In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul famously writes that if there is no resurrection, his preaching of the gospel is in vain and that Christians are of all people most to be pitied. In other words, the resurrection is foundational to the gospel. Without it, we have no hope.
So how can we be faithful in this adversity?
We have been looking carefully at this extended treatment of the resurrection as the sure foundation for the Gospel. Paul has consistently encouraged us with this thought: the resurrection of Christ guarantees our own resurrection as well as the restoration of the whole creation.
This passage demonstrates that the resurrection is the foundation for living faithfully. Specifically, Paul says that embracing the truth of the resurrection moves one to live for Christ publicly, perseveringly, and piously.
It is only a living Christ who guarantees the resurrection of the Christian that explains why anyone publicly identifies with Jesus through baptism. Most likely, the “dead” in v.29 is a reference to the Apostles and the “baptized” are those who have received the Gospel from them.
Paul’s point then is that if there is no resurrection, there is no explanation for the public expression of hope among those who have believed the Gospel. But there is a resurrection, and therefore there is hope, and it is proven by the suffering of the Apostles and the very fact that there is a church in Corinth.
What else explains why we as Christians publicly identify with Christ through the sacraments of the Church when people mock our supposed backwardness, when we are excluded from the public forum, when our ideas are ignored, and when we, at times, suffer persecution? It is only the hope of the resurrection and the guarantee it provides of a perfected world.
Only the resurrection can explain why people would publicly identify with Christ, even though it results in their persecution. Likewise, only the resurrection can explain why people continue to persevere in faith in Christ despite suffering. Paul insists that without the resurrection there is no purpose to his sufferings. However, because of the certainty of the resurrection of Christ, which guarantees his own resurrection, he gladly gives his body to death with the confidence he will live again.
In other words, there is no greater proof that the resurrection is the power behind the Gospel than the fact that the Corinthian church exists! Nothing else could explain the fact that these dead Corinthians have come to life—nothing but the power of a living Christ.
Finally, only the resurrection can explain why people would deny temporal pleasures to remain faithful to Christ's commands in scripture. Paul now moves in to expose the real reason the Corinthians are denying the resurrection. It is so that they can justify their sins. If they can deny the resurrection, then it frees them to pursue their strong desires.
He then appeals to their hearts. He calls them to realize that there are those around them who are ignorant of the Gospel and will perish in their sins as a result of the Corinthians’ behavior, which communicates that there is no truth to the Gospel. It is only because of Paul’s confidence that they are in Christ that he has the assurance that what he is saying will cause them to grieve for their sin.
In the resurrected Christ, we have the assurance of final vindication at the day of judgment. Because of that, we can live our faith publicly. In the resurrected Christ, we have assurance that this life is not all there is. Because of that, we can endure suffering. In the resurrected Christ, we have assurance that we will one day hear from the Father, "well done, good and faithful servant." Because of that, we can say no to temporal pleasure in the certain hope that at the Father's right hand, there are pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11).