The Resurrection

The truth of Christianity hinges upon the legitimacy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus did not come out of the tomb triumphantly, then Christianity would be one of the biggest frauds in the history of mankind. However, the Word of God accurately states the following: “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest” (Luke 24:1-9). Jesus was indeed, resurrected!

Word of the resurrection of Christ spread throughout the world of the first century. One of the strongest advocates of this truth was the apostle Paul. On one occasion, Paul saw a great need to defend the resurrection. He wrote, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4). As a means of corroborating his account, Paul then described, “And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Cor. 15:5-8). That is a great amount of witnesses. An honest person would have to accept that there is an abundance of reason to trust in the resurrection.

Paul had indicated that at one time, the brethren in Corinth had believed in resurrection (1 Cor. 15:11). Unfortunately though, there were some that began to doubt. “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:12)? It is not stated what caused the disbelief to spread, but the error corrupted the thinking of some brethren.

It was then that Paul explained the consequences of not believing in resurrection. He wrote, “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” (1 Cor. 15:13-14). There it is, without resurrection, then Christianity is false! Paul continued, “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” (1 Cor. 15:15-18). What a terrible situation it would truly be if the resurrection were false. As Paul put it, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19). I am thankful to know that Christians do not exist in such a pitiable condition. For Paul firmly proclaimed, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Cor. 15:20). Christianity is true! Our Lord came out of that tomb! Because of such, we have the trust and assurance that one day, all of the dead will rise. Those that are in Christ will be Heaven bound, and those who are lost will suffer in Hell (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 1:7-9).
~ Corey Barnette