Death Will Be Destroyed | 1 Corinthians 15:12-28

A deeply formative practice in the life of our church has been to share our life stories in our Gospel Communities, narrating life’s highs and lows in light of God’s redeeming grace. If you were to plot the events that have most significantly shaped and defined your life, what would you include? Fond childhood memories or a major life achievement? Your marriage? The birth of a child? The loss of a job or the death of a loved one?

Whether a solitary moment or an extended season, our lives are shaped and defined by events. Our lives are also shaped by events beyond our control—even beyond our lifetime. Just consider how different life is today than it was just 200 years ago? In a single century, everyday life has been revolutionized by new discoveries and inventions—electricity, the automobile, flight, the atomic bomb, the internet, and now Artificial Intelligence.

Yet no event in history has revolutionized the world more than the resurrection of Jesus from the dead 2000 years ago. All of human history will forever and ultimately be defined by that one event. And every person on earth will be eternally defined by his or her response to Jesus. Does the resurrection of Jesus define your life?

1 Corinthians 15:12–28

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

Dead Men Don’t Live

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul’s lengthy letter to the church in Corinth climbs to its crescendo. Paul began this chapter by way of reminder: 

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved …. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4).

Paul’s aim here is to remind the church of the gospel, not because they didn’t know it or hadn’t heard it, but because this good news is too important to take for granted, lest we drift from it or forget it.

And apparently, some in the church were confused about the most central claim of the gospel. Paul asks in v. 12, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?”

What’s in question is not the resurrection of Christ, but more broadly the very possibility of the resurrection of the dead. In the Greco-Roman world, belief in some kind of life-after-death existence would not have been strange. But what ancient pagans found absurd was belief in a bodily resurrection.

We see this when Paul preached the gospel to Greeks on Mars’ Hill in Athens. His audience listened attentively until he claimed Jesus had been raised from the dead. Acts 17:32 says, “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’”

In this way, the ancient Greeks and Romans weren’t much different than modern Americans. It’s one thing to believe in an “afterlife,” an other-worldly existence for our souls. Over 80% of Americans believe in that.

But bodily resurrection? Everyone knows that dead people don’t come back to life! The philosophical and scientific questions seem too much to overcome. Later in this chapter, Paul anticipates such questions: “But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?’” (1 Corinthians 15:35).

We can sympathize with those questions, can’t we? What about someone whose body has returned to dust? What about someone who died in a fire or was cremated? What about someone who drowned in the sea?

Professing Christians in Corinth were wrestling with these questions, and some went so far as to deny the possibility of bodily resurrection. For one reason or another, they must have misunderstood Paul’s preaching. Perhaps they held a “spiritualized” view of resurrection—thinking that the soul is immortal and is liberated from the prison of the body at death.

Such misunderstandings of the gospel are still prevalent today, even within the church! Many professing Christians fail to understand the promise of resurrection. The Christian hope is not that our spirits will float forever in another realm. Our hope is that just as Jesus died and was raised to life in a body, so our bodies will be raised from the dead. Is that your hope? And does it define your life?

Paul responds with a two-sided argument: a negative argument and a positive one. First he explains the consequences of denying the resurrection. Then he asserts the reality of the resurrection of Christ and its implications.

If there is no resurrection (vv. 12–19) …

Paul begins his response with a negative argument. He uses a line of reasoning called reductio ad absurdum. He adopts his opponents’ claim for the sake of argument. Then he shows the absurd conclusions it inevitably leads to.

If bodily resurrection in general is impossible, then Jesus Christ in particular is still dead (v. 13). And if Christ has not been raised, two massive problems follow (v. 14): “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

In Greek, the order of words can be used for emphasis, as Paul does here. “Vain is our preaching and vain your faith,” he says.

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is vain, empty, powerless. “Our preaching” refers to the message, the content of the gospel, which Paul just summarized in vv. 3–5—that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, and that he appeared to eyewitnesses who have testified to the world about what they saw. But if there is no such thing as bodily resurrection, then that message is devoid of meaning, truth, and power. The resurrection is the sine qua non of the gospel.

Not only is the message meaningless, but the messengers are liars guilty of bearing false witness against God himself:

“We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.” (1 Corinthians 15:15–16).

