THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT OF ALL

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

NASB

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 [a]the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you [a]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 [a]James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [a]to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, [a]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.

15:2 [a]Lit to what word I  15:3 [a]Lit among the first  15:7 [a]Or Jacob  15:8 [a]Lit to an untimely birth  15:9 [a]Lit who am 

NLT

1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,[*] of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you —unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.[*]

3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter[*] and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers[*] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me —and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

[15:1] Greek brothers; also in 15:31, 50, 58.   [15:2] Or unless you never believed it in the first place.   [15:5] Greek Cephas.   [15:6] Greek the brothers.  

Whenever people travel to Greece for the first time, most have one major destination in mind: the famed city of Athens. To this day, the name “Athens” is synonymous with “philosophy,” “culture,” and “civilization.” For centuries, Athens could stake its claim as the ancient crossroads of the intelligentsia. Though the world was owned and operated by Rome, the most learned men of the Empire got their philosophical concepts from a hill in the city of Athens called the Areopagus, or “Mars Hill.” It was there that the greatest Greek thinkers formulated and popularized views on politics, religion, culture, and philosophy that would endure for millennia. In fact, if you travel to Athens today, you can see the timeworn stones and benches on which sat some of the world’s greatest thinkers.

There Paul had both the privilege and challenge of presenting Christ to the intelligentsia of the Greek-speaking world. His preaching was characterized by unwavering truth and tactful diplomacy. Meeting them on their own soil, establishing common ground, and even quoting from their own Greek poets, Paul could engage the Greek thinkers in ways that captured their hearts and their minds, until a very specific part of the Christian truth turned them off: “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer” (Acts 17:32). The resurrection of the dead is for many the great Continental Divide between faith and unbelief. (See “Body and Soul” on p. 98.)

Located near Athens, Corinth was greatly influenced by this Greek mind-set. Being a city that valued pleasure above learning, Corinth left the thinking to her Athenian neighbors, adopting without question their attitudes toward the resurrection of the body. The eagerness to appear “wise” by the world’s standards had been a constant objective among the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:18-25). In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, we discover that some felt tempted to succumb to the pressure of philosophical respectability by denying one of the make-or-break doctrines of the Christian faith: the bodily resurrection (anastasis [386]) of Jesus Christ. Perhaps they started by reinterpreting the promise of a believer’s own bodily resurrection, arguing that it was a “spiritual” resurrection rather than a “physical” rising from the dead. Yet this doctrinal error took a dangerous step toward the rejection of Christ’s resurrection. When we read Paul’s thorough and passionate treatment of His resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, it is easy to surmise that a few in Corinth already were softening this philosophically offensive claim of the Christian faith, that on the third day Jesus miraculously and bodily arose from the dead. Clearly, the very heart of orthodoxy was at stake —and it still is.

Let me put this plainly: Christ’s miraculous, bodily resurrection from the dead is not up for grabs. It never has been and it never will be. That Christ had been raised from the dead was not the controversy in Corinth. Yes, there were a few doubters —men and women who did not yet believe —who hung out among the Corinthian Christians. They may have raised their brows like Athenian sophists when Christ’s resurrection was proclaimed. Paul acknowledged that such unbelievers would occasionally visit the church in Corinth (14:23-24). But the church as a whole had no problem accepting both the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Yet some believers in Corinth had likely capitulated to the Greek philosophers’ disdain for the material body to such a degree that they were denying their own physical resurrections. They were clear on the resurrection of Jesus, but confused about the destinies of their own bodies. That should not surprise us. Even today, many Christians are quite confused about the order of our redemption and resurrection and how our bodies are involved in God’s ultimate plan for salvation. Some believers have a foggy picture of what the people of God experience when they die, where they go, and what happens next. Too often people say, “When we die and go to heaven, we will finally be whole.” Not so. Or they claim, “Once we escape from our earthly bodies, we will finally enjoy perfect bliss in heaven forever.” Not true. Both of these ideas incorporate only half the story, failing to tell the rest of God’s plan for our full redemption of both soul and body, immaterial and material, spiritual and physical.

To challenge the incomplete picture of the believers’ redemption, Paul begins with the epicenter of all things Christian —the miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The heartbeat of Christianity is the good news of Christ’s atoning death and glorious resurrection. Understanding these essential gospel truths about the person and work of Jesus Christ will regulate both doctrine and practice. So Paul turns to this core of orthodoxy in order to set the Corinthians straight on the vital concern over the nature of our own resurrection bodies.

— 15:1-5 —

The message of the gospel (euangelion [2098]) is both simple and profound. It can be expressed in five words —“Jesus died and rose again” —or it can be expounded in sixteen chapters (Romans 1–16). We can describe what we mean by “Jesus” (the person of Christ), we can detail the saving significance of Christ’s death (the substitutionary atonement), and we can defend the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus (apologetics). Even young children, however, can learn the basic content of the gospel message: “Jesus died and rose again.”

