ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Corinthians 15.14-19

Book: 1 Corinthians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

12. Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised:

14. and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. 15. Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. 16. For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: 17. and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

  1. But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:12-21, ASV)
WEB

12. Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.

14. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain. 15. Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised. 16. For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised. 17. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. 18. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

  1. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. (1 Corinthians 15:12-21, WEB)
KJV

12. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

  1. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:12-21, KJV)
YLT

12. And if Christ is preached, that out of the dead he hath risen, how say certain among you, that there is no rising again of dead persons? 13. and if there be no rising again of dead persons, neither hath Christ risen;

14. and if Christ hath not risen, then void [is] our preaching, and void also your faith, 15. and we also are found false witnesses of God, because we did testify of God that He raised up the Christ, whom He did not raise if then dead persons do not rise; 16. for if dead persons do not rise, neither hath Christ risen, 17. and if Christ hath not risen, vain is your faith, ye are yet in your sins; 18. then, also, those having fallen asleep in Christ did perish; 19. if in this life we have hope in Christ only, of all men we are most to be pitied.

  1. And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead, the first-fruits of those sleeping he became, 21. for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead, (1 Corinthians 15:12-21, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the Apostle
  • Audience: the church at Corinth, a mixed Jew-and-Gentile congregation in a wealthy Roman colony, fractured over teachers, status, sexual ethics, and the limits of freedom
  • Location: composed in Ephesus, addressed to Corinth
  • Time period: c. AD 55-56

Theological reading

Paul does something here that few religious writers have ever done in print: he states the condition under which his own message would be worthless, and he states it without hedging. If Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain.

The chain in these verses is relentless. If there is no resurrection, then Christ is not raised; if Christ is not raised, the apostles are found false witnesses of God, the Corinthians are still in their sins, the dead in Christ have perished, and Christians are of all men most pitiable. Paul does not reach for a fallback in which the movement retains value as ethics or as community. He ties the entire enterprise to a claim about an event in the past, which either happened or did not.

This is the passage that makes the faith falsifiable in the ordinary sense, and it is the reason historical argument about the resurrection is not a peripheral apologetic hobby but a response to the terms the New Testament itself sets. See Resurrection of Jesus and Minimal Facts Argument.

Verse 19 also rules out a reading Christianity is often given by its cultured admirers, that its value lies in this life regardless of its metaphysical claims. Paul's judgment on that position is that it leaves believers most pitiable, and he means the ones who have suffered for it. The verse belongs beside the account of costly witness at Conversion Testimonies.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.