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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 15:12-28
In this message we shall consider two matters in 15:12-28: Paul’s rebuttal to those who claimed there was no resurrection, and the history of resurrection.
Verse 12 says, “But if Christ is preached that He has been raised from among the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” In this chapter the apostle deals with the Corinthians’ heretical saying that there is no resurrection of the dead. They were like the Sadducees (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8). This is the tenth problem among them. It is the most damaging and destructive to God’s New Testament economy, worse than the heresy of Hymenaeus and Philetus concerning resurrection in 2 Timothy 2:17 and 18. Resurrection is the life pulse and lifeline of the divine economy. If there were no resurrection, God would be the God of the dead, not the God of the living (Matt. 22:32). If there were no resurrection, Christ would not have been raised from the dead. He would be a dead Savior, not the One who lives forever (Rev. 1:18) and is able to save to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). If there is no resurrection, there would be no living proof of justification by His death (Rom. 4:25), no imparting of life (John 12:24), no regeneration (John 3:5), no renewing (Titus 3:5), no transformation (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18), and no conformity to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29). If there were no resurrection, there would be no members of Christ (Rom. 12:5), no Body of Christ as His fullness (Eph. 1:20-23), and no church as Christ’s bride (John 3:29) and the new man (Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Col. 3:10-11). If there were no resurrection, God’s New Testament economy would altogether collapse and God’s eternal purpose would be nullified.
In verse 12 Paul refers to the preaching that Christ has been raised from among the dead. This indicates clearly that the apostles preached the resurrection of Christ. According to the book of Acts, the preaching of the gospel was mainly the preaching of Christ’s resurrection. Although the apostles emphasized the resurrection of Christ, today’s Christian preaching stresses the crucifixion much more than the resurrection. We, however, must follow the apostles to emphasize resurrection as well as crucifixion.
Verse 13 continues, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.” This is the first point of Paul’s rebuttal. It is a fact that Christ has been raised from among the dead. How, then, could some say that there is no resurrection? If there were no resurrection, then Christ could not have been raised from among the dead.
In verse 14 Paul says, “And if Christ has not been raised, then is our preaching vain; your faith also is vain.” The Greek word rendered vain means empty, void. Without the living Christ in resurrection, both the preaching of the gospel and our faith in it would be empty and void, having no reality. Preaching the death of Christ without preaching His resurrection would be vain. The resurrection of Christ is what causes our preaching to become vital and prevailing. Such a preaching would never be in vain. Furthermore, apart from Christ’s resurrection, our faith would also be vain. Without the resurrection of Christ, both our preaching and our believing become vain. This is a very serious matter.
In verse 15 Paul goes on to say, “And we are found also false witnesses of God, because we witnessed concerning God that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise if indeed the dead are not raised.” This is another strong point in Paul’s rebuttal.
In verse 16 Paul says, “For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised.” Then verse 17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” The Greek word rendered futile means fruitless, worthless. Without Christ resurrected to live in us as our life and as everything to us, our faith in Him is fruitless, worthless, and without any issue like the impartation of life, freedom from sin, victory over Satan, and growth in life. The word futile used here is even stronger than the word vain found in verse 14. Something that is vain is empty. But the word futile indicates labor without result, work without any gain. If there is no resurrection, we may still believe, but eventually nothing results from our believing. Hence, our faith becomes futile.
Furthermore, according to verse 17, if Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sins. Christ’s death saves us from the condemnation of our sins, not from the power of sin. It is His resurrection life that delivers us from the power of sin (Rom. 8:2). If Christ were not resurrected, we would still remain in sins and under the power of sin.
Sins are one thing, and the power of sin is something else. Because sins brought in condemnation, we became sinners full of sins, and there was condemnation upon us. But through Christ’s death, that condemnation has been removed. Thus, the death of Christ has saved us from the condemnation of sins. But His death cannot save us from the power of sin. The condemnation of sins is objective, whereas the power of sin is subjective. Being saved from the condemnation of sins can be accomplished once for all. But to be saved from the power of sin is a lifelong matter and a daily matter, even a moment-by-moment matter. The problem we all have with our temper illustrates our need to be saved daily from the power of sin. You have been saved from the condemnation of sins, but you still need to be saved from your temper.
When someone asks you if you have been saved, you need to answer in a proper way. You may answer with a question: “Do you mean saved from hell and from God’s judgment, or saved from the power of sin?” Then go on to say, “You ask me if I have been saved. Now I want to ask you if you have been saved from your temper.” Who can say that he has been completely saved from his temper? We need to help others realize that we have been saved from sins, but still need to be saved from the power of sin. To be saved in this way we need resurrection power.
