According to the Scriptures

Paul wrote Galatians in response to a problem that was setting in within the church; a problem not unlike what we see happening all around us today. It seems the people were changing the gospel, watering it down in such a way as to render it powerless to change lives. Galatians 1:6-9 says, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

Apparently there were some who were distorting the gospel of Christ. They ignored Scripture and either denied Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross or His resurrection. People today do the same thing. They want to view Jesus only as a “good” man, an inspiration for good in your life, but nothing more. Of those who water down the gospel in such a way Paul says, “Let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:9).

It seems that this problem had not yet made its way to the church in Corinth, but with the way the winds of heresy were blowing, Paul wanted to take no chances, so in 1 Corinthians 15 he reasserted the truth of the gospel and the fact that they had believed. He wanted to strengthen their faith and make sure they understood and preached the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ.

According to this passage, there are two things in life that are important: that you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and that you respond in faith to the gospel.

Paul begins by stating the gospel in a nutshell: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

In verses 3-4, Paul makes a concise statement as to the core message of the gospel of Christ “according to the Scriptures” (vs. 3b, 4b). The phrase, “according to the Scriptures,” refers to Old Testament prophecy. The truth Paul “delivered” (v. 3) was the truth he “received” (v. 3) by direct revelation of Jesus Christ. As he had told the Galatians, “I neither received it from men, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12). That gospel is the same as taught by Old Testament prophecy. “According to the Scriptures,” it involves three truths.

First, “Christ died for our sins” (v. 3b). Isaiah said, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5a), to which he adds in verse 8b, “He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.” Jesus “was cut off from the land of the living.” He died! But He did not die in vain. He died for a purpose. He died “for our transgressions,” our sin.

Second, “He was buried” (v. 4a). Isaiah also tells us, “They made His grave with the wicked; but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth” (Isa. 53:9). To those asking for a sign, Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt. 12:39-40).

Third, “He rose again the third day” (v. 4b). Speaking of the Messiah, Psalm 16:10 tells us, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. That is the basic gospel message. The resurrection appearances listed in verses 5-8 bear witness to the truth of Scripture.

Each Sunday as we pay tribute to the resurrection, we must recognize that the resurrection of Christ is the center-piece of the gospel. It is the capstone, so to speak. It is the focal point of Scripture, as Paul has pointed out, and it is the focal point of our salvation. Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin. His resurrection the third day brought our salvation to completion and gave us life in His name.

Paul wants you to understand the whole truth of the gospel: Jesus died for our sin, was buried, and rose again. Apart from this truth nothing else matters.

What does matter is that you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and that you respond in faith. The fact that the Corinthian Christians had responded by faith to the gospel was yet another testimony as to its truth. You can see it in the lives that have been changed. “The proof is in the pudding,” so to speak. Paul begins, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2).

The Corinthian believers are living proof that the gospel of Christ is true. That is the point of the first two verses. The gospel was “preached” to them. They heard it clearly and they understood the message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. They “received” the gospel and they “stand” firm in that truth. They had received Christ as their Savior and Lord, and now they remained steadfast in Him. By that gospel and their faith in Christ, they were “saved.” By Christ’s resurrection and their faith in it, they have been changed and are now evidence of the power of that resurrection.

“If you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (v. 2b), does not mean they are in jeopardy of losing their salvation. Rather, it is a warning against non-saving faith, a faith that amounts only to head knowledge, without the complete trust that comes from the heart. Those who lack true saving faith are those who do not continue to live by the Word. True believers, like these Corinthian believers, continue in the Word to the end. To “hold fast the word” is proof of your genuine saving faith in Christ. Obedience and constant faithfulness are the marks of the true believer.

The resurrection is the central focus of the gospel and of our salvation. When you understand the gospel and believe in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, your life will never be the same again. As Paul told the Corinthian believers, by that truth “you are saved” (v. 2a) and in that truth “you stand” (v. 1b). Amen.