Paul and the Apostles claimed to be eyewitnesses who encountered the risen Christ firsthand. But if their message was a conspiracy, they are not faithful messengers sent by God. They are false witnesses and liars engaged in the greatest conspiracy in human history.

There’s another side to that coin, as Paul states in v. 17: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Paul’s argument here is experiential. The saints in Corinth heard and believed the gospel. And they were personally transformed by God’s saving power through faith. Back in chapter 6:9–11, Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

However, if Christ was not raised, none of that is true. They are still dead in their sin. You are still dead in your sin—guilty of idolatry, sexual immorality, theft, and drunkenness—powerless to escape and destined to suffer the wrath of God forever. That is how crucial bodily resurrection is to the gospel.

In v. 18 Paul adds, “Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” Paul leaves no room for a version of Christianity that prefers a disembodied afterlife. Central to the gospel is the promise, not just of eternal existence, but of resurrection life. 

In John 11:25–26, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” But if Christ died on the cross and remained dead, then his claim to be the resurrection and the life is false and those who have died have perished forever.

And if that’s true, well … “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Some say Paul is speaking hyperbolically, but I don’t think so. Throughout the book of Acts, Paul repeatedly identified his faith in God’s promise to raise the dead as the object of his personal hope, the essence of his public witness, and the reason for his persecution.

Just consider all the suffering and affliction Paul endured (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23–27). He was imprisoned repeatedly. He suffered “countless beatings”: he was whipped, beaten with rods, and stoned. He survived a shipwreck … three times! He spent his life in constant danger, in toil and hardship, often without food. He described himself as “often near death.” 

Or consider the other Apostles. James was executed by Herod in Acts 12. According to tradition, the other Apostles were crucified, sawn in two, beheaded, and speared—all for their claim that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Anyone who would suffer so much for a conspiracy is delusional and pitiful.

If there is no such thing as bodily resurrection and if Christ in particular has not been raised, these are the logical implications.

But in fact Christ has been raised (vv. 20–28)

In verse 20, Paul reasserts his claim: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.” Gone are the hypotheticals for the sake of argument. Now there are only emphatic assertions and declarations of fact. It’s not, “If Christ has been raised then this or that follows.”

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.”

Ancient and modern people alike may deny the possibility of bodily resurrection. But they’re wrong, because Jesus is alive. 

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead establishes the reality of bodily resurrection. This is why Paul calls Jesus “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (v. 20, 23). Paul uses language from the Old Testament. The firstfruits were the first and best of plants and animals and offspring, dedicated to God in worship (Ex 13:15, 22:29).

And the thing about the firstfruits is that they are only the beginning. This time of year, there are dramatic moments when you notice the signs of spring. When you hear the first returning robin, you know the rest aren’t far behind. The first hint of green in the grass is a sign that soon the whole yard will be green. The first bud on the tree is a sign that the whole tree will soon be covered with leaves.

And the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is only the first sign of life in a world of death. When Christ emerged from the grave, he signaled that there would be more!

Paul explains this by comparing Christ to Adam: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21–22). Because Adam, the representative of all mankind, rebelled against God, we all die. Death is the great equalizer. Rich or poor, weak or powerful, famous or not—death comes for us all. “The sun goes up, sun goes down, we all wind up six feet in the ground,” as someone sings.

The case could easily be made that no other event has shaped all of human history and touched every human life like Adam’s sin … until the resurrection of Christ. Paul argues that Jesus’ resurrection breaks the curse of Adam’s sin. Jesus is the new Adam (1 Cor 15:45), the firstborn of a new humanity. Sin and death entered the world through Adam. Resurrection and life entered the world through Jesus. In Adam all die, but everyone who is in Christ will live.

What this means is that if you are in Christ, you will be made alive just like Christ. There is an unbreakable link between the resurrection of Christ and your resurrection. What happened to Jesus is what will happen to you. You shouldn’t think of your resurrection as a separate and disconnected event. The first and last blades of green grass are part of the same springtime.

Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead with a body so that your spirit could float to heaven. His body came alive. He walked out of the tomb. He appeared to his disciples (vv. 5–8) and ate with them. And if you are in Christ, that’s your future—not a disembodied existence in a spiritual realm, but resurrection from the grave.

