The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:19 Explained

1 Corinthians 15:19

KJV: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

YLT: if in this life we have hope in Christ only, of all men we are most to be pitied.

Darby: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are the most miserable of all men.

ASV: If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If  in  this  life  only  we have hope  in  Christ,  we are  of all  men  most miserable. 

What does 1 Corinthians 15:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

If the Christian"s hope in Christ is just what he or she can expect this side of the grave, that one deserves pity. Of course there are some benefits to trusting Christ as we live here and now (cf. 1 Timothy 4:8). However, we have to place these things in the balance with what we lose in this life for taking a stand for Him (cf. Philippians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 4:4-5; 1 Corinthians 9:25). If we have nothing to hope for the other side of the grave, the Christian life would not be worth living.
To summarize his argument, Paul claimed that if believers have no future, specifically resurrected bodies like Christ"s, we have no past or present as well. That Isaiah , we have no forgiveness of our sins in the past, and we have no advantage over unbelievers in the present.
"It is a point of very great importance to remember that the Corinthians were not denying the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; what they were denying is the resurrection of the body; and what Paul is insistent upon is that if a man denies the possibility of the resurrection of the body he has thereby denied the possibility of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and has therefore emptied the Christian message of its truth and the Christian life of its reality." [1]

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 15:12-28 - Christ's Resurrection Assures Ours
The argument here goes to show, first, that our resurrection is intimately connected with Christ's. There must be such a thing, because he, as the representative of humanity, arose from the dead, in a human body which, though more ethereal in its texture, was easily recognizable by those who had known Him previously. Mary was recalled by the well-known intonations of her Master's voice. Thomas was compelled to believe, in spite of his protestations to the contrary. In fact, all of our Lord's friends were convinced against themselves. They credited the tidings of the risen Lord as idle tales. Therefore, says the Apostle, it is far easier to admit that man will rise than to face the difficulties of a still buried Christ, a vain faith, a vain gospel, and a false testimony from so many accredited witnesses.
What a burst of music breaks forth in 1 Corinthians 15:20-28! The first fruit sheaf is the forerunner and specimen of all the harvest. In Christ the whole Church was presented to God, and we may judge of the whole by Him. Note the divine order in 1 Corinthians 15:23 : first, Christ; then, His own; lastly, the end, when death itself shall be destroyed, all enemies conquered, and the kingdom of an emancipated universe finally handed back by the Mediator to the Father. [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 15:19

We have hoped [ηλπικοτες εσμεν]
Periphrastic perfect active indicative. Hope limited to this life even if “in Christ.” [source]
Only [μονον]
Comparative form, not superlative, of old adjective ελεεινος — eleeinos to be pitied, pitiable. If our hope is limited to this life, we have denied ourselves what people call pleasures and have no happiness beyond. The Epicureans have the argument on us. Paul makes morality turn on the hope of immortality. Is he not right? Witness the breaking of moral ties today when people take a merely animal view of life. [source]
Most pitiable [ελεεινοτεροι]
Comparative form, not superlative, of old adjective ελεεινος — eleeinos to be pitied, pitiable. If our hope is limited to this life, we have denied ourselves what people call pleasures and have no happiness beyond. The Epicureans have the argument on us. Paul makes morality turn on the hope of immortality. Is he not right? Witness the breaking of moral ties today when people take a merely animal view of life. [source]
Only []
To be taken with the whole clause, at the end of which it stands emphatically. If in this life we are hopers in Christ, and if that is all. If we are not such as shall have hope in Christ after we shall have fallen asleep. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 15:19

Acts 5:20 Of this life []
The eternal life which Christ revealed. It is a peculiar use of the phrase, which is commonly employed in contrast with the life to come, as 1 Corinthians 15:19. Compare John 6:63, John 6:68. Not equivalent to these words of life. [source]
Acts 5:20 All the words of this life [παντα τα ρηματα της ζωης ταυτης]
Not just a Hebraism for “all these words of life.” Probably “this life” which the Sadducees deny and of which the angel is now speaking, this eternal life. (John 6:63, John 6:68; 1 Corinthians 15:19). [source]
Revelation 3:17 Miserable [ἐλεεινός]
Only here and 1 Corinthians 15:19. An object of pity ( ἔλεος ). [source]
Revelation 3:17 Have gotten riches [πεπλουτηκα]
Perfect active indicative of πλουτεω — plouteō old verb from πλουτος — ploutos used here of imagined spiritual riches which the church did not possess, just the opposite of church in Smyrna (poor in wealth, rich in grace). This church was in a rich city and was rich in pride and conceit, but poor in grace and ignorant of its spiritual poverty Old adjective from τλαω — tlaō to endure, and πωρος — pōros a callus, afflicted, in N.T. only here and Romans 7:24. Note the one article in the predicate with all these five adjectives unifying the picture of sharp emphasis on “thou” (συ — su), “thou that boastest.”Miserable Pitiable as in 1 Corinthians 15:19.Poor (πτωχος — ptōchos). See Revelation 2:9 for spiritual poverty. Perhaps some local example of self-complacency is in mind.Blind Spiritual blindness as often (Matthew 23:17), and note “eye-salve” in Revelation 3:18.Naked (γυμνος — gumnos). “The figure completes the picture of actual poverty” (Beckwith). See Revelation 3:15, Revelation 3:16. [source]
Revelation 3:17 Miserable [ελεεινος]
Pitiable as in 1 Corinthians 15:19.Poor (πτωχος — ptōchos). See Revelation 2:9 for spiritual poverty. Perhaps some local example of self-complacency is in mind.Blind Spiritual blindness as often (Matthew 23:17), and note “eye-salve” in Revelation 3:18.Naked (γυμνος — gumnos). “The figure completes the picture of actual poverty” (Beckwith). See Revelation 3:15, Revelation 3:16. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 15:19 mean?

If in the life this Christ having hope we are only more to be pitied than all men we are
εἰ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ Χριστῷ ἠλπικότες ἐσμὲν μόνον ἐλεεινότεροι πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐσμέν

ζωῇ  life 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ζωή  
Sense: life.
ταύτῃ  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
Χριστῷ  Christ 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: Χριστός  
Sense: Christ was the Messiah, the Son of God.
ἠλπικότες  having  hope 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἐλπίζω  
Sense: to hope.
ἐσμὲν  we  are 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
μόνον  only 
Parse: Adverb
Root: μόνον  
Sense: only, alone, but.
ἐλεεινότεροι  more  to  be  pitied 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural, Comparative
Root: ἐλεεινός  
Sense: to be pitied, miserable.
πάντων  than  all 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: πᾶς  
Sense: individually.
ἀνθρώπων  men 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
ἐσμέν  we  are 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.