One group at Corinth did not believe in life after death at all, and another did not believe in the resurrection of the body. In this classic passage Paul deals with both groups.
What strikes you about the content and the proclamation of the gospel as summarized in verses 1-4? What benefit does it offer to men, and how is this benefit to be enjoyed? Cf. 1 Tim 1:15. Answer: Paul almost seems to be “pointing his finger at them” in v1-4. I am not sure how to answer the second part because I don’t think I answered the first part right?? It is saying that we are saved through Christ, and if you don’t hold onto it firmly it is all in vain.
What is the significance of the evidence that Paul marshals in verses 5-11 for the resurrection of Christ? What for Christians are the five far reaching consequences of denying the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead? See v 12-19. Does death set any limit to your hope in Christ? Answer: It is Paul’s conversion. Paul was not part of the original 12, so he was made an apostle when no one else could be after Christ had ascended up to heaven on the road to Damascus. Paul uses this to show that the grace of God can reach any and all who God so declares. If the dead cannot be raised then 1) Christ could not be raised, 2) We cannot be raised, 3) those dead in Christ are just dead, 4) Christ did not defeat death, 5) we are all still in our sins.
What are to be the full and final consequences of the resurrection of Christ? Of what ultimate consummation is the promise and pledge? Why are Christians able triumphantly to face death for Christ’s sake? Answer: The full and final consequences of resurrection are Christ’s triumph over death and the grave.
Notes:
V 28. No change in the eternal relations between the persons of the Trinity is meant here. It is the Son’s willing subjection in love Cf. 11:3
V. 29. The exact meaning of the reference is uncertain. What is obviously implied is that the practice mentioned is pointless if there is no life beyond death.
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