Because of the Corinthians’ specific problems, the apostle focuses his review of the gospel on the resurrection of Christ. As he makes the gospel known to his readers, however, he doesn’t leave the other crucial issues unmentioned. For the sake of simplicity and clarity, Paul describes the process of passing on the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1), the objective of the gospel (15:2), and the content of the gospel (15:3-5).

Paul reminds the Corinthians of the process by which they had originally received the gospel message (15:1). He leads their minds back to the time that he had been personally present among them, having just arrived at Corinth from Athens, preaching Jesus Christ to them (Acts 18:1-4). The Corinthian Christians “received” this gospel, a synonym for “believing” and “accepting” (John 1:12; 1 Thes. 2:13). Not only did they receive it by faith, but they also continued to “stand” in it. Paul uses this term to indicate his confidence that the Corinthians were “standing firm” in the gospel (cf. 2 Cor. 1:24), reminding us that if there were any who had utterly rejected the essential content of the gospel at Corinth, they were only a very small minority of weeds among a vast majority of genuine plants.

The objective of the gospel becomes clear: “by which also you are saved” (1 Cor. 15:2). Note that Paul doesn’t refer to their salvation as a past event, as he does in Ephesians 2:8 —“By grace you have been saved through faith.” Nor does he use the future aspect of salvation as entrance into eternal reward after the Last Judgment, as in 1 Corinthians 3:15 —“He himself will be saved.” Rather, Paul emphasizes the present aspect of salvation by using the present tense: “you are [being] saved” (15:2). Paul refers to what we call “sanctification salvation” —an ongoing process by which believers are conformed more and more to the image of Christ by putting to death the deeds of the flesh and making alive the deeds of the Spirit (Rom. 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16). In this context, the “word” Paul preached to the Corinthians refers to the daily denial of self, taking up one’s cross, and following the Lord (Luke 9:23). Paul is saying that if our practical lives are not reflecting the truth of the gospel which we accepted, then we have believed in vain —that is, to no practical result. In other words, Paul exhorts the Corinthians to apply their orthodoxy so as to arrive at orthopraxy —right living conformed to right belief.

Beginning in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the content of the gospel message. Here we have, in as compact and simple language as possible, a reminder of the essence of the gospel, including two facts and two irrefutable evidences for each fact.

Facts

Christ died for our sins

Christ rose from the dead

Proofs

Scriptures

Burial

Scriptures

Witnesses

The fact that Christ died has always been undeniable. Even a skeptical critic of Christianity will acknowledge that Jesus of Nazareth died. It takes no faith to believe this irrefutable fact of history. That Christ died for our sins, however, is a matter of faith not directly evident in the events of Christ’s death and burial. Therefore, God’s special revelation of the significance of the Messiah’s death must interpret the meaning of the historical fact. We find this proof in an Old Testament prophecy of the coming Messiah written about seven hundred years prior to the advent of Jesus (Isa. 53:5-9):

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered

That He was cut off out of the land of the living

For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?

His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Jesus’ burial proved the historical fact of His death. Scripture proved the saving significance of His death as a substitutionary atonement for our sin: He died in our place so we could be eternally freed from the penalty of death.

In 1 Corinthians 15:4-5, Paul reviews the second essential tenet of the gospel: that Christ rose from the dead. Again, he presents this as a fact, verified by a long list of eyewitnesses —including Paul himself —most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote his words to the Corinthians (15:6). Yet even the resurrection of Christ had been predicted in the Old Testament. Quoting Isaiah again (53:10-12):

But the LORD was pleased

To crush Him,

putting Him to grief;

If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring,

He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,

And He will divide the booty with the strong.

That this prophecy of the Resurrection had been fulfilled by none other than Jesus of Nazareth was confirmed to Paul and hundreds of other eyewitnesses through a variety of appearances.

— 15:5-8 —

It doesn’t take faith to believe Jesus died, but to believe in the miraculous, bodily resurrection of Jesus takes great faith. People don’t just come to life again after being dead for thirty-six hours! Resurrection wasn’t any more believable in the first century than it is in the twenty-first century. This is why Jesus appeared repeatedly, not only to his closest disciples but also to doubters.

In the book of Acts, Luke describes the numerous encounters with the risen Christ this way: “To these [apostles] He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). Luke was no fifth-generation historian rummaging through a growing collection of rumors and legends. He was himself a personal companion of Paul and other firsthand witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Luke 1:1-2). Luke emphasizes the fact that the appearances of Jesus were real. They were not just momentary glimpses out of the corners of their eyes, but prolonged visits with their Master and Lord. Rather than being subjective visions and dreams, they were real group experiences with the risen Savior —walking with Him, eating with Him, touching Him, and talking with Him.

In 1 Corinthians Paul mentions no fewer than six different episodes of Christ’s appearance (15:5-8), and even this brief survey is not exhaustive:

With both the prophetic Scriptures and the numerous eyewitnesses of the risen Lord pointing to the resurrection of the crucified Messiah, there could be no doubt in the minds of hundreds of original disciples that Jesus of Nazareth had miraculously risen from the dead. Physically —in the same body that had been crucified and buried —Jesus was both restored and glorified, His body transformed into a perfect, immortal condition, no longer susceptible to suffering and death. Fit for glory, Jesus Christ conquered death not only for Himself but also for all who would believe on Him for eternal life.

