1 Corinthians 15 — Died and Rose Again

What it means

Paul confronts believers in Corinth who were denying the resurrection of the dead, and he answers by rehearsing the Gospel he had received and passed on as of first importance: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to Cephas, the Twelve, more than five hundred at once, and finally to Paul himself (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). He insists that if Christ has not been raised, faith is futile and we are still in our sins, but in fact Christ has been raised as the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15:17-20). As death came through Adam, resurrection life comes through Christ, who must reign until every enemy, including death itself, is destroyed. The chapter closes with the promise of a transformed, imperishable body and the triumphant cry that death is swallowed up in victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).