But what if the resurrection of Jesus was an isolated event? Ever since he rose from the dead 2,000 years ago, people continue to die. Paul addresses this in vv. 23–26: 

“But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

This clarifies the timeline of our hope. Christ has already been raised from the dead. But when will those who belong to Christ be raised? At his coming (v. 23).

So what is Christ doing now? Paul tells us in vv. 24–25: He is ruling and reigning from the Father’s right hand. He must go on reigning until he has put all his enemies under his feet. That means that right now Christ is actively destroying every rebel power. Then he will return to raise the dead. Paul clearly says, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (v. 26). And then the end will come, when he will deliver the kingdom to God the Father.

Some Christians can’t imagine Jesus exercising any spiritual authority over his enemies until after his return.  So they assume the order is that Jesus returns, raises the dead, and then begins to rule and reign over his enemies. But Paul says the return of Christ signals the end, and that what he’s doing from now until then is conquering his enemies.

How is he doing that today? Paul tells the Corinthians in his second letter: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3–5). The risen Christ is right now extending his reign and destroying every rebel power through the proclamation of the gospel.

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s great, but how does that help me today?” Coming out of the grave someday is fine, but I struggle to get out of bed each day. Oh weary soul! No event in history defines your life more than the resurrection!

You have the peace and joy of a cleansed conscience. “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (v. 17). But Christ has been raised!

You have comfort in grief and loss. If Christ has not been raised, those who have died in Christ have perished (v. 18). But Christ has been raised!

You have eternal hope in the midst of every trial. “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (v. 19). But Christ has been raised!

You have confidence in evangelism and witness. If Christ was not raised, our gospel witness is meaningless. But Christ has been raised!

And you have certainty in a fallen world. Stock markets rise and fall, rulers come and go. But Christ has been raised, and “he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (v. 25).

All in All

As glorious as it will be to be raised from the dead, that’s not the climax of the story. There is something better than resurrection. 

“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. … For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:24, 27–28).

This is what happens after death is defeated and you are raised from the dead. Picture a victorious general returning with the spoils of war to deliver them to the King.

Five times in the last two verses Paul speaks of “all things” being  “in subjection” to Christ. His referring to Psalm 8:6, which he quotes in v. 27: “You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.” 

Paul is declaring that God’s original purpose in creation will be fulfilled. In Genesis 1, God created man in his own image to subdue the earth and exercise dominion. God’s purpose from the beginning was to rule the world through human beings who represented God and ruled the world under God.

When the first humans rebelled against God, that plan was ruined. But was it ruined beyond repair? Did the rebellion of cosmic powers and human beings make it impossible for God’s original purpose to be fulfilled?

Picture a chess board near the end of the game.  The white player only has a king. But the black player has his king and his queen and a few pawns. At that stage in the game, it is impossible for the white player to win. Imagine the white player flails his arms, wiping all the pieces off the board. Then he announces triumphantly that he has won the game! Did he win the game? Obviously not!

But that’s essentially what some people think God will do. The world and humanity has been lost to the power of sin. In the middle of history Jesus died and rose again, making it possible for a few people to escape to heaven when they die, but leaving the world basically unchanged. In the meantime, things will get worse and worse until all hope is lost. At which point God will snap his fingers and declare that akshually he won.

That is not what Scripture says. In history—in the middle of the game—the Son of God entered the Story as a man. As a man, he died to pay the price for the sins of fallen humanity. And he rose from the dead as a man. He is now what Adam failed to be—the Man who rules and reigns over earth as God’s representative. Jesus is the One who fulfills God’s creation purpose. The resurrection of Christ guarantees the redemption of the cosmos.

This is what Paul is affirming in vv. 27–28. Because Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, God’s purpose for his creation will be fulfilled. All things will be subjected to a Man, Jesus Christ, just as God intended. And that Man will deliver all things to God the Father, in perfect submission to God. And God will be all in all.

What exactly does that mean? That’s not pantheism, where everything is God. And it’s not panentheism, where God is in everything.

It means that in the age to come, all of God’s glory will be on full display in all things for the joy of all people. Because the Son of God died and rose again, God will be fully supreme over everything in every way. And if you are in Christ by faith, you will be raised to life to enjoy God forever.

Conclusion

Does the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead define your life? If you are in Christ, you are not defined by your achievements or successes. You are not defined by your faults and failures. You are not defined by what others have done to you. If you are united to Christ by faith, then your life is defined by his.