If Christ has not been raised may be expressed also as “If God has not raised Christ.”

Is futile is similar in meaning to “empty” in verse 14. This phrase may be rendered as “your faith in Christ is useless” or “your faith in Christ will gain you nothing.”

Verses 17b-18 show that the purpose of preaching about the resurrection and believing in it is that people should be saved from their sins and from being destroyed at the last judgment.

Still in your sins: “lost” (Good News Bible) is implied. In the context of this verse the phrase suggests a condition of domination by sin. Other possible renderings are “you are still under the power of sin,” or “sin still rules your lives,” or even “your sins have not been forgiven.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .