4.9.36a 7.25.2022 Mon—Paul’s Message 1 Corinthians 15.1-11

Start:

Entice:

Paul’s message was the Church’s message.

His Gospel was the same Kingdom story

told by Jesus,

repeated in Jerusalem

and—largely by his own efforts,

distributed throughout the world.

Engage: Let’s ask ourselves some basic questions...

So, what was Pauls message?

What was the Churches message?

This seems like a silly question at a Christian Service camp, doesn’t it?

Maybe it’s not.

Too many Christians have forgotten the basics.

Too many Churches have abandoned the Essentials.

I don’t want to make this too overly complicated, mainly because it isn’t, but

the essence of Christianity is a

Biblical and Theological story

that stands opposed to

ALL OTHER STORIES.

Jesus told the story. The good news of the Kingdom.

That was His gospel. That was Peter’s message. That was Paul's message. That is the NT Gospel.

Expand: There is only one Gospel. The redeeming story of Jesus. When we look over Paul’s shoulder into his correspondence with various churches, we can get the impression that the various

scandals he squashed,

questions he answered,

and

issues he faced

were the content of his gospel.

Nope. No, No, No!

Rather, his epistles largely deal with the

misunderstandings,

misapplication,

and

misappropriation

of social and cultural issues that resulted in individuals and entire congregations becoming

misguided.

1 Corinthians is a prime example. After dealing with those issues throughout 14 chapters, after guiding the misguided and focusing the unfocused, he reminds them of his gospel, their gospel, the Churches Gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:1–11 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word 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 in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Excite: We are dealing with many of the same cultural incursions today that the Corinthians confronted in their age. One of the primary tasks of preaching and teaching is keeping the culture out of the Church. Social structures, political structures, race, ethnicity, biases, hatreds, and prejudices--all of the issues of the day confuse the central issue

—>We are sinners who need saving.

Explore:

Paul’s message, the content of His Gospel is salvation in Jesus.

Explain: Paul describes of the Gospel this way..

Body : First of all our gospel is a

1 Universal Deposit.

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 ESV

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

How Paul became a Christian (despite the miraculous Damascus Road experience), how the Corinthians came to Christ, how I came to Christ, Lance Boldt, and you, is the same—we have withdraw from the balance of the inexhaustible treasure of the Gospel.

Consider the

1.1 The process of delivery.

—>It is always the same!

I preached,

you received,

you stand

Similarly , when the delivery is accomplished we all share

1.2 The promise of reception.

You are being saved,

IF

you hold fast

I know that using money as an Illustration is becoming more difficult because of electronic, virtual, and cyber currencies. I will risk using a dollar bill. (Have a congregant hold the bill, then another. Point out that the value of the bill is not dependent on the holder.) If a bill is authentic and accurate it does not matter who “holds” the deposit or who uses the currency, it retains its value. It does not matter who holds it, it holds its value. Our gospel is resilient in by its universal nature.

One Gospel

for one fallen world

for all creatures

throughout all time.

All of the preachers in the NT who remained faithful retained the authentic, authoritative, accurate Gospel. The Corinthians themselves had many other teachers. How they had applied the message in their socio-economic-political culture was often off base, but the message by which they had been saved was the same gospel first proclaimed by Peter on Pentecost, which Paul brought to Corinth.

So, the first function is about the the durable value of the Gospel. The second function is a matter of its enormous impact as an

2 Understandable Declaration.

1 Corinthians 15:3–9 ESV

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Like anything taught, passed on, or learned a declaration is understandable because it is

2.1 Transferable

2.1.1 Person to person.

2.1.2 Church to Church.

The transforming virtue of our Gospel is basic to its nature—>it is

2.2 Scriptural.

The passion was “according to the scriptures”

The preaching was “according to the scriptures”

And we know today that this message is enormously

2.3 Capable

2.3.1 It transforms skeptics into believers.

2.3.2 It transforms persecutors into proclaimers.

Finally, in a world that is increasingly fragmented. In a world in which even believers are often at odds, Paul reminds us that the Gospel functions as a

3 Unifying Discourse.

1 Corinthians 15:10–11 ESV

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, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

3.1 Grace driven.

3.2 Grace diversified.

Shut Down:

The balance of 1 Corinthians 15 finds Paul outlining in detail the central truth of this shared Gospel, the resurrection of Jesus. Because, if Jesus is not raised, everything else is smoke and mirrors. If, however, Jesus is raised then the Kingdom has come and you and I are participants in this still unfolding story.

We are not alone. This is the faith as Jude described it (Jude 3c) as

“the faith once for all delivered to the Saints.

This is the message of reconciliation. This is heaven on earth and the charter for our eternal life. This is the hope which Paul embraces, ending this chapter by saying

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

That is Paul’s message,

That is our Gospel,

That is God’s Word for us this evening.