Week 3 / Hope in Christ’s Return
Monday / Hope Beyond Life
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:1–28
SOAP: 1 Corinthians 15:16–19
For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless, you are still in your sins. Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone.
Into the Text
In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul explained the significance of the resurrection of Christ. Paul repeated the message of the gospel: that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and then was raised again on the third day and appeared to many people. His post-resurrection appearances were significant because they offered the early church eye-witness proof that Jesus had truly raised from the dead like He said He would.
This resurrection is the foundation of our Christian faith. Without the resurrection of Christ, we have nothing to hope for. Paul explained that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, then there is no resurrection for us after we die. Paul even went so far as to say that if we have hope in Christ only in this life and not in eternity, then we are to be pitied more than those who have no hope at all.
The basis of our hope in Christ is what He has done on the cross and what He promised to do in eternity. If our hope doesn’t reach beyond death, then we have no hope. Our hope is unfailing because it is eternally secure: Christ has promised to raise our bodies to never-ending life. If there is no resurrection, we have nothing to hope for. If there is no eternity with Christ, then there is no purpose or meaning to our lives.
We put our hope in what is real and lasting because anything else is worthless. Our hope is in a relationship with God today and also in the fact that we will one day be with Christ in eternity. This is what is real and lasting and this is the hope that gives us joy and life. Our hope is grounded in God’s promise. We can live in confident expectation of eternity with Christ because He is the one who holds the future.