This is the Gospel
Notes
Transcript
If someone walked up to you and asked, “What is the gospel?”—how would you answer? Would you talk about Jesus? Church? Heaven? Maybe you'd say something like, "It’s about being forgiven," or "It’s about God’s love." And you wouldn’t be wrong. But the Bible actually gives us the gospel in one clear, concise statement.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul says, “Let me remind you of the gospel I preached to you,” and then he gives us the heart of the Christian message in just a few lines. And at the very center of it is this: Jesus died, was buried, and rose again—just like the Scriptures said He would.
Today we celebrate Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, and Paul writes extensively on the subject in 1 Corinthians 15. Today we are going to take a look at verses 1-11. Together, we will see some key truths on what the resurrection of Jesus means today.
I. The resurrection is the foundation of the Gospel.
I. The resurrection is the foundation of the Gospel.
The church in Corinth was probably one of the most challenging churches in all of Paul’s letters. They ran into a number of issues and they sparked numerous debates. Paul spends much of these letters addressing issues the Corinthian church faced. In the chapters leading up to chapter 15, Paul was addressing issues pertaining to head coverings, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. He opens chapter 15 by turning his attention to the resurrection of Christ, reminding the church that the resurrection is the foundation of the gospel.
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached 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 preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
At the very early stages of the church, from Acts 2 onward, the resurrection of Jesus became the central message of the church. Jesus has been risen from the dead. Of all the most significant events in human history, the resurrection of Jesus is the most significant. It shows that the greatest tragedy we can experience, which is death, is beatable. Death can be conquered. If the resurrection of Jesus is true, then it paves the way for more.
Then Paul gives one of the most succinct explanations of the gospel anyone can:
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,
That’s it. The gospel of Christ is ultimately about three things: the death of Jesus for our sins, his burial, and his resurrection. We celebrate Easter to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus and what it accomplishes. His death is a substitution for ours. Everyone falls short of God’s perfect standard. We deserve God’s judgment for breaking his laws. But Christ came to take our place and pay the price on our behalf. He was nailed to a cross and died, was buried in a tomb, and raised to life three days later so that God’s wrath would be satisfied and grace might be extended. When we believe in Christ, in who he is and the work he has done on our behalf, we receive a pardon from our sins. This was in accordance with the Scriptures.
The entire Old Testament builds anticipation for a coming Savior, a Messiah. Then Jesus shows up and fulfills somewhere around 300 prophecies concerning that anticipated Savior. The core of Paul’s message is that Christ is the Savior the Old Testament anticipates, and it is Christ’s resurrection that the whole thing hinges on. So much so that if there is no resurrection, there is no gospel.
The resurrection is not an optional doctrine; it is central to the Christian message. Paul addresses this elsewhere in the letter. If there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ has not risen from the dead. And if Christ has not been risen from the dead, we are still in our sins. But because Christ has been raised, we have an eternal hope. He have forgiveness of sins, a relationship with our Creator, and a hope that we too will be raised from the dead.
We have confidence in this because...
II. The resurrection is a historical reality.
II. The resurrection is a historical reality.
Many critics of Christianity argue that there is no evidence to support its claims. But we don’t believe because we have no reasons to believe. What we have to remember is that this document is a real letter written by a real person named Paul to a real church located in Corinth. When it comes to the resurrection of Jesus, Paul appeals to eyewitness testimony.
and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;
and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
Paul records six instances in which Jesus appeared to people after he rose from the dead. First, there was Peter, also named Cephas, then the twelve disciples, then a group of over 500 people, then to James, the brother of Jesus, then all the apostles, then to Paul himself.
Now this list isn’t an exhaustive list, and the truth is it doesn’t have to be. It’s possible Paul didn’t know about all the others, or he simply didn’t need to mention all of them in order to be fact checked by his readers. Jesus also appeared to Mary Magdalene outside the tomb on resurrection morning. He appeared to two followers on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-32. He appeared to the disciples in a locked room in John 20, then to them again with Thomas to address doubts in the same chapter. He appeared to Peter and a handful of disciples on the Sea of Galilee in John 21. There are twelve appearances of Jesus over a 40 day period.
The gospels of Matthew and John are written by two men who were eyewitnesses to the events they record. Mark and Luke had close relationships with with both Peter and Paul, so while they were not eyewitnesses to all of the events they record, their information comes directly from eyewitnesses. We even get a glimpse into Paul’s attitude about himself as he considers his own unworthiness to be called an apostle and that Jesus would even reveal himself to him.
