Tuesday, June 12, 2012
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19 KJV).
Is our Christian service done in vain? Today’s Scripture explicates.
Today’s Scripture is excerpted from the Bible’s greatest passage regarding resurrection (1 Corinthians chapter 15). According to verse 12, some of the Corinthians deny bodily resurrection (thus denying Christ’s resurrection). So, the Holy Spirit through Paul provides 58 verses on the topic. Notice the argument Scripture gives for bodily resurrection (verses 13-18):
- “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:”
- “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”
- “Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.”
- “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:”
- “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
- “Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”
If there is no such thing as resurrection, everything we believe and do would be “vain” (worthless, empty): it would mean Christ never resurrected, that our preaching eternal life in Christ is “vain,” that our faith in Christ is also “vain,” that Paul lied when he preached Christ’s resurrection, that we are still dead in our trespasses and sins, and that we will never again see those who have died in Christ. We would be “of all men most miserable” if that were true: if we Christians had this brief, earthly life, and nothing else, we would be the most depressed of all people (today’s Scripture)!
But, verse 58 gives us hope: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We are not “of all men most miserable!” Our Christian service is not in vain—there will be a resurrection! 🙂
333 Words of Grace 