Read 1 Corinthians 15:13–14

For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. (1 Corinthians 15:13–14)

Let’s assume for a minute that there is no resurrection. The apostle Paul follows that thought in his first letter to the Corinthians and comes up with at least six results. If Christ hadn’t been raised:

1. Our preaching is in vain.
2. Our faith is vain.
3. We are liars.
4. We are still in our sins.
5. The dead have perished forever.
6. We are to be pitied more than anyone else.

But no, says Paul. A thousand times no! For Christ has been raised from the dead!

On earth we live in fragile, perishable bodies. So if we are to enter an imperishable, permanent heaven, our bodies must change. God slips into the grave and miraculously changes the entire structure of the body. It becomes like His own Son’s resurrected body, and thus, we can live forever.

The mystery is that not all are going to pass into the Lord’s presence through death. Some will be alive at the time the Lord Jesus Christ returns for His own. And the dead will be raised, the living will be changed, and there will be this magnificent family reunion, and we will be home with Him forever. Though Christ we triumph!

The constantly recurring theme and the grand climax in the great symphony of the Gospel is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though we are undeserving, He died for our sins, and He arose from the dead, triumphant over sin and death. His triumph becomes our only hope of victory. Jesus Christ’s resurrection assures us of our own personal salvation.

Death is not the end but the beginning, because Jesus arose from the dead! We shall indeed be risen again. The perishable shall become imperishable, and the mortal will become immortal on that great day.

Soar we now where Christ has led,
Following our exalted Head;
Made like Him, like Him we rise,
Ours the cross,
the grave,
the skies,
Alleluia!
—CHARLES WESLEY, 1739

Adapted by Insight for Living staff from The Darkness and the Dawn by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2001 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. www.harpercollinschristian.com