What does 1 Corinthians 15:31 mean?
The mission to take the gospel to those who have never heard sometimes results in a dangerous and costly life. The apostles were especially persecuted and troubled. Paul knew this better than most (2 Corinthians 11:24–28). He has been constantly under threat from Jewish religious leaders and Roman government officials, in addition to continuing the often under-funded work of a traveling evangelist and missionary.Paul tells the Corinthians in this verse that he boasts about their coming to Christ as one of the success stories of his ministry. All of that would be worthless, he implies, if there was no resurrection from the dead. There would be no point to his dying "every day," likely meaning that he faced the real possibility of death constantly for the sake of Christ.
The point Paul makes here is one of his own sincerity. Would he continue to do any of this if Christ had not been resurrected and if none of those who follow Christ would be, either?
First Corinthians 15:12–34 describes all the implications for Christians if there is no resurrection, at all. Most importantly, that would mean that Christ was not raised from the dead. If Christ was not raised, then Paul's preaching of the gospel was false, and the faith of those who believed it was worthless. All remain in their sins. Christ, though, was raised from the dead, and when He returns for those who are His, all who have died in Christ will be resurrected to new life, as He was after the crucifixion. Finally, Christ will reign on earth before delivering the kingdom to the Father.
Paul provides thorough teaching about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. This is a direct counter to some group of Corinthians who did not believe in such a resurrection. He shows that natural death is not the end of life for Christians; it is the last step before receiving a glorified, resurrected body like that of the risen Christ. That ''spiritual'' body will be as different from our current bodies as a star is from a fish. In that moment, for all who have believed in Christ, living and dead, death will be defeated for good.
