comfort and peace as the main goals in life. And Anthony, I have atheist friends who seem content that this life is all there is. But I see a sadness in them as they age, or maybe a longing for something more.
And when I talk about having health, wealth, comfort, and peace, it’s relative, isn’t it?
Anthony: Sure.
Rick: So much depends on where you live, what culture, government you live under. There are so many around the world who have poor health, who live in poverty and in adverse conditions, who live in hostile environments.
Without Jesus, what is their purpose? What is their hope? Without the hope of the resurrection, many who are born in misery, live in misery, and die in misery and you have to ask is this all there is to life? Maybe in the physical realm for some but God has a blessed plan for all in Christ He is the center of the center for every man woman and child alive, whether they realize it or not.
And I think that’s why Paul said preaching Christ and His resurrection is of first importance because it is the center of our faith.
Anthony: I think it’s one of the reasons why the poor, the destitute, the oppressed, the marginalized are often the first to receive the gospel with glad tidings, gladness, because they have experienced all that is wrong in the here and now, all that is broken, all that is dark, and they’re crying out for the light. And so, we have so much to learn from people that receive the gospel — to use your language — of first importance. There’s something powerful going on there.
Rick: So, I was in Nepal, and I was with a group of people. We were going to quote take Jesus to this group of people. And these are the poorest of the poor in Nepal. They are brick makers. They make bricks out of mud and then they make their shelters that they live in out of broken bricks. And the shelters are usually about three feet, maybe three and a half feet high.
And they basically use them to sleep, and they do all their cooking or whatnot outside. Anyway, we’re walking to them, and we get to the crest of a hill, and I hear this singing. And I come down to the hill, and I see this group of people, the poorest of the poor, making a shelter out of broken bricks and singing in joy because they had already seen that Jesus loves them.
And it just changed me, Anthony; it helped me to realize, just like you said, that even the marginalized, everybody who has or is going through all kinds of different trials and lives you and I would feel uncomfortable with, when the presence of the Lord is there, there’s joy. And they see that there’s an importance.
There’s something to live for. And I don’t know if that helps. But I just, while you’re talking, I just thought of that story and how that just really changed me and moved me.
Anthony: It does help. And I think one of the things we learn — I’ve had the privilege just as you have to visit other cultures — we are so blessed with comforts in the United States in ways that we don’t even recognize. And I appreciated what you said about quote unquote, we’re taking Jesus to other people, realizing how wrong that is, how it lacks humility. Because Jesus is already there. And I think one of the transformational things for me that the Lord had taught me is to realize that when we think of the least of these, I’ve got to think of myself.
I’m the least of these. And when I encounter others from a different culture, a different way of being. That I’m there to learn. I’m there to understand God’s at work. What are you up to here, Lord? Teach me. And just like you did, it taught you something. It revealed something to you that you needed to see.
Thanks be to God for that, that He’s always revealing Himself.
Rick: Anthony, anybody without Christ is among the least of these, right? And even as Paul said, I am the least of the apostles, we have to have that spirit of humility that we realize that without Christ, I don’t care how big my house is and how much I have or how little my house is and how little I have, when I have Christ, I literally have everything I need.
And He is a first importance; I guess we’ll just keep going back to that.
Anthony: Hallelujah.
Program Transcript
Rick Shallenberger—Year C Epiphany 6
Anthony: Let’s pivot to our next pericope of the month. It’s first Corinthians 15:12-20. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany on February 16.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.
So, Rick, if you’re proclaiming this text to your congregation what’s going to be the focus of that proclamation?
Rick: The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our hope in God’s kingdom. It’s the foundation of our hope in the future, our internal life.
It’s the very basis of our faith in the resurrection of all — I’m going to say that over. It is the very basis of our faith in the resurrection of all to live with Father, Son, and Spirit for eternity. Something else, obviously we cannot grasp. So, I would preach this passage with the theme that Jesus and His resurrection is the center of the center.
It is the center of life. It is the center of the universe. It is the center of our reason for being created. It is the center of our identity as the beloved of God, the center of our hope, the center of our future. If Jesus was not raised, we would have nothing. Life would simply be about the here and now. And that’s not a lot.
Now for some that doesn’t sound so bad, after all; they see health, wealth, comfort and peace as the main goals in life. And Anthony, I have atheist friends who seem content that this life is all there is. But I see a sadness in them as they age, or maybe a longing for something more.
And when I talk about having health, wealth, comfort, and peace, it’s relative, isn’t it?
Anthony: Sure.
Rick: So much depends on where you live, what culture, government you live under. There are so many around the world who have poor health, who live in poverty and in adverse conditions, who live in hostile environments.
Without Jesus, what is their purpose? What is their hope? Without the hope of the resurrection, many who are born in misery, live in misery, and die in misery and you have to ask is this all there is to life? Maybe in the physical realm for some but God has a blessed plan for all in Christ He is the center of the center for every man woman and child alive, whether they realize it or not.
And I think that’s why Paul said preaching Christ and His resurrection is of first importance because it is the center of our faith.
Anthony: I think it’s one of the reasons why the poor, the destitute, the oppressed, the marginalized are often the first to receive the gospel with glad tidings, gladness, because they have experienced all that is wrong in the here and now, all that is broken, all that is dark, and they’re crying out for the light. And so, we have so much to learn from people that receive the gospel — to use your language — of first importance. There’s something powerful going on there.
Rick: So, I was in Nepal, and I was with a group of people. We were going to quote take Jesus to this group of people. And these are the poorest of the poor in Nepal. They are brick makers. They make bricks out of mud and then they make their shelters that they live in out of broken bricks. And the shelters are usually about three feet, maybe three and a half feet high.
And they basically use them to sleep, and they do all their cooking or whatnot outside. Anyway, we’re walking to them, and we get to the crest of a hill, and I hear this singing. And I come down to the hill, and I see this group of people, the poorest of the poor, making a shelter out of broken bricks and singing in joy because they had already seen that Jesus loves them.
And it just changed me, Anthony; it helped me to realize, just like you said, that even the marginalized, everybody who has or is going through all kinds of different trials and lives you and I would feel uncomfortable with, when the presence of the Lord is there, there’s joy. And they see that there’s an importance.
There’s something to live for. And I don’t know if that helps. But I just, while you’re talking, I just thought of that story and how that just really changed me and moved me.
Anthony: It does help. And I think one of the things we learn — I’ve had the privilege just as you have to visit other cultures — we are so blessed with comforts in the United States in ways that we don’t even recognize. And I appreciated what you said about quote unquote, we’re taking Jesus to other people, realizing how wrong that is, how it lacks humility. Because Jesus is already there. And I think one of the transformational things for me that the Lord had taught me is to realize that when we think of the least of these, I’ve got to think of myself.
I’m the least of these. And when I encounter others from a different culture, a different way of being. That I’m there to learn. I’m there to understand God’s at work. What are you up to here, Lord? Teach me. And just like you did, it taught you something. It revealed something to you that you needed to see.
Thanks be to God for that, that He’s always revealing Himself.
Rick: Anthony, anybody without Christ is among the least of these, right? And even as Paul said, I am the least of the apostles, we have to have that spirit of humility that we realize that without Christ, I don’t care how big my house is and how much I have or how little my house is and how little I have, when I have Christ, I literally have everything I need.
And He is a first importance; I guess we’ll just keep going back to that.
Anthony: Hallelujah.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- How is this text relevant for us today?
- How might remembering that Christ was raised from the dead speak into our fear of death?
- Discuss the hope we have because Jesus rose from the dead and defeated death and sin.
- How might we remind one another of the good news that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead?
