The central truth of 1 Corinthians 15 is that Jesus was raised from the dead, and we who receive and continue in the gospel will share in His resurrection life.

But it seems that some at Corinth had denied this wonderful truth. That’s clear from verse 12: “How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” They denied that believers will rise from the dead and share a glorious new life with Christ.

This was not unique to Corinth. There were false teachers in the early church who taught that the resurrection had already happened. Paul refers in 2 Timothy to “Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (2:17-18).

If someone asked these teachers, “Don’t you believe that there will be a resurrection for us?” they would say, “Yes, of course we do. But the resurrection has already happened. If you are a believer, you have already risen to a new life in Christ.” And of course that is true. The problem was that they denied a future resurrection.

If someone denies the future resurrection of believers, they have to reinterpret the resurrection of Jesus. And this is Paul’s point: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised” (1 Cor. 15:13).

Do you believe in a future resurrection for all Christian believers?