But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
To deny that the dead are raised is to deny that Christ Himself rose, for His resurrection and the resurrection of the dead stand or fall together as one inseparable truth. The resurrection in view is literal and bodily, not merely spiritual or figurative. This saying belongs to Paul's testimony affirming the resurrection and the hope it gives to the righteous.
Its force is to show the importance of the resurrection: if the dead already enter into full glory at death, then proclaiming the resurrection of the body becomes pointless. The resurrection is a central Christian hope, repeatedly emphasized by the apostles to urge believers to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness, and treating the dead as already glorified obscures that hope. Personal identity in the resurrection does not depend on material identity, so the same particles need not pass from the mortal body into the immortal body.
Faith itself is to have a resurrection in the sense of this verse. Believers are to rise out of indifference, which is denial of Christ, into ardent, living faith. That faith lifts the cross of Calvary and is lifted by it, stands in its own lot and place, catches the inspiration of Christ's work for souls, endures by seeing Him who is invisible, and exerts a positive influence for good in gathering with Christ.
To deny that the dead are raised is to deny that Christ Himself rose, for His resurrection and the resurrection of the dead stand or fall together as one inseparable truth. The resurrection in view is literal and bodily, not merely spiritual or figurative. This saying belongs to Paul's testimony affirming the resurrection and the hope it gives to the righteous.
Its force is to show the importance of the resurrection: if the dead already enter into full glory at death, then proclaiming the resurrection of the body becomes pointless. The resurrection is a central Christian hope, repeatedly emphasized by the apostles to urge believers to diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness, and treating the dead as already glorified obscures that hope. Personal identity in the resurrection does not depend on material identity, so the same particles need not pass from the mortal body into the immortal body.
Faith itself is to have a resurrection in the sense of this verse. Believers are to rise out of indifference, which is denial of Christ, into ardent, living faith. That faith lifts the cross of Calvary and is lifted by it, stands in its own lot and place, catches the inspiration of Christ's work for souls, endures by seeing Him who is invisible, and exerts a positive influence for good in gathering with Christ.