— 15:8-11 —

In 1 Corinthians 15:8-11, Paul gets personal, telling us what the Resurrection means in his own life and adding his own unimpeachable firsthand testimony to the authenticity of the Resurrection. Yet as one “untimely born,” his witness to the risen Lord was unique. The description refers to a child born too early —a “premature birth.”[87]

In using this imagery to describe himself, Paul contrasts his background to that of the other apostles —the infants who had been chosen, handpicked, trained, and developed at the feet of Jesus. When they were born into apostleship, they were ideal examples of the kind of apostles Christ wanted to raise. Then “Paul the preemie” came along. He had been a vile, hateful persecutor of the church (15:9), nowhere near willing or ready to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior; yet, the Lord appeared to him and saved him in the very midst of his aggressively rebellious activities. From that moment on, Paul’s sudden, dramatic, and otherwise inexplicable transformation from Saul the anti-Christian persecutor to Paul the go-for-broke apostle would become a testimony to the truthfulness of the resurrection of Jesus that baffles historians to this day. No reasonable explanation can be found for Paul’s conversion to Christ other than the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The reality of the Resurrection radically and permanently changed the course of Paul’s life. Because he had once viciously persecuted the church, he knew that he was unfit for salvation, much less for a ministry as an apostle (15:9). Because of the great extent of his rebellion against Christ, Paul understood far more than most the miracle of God’s grace (15:10). In light of his former severe antagonism toward Christians, Paul rightly attributed his calling and his ministry to the unmerited grace of God (15:10). In thankful response to this calling, Paul determined to put the grace of God to good work —not to earn or to secure his salvation, but to show his love toward the One who had rescued him.

Empowered by the miraculous grace of God, Paul kicked it into high gear as he determined to live the rest of his life in the Master’s service. He points out what was by this time obvious to everybody: “I labored even more than all of them,” referring to all the other eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus (15:10). He quickly acknowledges, however, that his missionary accomplishments did not result from his own efforts, but only because of the grace of God working through him. In light of this fact, Paul could step back and remind his readers that he and the other apostles were all part of the same team (15:11). Like a harmonious chorus, the apostles sang in unison the anthem of Christ, preaching His atoning death and life-giving resurrection. The person and work of Jesus Christ alone —not the preacher who delivers the message —is all that can save the undeserving sinner.

APPLICATION: 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-11

Signs of Our Own Resurrection Life

Paul’s encounter with the resurrected Savior on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-8) marked an irreversible turning point in his life. There the spiritually dead, depraved, condemned sinner —bent on destroying the church of Christ —was spiritually raised from the dead, forgiven of his sins, and recruited into the service of the King. Grace on parade!

Like Paul, all of us who have believed in Christ have been plucked from our rebellious, wayward paths. We may not have persecuted Christ’s cause in the same way that Paul did, but we all denied the saving power of His death and the reality of His victorious resurrection in our own ways (Isa. 53:6). Just as He did with Paul, so Jesus has brought salvation even to us! As a result of His unmerited grace, God has not only given us eternal life through faith in the death and resurrection of His Son, but He has given us the presence of His Holy Spirit —the Lord and Life-giver —to put to death our sinful lifestyles and raise us in newness of life.

As we review Paul’s reflection on his miraculous encounter with God’s resurrection life (1 Cor. 15:9-11), we can glean at least four signs that prove we have not believed in vain, that we are daily dying to our sinful selves, and that we are being raised to a life of obedience in Christ (Rom. 6:1-11).

First, Paul exhibited no pride (1 Cor. 15:9). He openly admitted his unworthiness, refused to compete with his peers, and recognized his own weaknesses. What about you? Do you have an inflated view of your own significance? How important is it to you that you be noticed, commended, rewarded, and recognized for your work in the church? Reflect on the sinful lifestyle or state of rebellion from which God has saved you, and then banish pride and any spirit of entitlement from your thinking.

Second, Paul had a genuine appreciation for grace (15:10). Paul attributed everything valuable in his life to God’s grace: “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” Does your life reflect these words? Do you recognize that without Him you can do nothing? Do you attribute your successes to His grace? Equally important, do you demonstrate this grace toward others through generosity, affirmation, patience, and forgiveness?

Third, Paul expressed a humble admission of his accomplishments (15:10). Paul didn’t deny the fact that he had accomplished much for the Lord. His record was open to all. Yet he approached this fact with genuine humility, being quick to point any admirers to the Source of his accomplishments. Do you hide your accomplishments in a show of false humility? Or do you share them but fail to point to Christ as your example and to the Spirit as your enabler?

Fourth, Paul emphasized his honest appreciation for others (15:11). Although Paul admitted that he had “labored even more than all of them,” he never felt concerned about who got the credit. If you have not lost your competitive spirit, if you are always concerned about being number one, ask God right now to change you, to break that habit, to give you a genuine appreciation for others. Only then will you be delivered from your critical, narrow mind-set toward others and be transformed by a loving relationship with the resurrected Lord.