Epiphany VI--I Cor 15:12-20

"12 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 has been in vain and your faith has been 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."

I. Introduction

This is a very difficult passage to preach on, but I think if you stress the notion of "fundamentals" of faith (i.e., resurrection as foundational), you might be able to use this effectively. Why is it difficult to preach on? Principally because Paul is engaged here in an argument with people whose beliefs we can only reconstruct in a shadowy manner and, when we reconstruct them, we realize that they aren't things that people are saying in the 21st century. His opponents throughout I Cor, it seems, are the "spiritual" people, i.e., people who believe that because they are "in Christ" and have manifestations of the gifts of he Spirit that they are gradually leaving their physical bodies behind. Therefore, for them, resurrection won't really happen. The most that could be asserted would be some kind of "soul-continuation" in the future.

Paul's argument is directed to showing the absurdity of their position. We see a very powerful mind at work here, relentlessly pursuing the argument to its logical conclusion. What we don't know also is whether Paul has accurately summarized the opponents' position (sometimes those who argue are less than complete or charitable in characterizing the positions of opponents); we also have to realize that Paul's argument, logical as it is, is based on a "faith" premise--the resurrection of Christ. Thus, the argument has limited utility, I think, for those "outside" of faith. But, with these limitations having been stated, let's look at Paul's argument and then focus in on some of the interesting vocabulary he uses.

II. Paul's Argument--Structure and Ideas

Paul has just argued for the truth of the common Christian tradition (vv. 1-11) of Christ's death, burial, resurrection and appearances. Now he lays out the "thesis" of his argument in v. 12--some say that Christ hasn't been raised. His argument is as follows:

vv. 13-14 Logical implications of the belief in no resurrection. Christ, then, would not have raised, and our faith is in vain.

v. 15 A brief digression--those of us who believe in resurrection and preach it will be misrepresenting God if it didn't happen.

vv. 16-17 Returning to the argument, where v. 16 restates v. 13 and v. 17 restates v. 14. The central point is that faith is in vain if there is no resurrection of the dead.

vv. 18-19 Final Result of adopting the position that the dead are not raised. (1) Then those who already have died are lost or will never be raised to eternal life; and (2) We are a pitiable bunch of people for so putting all our 'eggs of hope' in the 'resurrection basket' when, in fact, it might not be true.

v. 20. But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, thus invalidating the entire argument of opponents of Paul.

Paul has put together a compact, hard-hitting and eloquent argument. It should be utterly convincing--if, that is, you accept his premises.

III. Some Revealing Vocabulary

Four words in Paul's nine verses of argument are richly laden with theological nuances. (1) First is the word "vain" or "in vain" in 15:14. Preaching and faith are in vain or are empty if Christ hasn't been raised from the dead. That word (kenos) is an important one in Paul's writing. He wants all to know that God's grace towards him was not in vain (kenos--I Cor. 15:10). At the end of this long chapter, Paul encourages believers to be steadfast in serving God, because they know that in Christ their labor is not "in vain" (I Cor. 15:58). In Gal. 2, when discussing the nature of his ministry, he wants to make sure that he has not "run in vain" (2:2). In Phil. 2 Paul wants the church to know that by their holding fast to faith he can be sure that he has not "run in vain or labor[ed] in vain" (2:16). The notion of living an empty, meaningless, wasted or worthwhile life must have been so present in Paul's mind that he can't avoid using the word over and over again. He has bet his entire fortune, so to speak, on the reality of Christ's resurrection. If it isn't true, life as we know it is meaningless. Thus, kenos gives us a window into Paul's psyche as well as the nature of Christian faith.

(2) Second is the word "futile" (mataios) in 15:17. If Christ hasn't been raised, our faith is futile. The word can be rendered "idle, empty, fruitless, useless, powerless." The same word is used in I Cor. 3:20 to describe the futility of the thoughts of the "wise" in comparison with those who have the simple word of the Gospel. More revealing, mataios also appears in Rom. 1:21, where people who reject God or don't give God thanks end up becoming "futile" in their thinking. Thus, if Christ has not been raised, we join those whose "senseless minds were darkened," to use another vivid Pauline phrase.

(3) Third, the appearance of "have perished" in v. 18 to describe the result for those who have died in Christ, is reminiscent of Paul's argument in I Cor. 1. In I Cor. 1 the message of the cross is foolishness to those who "perish" (v. 18).

(4) Fourth, the word "most to be pitied" (v. 19--eleeinoteroi) is a rare one in the NT but also appears in Rev. 3:17 in a catalogue of memorable derogatory terms. We are a pitiable lot if we continue to cling to a message that isn't true. In Rev. 3:17 the author excoriates the Laodicean church in these memorable words: "For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable (bingo!), poor, blind and naked." If ever you want to memorize some Greek terms of derogation, at least in that age, you can do no better than to memorize this list.

The point is this: Paul uses a vocabulary which emphasizes not simply his own psychological needs (to feel he has not lived in vain), but also the way that our intellectual and faith worlds must collapse if the resurrection of Christ didn't happen. This, then, is the heart of the Gospel for Paul.

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