The Gospel was Preached
Truth Taught- Christ died was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures and according to many eyewitnesses.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
As we begin reading this section, we are witnessing a great shift in subject matter. For some it is an abrupt shift with no connection to the previous subject matter. After all, what does the resurrection have to do with speaking gifts.
The connection to the previous subject matter is the fact that preaching is how they heard and understood the Gospel of Christ. The speaking gift of preaching is what Paul used to deliver the Gospel to them and when they heard it, they believed. It was not speaking in tongues that delivered the Gospel but preaching.
In addition, the subject matter that Paul is going to remind the Corinthians of is the Gospel and all its amazing facets. This can only be accomplished through preaching and teaching. He will reestablish first their commonly held ground which is Christ and His resurrection. This is what he has already taught them.
So, Paul is showing the superiority of preaching to all other speaking gifts because it was preaching that relayed the Gospel and all its details to them. They were saved through preaching the Gospel.
That’s the connection to the last section and now Paul moves on to address another question they posed to him.
1 Corinthians 15:12 (ESV)
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
What Paul is addressing is the fact that there were some within the Church of Corinth denying the fact that there will be a future bodily resurrection of all believers.
To recreate the scenario would be to look again at the faulty thinking of those who were placing themselves in leadership roles within the Church. Here again we see the eschatological women who were teaching that to be spiritual means all things physical are evil. Marriage is unspiritual, Submission is unspiritual, maintaining proper roles is unspiritual. After all, as they taught, we are souls without the confines of physical commitments and roles. To serve Christ is to be taken into the realm of the future kingdom. They taught that was now. The last thing wanted to believe that our bodies would be raised from the dead. To them, life in the Spirit meant a final ridding oneself of the body. They were still holding on to paganism which taught that the physical body or the flesh is the source of evil.
1 Corinthians 15:1–11 (ESV)
15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
1. What God Does When the Gospel is Preached (15:1-2)
15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
Here he is reminding them of something they should have already known. For some reason they had been so caught up in their spiritual gift frenzy, that they had overlooked or forgotten that the Gospel was preached to them. With intelligible language they could all understand the Gospel was preached.
They heard the Gospel now notice what God did as a result of the preacher being sent to them and preaching the Gospel…
They received the Gospel– A past effect. They heard, understood and received.
They are standing on the Gospel– a present effect. They are currently standing as Christians believing the Gospel.
They will be saved by believing the Gospel– This is present and future. Salvation is now and is being completed and will be finalized when Jesus returns.
So, Paul’s point here is that believing the Gospel is their very existence as Christians. To not believe is to be lost.
There is truth for all of us here. We too must receive, stand on, and be saved by believing the Gospel. We must continue to believe, we read here hold fast to the Gospel.
Are you holding fast to the Gospel? Are you persevering to the end?
2. The Summary of the Gospel (15:3-4)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
The Apostle also received the Gospel for himself and is now passing it on to them.
Let’s see the testimony of Scripture about Jesus’ death and resurrection…
A. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
Here we see the affirmation or declaration of the atonement. Why did Jesus die on the cross? Why did He endure such hostility from the Jews and from Rome? Why was He nailed to the cross, raised up to die? We are told the reason…for our sins.
This account of the Gospel is founded on the fact that our sin had separated us from God. There was nothing we could do to mend that severed bond. Jesus came and died our death and by His death our penalty for sin is removed.
Jesus’ death was for us. He died the penalty our sin required. His death was for us. That’s why at the last supper, Jesus made sure the disciples understood that what was getting ready to take place had a divine purpose…
Luke 22:19 (ESV)
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
His death was for us because it took away our sin, all of our sin. This is the doctrine of substitionary atonement… We can only pay the price of sin on our own by being punished and placed in hell for all eternity. But God’s Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth to pay the price of our sins. Because He did this for us, we now have the opportunity to not only have our sins forgiven, but to spend eternity with Him. In order to do this, we must place our faith in what Christ did on the cross. We cannot save ourselves; we need a substitute to take our place. The death of Jesus Christ is the substitutionary atonement.
Paul then adds a very important phrase…According to the Scriptures. By this we see that all Jesus did for us was planned and prophesied of in the Old Testament…that’s the Scriptures Paul refers to, the OT.
Isaiah 53:4–6 (ESV)
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
There is substitutionary atonement spelled out in the OT Scriptures.
B. Christ was buried and raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
The next point he makes is concerning the fact that Christ was buried. What we must see here is that Jesus’ dead corpse was laid to rest in the tomb. This is an objective reality, it really happened. Jesus really died and was buried in the tomb.
We also see that Jesus was raised from the dead. Literally, the Greek has it as He has been raised, which means He was raised and still remains in that condition even to this day. Jesus lives.
That Jesus was raised according to the Scriptures show us that the resurrection of Christ was also planned and prophesied about in the OT.
Psalm 16:9–10 (ESV)
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
Acts 2:25–33 (ESV)
25 For David says concerning him,
“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
C. Christ Appeared in Accordance with the Eyewitnesses (15:5-7)
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles
The OT bears prophetic witness to our Lord’s death and resurrection. The NT bears witness to the facts of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Now we see that there are also eyewitnesses to Jesus being alive after His death on the cross.
He appeared to Peter. Go speak with him.
He appeared to the Apostles. Go speak with them.
He also appeared to over 500 other witnesses.
Here is court evidence. 500 people saw the murderer pull the trigger. They saw the smoke from the gun. Heard the bang of gunpowder. Saw the recoil of the weapon. Smelled the spent gunpowder. Saw the victim step back as he was hit, saw the blood, and watched him fall to the ground and saw him die. However, the alleged murderer says he did not do it. Who do you believe? Well, a just court would side with the 500 credible witnesses over the one who claims innocence.
This is what Paul is doing here. At the time he wrote this, there were some of those 500 witnesses you could go a speak with them.
Then James and then finally, Jesus appeared to Paul.
3. The Testimony of Another Apostle, Untimely Born (15:8-10)
8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
Why does Paul mention himself as further proof of the resurrection of Christ?
He was eyewitness to Jesus being alive after the resurrection like all the rest and he alone was witness of Jesus being alive after the ascension. He saw Jesus after He ascended to heaven. Paul’s conversion and eyewitness account of Jesus was post ascension.
Acts 9:3–9 (ESV)
3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
4. Testimony from the Impact of the Gospel (15:11)
11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
There is one common message, the Gospel that is believed. From the beginning to now, the message of the Gospel has not changed.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
What is the right response to this message of the Gospel? Don’t walk away saying that’s nice. You see this message is for you today. This message of the Gospel is for everyone in this room to believe. Understand your belief must be a continuing belief.
15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
Romans 3:23–26 (ESV)
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Stop putting it off, stop working for you salvation, stop!!! And begin truly trusting Christ alone…alone…alone to save you.
Resources Used:
1 Corinthians by Gordon Fee
1 Corinthians by John MacArthur
1 Corinthians by Vaughan-Lea
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