WWUTT 1616 I Make Known to You the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)

1 Corinthians 15 is such a powerful chapter and what a great argument Paul lays out here for the resurrection of the dead. It is only by faith in Christ that we have this resurrection when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Visit our website at www .wutt .com.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of the book of 1 Corinthians and we're up to chapter 15 today. If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there, such a great chapter. I'm going to read the whole thing out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

Paul’s Gospel Summary and the Witnesses of the Resurrection

This is the word of the Lord from the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I proclaimed as good news to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I proclaimed to you as good news, unless you believed for nothing.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

After that he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born he appeared to me also.

For I am the least of the apostles, and not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 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, whether then it was I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.

Why Denying the Resurrection Makes Faith Empty

Now 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? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we bore witness against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men the most to be pitied. But Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive, but each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits. After that those who are Christ's at his coming. Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death, for he has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he says all things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is accepted who put all things in subjection to him.

And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself also will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all. Otherwise what will those do who are baptized for the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? Why are we also in danger every hour? I affirm, brothers, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals.

Become righteously sober-minded, and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. But someone will say, How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?

The Nature of the Resurrection Body

You fool, that which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a corruptible body, it is raised an incorruptible body.

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

So also it is written, the first man Adam became a living soul, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthly, the second man is from heaven.

As is the earthly, so also are those who are earthly. As is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the corruptible inherit the incorruptible. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on the incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality.

But when this corruptible puts on the incorruptible, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the word that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Amen.

Why 1 Corinthians 15 Is the Most Important Chapter in the Letter

That's almost half our lesson right there, just reading through 1 Corinthians 15. But what an important chapter. You know, 1 Corinthians 13 has a certain popularity because it's the love chapter, right?

We're talking all about love. So that's undoubtedly the most famous chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians. Then you have a certain popularity that 1 Corinthians 14 has because it's talking about spiritual gifts, especially talking about speaking in tongues.

And people are even in disagreement over some of those instructions that Paul gives there about speaking in tongues. But 1 Corinthians 15, I have to say, my argument for 1 Corinthians 15 is that it's the most important chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians.

You could even section this out and make it its own book of the Bible. It's already longer than 2 John, 3 John or Jude. But you have such a strong apologetic here for the resurrection of the dead. And some of the things that Paul says here, still within the context of what we've talked about in 1 Corinthians, you find hints of other things that he's mentioned.

But you could take 1 Corinthians 15 by itself. And even if you had not read the rest of 1 Corinthians, you wouldn't be lost. Very straightforward. There's a certain context we have to keep in mind when we're looking at chapter 13 and especially chapter 14, because 12, 13 and 14 are all addressing matters of spiritual.

Gifts.

But when it comes to chapter 15, when you're reading this apologetic for the resurrection of the dead, it stands by itself. That's not to say we should take it out of context with the rest of 1 Corinthians, because there's still a context.

But you just wouldn't be lost or misunderstanding what is being said here. Just taking what Paul lays out in this particular chapter. So let's consider it here. We're just getting through a couple of verses today.

We're going to be on this chapter for several weeks. But what a beautiful chapter it is. 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse one. Now, I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I proclaimed. So we see this word now.

That's typically denoting a subject change as we have seen it over the course of the book of 1 Corinthians. So we're finished up with the spiritual gift matters in 12, 13 and 14. We're starting on something else.

The Gospel Received, Held Fast, and Not Believed in Vain

And this is something that is a serious problem in the church in Corinth, because as we read here, there are people in the church in Corinth that don't believe in the resurrection of the dead. Well, then your faith is nothing.

Are you even Christians? If you don't believe in the resurrection of the dead. And so Paul lays out this apologetic for the resurrection of the dead, cementing it in what the scriptures say. But he also makes arguments by way of general revelation.

Just looking at nature, you should be able to understand the concept of the resurrection of the dead. Just seeing what we see in nature. So yeah, we'll go through those things. We'll talk about some of these things as we read through this together.

We'll even see some good debate tactics. The way to frame a convincing argument. Paul does that here in chapter 15. He was an expert debater. We read about in the book of Acts how in the public square, he would be debating and reasoning all day.

Like in the hall of tyrannous in Ephesus, he was there for two years, reasoning with the people that would come in. The guy was an expert at being able to frame an argument. And then, of course, giving the truth according to the scripture, as we see him make that statement here, even at the beginning here, according to the scriptures, as well as a statement of truth that was revealed to him by God because he was an apostle of Christ.

So again, the very start of this here. Now I make known to you, I am making known to you, brothers, the gospel, which I proclaimed is good news to you. So what he's going to be saying here, what we read in chapter 15 is not new to the Corinthians.

They have heard this before, and he brings it to them by way of reminder, even saying to them, you're foolish because you don't believe this. You should believe because it's been proclaimed to you and because you've seen evidence of it and then giving arguments for that.

So I'm making known to you what I've already made known to you, the gospel, the good news, which I proclaimed as good news. It's interesting seeing those two things side by side because the word gospel means good news and then he calls it good news.

I make known to you the gospel, which I proclaimed as good news to you, which also you received. You've heard it. You've believed this before. So it's almost like as Paul is coming into this, he's saying, why do I have to revisit this again?

Why do I have to come back and address things to you that you've already heard and that you already received? You have already believed this. So why do I have to work this out in your midst again? And even says in which you also stand, consider that over the course of this letter for 14 chapters, we've been hearing rebuke.

