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Is everyone awake?  The apostle Paul used the word awake in a metaphorical sense in I Cor. 15:33-34.  “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.”  Paul used the Greek word eknēphō which refers to a return to soberness of mind from the stupor consequent upon the influence of false doctrine.  The context shows that the false doctrine being taught at Corinth was that there was no resurrection from the dead (I Cor. 15:12).  Paul thoroughly answers this false doctrine in I Corinthians 15 showing the disastrous spiritual consequences of such a doctrine.
Stop Being Seduced
In I Cor. 15:33, Paul issues a negative imperative.  The KJV translates this phrase, “be not deceived.”  Paul commands that they cease to err, no longer be led astray, or stop being seduced. False doctrine seduces and deceives.  Evil communications is a direct reference to the associations, intercourse, or company that is kept with false teachers with whom they have become closely bound.  The warning is against allowing false teachers to influence their thought and their actions.  False doctrine corrupts godly character.  When truth is corrupted, character is corrupted (sin abounds).  The doctrine of the resurrection affirms life after death.  At death, the soul is separated from the body (James 2:26). When Jesus died, His body was placed in a tomb and His spirit/soul went to paradise (Luke 23:43; 23:53).  When He was resurrected, His soul and body were reunited (a miracle).  The doctrine of the resurrection implies the intermediate state of the soul.  This also indicates that human beings are a duality–body and soul.  Consequently, the doctrine of the resurrection proves that we have a soul.  The soul of man never dies.  To deny the resurrection, is to affirm a materialistic view of human anthropology.  It is the view of the atheist who affirms, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”  An atheist does not believe that there is any life beyond the grave and so advances a philosophy of hedonism.  This belief produces a spiritual stupor from which we must awake if we are going to be right with God.
Awake to Righteousness
Awake is a positive imperative.  The Greek word translated awake is found only here in the New Testament.  The word means to become sober.  It is used metaphorically in this context.  False doctrine inebriates the mind and causes a spiritual stupor or intoxication that puts us to sleep (unaware, ignorant, vulnerable).  The knowledge of God enlightens the mind and arouses us out of this stupor.  Awaking to righteousness is accomplished by turning to God and the truth.  Righteousness is truth lived out in godly conduct.  Righteous conduct is defined by God through the moral and religious precepts given in His Word.  Truth produces moral power and godly character.  Paul rebukes the brethren at Corinth because some did not have the knowledge of God.  This reminds us of a similar rebuke that Jesus gave to the Sadducees because they denied the resurrection from the dead (Matt. 22:29).  Jesus told them that they erred not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  Ignorance of God and His truth contributes to spiritual stupor.  The knowledge of God is essential to awaken us to righteousness.  Paul states, “I speak this to your shame.”  They permitted false teachers to deceive them.  All false teachers and those who follow them are ignorant.  They rejected the doctrine of the resurrection thus denying the fact that they had a soul and their own salvation.  They corrupted themselves in ungodly living.
Awake to righteousness is a positive imperative that powerfully leads to overcoming false doctrine by adhering to the truth of God’s Word.  False doctrine seduces the soul and corrupts the whole person.  The knowledge of God is essential to righteousness living.  This is a message that all people need to hear and heed.