1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1: Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2: by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which 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 according to the Scriptures,
4: and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5: and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6: After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
7: then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
8: and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
9: For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit 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 did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
11: Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
Next Paul addressed a new subject—resurrection from the dead. He called their attention to the gospel he preached to them in the beginning, which they had received. This was the gospel, the message, by which they stood and were saved, if they would hold fast to it. If they let go of the basic message of the gospel of Christ, then their faith would be in vain. Paul told them the message again, saying it is of “first importance” to know that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised on the third day, which fulfilled Old Testament Scripture.
There were those among them who did not believe there was such a thing as resurrection from the dead. Paul emphasized the importance of knowing and believing that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. He appeared to Peter, the twelve, over 500 brethren at once, to James, His brother, all the apostles, and lastly to Paul himself. He appeared to Paul (then called Saul) who was persecuting Christians and was on the way to Damascus to continue his persecution (Acts 9:3-8). His appearance to Paul was after He had ascended into heaven.
We read in Acts 1:3 that Jesus presented Himself alive for 40 days after His resurrection, with many convincing proofs, and talked about the kingdom of God. Paul reminded them of this basic foundation of Christianity—the foundation of their own faith—because of those who were denying or challenging resurrection from the dead. This was not something that could be tolerated. It was the foundation of their faith.
Paul sidetracked a bit to say he considered himself to be the least of all the apostles because of his persecution of the church prior to his conversion. Yet, he relied on the grace of God to work harder than all the others to spread the gospel, so God’s grace toward him would not be in vain. Yet whether he or someone else preached the gospel to the Corinthians, it was preached, they believed, and they needed to hold fast to the message.
2: by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which 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 according to the Scriptures,
4: and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5: and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6: After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
7: then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
8: and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
9: For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit 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 did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
11: Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
***
Next Paul addressed a new subject—resurrection from the dead. He called their attention to the gospel he preached to them in the beginning, which they had received. This was the gospel, the message, by which they stood and were saved, if they would hold fast to it. If they let go of the basic message of the gospel of Christ, then their faith would be in vain. Paul told them the message again, saying it is of “first importance” to know that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised on the third day, which fulfilled Old Testament Scripture.
There were those among them who did not believe there was such a thing as resurrection from the dead. Paul emphasized the importance of knowing and believing that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. He appeared to Peter, the twelve, over 500 brethren at once, to James, His brother, all the apostles, and lastly to Paul himself. He appeared to Paul (then called Saul) who was persecuting Christians and was on the way to Damascus to continue his persecution (Acts 9:3-8). His appearance to Paul was after He had ascended into heaven.
We read in Acts 1:3 that Jesus presented Himself alive for 40 days after His resurrection, with many convincing proofs, and talked about the kingdom of God. Paul reminded them of this basic foundation of Christianity—the foundation of their own faith—because of those who were denying or challenging resurrection from the dead. This was not something that could be tolerated. It was the foundation of their faith.
Paul sidetracked a bit to say he considered himself to be the least of all the apostles because of his persecution of the church prior to his conversion. Yet, he relied on the grace of God to work harder than all the others to spread the gospel, so God’s grace toward him would not be in vain. Yet whether he or someone else preached the gospel to the Corinthians, it was preached, they believed, and they needed to hold fast to the message.
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