The Final controversy Paul addresses in his first letter shouldn’t be controversial for believers. Paul begins, “Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:1–2, CSB) He continues, “For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.” (1 Corinthians 15:3–5, CSB) Paul says let me make this clear: this is the most important thing I have passed on to you. Does it seem like he is trying to make a point?
This is the most important of all the controversies Paul addressed in this letter. That final controversy is the resurrection, both the resurrection of Christ and that of believers at the end of the age. The controversy is this – “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?” (1 Corinthians 15:12, CSB)
Some of the Corinthians seemed to disbelieve in the whole idea of resurrection. Paul responds, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:13–14, CSB) Christ’s resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. Without it, we may as well join the world’s lament of “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
Christ’s resurrection will always be controversial. The resurrection is one of two primary facts that are the hardest for unbelievers to wrestle with. Humans just don’t come back to life after three days. The resurrection makes no logical sense to the natural mind. People are fine with Christianity up to a point. Consider Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill in Acts 17. His Ted Talk was going fine until he brought up the resurrection. “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, “We’d like to hear from you again about this.” (Acts 17:32, CSB) What is controversial for the world is the surety of our faith in Christ.
You may wonder what the second hardest-to-believe primary fact is. From what I’ve seen, it is the fact that Jesus is God the Son. People can accept him as a good teacher, as several religions do. Even some atheists and skeptics see the value in Jesus’ teaching. But until people see Him as the Son of God, they will not grasp the meaning and power of His good news for all people. Jesus didn’t come to say, “play nice with others,” He came to die for the forgiveness of our sins before God. He was raised on the third day to conquer death and demonstrate that He is Lord of all.
Faith in Christ contains a promise of resurrection for our mortal bodies. “What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:50–53, CSB) What a day that will be!
Paul concludes, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, CSB) The resurrection of Christ and the promise of our resurrection strengthens us. It is core to our faith and how we live out that faith. Without the resurrection, everything is useless. But with the resurrection, we walk with Christ with sure-footedness for today and glorious hope for all of our tomorrows and eternity.
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