But In Fact

Rev. Martin Dressler, pastor at Salem Lutheran Church in Black Jack, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 15:12-34.

Having laid out the Gospel for the Corinthians, St. Paul turns to address their denial of the central part of that Gospel: the resurrection of the dead. He briefly imagines a false, scary scenario. If there is no resurrection, that would mean Jesus is still dead, we would have absolutely no hope, and Christianity would be absolutely worthless. But St. Paul quickly puts that fiction aside to reiterate that Christ has been raised from the dead. Because He is the firstfruits, all who belong to Him will follow in that resurrection, when death will finally be fully placed under Christ's feet.

“Nothing But Christ Crucified” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistle of 1 Corinthians. In response to correspondence from the Christians in Corinth and reports about matters arising in the congregation, St. Paul writes to address various matters of Christian faith and life. Throughout it all, he directs our attention to the power and wisdom of God for our salvation: Christ crucified.