We should all have an attitude of humility when it comes to knowing Christ. Like Paul, none of us deserves the salvation Jesus offers. None of us deserve Christ revealing himself to us. None of us deserves the forgiveness and grace offered, but God chose to do so anyway. So while we are unworthy, we should also walk in confidence that what we believe is not a myth. It is a historical reality.
One of my favorite verses is 2 Peter 1:16
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
The New Testament is rooted in eyewitness testimony. This thing we do, gathering on Easter to celebrate the resurrection, joining God in his mission to reconcile people to him, leading our families, using our gifts and talents as a platform for helping people, is not in vain. We believe in a real resurrected Savior. We are unworthy, but we can walk in confidence when we understand our faith is an evidence based faith. It is rooted in history and in eyewitness testimony. It gives me confidence that no matter what happens in life, I’m going to be okay. I’m going to be okay because i’m going to be resurrected. I know I’m going to be resurrected because Christ, who is resurrected, says he can do it.
Not only is the resurrection the foundation of the gospel and a historical reality...
III. The resurrection is the power behind a transformed life.
III. The resurrection is the power behind a transformed life.
The root of Paul’s humility comes from a recognition of what he was and what he has become. You see, Jesus doesn’t save you just for you to be the same as you always were. Christ saves us to invite us into a process of transformation. Look at what Paul says here:
1 Cor. 15:8-9 Once a persecutor, now an apostle by the grace of God.
For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
Paul doesn’t feel worthy of being called an apostle because he was a persecutor of the church. God took him from one who killed Christians to being one of the strongest advocates of Christ to ever live. Paul was transformed. He didn’t transform himself. And he had a tough road. When he began integrating himself with the other leaders of the church, there was skepticism, as you could imagine. But as time went on, they began to see the change in him. God had done something in Paul that produced a transformation that was witnessed by others.
Listen to what he says:
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.
We are what we are by the grace of God. God’s grace toward Paul proved not to be in vain because Paul didn’t remain the way he was. He was changed. He joined the mission. The trajectory of his life changed forever. Paul worked harder than all the other apostles, but he credits that work to God's grace at work in him.
What I want you to know today is that the same grace of God that was at work in Paul is at work in you. The Bible says God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That means the God of Paul’s life is the same as yours. The same Holy Spirit is at work in us who believe as the Holy Spirit who was at work in Paul. But it is not an automatic process. The Holy Spirit invites us to participate in our own transformation, and transformation comes through obedience.
The power of transformation comes when we will submit ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This doesn’t mean we become puppets, but we allow him to direct our affairs. The trouble is we often wrestle for authority in our lives and that hinders the transformative work he wants to accomplish in us.
Whether from Paul or the other apostles, the message of the risen Christ is consistent. It is backed by eyewitness accounts. We preach a risen Christ. We preach a risen Christ that has the power to transform our lives here and now and in eternity. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is just like Paul, our past doesn’t disqualify us from God’s purpose. The question we all must ask is, “What do we want to do now?”
We all experience a world that is broken. Things don’t work the way they should. All people from all cultures instinctively know this. So if something is broken, that means there is a way in which it should work. Well, that’s exactly what the Bible teaches. It teaches us that the world was created according to God’s design. In that design, everything worked in harmony. Our relationship with God, relationships with others, relationship with ourselves, and the rest of creation all worked in harmony. The Bible also teaches that we have all rejected God’s design for our lives, and the word it uses for that is sin. Our rejection of God’s design has led to brokenness.
We experience brokenness in every aspect of our lives: our relationship with God, ourselves, with others, and the rest of creation. We attempt to alleviate that brokenness through a variety of means, things like relationships, substance abuse, simply trying harder, or any number of things that we think might fix the problem. But the problem hasn’t been solved. There is still brokenness.
But there is good news. The Bible says God sent Jesus into the world to be the standard of goodness we could not be ourselves, and offered himself as a sacrifice for us. He died on a cross, was buried in a tomb, and raised to life three days later, conquering sin and death. The Bible says if we will turn away from our sin (our rejection of God’s design) and believe in Christ, a miracle will take place. Jesus will come into your life and will help you recover and pursue God’s design for your life.
Where are you today? Are you actively recovering and pursuing God’s design for your life? Or are you experiencing brokenness and attempting to alleviate your brokenness through all sorts of means only to find that what you are pursuing isn’t working? There is hope, and that hope is found in the resurrected Jesus. The same power that transformed the apostle Paul is able to transform your life. Do you need to hand over the keys of your life to Jesus today? The Bible tells us that Jesus is making all things new, but he doesn’t force it on us. He asks us to voluntarily hand over the right to call the shots. Is there something you need to hand over to Christ today?
