Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 15:14
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian congregation while dismantling their denial of bodily resurrection, placing this verse at the pivot of his logical chain. He frames the resurrection not as a secondary doctrine but as the necessary foundation for the gospel message.
The words — κενὸν (kenon) literally means "void" or "empty," describing the state of apostolic proclamation when the resurrection fails. ἐγήγερται (egēgertai) is the perfect passive indicative of "has been raised," emphasizing a completed, irreversible divine action.
The thread — The conditional dependency of faith on the resurrection recurs in 1 Corinthians 15:17 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14. The historical reality of the raised Christ also grounds the future judgment described in Acts 17:31.
Why it lands — The text demands that readers evaluate their faith and the gospel message against the historical fact of Christ's resurrection. It requires abandoning abstract belief in favor of a faith anchored in a specific, verified event.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
- Acts 17:31 For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
- Matthew 15:9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
- James 2:20 O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless?
- Psalms 73:13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.
- Isaiah 49:4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
- Galatians 2:2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.
- Genesis 8:8 Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground.