1 Corinthians 15. It’s the Monday after Easter and I’m sitting at my desk reflecting on the death of Pope Francis earlier this morning in Rome. May he rest in peace, glad he made it out of the hospital in time for Easter. (So glad I watched the movie Conclave so I know what happens next!) We just celebrated Easter, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Chapter 15 is known as the resurrection chapter – as it is the lengthiest treatment of this topic in the Bible.

Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. (15:4-5) This is the core of the gospel message, and we recite it regularly as part of the Apostles Creed.

One key idea in this chapter is that we cannot leave out the fact that Christ was resurrected. If we leave that out, the gospel message unravels. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (15:14,17)

The story of humankind that began in the Garden of Eden – this story, our story, involved rebellion which led to exile from the garden of God’s presence and the introduction of death into the narrative. The story is brought full circle in this way, for in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (15:22).

Behold, I tell you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed (15:51). We shall all be resurrected in both spirit and body! [Sidebar: Ages ago when I had my first child, someone gave me this verse on a card with a baby gift… We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed. I am still laughing about how funny that card was at that point in time.]

At the end of time when the dead are resurrected, we shall be given a new body. Yay! God does not abandon His creation; he remakes it into something new and better. But someone will ask, How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?(15:35) Well, wouldn’t we all like to know the answer to that question?!

We catch only a glimpse of what lies in store for us, but this is what Paul writes: God gives it a body as he has chosen, not all flesh is the same (15:38). It will be imperishable, raised in glory, raised in power, a spiritual body (15:42-44). We shall bear the image of the man of heaven (15:49). The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised imperishable… with immortality (15:52-53).

That sounds good to me! Death is swallowed up in victory… Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (15:54,57).

How are your thoughts on death affected by the promise of resurrection? Why is the resurrection of Jesus so central? How should believing in resurrection affect how we live today?