Abstract
Paul, in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15, issues a clarion call to remember the key place of the resurrection of Christ in the Gospel that his audience has believed and on which they have taken their stand. For Paul, Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the dynamite of the entire Christian message. Without it, the early church would never have been born and Christianity would never have swept irresistibly across the Mediterranean and eventually throughout the world. Paul had learnt that some members of the Corinthian church were denying the doctrine of the resurrection as he had taught it to them. These opening verses concerning Christ’s own resurrection form the foundation of Paul’s argument for the bodily resurrection of all believers. Here in verses 1-11, he takes them right back to the history-altering event where it all started - the resurrection of Christ himself. For Paul, the resurrection is a game-changer. Do we see it as an isolated occurrence that maybe intrigues, yet does not really control, our understanding of ourselves, the church and the world? Often the media forces Christians to carry the burden of providing proofs for the resurrection of Jesus. However, Paul is not concerned to prove the resurrection to the Corinthians, but reminds them of why the resurrection is so vital and why their entire Christian lives stand or fall around remembering it. Three questions emerge for us from these verses. Firstly, what if Christ had not been raised? Secondly, what was the nature of this resurrection event itself? Thirdly, what should be the church’s response to the resurrection of Christ?
Firstly, what if Christ was not raised?
There are often “What if” moments in our lives where we ask what if certain events had not happened to us. What if we hadn’t met our partner? What if we hadn’t had that fantastic teacher? We wonder what would have happened to the trajectory of our life. This is the case too for significant people in history. What if Hitler had died of a childhood illness? As an avid Dr Who watcher, I noticed that a similar question was raised in an episode called “Turn Left”. Donna Noble, whilst visiting an Oriental planet is encouraged to re-visit a car journey where she had to decide whether to turn left or right. On re-visiting the car journey she tries turning right instead and an entirely parallel history emerges, a history where she never met the Doctor and never saved his life. Consequently the Doctor was never able to stop millions of people being vaporised in London after the crash of the Titanic space cruiser, nor to stop 60 million people dying in the US. This is just science fiction; yet far more significantly, Paul addresses the question: What if the Gospel were without this key event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ? “By this Gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain” (v. 2). Paul goes on to say later “and if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (v. 14). These are strong words. Paul intimates that our entire hope would be misguided and of no use. In fact, the whole Gospel would be invalidated and we would have been duped! The fact of Christ’s resurrection is a life-altering reality. Imagine what a parallel universe would look like where it had not happened. Jesus would remain a dead founder of a historical sect and much of what he claimed about himself would have to be re-considered as untrue. His work on the cross triumphing over sin and death would be incomplete and death would still have had the final word over our lives. Many of the comforting words of the funeral service would need to be removed, not least the moving words of the committal “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ”. In the face of death, there is often a resounding silence which contrasts poignantly with the unrelenting noise and activity of our work and leisure in the West. The church of Christ, often marginalised, now steps into the centre of this moment of bewildering silence and offers words of deep hope. Without the resurrection of Christ, these words of hope would be lost. The first-fruits of Spring would never have sprung in Jesus’ resurrection and we would still be caught in an eternal winter where death holds the final word.
So Paul reminds the Corinthians that they accepted the resurrection, not just as something he has preached, but as what he has received and passed on (v. 3). Whatever differences there were in the early Christian faith, the Christians were all able to affirm the key facts that Christ died, was buried, was raised and appeared to Peter and James, the twelve and over 500 people. Ultimately, Paul is reminding them that the resurrection event has massive implications for their faith.
Secondly, what was the nature of this resurrection event ?
Paul emphasises the physicality of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is significant that Paul included the words “and was buried” (v. 3). He is emphasising the finality of death and the need for a complete physical resurrection to reverse this. It is not enough to see Jesus’ soul as continuing after death or see him rising as a ghost or an angel.
Thomas F. Torrance in Space, Time and Resurrection (T&T Clarke, Edinburgh, 1976) emphasises that the resurrection is a physical event in human history. The resurrection breaks through into physical reality through a particular moment in history, burning into space and time. Instead of time that falls away into decay and dust, time is redeemed by the resurrection, meeting us from the future. Understanding the physical nature of the resurrection event challenges our views of death in today’s society. Today we often see attempts to soften the agony and separation that death brings. For example, we often hear it explained that we become stars in the sky or that we live on in the hearts of our loved ones. Yet the church has a clear task to bring people face to face with the very real ending of death and to help people mourn. Jesus too went through the agony of a physical death. I am reminded of Dylan Thomas’ poem ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’ and the last line that describes death as a painful interruption “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. However, although the church is able to bring people face to face with a much deeper grief, the joy and hope that is offered is far deeper, too, than any superficial spiritual bandage that society is able to suggest. The hope that is offered is the promise of a real and physical resurrection, just as Jesus physically rose to life. In fact we are promised more than just restoration, we are offered even better life than before. What can compare to this promise?
Thirdly, what should be the church’s response to the resurrection of Christ?
Whilst we still live in a finite world full of death, the primary testimony of the church is that of continual thanksgiving and joy in light of the resurrection of Jesus. This energetic joy and wonder at the resurrection gave birth to the early church itself. Whilst we are called to share in the burden of a suffering world, this should co-exist with a deep joy that is radical. This deep joy often reveals itself in the most surprising and darkest of places, because it is a joy that celebrates what God has done for us in the resurrection of Jesus and can never be undone by even the worst of what life can throw at us. For some it will be relationship breakdown, for others grief and for others physical persecution.
In Psalm 118 we see the exhortation to give thanks to the Lord “for his love endures forever” (v. 1). He goes on to rejoice, “I will not die but live and proclaim what the Lord has done” (v. 17). In this Psalm there is a very close link between strength and joy. There is a strength that comes from finding our joy in what God has done for us and not just in the passing events of our lives. He writes “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (v. 14). So this is not a flimsy joy but a deep joy that builds resilience.
Paul reminds the Corinthians of the Gospel of Jesus’ resurrection “on which you have taken your stand” (v. 1). He goes on to conclude, “this is what we preach, and this is what you believed”. So this Easter may we remember that without the resurrection our faith would be impoverished. Without it we would be left silent in the face of death. Without it we would be without the deep joy that is the strength of our lives.