1 Corinthians 15:17 kjv
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 nkjv
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
1 Corinthians 15:17 niv
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 esv
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15:17 nlt
And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.
1 Corinthians 15 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Corinthians 15:14 | If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. | Uselessness of preaching |
| 1 Corinthians 15:2 | By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. | Salvation through the gospel |
| John 11:25 | Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life." | Christ's identity as resurrection |
| Acts 2:24 | But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death... | God raised Christ |
| Romans 4:25 | He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. | Raised for justification |
| Romans 10:9 | If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. | Confession and belief in resurrection |
| 1 Peter 1:3 | Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. | Resurrection as living hope |
| Acts 17:31 | For he has set a day when he will judge the world with righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. | Resurrection as proof of judgment |
| Hebrews 7:25 | Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he lives at all times to intercede for them. | Christ’s perpetual intercession |
| 1 Corinthians 1:18 | For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | Power of the cross |
| 1 Corinthians 6:14 | And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. | God raises believers |
| John 14:19 | Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I am living, you also will live. | Life through Christ's life |
| Romans 6:4-5 | We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. | Union with Christ's death & resurrection |
| Galatians 2:20 | I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. | Christ living in believers |
| 1 Corinthians 15:50 | I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. | Perishability vs. Imperishability |
| Philippians 3:10-11 | I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. | Knowing Christ's resurrection |
| Colossians 1:18 | And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. | Christ as firstborn from the dead |
| Ephesians 1:20 | which he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. | Resurrection as divine power demonstration |
| 1 John 3:16 | This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. | Christ's sacrifice and love |
| 1 Thessalonians 4:14 | For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. | Belief in Christ's death and resurrection linked to believers' future |
1 Corinthians 15 verses
1 Corinthians 15 17 Meaning
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15 17 Context
This verse is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, a significant discourse on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and its implications. The apostle Paul is addressing a crucial doctrinal issue that had arisen in the Corinthian church, where some members were apparently denying the resurrection of the dead. Paul establishes that the resurrection of believers is intrinsically linked to the resurrection of Christ. If Christ was not raised, then the very foundation of Christian faith and hope crumbles. This chapter powerfully defends the reality and necessity of the resurrection, explaining its effects on Christian life and future.
1 Corinthians 15 17 Word Analysis
- Ei (εἰ): If. A conditional particle, introducing a hypothetical case.
- ēgerθη (ēgerthē): was raised. The passive aorist indicative of the verb egeirō (ἐγείρω), meaning to rouse up, waken, raise up. Emphasizes God's active role in Christ's resurrection.
- Christos (Χριστός): Christ. The anointed one; the Messiah. His identity and role are central to this statement.
- ou (οὐ): not. A primary particle of negation.
- egegoṛei (egegōrei): has been raised. A perfect passive indicative of egeirō (ἐγείρω). This form highlights the continuing result and present reality of Christ's resurrection. Christ remains raised.
- mataios (ματαιός): futile, empty, void, useless. It signifies something without substance, without valid purpose, or ineffective.
- hē pistis (ἡ πίστις): the faith. From pistis (πίστις), meaning belief, trust, reliance, and the body of doctrines believed.
- humōn (ὑμῶν): your. Possessive pronoun.
- eti (ἔτι): still, yet. Indicates a present, ongoing state.
- en (ἐν): in. A preposition indicating presence within.
- hamartiais (ἁμαρτίαις): sins. The plural dative of hamartia (ἁμαρτία), meaning transgression, error, sin, moral failing.
- humōn (ὑμῶν): your.
Group Analysis:
- Ei Christos ou egegoṛei (εἰ Χριστὸς οὐ ἐγερθείς): "If Christ has not been raised." This conditional clause sets the entire premise of the verse. The absence of Christ's resurrection invalidates everything that follows.
- Mataios hē pistis humōn (ματαια ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν): "Your faith is futile." This is the immediate consequence if Christ's resurrection is denied. Faith is rendered worthless, lacking an object and power.
- Eti en hamartiais humōn (ἔτι ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν): "You are still in your sins." This is the deeper, spiritual consequence. Without the resurrection, Christ's atoning work on the cross remains incomplete and ineffective for the forgiveness of sins.
1 Corinthians 15 17 Bonus Section
The assertion that faith would be "futile" is a strong statement of the necessary coherence of Christian belief. Without the resurrection, the very person of Jesus as the Son of God is undermined. If He was merely a man who died and stayed dead, then He cannot be the savior described in Scripture. The resurrected Christ is the guarantor of eternal life and the mediator for believers. The absence of his resurrection means believers are still under the dominion of sin and death, without hope or mediator. This passage is foundational to apologetics for the Christian faith.
1 Corinthians 15 17 Commentary
The verse emphatically states that Christ's resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith. Without it, our belief is empty and lacks its salvific power. The resurrection confirms Christ's victory over death and sin, thereby validating his atoning sacrifice. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, his death was merely that of a historical figure, not the divine Redeemer. Furthermore, being "still in your sins" means that the penalty for sin has not been removed; forgiveness and reconciliation with God are impossible. The resurrection assures us that Christ's sacrifice was accepted by God, leading to justification and new life for believers.