Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.
—1 Corinthians 15:20
(I am allotting today’s space to words from the apostle Paul.)
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and . . . your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all man.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (1 Cor 15:13–14, 17–22).
Christ’s resurrection—and his promise
of ours—makes everything okay.