Paul has encouraged the Corinthians in some things, but it's been rebuking from the very start, from the very first chapter, the factions that exist there saying that I'm better, I'm.

More holy.

I'm more righteous than you are because I follow this teacher or that teacher. We've had a discipline matters that have not been handled. A man in the church that was sleeping with his father's wife. You have Christians that were taking one another to court, the misuse of the Lord's table, the misuse of spiritual gifts, whatever other things that we could fit in these categories that the church in Corinth were doing wrong.

You would look at that church and go, what is the matter with you guys? Somebody lock up that church and close the doors because they're not even Christians. And yet Paul says of them, you've heard the gospel, you've received it, you stand in it and by which you are also saved.

So this is a church. There are Christians there who believe in the gospel of Christ, even in the resurrection of the dead, though there are some who don't. And that's what Paul is going to confront here with the doctrine that he lays out in chapter 15.

But you've heard it, you've received it, you stand in it, you are saved by it. If you hold fast the word, which I proclaim to you as good news, unless you believed for nothing. And most of your translations will probably say, unless you believed it in vain, but that's what the word vain means.

It means nothing. It's empty. It doesn't apply. It doesn't accomplish anything. If you don't remain in it, then you didn't really believe it. It was a passing opinion, but you didn't know it as truth.

Hence why Paul says that you've heard it, you've received it, you stand in it, you're saved by it. If you hold fast to it, those things are only true if you remain in it, like you are going to be in this truth.

You are going to continue to proclaim the gospel. Your life has been changed because you believed and you have followed Jesus Christ. If you remain in it as good news, then it is to your salvation. But if you believed it in vain, if you just believed it for yourself, remember, you know, going back to chapters two and three, where the basically Paul was confronting the idea that the Corinthians believed this new truth because it made them philosophically superior somehow.

All of these philosophies that are out there in Greek culture, and here I have this philosophy that makes me smarter than everybody else. It's called Christianity. So look at how much more intelligent I am.

I not only believe in the natural, I believe in the supernatural. And Paul says, if that's why you receive the gospel, then you received it for the wrong.

Reason.

In 1 Corinthians 1, 18, going back to the very beginning. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. And then later on in the letter saying, I preached Christ crucified, which is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.

So if you're proclaiming Christ, thinking that, you know, look how look how smart I can be because I proclaim him risen from the dead. Look at how intelligent I am. Then you may not even be preaching the right thing.

If the world loves you for the message that you are preaching, then you're not preaching the gospel of Christ. Jesus said to those who did not believe in him, the reason why you don't believe is because you're not of my sheep.

That's in John 10 in John eight. Why do you not believe what I say? Because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. So those people who are worldly, who are naturally minded, they're not going to see the gospel of Christ as being something amazing.

It's foolishness to them. It's a stumbling block to Jews. They won't believe that Jesus is the Christ. So it causes them to stumble and come into judgment. And it's foolishness to Gentiles. This carpenter of Nazareth died on a cross.

You claim he's God and the people that he created killed him. You believe in that guy and he rose again from the dead. You believe in the resurrection of the dead. The apostle Paul preached the resurrection of the dead at the Areopagus in Acts chapter 17.

It was not all inspiring to the Greeks that were there. That was the point in the message that he preached where they were like, oh, resurrection of the dead people coming back from the grave. How foolish is that?

Though there were some who were convinced by it and said, we want to hear more from you about this. Those were the ones who were feeling a conviction of the Holy Spirit that they may know the truth and live.

And so Paul is saying to the Corinthians here, the truth has been proclaimed to you. You've received it. You have stood in it. It's by it you are saved if you endure in it. Was it real? Is this a genuine transformation that happened in your hearts or is it a passing opinion?

Is it because, hey, I was looking for the new philosophy and this one sounded awesome? If that's if that's the reason why you believe it, then the next big philosophy that comes out on the scene, you're just going to go after that, even if it contradicts the message of the gospel, which previously you said you believed.

If you stand in it, if you're willing to suffer for it, if you would die for this because you know it is only by this gospel that you are saved, if you would persist in it to the end, then it's real to you.

Then it is your salvation. Then it actually is good news to you. It's not just a new philosophy. It's good news that my sins are forgiven and I have everlasting life with God because Christ. Because God put on flesh and dwelt among us, because he lived a perfect life, because he died on the cross for our sins.

He rose again from the grave. He ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, where he intercedes for me before the father. And he is coming back again to judge the living and the dead, where I will not have to fear the judgment of God on that day because I am his and I will be welcomed into his eternal kingdom forever.

If that message is good news to you, and if you know it is only by that message that you have eternal life, then you are saved. And Paul lays that out here in the first couple of verses of 1 Corinthians 15.

Then he specifies exactly what this gospel is. Christ crucified for our sins, according to the scriptures. He was buried and raised on the third day, according to the scriptures. We'll talk about that tomorrow when we come to verses three and four.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this message, and I pray that it's real to us. We believe it. It's not just because our parents raised us in it, or we learned a few Awana verses one time, or we bought the Christian t-shirt, but we know that we have sinned against a holy God, and what we deserve is judgment.

The gospel was proclaimed to us that we might know Jesus Christ and live. He who died for our sins and rose again from the grave, and whoever believes in him, our sins are forgiven. We have fellowship with God and the promise of eternal life.

This was proclaimed to us as good news. So keep us in it. Help us remain in it. Sustain us in it, and bring us into your heavenly kingdom in Christ. It's in his name we pray.

Amen.