First Corinthians 15:3 says that Christ died for our sins. Why does verse 17 say that if Christ has not been raised, we are yet in our sins?
Verse 3 speaks of Christ’s death, which is related to the problem of sins. Verse 17 speaks of Christ’s resurrection, which is also related to the problem of sins. Why is the problem of sins mentioned in verse 3 solved by the death of Christ, whereas the problem of sins mentioned in verse 17 is solved by the resurrection of Christ? Today gospel preachers have an inclination to put an adequate emphasis on Christ’s death but not on Christ’s resurrection. In many places we hear people say that Christ’s death delivers us from sins, but we seldom hear people say that Christ’s resurrection delivers us from sins.
The death of Christ delivered us from the punishment of sins and canceled the record of sins. But to be delivered from the power of sins, there must be the resurrection of Christ. The word “sins” in verse 3 is plural in the original language. It implies the individual acts of sin, the sins committed day to day. Christ died for our sins. He suffered the punishment for our sins and bore them on the cross. However, that was not enough. According to the book of Acts, did the apostles speak more about death or more about resurrection? Consider 1 Corinthians 15. Was Paul trying to prove the death of Christ or the resurrection of Christ? We know that the apostle put the emphasis on Christ’s resurrection. The world believes that the Lord Jesus has died; but it is not easy for them to believe that He died to bear our sins. How do we know that the purpose of the Lord Jesus’ death was to bear our sins? The Lord Jesus’ resurrection solves this problem and proves that His death was for this purpose. The problem of sins was solved; therefore, He resurrected. When we tell someone that the Lord Jesus has died for his sins, and if the Holy Spirit reveals the resurrected Christ to him, he will believe. Only the resurrection of Christ can prove that Christ’s death is for our sins.
Not only does the Lord Jesus’ resurrection prove that His death is for our sins, His resurrection also gives us a new life. The Lord Jesus had to die for us; He also resurrected for us. We are sinners; the Lord Jesus has died for and propitiated our sins. But can we live before God by our flesh? Can we sin again? The Lord Jesus’ death paid for our old debts, but His death cannot guarantee that we will not incur new debts. The Lord had to resurrect and put a new life into us so that we can live differently from before. Death clears our record of sins, whereas resurrection enables us to not sin again. The Lord Jesus not only died and propitiated our sins before God; He also resurrected and now lives in us, bearing our hardships and enabling us to overcome sins and temptations. Even though His death paid our old debts, we would still not have the strength to avoid new debts if the Lord Jesus had not resurrected. Therefore, He had to be raised in order to solve future problems. We not only have to believe that the Lord Jesus has borne our sins, but we also have to realize that He has resurrected and now lives in us. We are regenerated by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (1 Pet. 1:3). God has put a new life into us; this life is a resurrection life with no bounds, which will raise us in the same way Christ was raised.
Many people make a basic mistake of receiving only the work of the Lord Jesus’ death but not the work of His resurrection. Some Christians often feel that their circumstances are too difficult and their families have too many problems. Because they think the temptations are too real, they cannot overcome them. We have to be clear that even though the temptations are real, the Christ who dwells in us is also real. God puts us in difficult circumstances for two reasons: (1) He wants to prove to us the reality of the Christ who lives in us, and (2) He wants us to be satisfied with the reality of the Christ who lives in us. We can overcome sins not just once or twice but many times by the Christ who dwells in us. Many people only pay attention to an outward Savior and forget the Savior who lives in them. They only pay attention to the Savior at Golgotha but forget about the Savior who dwells in them. Yet the life within us is real and can overcome any temptation.
We have clearly seen that death has solved the problem of sins, and resurrection has given us a new life that enables us not to sin.
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