3For what I received I passed on to you as of first
importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on
the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he
appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6After that,
he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same
time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one
abnormally born. 9For I am the least of the apostles and
do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted
the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I
am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder
than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we
preach, and this is what you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12But 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? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then
not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not
been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More
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. 16For
if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who
have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this
life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
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There's no better proof that an event
occurred than the testimony of an eyewitness. When Paul
wanted to substantiate the resurrection of Jesus, he didn't refer to one
credible witness; he referred to hundreds, including himself. At the time
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, many of those eyewitnesses were still
living. If someone wanted definitive evidence of the resurrection,
it was available.
The resurrection isn't the stuff of
fables. It's historical fact. Paul considered this truth of
"first importance"; so much so that he said the entire ministry of the
gospel hinged on it. If, as some in Corinth believed, resurrection
from the dead was impossible, then Jesus was just another murdered dreamer
and all of his followers were pitiably deluded (vv. 17-18).
Paul presented enough witnesses to
convince an unbiased jury. Along with providing us with the heart of
the gospel message (vv. 3-5), this passage can encourage us and strengthen
our faith.
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