(Begin by blowing up a balloon and holding up a straight pin)
What will happen if I take this pin and puncture this balloon? Watch. (Pop the balloon). Now this pin only makes a tiny hole, but that’s all it takes to explode a perfectly good balloon. In the events of history there is one tiny sharp period of events that make or break the meaning of life.
Did you know that Christian faith is a little like that? Of all that we believe and practice, 1 Cor. 15 looks at one thing that supports it all. If it can be proven false, the entire Christian system falls to the ground. What is it? The resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is not raised, nothing else about him will save us.
It is one thing to put Jesus to death on the cross and put his lifeless body in a tomb, but it is quite another thing to bring him back to life, never to die again. The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands as one of three pillars of history that hold up the Christian faith. These three are listed as top priority matters in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. Each one is essential to the security of the faith. Each one must be true or all of the Christian faith is false. Each one must be actual history or not one of us here today has any hope beyond this temporary fleshly existence.
Look again at how God inspired this to be written by the hand of Paul and notice the way it intensifies:
15:1 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 the word which I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
Do you see how this gathers momentum and builds magnitude?
The first words of verse one are from a Greek word: gnoridzo and it is translated various ways. The KJV and NKJV say, “I declare to you.” The NAS has, “I make known to you.” The NIV and RSV puts it, “I want to remind you, or I would remind you.”
Possibly the best contemporary way to translate this is: “I want you to know, or I would have you know…” sort of like we might say, “Listen up! It is important for you to get this straight.” Then he takes a “which” and beats it into your system! Four times the word “which” occurs.
Look at them with me and watch how they build up to a crescendo.
15:1 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 the word which I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
The subject of each of these whiches is “the gospel.” The object of each “which” is “you.”
The points of reference for each “which” are the steps bringing us to salvation.
I preached the gospel to you.
You received the gospel.
You stand in the gospel.
You are saved by the gospel… (now the warning) if you hold fast the word I preached to you… unless you believed in vain.
This is laying it on pretty thick. The gospel is God’s power to save us! Like Paul told the Romans in 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Is this true? Is the gospel really able to take sinners and turn them into saved saints, children of God? Can the gospel actually convert lost hell bound heathens and make them heaven bound holy men and women who walk and talk like Jesus? Now that’s power! That is the power of God.
Look at the process again: the gospel is preached, received, a stand is made in it, and then one is saved by it. But they must continue to hold fast the word preached or their faith is in vain. Is that what that says?
Look at what is next, look at the first part of verse 3: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
Paul is passing on the torch. He is not inventing something new. He’s not about to try to make any changes or improvements on the perfect, complete, inspired, eternal and priority one, heavenly message. In fact, Paul would rather die than change the gospel! Listen to his warning to the Galatians when someone offered them a new and improved message:
1:8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it by man, but I received it through a revelation from Jesus Christ.
How do you really feel about changing the gospel, Paul?
Ok… We know that what is being taught here is changless. We should never tamper with the gospel. It is also fully transferable. We can deliver to others the gospel that we receive. And one more thing… look at the words of verse three again:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received,
I delivered to you as of what? I delivered to you as of first what? First what? Importance! Now listen here. There are very few things that the Bible calls top priority, and this is one of them. We like to say that everything the Bible says is top priority, but what we discover here is that in the Bible itself we find that there are a few top priorities on the top priority. Here is one of them.
This is of first importance. If you have the kjv or nkjv they will say, “first of all.” What you need to read there is not just first in order, but first of all in the sense of “first over all..” The gospel is not just the first step among many; it is the big one that makes all the difference in eternity. Understand?
Now… are you ready… here comes the terminus of this, the landing strip for the flight, the point, the target, the punch line. This whole introduction has been begging the question: What? What is the gospel? What did we receive? What do we stand in? By what are we saved? And God’s word unfolds it before us:
…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 James, then to all the apostles;
8 and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am 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.
I love those final words: so we preach and so you believed. What?
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
He was buried,
He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
And he appeared… to Peter, to the twelve, to more than 500, to James, to all the apostles, and to me.
So we preach and so you believed.
So what’s so powerful about that? Almost 2000 years and in our world today over a billion people claim to believe this. For those that hold fast this word and walk in obedience of faith, there is grace from God. There is salvation from sin. There is power for eternal life. The gospel offers resurrection power for life. It did then. It does right now.
-Hear it preached and receive it in faith.
-Take your stand in the gospel by turning from sin, confessing the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and being buried with him, in his name, for remission of sins and you will get a new name, Christian.
-God will save you by Jesus death, burial and resurrection. He will do it when you open your heart to him and accept his Lordship in your life by walking in obedient faith.
Listen again to the last verses of this chapter:
50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Do you believe this?
Do you believe Jesus Christ died for your sins on that cross and was buried in the tomb? Do you?
Do you believe he is the Son of God and risen Lord?
Do you?
Have you received the good news and taken your stand in it by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so his blood can wash your sins away?
Are you saved?
If you are, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
If you are not, what are you waiting for?
(blow up another balloon and hold it up). This is your life. (Hold up the pin) But this is what happens to your life without Jesus Christ. (Burst the balloon). God invites you to have life that will last forever in Jesus Christ. Will you come and receive it today?
