Critical Thinking and the Bodily Resurrection – 1 Corinthians 15:29-34

There is no message more important than the gospel of Jesus’s death and resurrection. After presenting case after case of undeniable proof of Jesus’s bodily resurrection to Corinthians who did not believe, Apostle Paul begins to close his argument by appealing to their common sense and reason.

If there was no resurrection, no one would have a sense of an afterlife. If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? v.29

Everyone- whether he or she believes in a god or not- is religious. We all live devoted to a set of beliefs that we believe to be true. Here Paul points to how pagans practiced baptism on behalf of the dead because of their belief in an afterlife and a hope of a resurrection. His argument is that if pagans did not believe in a resurrection, they would do no such thing.

If there was no resurrection, everyone would just live a comfortable life. Why are we also in danger every hour? v. 30

If there was no hope apart from this life only, there is no better lifestyle than to eat, drink and be merry. But Apostle Paul, who came from a prestigious background of comfort and good repute, gave it all up for the sake of the gospel. (Phil 3:4-7) Every hour of his life became a matter of life and death, fleeing from mobs, enduring severe persecution, hunger, sleeplessness, and suffering. Not only Paul, but many believers in the early church faced persecution for their faith as well. They were scattered, afflicted, and even martyred for the sake of Christ, but they clung to their faith. (Heb 11:13,35) What compelled them to endure? They knew the love of Christ, who died for them and was raised for their sake. The life they had on earth was incomparable to the glory of the resurrection in Christ. (2Cor 5:14)

If Jesus is the risen Lord, it is common sense to live in sanctification. Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning… v. 34

Paul admonishes believers to not associate with any bad source of influence. We must not trust our hearts and think we’re immune to evil, for all the sins we commit come from within. (Mk 7:21-23) We are to rather become sober-minded, laying aside all that sways us and causes us to compromise loving Jesus with all our hearts. We must take every thought captive to Christ, meditating on Scripture to truly know God, because if you do not know God, you will not believe in the resurrection. (Phil 4:8) You must know Jesus Christ as the Lord of all, because as you see the risen Jesus, you will know who God is. True knowledge begets obedience. Those who know God will stop sinning.

All who deny the resurrection of Jesus will one day be ashamed. (Matt 7:22-23) The resurrection is the foundation of everything by which we see. Each of us must ask himself, Do I truly know God? Am I controlled by the resurrection? It is time to think critically about the truth revealed to us and our obedience to it.