“The Power of the Empty Tomb” (Part One)

With Resurrection day just past, this week we will engage in considering one of the most exciting passages in the New Testament—1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

It is a passage rich in theology, yet with practical implications that affect all aspects of the Christian life. It is in this passage that the apostle Paul gives the greatest New Testament apologetic for the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ—a particularly valuable subject for consideration on this particular Monday.

As Paul writes to Corinth, he has been dealing with a variety of problems there—personality cults, spiritual arrogance, sin in the assembly, lawsuits between brothers in Christ, problems regarding marriage, food offered to idols, abuse of the Lord’s table, tongues, and more.

Apparently the church at Corinth had a problem here as well. All the other problems in the book were practical in nature—wrong attitudes, division, sin, false worship. But now Paul makes his only doctrinal correction in the book. They had struggles with the resurrection and thought it was all about the here and now.

We don’t know all of the historical factors behind their struggle, but we do know that the Greek philosophical schools did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They believed that the human body was a prison and welcomed death as liberation from that bondage. Was this at the root of the church’s struggle? Or, was it perhaps the result of the influence of converted Sadducees?

We don’t know—but we do know that Paul deals firmly and completely with the problem and it is vital that he does so. Just as the heart pumps life-giving blood to all the body, the truth of the resurrection gives life to every other area of gospel truth. Today we will look at the front-end of his argument.

The Power of the Gospel (vv.1-2)

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, (2) by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

“I declare to you the already declared gospel”—the key at the outset is the consistency of the message. Compare this to the struggles at Galatia (Gal.1:6-10). The Gospel Paul had preached upon his arrival in Corinth (Acts 18) had not changed!

Their own testimony was evidence of resurrection power (see Phil.3). What does Paul say were the results of their contact with the gospel of the resurrection? Link this back to 1 Cor.1: 17-18:

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The message of the cross and the empty tomb link up to form the gospel! How had it hit them in Corinth?

• Received- heard and accepted (the past tense of salvation)
• Stand In It- the result of it is permanent standing before God (the future tense of salvation)
• Are being saved through it- This is the present tense of salvation, the ongoing sanctification process in the life of the believer.

Warning: “unless you believed in vain.” To reject the resurrection is to dilute the gospel and make faith empty, because without the resurrection the object of our faith—Christ Himself—is unworthy.

Key: “Hold fast the Word.” The key here is the difference is between professing faith and saving faith. Paul is not warning about losing salvation but about empty faith that does not redeem.

The redeemed are marked by changed life—the life of faith—and are eternally secure. He warns against believing without genuine saving faith. So what is the issue? The reliability of the Gospel itself!

We will pick up our thoughts here tomorrow.