1 Corinthians 15:17-28
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, 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 he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. [1]
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What struck me today’s passage is Paul’s comment that if we only have hope in Christ for this life, then we are to be pitied above all people. Why? Because we are basing our hope for eternity on a lie, and dedicating our lives to an illusion.
Let’s unpack what Paul is saying. What is the hope we have in Christ for this life? That he hears our prayers, that His presence is with us, that He forgives our sins, that He works things for good, that He is in control. Those all sound like very good things. We can certainly add even more to that list. The fact is that we have a lot of hope in Christ that is just for this life. These are the hopes that we live with on a daily basis: Christ’s presence, forgiveness, strength, and mercy in my life today for the challenges of today.
But Paul says that if this is all we have, if our hope in Christ is confined only to things of this life, then we still are the most pitiable of people. In other words the blessing of living with hope in Christ for this life is nothing compared to the blessing of hope in Christ for eternity. I’m reading this not as denigrating the value of hope in Christ for this life, but rather as lifting up the blessing of hope in Christ for eternity.
In Romans 8:18 Paul writes that our present sufferings aren’t worth comparing to the glory that awaits us in eternity. In effect he is saying here that our present blessings are also not worth comparing to the glory that awaits us in eternity.
So my prayer today is that God enable me to live today with hope – hope not only in the blessings of Christ for this life, but hope in the resurrection and the eternity which He has prepared for me, and for all who follow Him.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. (2011). (1 Co 15:17–28). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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