1 Corinthians 15:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Since all our hope is contained in it, the devil rose strongly against it. Sometimes he completely denied the Resurrection, and sometimes he said that it had already taken place.

In the epistle to Timothy, Paul called this impious teaching gangrene and named those who spread it: "Their word will spread like cancer. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have strayed from the truth, saying that the Resurrection is already past, and they overthrow the faith of some" (2 Tim 2:17-18).

Sometimes they said this, and sometimes they said that the body would not rise, and that the Resurrection is the purification of the soul.

The evil demon suggested this teaching to them. He wished not only to deny the Resurrection, but also to present as a fable everything accomplished for us.

If they believed that there is no resurrection of bodies, he would little by little persuade them that Christ also did not rise. Then, advancing further from this, he would conclude that Christ did not come and did not accomplish what He accomplished.

Such is the malice of the devil. Therefore Paul calls his actions wiles (Eph 6:11), because he does not openly reveal what he wishes to accomplish, lest he be exposed.

Rather, assuming a certain mask, he produces something else. He is like a treacherous enemy who approaches a city and its walls, and secretly digs underneath, so that he may remain unnoticed and succeed in his undertaking.

But this wondrous and great man always uncovered such snares and pursued his evil wiles: "lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor 2:11).

So here also he uncovers all his malice, shows all his cunning, exposes all his intentions, and pursues everything with great care. Therefore he speaks about this subject after the others, because it is the most important and constitutes everything for us.

Look also at the Apostle's wisdom. First he establishes his own people, and then, as he continues his discourse, he strongly stops the mouths of those outside, the pagans.

He establishes his own not by rational demonstrations, but by pointing to the events, to what they themselves had already received and believed as actual.

This was very striking and sufficient for their persuasion. For if they did not believe after this, they would no longer be disbelieving Paul, but themselves. This would serve for their condemnation, since they had once received and afterward fallen away.

Therefore he begins his discourse from this point, showing that there is no need for other witnesses to prove the truth of his words besides the very people falling into error.

But so that what I have said may be clearer, we must hear the Apostle's own words. What are they? "Moreover, brethren," he says, "I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you."

Do you see with what meekness he begins? Do you see how, at the very beginning, he suggests that he is not teaching anything new or strange?

Whoever speaks about something already known but later forgotten is only reminding others of it by his words.

By calling them brethren, he confirms his words in no small measure. We became brethren in no other way than through the divine economy of Christ's Incarnation.

By this name, on the one hand, he humbles and calms them. On the other, he reminds them of innumerable blessings.

The following expression also serves as confirmation. Which one? The preaching of the Gospel. The essence of the Gospel is that God became man, was crucified, and rose.

Gabriel preached this Gospel to the Virgin. The prophets and all the Apostles proclaimed this to the whole world.

"Which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain."

Do you see how he calls them themselves as witnesses to his words? He does not say, "which you heard," but, "which you received." He demands from them something like a pledge.

He also shows that they were persuaded to receive this not by word alone, but by deeds, signs, and wonders. Therefore they must hold firmly to it.

After reminding them of the past, the Apostle next points to the present: "in which also you stand," he says. He anticipates them by showing that they cannot deny it, even if they very much wish to.

Therefore at the beginning he did not say, "I teach you," but, "I preached the Gospel to you," that is, what is already known.

How, then, does he call those who are wavering standing? He assumes the appearance of ignorance for their benefit, just as he does with the Galatians, though in another way.

There it was not fitting to assume the appearance of ignorance, and therefore he speaks differently: "All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse" (Gal 3:10).

He does not say, "You understand nothing else," because their error was known and obvious. Instead, he gives assurance about the future. Though it is unknown, he does this to dispose them more favorably toward himself.

Here, however, he assumes the appearance of ignorance and says, "in which also you stand." Then he reminds them of the benefit: "by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you."

Consequently, the instruction now offered is only an explanation and interpretation. You do not need me, he says, to teach you the doctrine itself, but to remind you of it and correct you.