According to Romans 8:2, the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin. The law of sin actually denotes the power of sin, just as the law of gravity actually refers to the power of gravity. Only resurrection life can deliver us from the power of sin and from the law of sin. Resurrection life contains a law that is more powerful than the law of sin. An airplane can fly because of the operation of a power that overcomes gravity. In like manner, we can overcome the power of sin by the operation of Christ’s powerful resurrection life.
In verse 17, Paul does not write in a philosophical way or in a theoretical manner. He appeals to the experience of those who argue against resurrection and then uses their experience to defeat them. In other words, Paul’s rebuttal is very practical. Should anyone say that there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been resurrected. Then what shall we do concerning the power of sin? For this, we need resurrection.
In verse 18 Paul continues his rebuttal: “Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” Those who have fallen asleep are dead (1 Thes. 4:13-16). Here the word perished means never to be resurrected, but to remain in death forever. If Christ has not been raised from among the dead, then those believers in Christ who have died have perished. They believed in Christ in order to be saved. But if Christ has not been raised, they will not be resurrected either. On the contrary, they will remain in death and perish. This is Paul’s argument. By this we see once again that he argued concerning resurrection in a practical way.
I had an experience of dealing with a doctrinal argument in such a practical way more than forty-five years ago. One day I met a dear Christian friend on the street. At first he spoke to me in a polite manner, saying that he praised the Lord that He was using me. But eventually he went on to say that he could not agree with teaching that genuine believers may be put in darkness when the Lord Jesus comes back. Instead of arguing with him doctrinally, I asked him a practical question: “Brother, let us take care of the present age. Do you believe that there are no genuine believers in Christ who are in darkness today?” He had to admit that many believers still live in darkness. Then I went on to ask, “Brother, then how about those believers when the Lord Jesus comes back?” This is an illustration of arguing with opposers in a practical way and not in a theoretical way.
Verse 19 says, “If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” If there is no resurrection, we shall have no future and no hope for the future, such as Christ as our hope of glory (Col. 1:27), the lot of our eternal blessing (Dan. 12:13), the reign with Christ in the millennium (Rev. 20:4, 6), and the reward of the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:14). Once again, Paul’s argument is very practical.
Paul then inserts, in a parenthetical way, something concerning the history of resurrection in verses 20 through 28. He again argues concerning resurrection in a practical way in verses 29 through 32. In verse 32 he says, “If after the manner of men I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Paul was willing to suffer by the resurrection life and for resurrection. He knew that there will be a day of resurrection, and that in resurrection there will be a reward.
In verse 20 Paul declares, “But now Christ has been raised from among the dead, the firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep.” This verse begins a parenthetical section that goes through verse 28. This parenthetical word verifies the truth of resurrection by setting forth Christ as its firstfruit. Christ was the first One raised from among the dead as the firstfruit of resurrection. This was typified by the firstfruits (a sheaf of the firstfruits, including Christ with some of the Old Testament saints who had died, was raised at the Lord’s resurrection — Matt. 27:52-53) in Leviticus 23:10 and 11, offered to God on the day after the Sabbath, the day of resurrection (Matt. 28:1). Christ as the firstfruit of resurrection is the Firstborn from among the dead to be the Head of the Body (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:20-23). Since He, the Head of the Body, has been resurrected, we, the Body, shall also be resurrected.
Verse 21 says, “For since through man came death, through man also came resurrection of the dead.” The man through whom death came was Adam, the first man (v. 45). The man through whom resurrection came is Christ, the second Man (v. 47). Adam brought in death through sin (Rom. 5:12); Christ brought in the life of resurrection through righteousness (Rom. 5:17-18). The death brought in by Adam works in us from our birth through our parents unto the death of our body. The life of resurrection brought in by Christ operates in us, as signified by baptism (Rom. 6:4), from our regeneration by the Spirit of God (John 3:5) unto the transfiguration of our body (Phil. 3:21).
God created man, but man fell and became subject to death. God, however, would not give up on man. But there was the need of a remedy. The remedy includes both redemption and resurrection. Redemption deals with sin, but it does not deal with death. Thus, there is a need of a further step in addition to redemption, and this step is resurrection. This gives God a way to solve the problem caused by man’s fall. However, if there were no resurrection, God would have been defeated by the fall of man. But God can never be defeated. Man fell into sin, and sin brought in death. But God came in to accomplish redemption, solving the problem of sin. In addition, resurrection swallows death. Therefore, instead of being defeated, God is victorious. God has overcome man’s fall. He defeated sin by redemption and death by resurrection.
