1 Corinthians 15:1-26, 51-57 – Jesus’ resurrection and the future resurrection; death as the last enemy.
Often we come to doubt the resurrection. I don’t mean that we intellectually doubt it, although that does happen. I mean we emotionally doubt whether the resurrection is real, and whether it it is for us. This can
happen near death or around the death of a loved one. It tends to come with a high dose of anxiety.
I imagine that this is the sort of anxiety Paul is trying to address. Some of his audience have been listening to the Sadducees, and now they have doubts. Maybe intellectual, but the world was a harder place back then. Death was closer, survival was more of a tight line to navigate. And, as Paul writes, if there’s no resurrection, there’s no resurrection of Christ, either.
Paul’s going to do his best to convince his audience, then and now. I’m simply going to focus on his first paragraph here. The good news isn’t a one time gift. It is the grounding on which we stand. It is not in vain, and we do not believe in vain. The good news was proclaimed, received, we stand in it, and through it we are being saved. That’s the base line. The Good news is still Good, people. Rest in the assurances of God.
