Scripture to Read: 1 Corinthians 15:18–19
One final consequence that God had Paul lay out for the believers in Corinth is recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:18–19, “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” Think about the stark reality of reading these words for the first time. If the resurrection was not real, then everyone who had already died had perished with zero hope. Every soul who had placed their faith in God, in His promise of Christ’s coming, in His promise of Christ defeating sin and death for all who believe in Him, and their belief in Christ’s resurrection would have been lost in their sin for eternity. That is why God had Paul also write that everyone who had chosen to surrender to Christ as Lord, who placed all of their hope in Him, but whose hope was only in this present life, then all of them should find themselves the most miserable and pitied people of all. Without the resurrection, this life is all there would be—think about how hopeless that would be. God made sure that Paul held nothing back as he wrote God’s Word to us and to all the Christians who have gone before us. The Good News is that we do have all of our hope in Christ. For Christ did defeat sin and death and He was resurrected, body, soul, and spirit. We do look forward to a glorified resurrected body one day, living in the presence of our Lord.
Challenge & Application
As Christians, why would we be the most pitied if there were no resurrection from the dead?
How have you shared the hope of Christ with others in your life?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!