Verse 22 says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” In Adam we were born in death and born to die; we are dead in him (Eph. 2:1, 5). As soon as a person is born, he begins to die. Do you realize that throughout the course of your life you have actually been dying? Each year you live is a year deducted from the span of your life. We were not born to grow and live; we were born to die, for in Adam we were born in death.
In verse 22 Paul does not just say that in Adam all die, but he goes on to declare that in Christ all shall be made alive. In Christ we have been reborn in life and resurrected to live; we have been enlivened, made alive, in Him (Eph. 2:5-6). On the one hand, we are dying; on the other hand, we are living. In Christ we all have been made alive; we have been resurrected to live.
In verse 23 Paul continues, “But each one in his own order: the firstfruit, Christ; after that those who are Christ’s at His appearing.” Here Paul again refers to Christ as the firstfruit, the first One raised from among the dead as the firstfruit of resurrection. Those who are Christ’s are the believers in Christ, the just ones, who will be resurrected unto life at the Lord’s coming back before the millennium (John 5:29; Luke 14:14; 1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52; Rev. 20:4-6). They will be the second group resurrected from among the dead.
In verse 24 Paul declares, “Then the end, whenever He delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Father; whenever He annuls all rule and all authority and power.” The end denotes the end of all the ages and dispensations of the old creation. This is also the end of the millennium before the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1). In all the ages and dispensations, God, on one hand, has been dealing with His enemy, Satan, and all the negative things in the universe; on the other hand, He has accomplished all things for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. The last of these ages and dispensations will be the millennium, the kingdom age, after which all God’s dealings and accomplishments will be fully completed. That completion will be the end, the conclusion, of all God’s work. At this end all the dead unbelievers, the unjust, will be resurrected unto judgment for eternal perdition (John 5:29; Rev. 20:5, 11-15). They will be the third group to be resurrected.
Christ’s resurrection marked the beginning of the church age. The believers in Christ who have died will be resurrected at His coming, which will be at the end of the church age. Here we see two resurrections: the first at the beginning of the church age, and the second at the consummation of the church age. The Greek word rendered “end” in verse 24 actually means completion. As we have pointed out, verse 24 refers to the end of all the ages and dispensations of the old creation. The end will not occur at the completion of the church age, but at the completion of the millennium. Then there will be eternity with the new heaven and the new earth. Paul’s word is very brief, but it implies a great deal, for it includes the millennium. After the millennium, the end to which Paul refers in verse 24 will come.
In verse 24 the word “whenever” is significant. It points to the time when Christ annuls satanic authority, subdues all His enemies (v. 25), abolishes death (v. 26), and delivers up the kingdom to God the Father; that is, when all the negative things are done away and the entire purpose of God is fulfilled, the old creation will come to its end.
When will the Lord Jesus deliver up the kingdom to God? This will not be at His coming back, for then He will bring the kingdom of God to earth. Then for a thousand years He will execute the kingdom. Hence, the delivering up of the kingdom to God must be at the end of the thousand years. When will Christ have annulled all rule, authority, and power? This can only be at the end of the millennium. We know from Revelation 20 that Satan will not be absolutely annulled before the millennium. Instead, he will be imprisoned. Then at the end of the thousand years he will be released from prison. Only then will he be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10). Therefore, it will be after the millennium that Christ will deliver up the kingdom to God. By that time Satan will have been annulled.
After accomplishing redemption, Christ went to receive the kingdom from the Father (Luke 19:12-13, 15). Before the millennium He as the Son of Man will have received the kingdom from God, the Ancient of days, to rule all the nations for one thousand years (Dan. 7:13-14; Rev. 20:4, 6). At the end of the millennium, after He has defeated Satan, the Devil, and his evil angels (as all rule, authority, and power), and even death and Hades, putting all His enemies under His feet (1 Cor. 15:25-26) and casting all of them, including death and Hades, into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10, 14), He will deliver the kingdom back to God the Father.
In verse 24 Paul twice uses the word “whenever.” However, most translations adopt the rendering “when.” In the Recovery Version we follow the Greek to say “whenever.” There is an important difference between when and whenever. When indicates a fixed time; whenever means that something could take place at any time. Today Christ could annul all rule, authority, and power if He chose to. Paul did not fix the time, because he was not the Lord. Thus, he said “whenever.” Whenever Christ annuls all rule, authority, and power, that will be the end.
