1 Corinthians 15:17 (ASV)

Passage

and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 15:15 Yea, we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised.

1 Corinthians 15:16 For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised:

1 Corinthians 15:17 and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

1 Corinthians 15:18 Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

1 Corinthians 15:19 If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "christ", "hath", "been", "raised", "vain", and "sins". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "christ", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "For if the dead are not raised..." into verse 18's "Then they also that are fallen asleep...", so "faith" and "christ" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "christ" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.