He says this because he does not wish to shame them suddenly.

What does "as I preached to you" mean? It means, in the way I preached to you the reality of the Resurrection. You do not seem to doubt that the Resurrection occurred.

Perhaps you only wish to understand more clearly what was said. This I will do. As for the doctrine itself, I see clearly that you hold it.

Then, lest after his words, "in which also you stand," they become careless, he again instills fear in them: "if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain."

By this he shows that the evil concerns the chief matter. The issue is not something of little importance, but the whole faith.

Here he speaks of this briefly. Later, becoming inflamed, he cries out openly and says, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain. You are still in your sins."

But at the beginning he did not speak in this way, because it was more beneficial to proceed calmly and little by little.

By calling them brethren, he partly humbled them and partly reminded them of that through which we became brethren: the manifestation of Christ in the flesh, in which they might have ceased to believe.

He also reminded them of baptism, which is the image of the Lord’s burial and resurrection.

By the name Gospel, he also reminded them of the countless good things that we received through the Incarnation and Resurrection of the Lord.

“Which also you received.” He did not say, which you heard, but, which you received. For they received it not by word only, but also through deeds and miracles.

He also said this to persuade them to hold it as something long ago received.

“In which also you stand.” Although they were wavering, he says that they stood firm in it. He intentionally presents himself as not knowing, and forestalls them, so that they could not deny it, even if they greatly wished to do so.

Among the Corinthians they loved to eat and drink to the full at table. Sometimes propriety was violated even in church or at the agape meal (1 Cor 11:17-22). The same is repeated even now. Among the Corinthians there were many false teachers (1 Cor 4:15). There are not a few even now. Among them unbelief was voiced concerning the life beyond the grave and the resurrection of the dead. Even the Resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself was denied. And have these same thoughts not wandered through the later centuries of Christianity, and even now? Do they not disturb Christian souls even today? Thus, at the end of his First Epistle, or letter, to the Corinthians, the holy Apostle Paul had to remind them of the chief Christian teaching. With fatherly love he had to impress on them urgently that they should not be carried away by false teachings flattering the senses. They must not fall away from the faith, since it is not hard to waver in convictions, especially when one's moral life is not pure. In Corinth some suspected the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. They said that it had scarcely happened at all. But the teaching on Christ's Resurrection, Orthodox Christians, is fundamental in the work of our salvation. If Christ has not risen, then He has not raised us with Himself. Then He is not the Redeemer. Then He is not the Son of God, the Almighty. Consequently our faith and our moral struggles, founded on faith in Christ, are vain labor. The struggle of good against the sinful inclinations of our nature would be in vain. If Christ has not risen, then we too shall not rise to blessed life. Why then should we now weary and mortify ourselves, and suffer for the purity of our convictions? Such are the thoughts to which a single doubt about Christ's Resurrection leads. The Apostle, knowing of this doubt among the Corinthians, writes to them not as a father only, but as their friend and brother. Chapter 15:1. Brethren, I now remind you in writing of the Gospel concerning Christ, His Godhead and His manhood. I already preached this Gospel to you orally while living among you and ordering the Church made from you. Then you received this good tidings about the Godmanhood of Jesus Christ, His redeeming death, and His saving Resurrection. In it you were established, not only by my words, but also by many works, miracles, and wondrous gifts of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 12:12). What edification should each of us draw for our private life from the apostolic reading explained above? First, we must always fulfill our duties honestly, even when our labor is not fully appreciated. Second, we must sometimes give up even our private rights, so that greater evil and harm to the common work may not occur. Third, we must be patient and cautious when we see malice and envy directed against our position. Fourth, we must never condemn other people or calculate their means of livelihood. We must never envy the prosperity of others who labor honestly. Let everyone try to labor honestly and zealously, and to preserve his hard-earned coin. Then he will learn the value of labor, the importance of earnings, and the benefit of thrift. We must promote the welfare of our neighbor by every lawful means. Fifth, we must strive to pay those who work for our benefit worthily and without offense. For Christ said, The laborer is worthy of his food (Mt 10:10).

