14 and if Christ hath not risen, then void 'is' our preaching, and void also your faith, 15 and we also are found false witnesses of God, because we did testify of God that He raised up the Christ, whom He did not raise if then dead persons do not rise; 16 for if dead persons do not rise, neither hath Christ risen, 17 and if Christ hath not risen, vain is your faith, ye are yet in your sins; 18 then, also, those having fallen asleep in Christ did perish; 19 if in this life we have hope in Christ only, of all men we are most to be pitied.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:14-19
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
Having shown that Christ was risen, the apostle answers those who said there would be no resurrection. There had been no justification, or salvation, if Christ had not risen. And must not faith in Christ be vain, and of no use, if he is still among the dead? The proof of the resurrection of the body is the resurrection of our Lord. Even those who died in the faith, had perished in their sins, if Christ had not risen. All who believe in Christ, have hope in him, as a Redeemer; hope for redemption and salvation by him; but if there is no resurrection, or future recompence, their hope in him can only be as to this life. And they must be in a worse condition than the rest of mankind, especially at the time, and under the circumstances, in which the apostles wrote; for then Christians were hated and persecuted by all men. But it is not so; they, of all men, enjoy solid comforts amidst all their difficulties and trials, even in the times of the sharpest persecution.