The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:11 Explained

1 Corinthians 15:11

KJV: Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

YLT: whether, then, I or they, so we preach, and so ye did believe.

Darby: Whether, therefore, I or they, thus we preach, and thus ye have believed.

ASV: Whether then it be I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore  whether  [it were] I  or  they,  so  we preach,  and  so  ye believed. 

What does 1 Corinthians 15:11 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Paul and the other apostles all believed and preached the same gospel. Paul did not proclaim a different message from what Peter, James , and the others did (cf. Galatians 2:1-10). This commonly agreed on message is what the Corinthians had believed when those who had ministered in Corinth had preached to them. By denying the resurrection the Corinthians were following neither Apollos, nor Cephas, nor Christ. They were pursuing a theology of their own.
The point of this section of verses was to present the gospel message, including the account of Jesus Christ"s resurrection, as what many reliable eyewitnesses saw and all the apostles preached. Paul did this to stress that Jesus Christ"s resurrection, which most of the Corinthian Christians accepted, had objective reality, not to prove that He rose from the dead. Even though Paul had a different background from the other apostles, he heralded the same message they did. Consequently his original readers did not need to fear that what they had heard from him was some cultic perversion of the truth. It was the true gospel, and they should continue to believe it.

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 15:1-11 - The Gospel: Christ Died And Rose Again
If 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 is a psalm of love, this chapter is a psalm of hope-a hope that cannot be ashamed. It is the most memorable argument in existence for the resurrection of the body. We need hardly stay to distinguish between this and the immortality of the soul. The former is distinctly a Christian teaching; the latter has been held by vast numbers outside of the Christian pale.
Notice that the Resurrection was primarily not a doctrine but a fact. It is not necessary to argue it, but simply to say that Christ arose, therefore all will arise, because Christ is the Son of man. Other religions rest on foundations of philosophy and metaphysics, but the empty grave in Joseph's garden is the keystone of the arch. If that cannot be maintained, as it was in the primitive Church, the whole superstructure crumbles like a mass of clouds. But it can be maintained. There is even more evidence for it than for any fact of modern history. Men may as soon refuse to believe in the battle of Waterloo as in our Lord's resurrection. The testimony of Paul is most important, because he knew all that could be alleged or argued against it by the Pharisees. Indeed, he had himself opposed it. Note that the words, not I, 1 Corinthians 15:10, are also in 1 Corinthians 7:10 and Galatians 2:20. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 15

1  By Christ's resurrection,
12  he proves the necessity of our resurrection,
16  against all such as deny the resurrection of the body
21  The fruit,
35  and the manner thereof;
51  and of the resurrection of those who shall be found alive at the last day

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 15:11

So we preach, and so ye believed [ουτως κηρυσσομεν και ουτως επιστευσατε]
This is what matters both for preacher and hearers. This is Paul‘s gospel. Their conduct in response to his message was on record. [source]
Ye believed [ἐπιστεύσατε]
When the Gospel was first preached: with a suggestion of a subsequent wavering from the faith. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 15:11 mean?

Whether therefore I or they thus we preach and you believed
εἴτε οὖν ἐγὼ εἴτε ἐκεῖνοι οὕτως κηρύσσομεν καὶ ἐπιστεύσατε

εἴτε  Whether 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: εἴτε  
Sense: if … if.
οὕτως  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὕτως  
Sense: in this manner, thus, so.
κηρύσσομεν  we  preach 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: κηρύσσω  
Sense: to be a herald, to officiate as a herald.
ἐπιστεύσατε  you  believed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Corinthians 15:11?

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