In verse 25 Paul says of Christ, “For He must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet.” In order for Christ to reign He must be in resurrection. If there were no resurrection, Christ would still be in the tomb, and it would not be possible for Him to reign. Christ began to reign from the time of His resurrection. In Matthew 28:18 the Lord Jesus said to the disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Then He charged them to go and disciple all nations. He has the authority to reign. Now under His reign we must disciple the nations, bringing the nations into His kingdom and making them His people. Today the real king, the real ruler, is the Lord Jesus. According to Revelation 1, He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Every king, queen, president, and head of state is under His reign. Actually, this statement also is a strong part of Paul’s rebuttal to those who would say there is no resurrection.
In verse 25 Paul says that Christ must reign until He puts all His enemies under His feet. The longer Christ reigns, the more enemies are put under His feet. Eventually, at the end of the millennium, the last age of the old creation, every enemy will have been put under the feet of Christ. The word “until” indicates this and points to the end of the thousand years. That will be the time when every enemy has been put under Christ’s feet.
In verse 26 Paul says, “The last enemy that is being abolished is death.” Immediately after the fall of man, God began His work to abolish sin and death. This work has been progressing through the Old and New Testament ages and is still in process today. When sin is done away at the end of the old creation and when its source, Satan, is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10), death will be abolished. It also will be cast into the lake of fire with Hades, its power, after the last and final judgment at the white throne (Rev. 20:11-15).
In verse 27 Paul explains, “For He has subjected all things under His feet. But when He says that all things have been subjected, it is evident that He is excepted Who has subjected all things to Him.” The pronoun “He” in this verse refers to God, who has subjected all things under Christ’s feet. This is a quotation of Psalm 8:6 concerning Christ as the Man whom God made to have dominion over all things. This will have been fulfilled when all the things mentioned in verses 24 through 26 have taken place. “For” at the beginning of the verse indicates this.
In verse 27 the phrase “His feet” and the pronoun “Him” refer to Christ as the Man prophesied in Psalm 8:4-8. To Him — the resurrected, glorified, and exalted Man — God has subjected all things (Heb. 2:7-9; Eph. 1:20-22). God has subjected all things under Christ’s feet. However, it is evident that this does not include God Himself. God, the One who has subjected all things to Christ, is the only exception.
Verse 28 says, “And when all things are subjected to Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subjected to Him Who has subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.” This is the carrying out of God’s administration by the way of resurrection.
The first time the pronoun Him is used in verse 28, it refers to Christ, to whom God has subjected all things. The second time it is used, it refers to God, the One who has subjected all things to Christ. According to verse 28, eventually the Son Himself will be subjected to Him who has subjected all things to Him so that God may be all in all. Christ, as the Son of God to be the head of man in His humanity, is under the headship of God the Father (11:3). This is for God’s governmental administration. After God the Father has subjected all things under His feet as a resurrected Man in glory (Eph. 1:22; Heb. 2:7-8), and after He as such a resurrected Man has put all enemies under His feet to execute God the Father’s subjection of all things to Him, He as the Son of God will also, along with His delivery of the kingdom back to God the Father (v. 24), subject Himself in His divinity to God the Father, who has subjected all things to Him the Son in His humanity. This indicates the Son’s absolute subjection and subordination to the Father, exalting the Father that God the Father may be all in all.
At this point I would refer to Ephesians 1:10: “Unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.” How will God subject all things under Christ? He will do this by heading up all things in Christ. Furthermore, it is through the church that all things will be headed up in Christ. First, Christ must have the Body, the church. In His Body He must first head us up. We have seen that in 1 Corinthians 11:3 Paul says that the head of Christ is God, the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man. The heading up first takes place in the church. The church is the Body for Christ the Head to head up all things. Once the church has been headed up, the church will be used by Christ as His Body to head up all things. This will be in resurrection.
In 11:3 Paul begins with the headship and in 15:24-28 he consummates with resurrection. In resurrection Christ not only became the life-giving Spirit to impart His life into His Body; He also became the reigning King to execute God’s administration. All this is in resurrection. On the one hand, to us as God’s chosen people, Christ in resurrection is the life-giving Spirit imparting life to us. On the other hand, to the nations, Christ in His resurrection has become the reigning King executing God’s administration. His Body must cooperate with Him in His resurrection life and resurrection authority so that the church may be headed up. Then all the nations will be headed up. Moreover, as He is heading up all things, He is subduing, subjecting, His enemies under His feet. Eventually, at the end of the millennium, after the end of all the ages and dispensations, God’s administration will be fully accomplished, and Christ will deliver the kingdom back to God, the one who subjected all things under Him. Then there will be the new heaven and the new earth, and we shall be in the New Jerusalem enjoying Christ and reigning with Him over the nations. This is God’s administration carried out in Christ’s all-inclusive resurrection.
