Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
The verse belongs to Paul's argument for the literal resurrection of the dead, where to deny the resurrection of the dead is also to deny Christ's resurrection and to leave believers without hope of life beyond death. It is read in the setting of Christian hope in the resurrection. If the dead are not raised, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished, meaning they are destroyed and lost forever with no hope.
If Christ was not raised, preaching is empty and valueless and faith is empty and valueless. Those who testified that God raised Him would be false witnesses, and believers would remain unforgiven and guilty in their sins. Christ did rise bodily, and the hope stands proven because the apostles testified of His rising with great power and the Roman soldiers who saw it testified of it. His resurrection is therefore the foundation of preaching and faith.
The future life of those who died trusting in Christ rests entirely on Christ's resurrection and the future raising of the dead. Because He has risen they can be raised and ultimately share His glory. Without a resurrection the dead do not already live in heaven, in heavenly bliss, or in the full glory where Christ is, but remain dead until the resurrection. If they were already there, preaching the resurrection of the flesh would be vain.
Death is not their final end: the righteous sleep in the grave for a time, but because sin has been removed death cannot hold them permanently, and their deliverance draws near with the resurrection. The resurrection does not require the same particles of matter that formed the mortal body, for identity between the mortal and immortal person lies in organization, not in identical matter. The verse upholds the resurrection as a Bible doctrine of much consequence on which great stress is laid. It was continually insisted on by the apostles to excite diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness and was believed by primitive Christians, while the hope of immortal blessedness at death has led to widespread neglect until the truth has been almost wholly obscured and lost sight of.
Christian faith is to have a resurrection, and lifting the cross of Calvary lifts the one who lifts it. Every Christian is to stand in his lot and place, catching inspiration from Christ's work for souls. He is to endure as seeing Him who is invisible, and as a soldier of the cross to exert a positive influence for good.
The verse belongs to Paul's argument for the literal resurrection of the dead, where to deny the resurrection of the dead is also to deny Christ's resurrection and to leave believers without hope of life beyond death. It is read in the setting of Christian hope in the resurrection. If the dead are not raised, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished, meaning they are destroyed and lost forever with no hope.
If Christ was not raised, preaching is empty and valueless and faith is empty and valueless. Those who testified that God raised Him would be false witnesses, and believers would remain unforgiven and guilty in their sins. Christ did rise bodily, and the hope stands proven because the apostles testified of His rising with great power and the Roman soldiers who saw it testified of it. His resurrection is therefore the foundation of preaching and faith.
The future life of those who died trusting in Christ rests entirely on Christ's resurrection and the future raising of the dead. Because He has risen they can be raised and ultimately share His glory. Without a resurrection the dead do not already live in heaven, in heavenly bliss, or in the full glory where Christ is, but remain dead until the resurrection. If they were already there, preaching the resurrection of the flesh would be vain.
Death is not their final end: the righteous sleep in the grave for a time, but because sin has been removed death cannot hold them permanently, and their deliverance draws near with the resurrection. The resurrection does not require the same particles of matter that formed the mortal body, for identity between the mortal and immortal person lies in organization, not in identical matter. The verse upholds the resurrection as a Bible doctrine of much consequence on which great stress is laid. It was continually insisted on by the apostles to excite diligence, obedience, and cheerfulness and was believed by primitive Christians, while the hope of immortal blessedness at death has led to widespread neglect until the truth has been almost wholly obscured and lost sight of.
Christian faith is to have a resurrection, and lifting the cross of Calvary lifts the one who lifts it. Every Christian is to stand in his lot and place, catching inspiration from Christ's work for souls. He is to endure as seeing Him who is invisible, and as a soldier of the cross to exert a positive influence for good.