May 26
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the Gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
Through the preaching of the apostle Paul, the congregation had been established in the city of Corinth. However, it was not a perfect congregation. Incidentally, the sinful nature of people and the devil will see to it that no congregation is ever perfect! The apostle Paul had to deal with many difficulties that arose in the Corinthian congregation. There was strife as a result of people’s sinful pride, which resulted in division.
In the final chapter of Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, he dealt with doubts and questions about one of the chief teachings of the Christian faith – namely, the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of the body of Christian believers. He dealt with the issue head-on! “If Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” 1 Corinthians 15:12.
Paul reminded the Corinthians that he had preached the Gospel to them, and that they had publicly given evidence that they received it. Paul added that it is through faith in the Gospel that people are saved. He told the Corinthians that they would be saved by holding fast to the Gospel, “Unless you believed in vain.” Faith in the Gospel is more than merely mumbling a few pious thoughts. Faith in the Gospel is a firm trust in God’s promise of the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation gained for us through the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul repeats what he had preached in the past: “I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” Paul delivered to them the salvation truths recorded in Holy Scripture. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” For example, go to the prophet Isaiah in Scripture. He wrote, “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,” Isaiah 53:6. “He was buried.” Isaiah wrote, “They made His grave with the wicked,” Isaiah 53:9.
Paul continues, “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” It was foretold by both the psalmist and Job that we would have a risen Redeemer and a living Lord. The psalmist wrote, “You will not leave my soul in hell, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption,” Psalm 16:10. Job wrote, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold, and not another,” Job 19:25-27.
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, He said, “I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” Exodus 3:6. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died previously. When the Sadducees were trying to find fault with Jesus concerning the resurrection, Jesus said, “Concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,” Matthew 22:31-32. Christians firmly believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living Head.
He lives and grants me daily breath, He lives, and I shall conquer death,
He lives my mansion to prepare, He lives to bring me safely there. Amen.