1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Christian Standard Bible
Resurrection Essential to the Gospel
15 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: 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, then to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,[a] he also appeared to me.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy 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, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.
Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
The Great Mystery of Faith …
Christ Has Died, Christ Is Risen, Christ Will Come Again!
That is our statement of faith—that Jesus Christ died for our salvation, Christ rose from the dead, and Christ will return again in glory.
Questions surrounding death and dying have faced mankind ever since the fall:
“What will happen when I die?
Will I go somewhere when I die, or is this it?
Is there any significance to my life?
What does it all mean?”
All of God’s Scripture is timelessly relevant, and it provides answers to these questions.
Paul, for example, addresses the issues of resurrection and eternal life in 1 Corinthians 15. Without the resurrection, he says, our faith would be in vain.
Our salvation would be false, for we would still be living in sin.
Death would prove to be stronger than God. Jesus’ claims would be untrue: He would not be Lord, and He would not be returning.
History would have no goal or purpose, and the human race would be going nowhere.
Since that’s the “reality” in which unbelievers live, it’s no wonder there is so much angst in our world!
But the Christian can say, “Hey, not so fast! Don’t say history is going nowhere and all is meaningless! Consider the resurrection.” We believe Christ rose from the dead and promises each of His followers full resurrection—not a resurrection only of soul but one of body and soul (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).
Paul speaks of the death, resurrection of Christ as being “of first importance” in the gospel message (v. 3). The proclamation that Jesus died for our sins, was raised on the third day, and appeared in the flesh to the apostles and disciples was the foundation of everything Paul taught (vv. 3–7).
Even though it was something that happened in history, this was more than just a summary of historical facts. Paul says this is the message that we must stand upon, hold to firmly, and by which we are saved (vv. 1–2).
It is the only message that can actually save us because it calls us to believe in the One who has died for our sins and rose again.
Paul preached this gospel of resurrection both as something he had “received” and as a fact that he had witnessed.
Both are important.
The gospel that Paul proclaimed was handed down to him, not by the other apostles but by revelation from Christ (Galatians 1:12).
Although Paul spoke of it as “my gospel,” it is really Christ’s gospel (see Rom. 2:16; 16:25; 2 Tim. 2:8).
Paul also encountered the living Christ who called him to be His special messenger or apostle (vv. 9–11). We do not believe in fables but in something that is a matter of history and revelation. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!
Go Deeper
John Locke, 18th-century British philosopher, wrote of Christ’s resurrection that it is “truly of great importance in Christianity; so great, that his being, or not being the Messiah, stands or falls with it.”[1]
1 “A Second Vindication of the Reasonableness of Christianity” in The Works of John Locke, in Nine Volumes (Rivington, 1824), 6:341-42.
It is the resurrection that proves that Jesus is who Scripture claims He is, the resurrection that seals our salvation, and the resurrection that transforms our lives.
You can visit the burial sites of Buddha’s ashes, Muhammad’s body, and Gandhi’s urn, but the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth is an empty one.
Belief in the resurrection is the narrow gate through which we enter, and it’s the only one that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).
All our hope hangs on this fact: Jesus is alive!
Because of this hope, we can say that this life is not all there is; it is simply the appetizer, the first course.
Shadows fall on our greatest successes on this earth.
We lose loved ones.
We’re confronted by sin.
Even our best days leave us longing for something more.
But the fact is that we are only preparing for a day yet to come, when these former things will pass away and the new, resurrected kingdom will come.
The resurrection of Jesus is what gives purpose to all you do today, and comfort in all your trials, and hope for all your tomorrows.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 16 Complete Jewish Bible
16 (0) Mikhtam. By David:
(1) Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.
2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
3 The holy people in the land are the ones
who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.
4 Those who run after another god
multiply their sorrows;
To such gods I will not offer
drink offerings of blood
or take their names on my lips.
5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup:
you safeguard my share.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
I am content with my heritage.
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
8 I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices,
and my body too rests in safety;
10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol,
you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.
11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 