The Good News of the Gospel is based on the bodily resurrection of Christ. That means that, like Paul, we have to trust in the Lord who has the power to raise us from the dead. In this passage, Paul addresses the Corinthians’ concerns about physical stuff and death. In this chapter, he addresses Christ as our hope of bodily resurrection and speaks of death as an enemy.
Paul’s hope for a bodily resurrection
The resurrection of the body was a central doctrine of the Christian faith, as Paul taught. He compared it to the resurrection of the seed, which springs forth from death. It is a different body than it was before it was sown. Likewise, human life existed in one body before it died, and in a different body after. God, he said, is able to do this.
To understand the meaning of Paul’s hope for a bodily, physical resurrection, we must understand that he was referring to the resurrection of believers only. He was addressing Christians as sons of Christ, only. In addition to that, he was explaining his role as an apostle.
Paul’s response to the Corinthian Christians
Paul’s response to the Corinthos Christians in I Corinthians 12 highlights the importance of loving one another. This is the most important virtue for any Christian. The Corinthian Christians, however, failed to appreciate Paul’s mercy and were quite offended by it. As a result, they began questioning the apostle’s credibility.
Corinth’s Christians continued to be resistant to Paul’s authority, and they challenged him personally. Their skepticism was leading them to reject the gospel. As a result, Paul wrote the letter 2 Corinthians, almost a year later and during the final stages of his journey to Corinth.
In his response to the Corinthian Christians, Paul addressed issues related to marriage and sexual relationships. Some believers adopted asceticism and questioned the value of marriage. In response, Paul affirmed the value of marriage and emphasized that it should include both sexual relations between husband and wife.
Christ’s resurrection as the foundation of the Good News of the Gospel
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a central element of the Good News of the Gospel. This event was the central point of the apostles’ proclamation of the gospel. Without the resurrection, the meaning of the cross would be obscured. The resurrection of Christ is essential for the presentation of the Good News of Jesus Messiah because it explains the meaning of death and demonstrates the power of God’s saving grace. Without the resurrection, the Good News of the Gospel is a mere myth.
The Resurrection of Christ is one of the central events of the life of our Savior. It means that we will never again face condemnation for our sins or treason against God. We are given the Holy Spirit, which lives within us and in others.
Death as an enemy
One of the central issues in 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 is the idea of death as an enemy. Paul is responding to the question of whether the dead have a physical existence after death. He explains the logical consequences of believing that the dead don’t rise. For example, if the dead don’t live forever, there must be no physical resurrection. But if we believe that Christ has a physical existence, then there must be a resurrection of the dead.
If death is the enemy of Christians, then Christians are more pitiful than if they had never believed in Christ. They have suffered much for their faith, and a resurrection-less end would be a catastrophe. Yet Paul’s perspective is still christological. As a result, his discussion of death as an enemy includes references to Christ’s final relations to his enemies and to God the Father.
Jesus’ resurrection as a profoundly physical reality stretching on for all eternity
For the first time in the New Testament, we see how God’s Son rose from the dead in a vividly physical reality. Paul stresses the fact that Jesus appeared to many witnesses at one time and that his resurrection was not spiritual but physical. The word “resurrection” is a technical term used to describe both spiritual and non-corporeal existence. Because Christ had died and been buried, his physical resurrection was also a physical reality. Many people witnessed this and believed that it was Christ.
Paul then concludes his discussion of the resurrection by exhorting believers to be faithful in the present. This doesn’t mean ethical behavior, but it does mean continued participation in the work of the gospel.
