do not be deceived: “bad company ruins good morals. “wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. for some have no knowledge of God. i say this to your shame. [1 corinthians 15:33-34] 

what do we really believe?

do we believe the resurrection of Jesus really happened?

will all believers really be raised to life?

is there really more to life than what we see in the here and now?

this passage from paul cuts to the heart of what it means to be a believer, asking eternity-altering questions and demanding honest answers.

we need to stay awake 

these two verses sit within a larger context of paul discussing the realities of the dead being raised to life. The resurrection is not only historically true, but it is our enduring hope! we find joy and peace in this life not in what we have to gain here, but in fervent anticipation of and striving for what lies ahead (philippians 3:13-14).

yet the church in corinth had grown complacent. as if they are walking around in ‘a drunken stupor’, they had lost their focus on the glorious future of believers and were aimlessly creating their own flawed theology. they had grown to deny the reality that believers would be bodily resurrected, just as Christ had been (I corinthians 15:20-23).

a knowledge of God 

the church in corinth had been led astray into theological arguments, foolish ideas, and cultural influences, all working to ruin their ‘good morals’. as paul states, this is all ‘to their shame’.

let us be different! let us embrace this moment to live in the unchanging knowledge of God, and the simple truth of the gospel. the kingdom of God is eternal, and just as Christ was raised from the dead to eternal life, so shall we be.

~ jason soroski