ʻIf Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain,

and your faith is also vain.ʼ

— 1 Corinthians 15: 14 —

__________________________________

THESE WORDS OF the Apostle Paul appear in his masterly treatise in the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians on the subject of resurrection.

In verses 1-4 he offers a synopsis of the Gospel message, highlighting its key tenets in vs. 3 and 4:

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

It is true that the death of Christ – His ransom-sacrifice – is the heart of the Gospel message and the means whereby we are justified by faith. But had Christ died and not been raised from the dead, there could be no salvation at all. The Apostle underscores this fact in v. 19, when he asserts that the Christian life of self-abnegation and sacrifice would be meaningless without belief in the resurrection of Christ (emphasis added):

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Thus we should regard the death and resurrection of Christ as two linked and inseparable events. The fact that Jesus was raised from death by God, was the proof that He had offered an acceptable and worthy sacrifice on the cross.

Elect and Non-Elect

In v. 29 we encounter an exquisite example of heavenly-minded altruism which sees beyond one’s present existence to an as-yet unrealised future:

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

This is one of the most puzzling texts of the New Testament, one usually overlooked in any discussion of the resurrection which fails to take the entire world into account. It can only be understood in the light of a salvation process which includes both the elect and non-elect.

It does not refer to the practise of someone being christened or immersed in water in the name of a deceased person, a so-called ʻproxyʼ baptism. Rather, it refers to the living, sacrificial service of the members of the elect Church, the footstep followers of Christ during the Gospel Age. Their ʻbaptismʼ was an immersion of their own will, a subjugation of Self in the Christian ministry, unto death. In 2 Cor. 1: 5 we read of the Church:

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. [emphasis added]

As Jesus warned the two disciples who expected an easy promotion into His favour, ʻYe shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with . . .ʼ (Matt. 20: 23; see also Luke 12: 50). Jesus had already been baptised in the ordinary sense at Jordan, so it is evident that in this instance He means something other than water baptism. Indeed, this particular baptism, in which He laid down His life, would be continuous, unbroken, ending only at His death.

This baptism ‘for the dead’ referred to by Paul is an oblique reference to the sufferings of the members of the Church the elect, those selected and called by God to suffer for Christ and who would live and reign with Him in heaven. In their sufferings they are forged to be like Christ, faithful and merciful ministers, equipped to rule with Him in the Millennial kingdom, offering life to the world of mankind the non-elect. In short, they suffer so that they may bring blessings to others, as did the Saviour.

A Heavenly And An Earthly Resurrection

The doctrine of resurrection, as expounded by Paul throughout the chapter, is the answer to the question of why Christ died. For He died that all mankind might have a practical opportunity to regain perfect and eternal life. His own victory over death both demonstrates and guarantees this outcome. In 1 Cor. 15: 22, 23, the two general classes of those to be resurrected are in view (emphasis added):

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: [the] Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

The first reference to ʻChristʼ in v. 23 cannot refer to Christ Jesus, for He had already been resurrected when Paul wrote these words; nor was He subject to the Adamic death. Rather, it is a reference to the Church, His Body the Christ. The word ʻcomingʼ at the end of v. 23 is a translation of the Greek word parousia, which has the meaning of a manifested presence that is, the time when Christ returns in His second advent and makes Himself known to the world.

There are, then, at least two phases of salvation: one of Election and one of Free Grace. Each phase has its own historic period of operation, and each requires a resurrection to complete it. One is heavenly, the other is earth-bound. As far as humanity is concerned, their resurrection begins the process of their recovery from sin and imperfection, to righteousness and eternal life on earth. However, success for each individual is not guaranteed, but will depend on acquiescence to the godly government under Christ which will then prevail, a full recognition of Christ as Saviour and King, and sincere obedience to the reasonable laws then in effect. This period is also referred to in Acts 3: 21 as ʻthe times of restitutionʼ, meaning the restoration of Eden-like conditions.

To believe that Christ died implies that we also believe that we, too, will rise from death. For the resurrection is made certain by the certainty of Christ's death. The two go together. The one is the proof of the other.

For [Christ] must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. –

1 Cor. 15: 25, 26

__________________

2014. The author asserts the usual moral rights to ownership of this article, but you are free to reproduce it without express permission. Please acknowledge the source.

↑ Return top of page ↑