“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)
Some members of the first century church at Corinth thought they had achieved spiritual perfection. One of the ways this manifested itself was in the widespread teaching that there was no bodily resurrection from the dead because they were already in their spiritually glorified state. They considered that their bodies they were expendable and useless, for resurrection was spiritual not physical. This disdain for the body expressed as either ignoring it or indulging its sinful cravings. So Paul had to remind the Corinthians of the dangers of such beliefs and point them back to the core belief: the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was not trying to prove to them that Christ rose from the dead. He was demonstrating to them the foolishness of their belief. If they denied the resurrection of the body they are denied Christ’s resurrection as well.
The belief in the literal bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead is a central truth of our Christian faith, one which we affirm every week when we recite our creeds. It is a truth that gives us the assurance of eternal life. Since His resurrection is the proof that Christ died for our sins, to deny it means that we are still spiritually dead. Christ’s bodily resurrection is the ultimate proof that He defeated sin and death on the cross. This is God’s truth. This is God’s sacred promise, one which we can hold onto implicitly for God is true to His word. Believers need not fear death because we are certain we will be raised again to eternal glory for we have been united with Christ. With such assurance we can boldly tell others of the hope that is in Christ alone.