Background Story: The books, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians were written by the Apostle Paul as letters to the believers there. The city of Corinth was known to be a melting pot of many faiths and cultures, filled with wealth but lacking morality. In these letters, Paul instructs the believers how to live differently as new creations in Christ. Read more at https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-22

Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. ² It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

³ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. ⁴ He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. ⁵ He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. ⁹ For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

¹⁰ But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. ¹¹ So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

¹² But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. ¹⁵ And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. ¹⁶ And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! ¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

²⁰ But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

²¹ So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. ²² Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

Big Idea: Because He lives, I live.

The resurrection is the key element of our faith. Without Christ’s resurrection, Paul says in verse 17 that our “faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.” But because Jesus died for our sins AND was raised to life, there is hope!

We have hope for today that true life is available in Jesus, and hope for tomorrow to spend eternity with Him. Peace with God for today as we live as one loved, forgiven, and cleansed because of Jesus’ sacrifice, and peace with God for tomorrow because Jesus took the wrath that belonged to us on His shoulders on the cross. Without the resurrection, there is no hope. But because “He lives I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.”

Take time today to read the verses in the dig deeper section about the resurrection of Christ. Reflect on why Jesus suffered, died, and rose from the dead. Thank Him for the hope that comes from the resurrection!

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Dig Deeper: Isaiah 53, Mark 8:31, John 12:23-25, John 14:1-6, Acts 2:22-33, John 11:25-26, Romans 6:4-11, 1 Peter 1:3-4, 1 John 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, Revelations 1:4-8, Revelations 5

Similar Devotions: God With Us, The Perfect Sacrifice, One Way, It’s Personal, There’s Hope, This Same Jesus

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