1 Corinthians 15:17

 1 Corinthians 15:17

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

a. ASV: And if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: And if Christ hath not risen, vain is your faith, ye are yet in your sins;  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is mere delusion [futile, fruitless], and you are still in your sins [under the control and penalty of sin];  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text: And if Christ did not rise, your belief is in vain; and you are yet in your sins.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

e. NLT: And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.  [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

1. “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”

a. And [Strong: 1161 dé, deh; a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:—also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. if [Strong: 1487 ei, i; a primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.:—forasmuch as, if, that, (al-)though, whether.]

c. Christ [Strong: 5547 Christós, khris-tos'; from G5548; anointed, i.e. the Messiah, an epithet of Jesus:—Christ.]

d. [be] not [Strong: 3756 ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare G3361) adverb; no or not:—+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

e. raised [Strong: 1453 egeírō, eg-i'-ro; probably akin to the base of G58 (through the idea of collecting one's faculties); to waken (transitively or intransitively), i.e. rouse (literally, from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figuratively, from obscurity, inactivity, ruins, nonexistence):—awake, lift (up), raise (again, up), rear up, (a-)rise (again, up), stand, take up.]

f. your [Strong: humōn, hoo-mone'; genitive case of G5210; of (from or concerning) you:—ye, you, your (own, -selves).]

g. [Strong: 3588. [hē] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [hē] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

h. faith [Strong: pístis, pis'-tis; from G3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:—assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.]

i. [is] vain [Strong: 3152 mátaios, mat'-ah-yos; from the base of G3155; empty, i.e. (literally) profitless, or (specially), an idol:—vain, vanity.]

j. ye are [Strong: 2075 esté, es-teh'; second person plural present indicative of G1510; ye are:—be, have been, belong.]

k. yet [Strong: éti, et'-ee; perhaps akin to G2094; "yet," still (of time or degree):—after that, also, ever, (any) further, (t-)henceforth (more), hereafter, (any) longer, (any) more(-one), now, still, yet.]

l.  in [Strong: en, en; a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between G1519 and G1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:—about, after, against, + almost, × altogether, among, × as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+ all means), for (… sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to, -wardly), × mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, × outwardly, one, × quickly, × shortly, (speedi-)ly, × that, × there(-in, -on), through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while, with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) preposition.]

m. your [Strong: humōn, hoo-mone'; genitive case of G5210; of (from or concerning) you:—ye, you, your (own, -selves).]

n. [Strong: 3588. [tais] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tais] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, Hē, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

o. sins [Strong: 266 hamartía, ham-ar-tee'-ah; from G264; a sin (properly abstract):—offence, sin(-ful).]

1). The King James is not the clearest verse in this most important statement. Jesus came out of the ground when we were declared justified.

a). YLT: Who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.

b). NASB95: He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

c). Legacy Standard Bible: He who was delivered over on account of our transgressions, and was raised on account of our justification.]

2). Our sin was laid on Jesus while he was on the cross.

a). Isaiah 53:5, 6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

b). 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

3). This is why Scripture says that Jesus was justified in Spirit.

a). 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

4). When the sin penalty was paid, when the justice of God was satisfied Jesus was justified and we were justified, and it is then that Jesus came out of the grave.

a). Isaiah 53:10, 11 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

53:11  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

5). The NKJV, Young’s and the New American Standard translations have it right.

a). [New King James Version] “…and was raised because of our justification.”

b). [Young’s Literal Translation] “…and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.”

d). [New American Standard Version] and was raised because of our justification.”

6). When Jesus was justified, we were justified, when Jesus was quickened, we were quickened, when Jesus was raised, we were raised.

a). Justified

(1) 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

(2) Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

3:26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

b). Quickened and Raised together  

(1) Ephesians 2:5, 6 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

(2) Though the debt has been paid for the whole world, for every human being, unless they get born again, the price Jesus paid will not benefit them, they will die lost and spend eternity in eternal torment.

c). Jesus was quickened, made alive, because Jesus bore our sin, Jesus became our sin. To the point that the type and foreshadow of our redemption in the Old Testament was a serpent on a pole.

(1) Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

(2) 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

(3) Numbers 21:4-9 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

21:5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there anywater; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

21:7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

21:8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.