Joel Littlefield

Reflections from 1 Corinthians 15

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a peripheral truth of the Christian faith—it is the very cornerstone upon which it stands. The Apostle Paul draws out the devastating implications of a world without resurrection, and his logic is both pastoral and powerful. In 1 Corinthians 15, he leads us down a road of hypotheticals to awaken us to the weight of resurrection hope.

1. If there is no resurrection, Christ is not raised.

This is the first domino. If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then He is still in the grave, and Christianity is reduced to moral teachings and empty rituals. The apostles who preached Him as risen would be liars, the gospel would be a myth, and Jesus would not be Lord. But the early disciples staked their lives on the fact that they had seen the risen Christ. They followed Him to their deaths—not for a theory, but for a person they saw alive again.

As C.S. Lewis said, Jesus didn’t leave us the option of calling Him merely a “great teacher.” He is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

2. If Christ is not raised, our faith is futile.

Faith is only as strong as its object. If we trust in a dead man, our faith is meaningless. But Jesus Himself said, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He invited sinners to come to Him, to believe in Him, to hunger and thirst no more.

Without the resurrection, these promises collapse. Trusting in Jesus would be no more significant than trusting in any other mortal. But because He is risen, faith in Him is not only reasonable—it is life-giving.

3. If Christ is not raised, there is no power over sin.

Sin is real. It lives in our nature, in our decisions, in our world. And Scripture tells us that sin entered through Adam, but that life comes through Christ. Without resurrection, sin remains unconquered, and we remain condemned. But because Christ has risen, His people are no longer under Adam’s curse but have been made alive in Him. The resurrection means that sin has been defeated, and righteousness has been secured.

4. If there is no resurrection, we perish.

Paul makes it plain: if Christ is not raised, those who have died in Him are lost. The grave wins. Death has the final word. All our hope of seeing loved ones again, of life beyond the grave, of eternal joy in the presence of God—it all vanishes if Christ is not alive.

But the gospel tells a better story. Psalm 16 says God will not abandon our souls to the grave. We belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. We don’t perish; we rise.

5. If there is no resurrection, what misery.

To labor for holiness, to deny the flesh, to suffer for righteousness, to endure persecution—for what? If there is no resurrection, then Christians are most to be pitied. Our lives become a tragic joke of empty sacrifice.

But Paul’s absurd hypothetical ends here. He does not leave us in despair.

6. But in fact, Christ has been raised.

The final word belongs to the truth. Jesus has been raised from the dead. Paul saw Him. So did Peter, James, the Twelve, and over 500 others. The resurrection is not a metaphor—it is a moment in history. A fact that changed the cosmos. Death is defeated. Sin is overcome. Hope is alive.

Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits of those who belong to Him. We will rise like Him. He will reign until the last enemy—death itself—is destroyed. This is not wishful thinking. It’s gospel certainty, backed by Scripture and sealed by eyewitnesses.

And because Christ lives, your faith is not in vain. Your battle with sin is not pointless. Your grief in death is not hopeless. Your pursuit of holiness is not wasted. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The only proper response is faith.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Look to Him. Repent and believe. Trust the risen Christ. And in doing so, be raised with Him—now and forever.