Then he says, “if you hold fast,” that is, if only you hold to that foundation, namely, the resurrection of the dead, and hold to it without doubt.

“Unless you believed in vain.” Otherwise, without this dogma, you believed vainly and uselessly. Without this, your faith is empty and unprofitable.

Having begun his discourse in this way, he then reminds the Corinthians of what he had preached to them before, saying:

Then he unfolds the dogmatic foundation of our future bodily glorification from the properties of the second Adam, our new forefather (1 Cor 15:47-50).

Afterward he speaks of the fate of the bodies that will not have to experience death before Christ’s coming. He concludes with a song of victory over death and a call to stand firm in Christian hope and Christian piety (1 Cor 15:51-58).

The truth of Christ’s Resurrection, established by eyewitnesses (1 Cor 15:1-11).

1 Cor 15:1-4. Having reminded the Corinthians that the essence of the Gospel preached to them consisted precisely in this, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, the Apostle then begins to enumerate eyewitnesses of this Resurrection.

Clearly, the thought that some Corinthians had only supposedly accepted Christianity was not without cause. Yet the Apostle does not immediately expose these erring ones.

Some of them did not believe in the resurrection of the dead at all, while others were only perplexed.

In keeping with the deepest importance of the teaching on the resurrection, the Apostle unfolds it in sequence.

First he establishes the certainty of Christ’s Resurrection (verses 3-11). Then, on this foundation, he builds various proofs of the universal resurrection (verses 12-34).

Next he describes it (verses 35-53). Finally, he expresses a feeling of triumph over death and stirs Christians to the same (verses 54-58).

Saint John Chrysostom explains why the Apostle teaches so fully about the resurrection of the dead. He says, “The Corinthians disagreed concerning the teaching on the resurrection.

Since all our hope is contained in it, the devil fiercely rises against it. Sometimes he denied the resurrection entirely; at other times he said that it had already taken place (2 Tim 2:17).

The evil demon suggested such teaching to them, wishing not only to deny the resurrection, but also to present as a fable all that was accomplished for us.

For if they believed that there is no resurrection of bodies, then little by little he would persuade them that Christ also did not rise.

From this he would further draw the conclusion that Christ did not come and did not accomplish what He accomplished. Such is the malice of the devil.

But Saint Paul always uncovered his snares and pursued his devices (2 Cor 2:11). So here too he uncovers all the devil’s wickedness and shows all his craftiness.

He speaks of this subject after the others because it is the most important and constitutes everything for us.”

Here, however, he speaks of it in general, though with the intention of reminding them especially of what the Gospel chiefly turned upon.

“The essence of the Gospel consists in this: that God became man, was crucified, and rose again” (Saint Chrysostom).

This was always the first word of the Gospel, and Saint Paul wishes to remind them of it.

“Which also you received.” I preached the Gospel, and you received it. If I had only preached and you had not received, perhaps you would have difficulty remembering.

But since you received it, it is difficult for you not to remember. What I remind you of is the foundation of faith and the cause of your receiving it.

“In which also you stand.” You not only received the Gospel, but you also stand in it. Εστηκατε means that you stood, became established, were confirmed, or have been confirmed.

One may receive another thing and place it in a treasury, but the Gospel is not like this. If it is received, it already becomes the spirit of life.

So it is with you: it is active in you. By it you live and breathe.

There is no labor in remembering what is always before one’s eyes.

“By which also you are saved.” Formerly you were perishing, but now you are being saved.

You see and recognize that you have come out of the abyss of perdition and are on the saving path. You are assured that, if you abide on the path to the end, you will obtain eternal salvation.

Consequently, the Gospel is such a thing as must be dear, as dear as life, and as eternal life. How could one fail to remember it?