1 Corinthians 15:1-8 - This Just In
- Chad Werkhoven
- Jul 23
- 4 min read
You're drowning in bad news. Take a moment to be reminded of the Good News.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (NIV)
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Canons of Dordt
Article 6: The Saving Power of the Gospel
What, therefore, neither the light of nature nor the law can do, God accomplishes
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
through the Word or the ministry of reconciliation.
This is the gospel about the Messiah,
through which it has pleased God to save believers,
in both the Old and the New Testaments.
Summary
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians was a brutal letter, both for Paul to write and for the Corinthians to receive, in which Paul needed to confront them on a host of sins and issues that had crept into their midst. But he ends this difficult correspondence with a reminder of the gospel he preached to them.
Like the Corinthians, all of the forces of evil in this world seek to pull you away from this truth, so you continually need this same reminder Paul gives here as to what is of first importance, that which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
It's interesting to see how Paul frames the purpose of the gospel. The NIV translates v2 as by this gospel you are saved, whereas other translations better render it as by this gospel you are being saved.
On one hand, your salvation is made fully complete the moment you put your faith into Christ; you are instantly justified (declared righteous). But on the other hand, passages like this remind us that salvation also involves a lifetime of sanctification (that is, becoming more like Christ), so you need to be continually reminded of what the gospel actually is in order to keep growing in it.
Dig Deeper
The first thing Paul makes clear as he begins to remind us of the gospel is that he didn't make it up. The gospel is not a recitation of the preacher's own insights and ideas. Rather, a true gospel preacher is one who simply passes on that which he received. In other words, a preacher just reports the news. At its core, that's exactly what the gospel is: good news.
The news, of course, is that Christ died for our sins. Certainly the details of this good news are reported in the New Testament, but there's nothing new about the purpose and need for this sacrificial death. Christ died, Paul reports, according to the Scriptures, a word which here refers to the Old Testament.
In the same way, those same Hebrew scriptures had indicated that the sacrificial Lamb would be buried and raised on the third day. David pointed to the resurrection in Psalm 16:10 and Jesus Himself referenced Jonah's 'resurrection' after three days in the belly of a huge fish as a prediction of the three days and nights He would spend in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).
Paul also adds credibility to this seemingly incredible good news that not only did our Savior die for our sins but that He also has been raised to new life. If just a handful of closely intertwined people had claimed to witness Jesus alive, it might make sense to chalk the whole story up as a conspiracy. But it wasn't just Cephas (Peter) and the Twelve who claimed to see the resurrected Savior. Five hundred others had as well. Finally, Paul, one who'd been diametrically opposed to the Twelve witnessed it as well.
The gospel isn't complicated. Jesus died, was buried, was raised, and appeared to hundreds of people. But since this world and your sinful nature seek to obfuscate these simple truths, make sure that you're reminded of it often.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose Scriptures -both the Old & New testaments - tell us everything we need to know about the gospel;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray the wisdom to keep yourself in environments where you're continually reminded of the true gospel;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Luke 19
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