And if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain.The absolutely fundamental nature of the resurrection of Christ and the legitimate corollaries derived from it are affirmed here. So-called "modernists" who pretend to be Christians while denying the resurrection are not Christian at all in any New Testament sense. read more
Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.As McGarvey said, "It was not an issue of truth or mistake, but of truth or falsehood."[20] There can be no middle ground in judging the words of that group of people who bore witness to Christ's resurrection and then went up and down the ancient empire sealing the testimony with their life's blood. It was either truth, or it was a bold... read more
14. your faith . . . vain— (1 Corinthians 15:11). The Greek for "vain" here is, empty, unreal: in 1 Corinthians 15:11- :, on the other hand, it is, without use, frustrated. The principal argument of the first preachers in support of Christianity was that God had raised Christ from the dead (Acts 1:22; Acts 2:32; Acts 4:10; Acts 4:33; Acts 13:37; Romans 1:4). If this fact were false, the faith built on it must be false too. read more
15. testified of God—that is, concerning God. The rendering of others is, "against God" [Vulgate, ESTIUS, GROTIUS]: the Greek preposition with the genitive implies, not direct antagonism (as the accusative would mean), but indirect to the dishonor of God. English Version is probably better. if so be—as they assert. It is not right to tell untrue stories, though they are told and seem for the glory of God ( :-). read more
The negative alternative 15:12-19Paul first appealed to the Corinthians’ logic. In this form of logic, called modus tollens, Paul’s argument was that since Christ was raised there is a resurrection of believers. That Paul had believers in view, rather than all people, seems clear in that he was discussing the hope of believers. Other passages teach the resurrection of other groups of people, even all others (e.g., Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20:4-5; Revelation 20:12; et al.). Here it becomes clear... read more
2. The certainty of resurrection 15:12-34In the preceding paragraph Paul firmly established that the gospel the Corinthians had believed contained the fact that God had raised Jesus Christ bodily, along with other equally crucial facts. Next he proceeded to show the consequences of rejecting belief in the resurrection of the body."Paul uses reductio ad absurdum: if there is no resurrection (i.e., of believers in the future), then Jesus did not rise (1 Corinthians 15:12-13), a point on which he... read more
Belief in bodily resurrection is foundational to the Christian faith. If the resurrection of the body is impossible, then the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fiction. If He did not rise, the apostles’ preaching rested on a lie, and consequently the Corinthians’ faith would have been valueless and misplaced.This is the first in a series of conditional statements that run through 1 Corinthians 15:19. They are first class conditions in the Greek text, which express the assumption of reality for... read more
If there were no resurrection of the body, the apostles would not just be in error, they would be false witnesses against God. They would be saying something untrue about God, namely, that He raised Jesus Christ when He really had not. This would be a serious charge to make against the man who had founded their church and claimed to represent God. Really by denying the resurrection the unbelieving Corinthians were the false witnesses. read more
15:15 raised. (a-34) 'Are not raised,' vers. 15,16, applies to the abstract fact whenever it may be; the doctrinal fact as to dead people; 'he (Christ) is raised,' vers. 12,13,16,20, is an accomplished but continuing fact. The English tenses do not always secure this distinction. I have not put 'do not rise,' because then the thought of being raised by God is lost. read more
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E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Corinthians 15:15
Yea, and = Moreover. false witnesses . Greek. pseudomartur. Only here and Matthew 26:60 . have . Omit. testified . Greek. murtureo. See p. 1511. of = against. Gr . kata. App-104 . if so be that = if ( App-118 .2. a) at least. read more