3. Not in Vain
Why an Empty Tomb Means that Preaching, Trusting, and Serving Jesus Is Not Empty
In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul goes to great lengths to argue that the resurrection of Jesus is absolutely essential, with massive implications for his life and the lives of his readers. One of the cohesive themes of the chapter is the concept of futility or lack of purpose that arises if there is no resurrection (which itself denies that Jesus rose from the dead).
Paul uses two Greek words related to this concept. In verse 2, he speaks of the opposite of holding tightly to the word he had preached as being believing “in vain” (eikē). BDAG lists the 1 Cor. 15:2 use of this adverb under the possible definition of “without careful thought, without due consideration, in a haphazard manner,” although it also acknowledges that another option is also probable: “being without purpose, to no purpose.”
The other Greek word is kenos, which occurs four times (vv. 10, 14 [2x], 58). BDAG identifies its usage here as signifying that which is “devoid of intellectual, moral, or spiritual value, empty” and thus “without content, without any basis, without truth, without power.” It is interesting that it is also used elsewhere for workers returning from fields with nothing, or “empty-handed” (Mark 12:3; Luke 20:10, 11) and for plans that will come to nothing (Acts 4:25, citing Psalm 2:1).
Paul repeatedly hammers the implications of the reality of resurrection. In 15:12-19, he explains that no resurrection results in his preaching and their faith both being empty (15:14), with other sad implications as well: he’s a false witness, they’re still in their sins, the dead have no hope, and we’re in the worst pitiable condition imaginable.
The fact that Christ IS risen, on the other hand, has implications as well (1 Cor. 15:20ff.). One of the most poignant is the connection he makes between the grace of God upon him not being in vain and his readers’ labor in the Lord not being in vain. In addition to kenos, the abundance of perissoteros (adverb) in v. 10 and perisseuō (in participle form) in v. 58 along with the hard, toiling labor of kopiaō (verb) in v. 10 and kopos (noun) in v. 58 brings the matter full circle for Paul and his readers.
The resurrection fueled Paul’s work, by the grace of God, which was not empty, but productive in Paul’s life (15:10). Take it away, and there was no reason for his preaching and labors and suffering. But it is a reality, and it motivated his abundant labors. Therefore, for the Corinthians—and for those of us who believe and read today—the empty tomb means that preaching, believing, and being abundant in laboring in the work of the Lord are not empty exercises (15:58).
CHRIST IS RISEN!