Sermon | 1 Corinthians 15:29–34 | 2026 April 05

Title: Sermon | 1 Corinthians 15:29–34 | 2026 April 5

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:29–34 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 April 5

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:29–34.

Title: The Change Brought by the Resurrection (April 5, 2026 · Easter)

Theme Statement: Through being assured of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, our lives also ought to undergo a complete transformation.

Question: What kind of changes will Christ’s resurrection bring to us?

Transition: The resurrection of Christ brings us changes in the following aspects.

Keyword: Aspects.

Introduction: Today is the annual Easter. We come to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

1. Understand the Reality of the Resurrection.

The Lord Jesus has truly risen. This is what the Apostle Paul has been affirming positively in the previous section. Now, Paul allows everyone to reason backward from the observable facts to the conclusion that the Lord Jesus has risen. That is, to infer the conclusion from the phenomena. He enables his readers to infer from what they observe that, if there were no resurrection, the phenomena they observe would not exist.

First, regarding baptism for the dead. These “dead” refer to Christians. The baptism of Christians demonstrates the reality of the resurrection. If the Christian faith were merely a kind of knowledge or a kind of belief, there would be no necessity to perform such a religious ritual.

Religious rituals indicate that God values the baptism of believers, and believers also ought to value baptism, because baptism signifies that believers are to be united under the name of the Lord Jesus. According to Romans 6:3–4, baptism signifies that we are buried with Christ, and then we hope to be raised with Christ. This is why people eagerly come to be baptized. Or, from the negative perspective, the eagerness of people to be baptized proves the reality of Christ’s resurrection, because people also hope to be raised with Christ.

Second, the Apostle Paul allows everyone to infer from his own life-risking preaching of the gospel that Jesus has already risen. Or, it is the resurrection of Jesus that compels Paul to strive with all his might, even at the risk of his life, to preach the gospel—especially when he preached in Ephesus.

Ephesus was a great city in Asia. Outside the city was the temple of Artemis. When Paul preached the gospel there, many extraordinary signs and wonders were manifested. Why? Because the people in that region were especially superstitious regarding the power of Artemis. God, through Paul, broke the superstition toward Artemis in Ephesus and even throughout the region of Asia. This naturally provoked resistance from the local people (Acts 19).

Paul then says, I myself am a witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. How did I change from being a Pharisee, a persecutor of Christianity, into a warrior who strives to preach the gospel? From my risking my life to preach the gospel, you can know that the Lord Jesus has risen. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus has become the driving force behind my earnest preaching of the gospel. Paul uses “facing death every day” to describe his effort. What causes a person to fearlessly face death and strive to preach the gospel? The reason Paul gives is: because Jesus Christ has risen.

On the other hand, the power I manifested in Ephesus also proves that the Lord Jesus has risen. If the Lord Jesus had not risen, how could I possibly possess such power?

In this passage, the Apostle Paul says that the eagerness of believers to be baptized, my (Paul’s) earnest preaching of the gospel, and the power I (Paul) manifested in Ephesus are all evidence of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus gives us boldness and courage.

2. Adjust the Coordinates of the Believer’s Present Life.

Paul says that if there is no resurrection, then life should consist of eating and drinking. That is to say, if there is no eternal life, no coming world, no eternal punishment and reward, then people should eat and drink, because that is the only meaningful thing for humanity.

Therefore, Paul is redefining the value of life for us. For us, what is valuable? This question depends on the standard. If there is no eternal life, then eating, drinking, and pleasure are the most valuable things. But if there is eternal life, the standard changes. Then offering ourselves for the Lord, striving to pursue faith, longing for and seeking the heavenly kingdom, living a moral life, and fighting against sin become the only valuable and correct choices. And the foundation of all this is that the Lord Jesus has truly risen.

Conversely, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus redefines human values. Everything in the Bible is recorded and prophesied, and the Lord Jesus has fulfilled all the prophecies. His resurrection has become an indelible monument in human history, causing all humanity to rethink the meaning and value of its existence.

There are two kinds of life. If there is no resurrection, life is indulgence; it is loving everything in the world. But if there is resurrection, then the most meaningful and valuable thing in our life is to risk our lives to obey God’s law. To obey God’s law requires risking one’s life, and risking one’s life means that we must cast off all false values of this world and seek the true value.

The resurrection of Jesus gives us a firm stance that we must fight against sin and provides us with a reason to live a holy life. Because ultimately, people must give an account to God, be responsible to God, and live for God.

The Lord’s resurrection gives us the hope of resurrection, enabling us to redefine the value and direction of our present life. Today is Easter, and it also happens to be Qingming Festival. The overlap of these two festivals is not accidental but ordained by God before the foundation of the world. God intends for us, in the context of the Chinese Qingming Festival, to reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection. This is indeed deeply purposeful.

Qingming Festival commemorates Qu Yuan, who wrote “Heavenly Questions.” The answers to the “Heavenly Questions” are all found in the Bible. During Qingming, Chinese people mourn and make offerings to their ancestors, but how do they know where their ancestors have gone? Truly, may God have mercy and grant grace, that we may all, in this truth, readjust the coordinates of our lives and take seriously the question of eternal life.

3. Live a Holy and Beautiful Life.

Because there is resurrection, we must not deceive ourselves or indulge the desires of the flesh. The Greco-Roman culture, especially in the great city of Corinth, was characterized by immorality. The Romans regarded bodily pleasure as the greatest happiness.

But here Paul warns that, according to the law of the kingdom of heaven, immorality corrupts good conduct, is detestable to God, and is a violation of the seventh commandment. The resurrection of Christ reminds believers that they must hold fast to the law and live a holy life, so that their conduct may be worthy of the calling they have received.

Be sober-minded and do what is right; do not go on sinning. These people do not know God. They think that the resurrection of the dead has nothing to do with their daily lives, and that people only need to wait to go to heaven.

Paul says that such people are mistaken. To know God means to live according to God’s will and according to the commandments He has prescribed. To indulge oneself in lust and to sin freely is a manifestation of not knowing God. God will absolutely not approve of such behavior. What God desires is that after a person is baptized, there is a change in conduct. Paul knew that in Corinth there were many people who knew nothing about the resurrection and what it meant for themselves. They continued to act recklessly and indulge their desires. Therefore, Paul warns them, causing them to be ashamed before his warning.

In the Lord, we are to live a victorious, holy, and joyful life. As we have often said in many contexts, the focus of the Christian life is how to live a holy life in this present world. We must distinguish between the means of grace and a holy life. In every aspect of life, we must practice God’s law. Externally, life itself is our main battlefield; internally, the heart is our main battlefield.

The means of grace are all given to help us fight these victorious battles. The resurrection of Christ brings the life of heaven, a holy life. Therefore, while we are on earth, we must live a heavenly life—that is, in our daily life, to diligently and wholeheartedly obey the law. In marital relationships, in parent-child relationships, in work and in every aspect of life, we obey the law. Since Christ has risen, can we still love the world? Can we still love power? Can we still love money? Can we still love the so-called wisdom of men?

Our mission is to become, before the world, a glorious witness to the resurrection of Christ.

Conclusion: In the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we are to live a holy life that is pleasing to God.

Questions:

1. Is the fact of Jesus’ resurrection real to me?

2. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to me?

3. How do I live out the life of the risen Christ in my daily life?