The Message of Paul
—1Corinthians 15
This chapter for study (1Corinthians 15) provides two lessons. The first lesson (this one) is about verses 1 to 34. Paul made seven declarations of great importance concerning the message he preached, namely the gospel of Christ.
1 Paul Declared
the Gospel that Saves
1Cor 15, Verses 1-2
Paul said to the church at Corinth, "Brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you..." Paul identified his message as the gospel of Christ. It was the message by which the Corinthians were saved. That declaration denied any theory that Paul was preaching a different gospel to the one received by the church in Jerusalem.
Paul declared and preached the one true gospel. Those Corinthians who received it took their stand in it. They were saved by it and held on to it firmly. They did not believe in vain.
2 Paul Declared
Christ’s Resurrection
1Cor 15, Verses 3-7
Paul declared the heart of his message: Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he arose the third day. These events were according to prophecies in Scripture.
Paul then mentioned that many disciples were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ. Paul himself claimed to be an eyewitness, although not until after Jesus ascended to glory. He likened himself to a baby born late. No doubt Paul was referring to his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. The irony was that seeing Jesus sent him blind until Jesus healed him.
3 Paul Declared
God’s Grace
1Cor 15, Verses 9-11
Paul declared himself to be an apostle, but only by the grace of God. He did not deserve to be an apostle, having been the enemy of Christ. Nevertheless, by grace he was forgiven and appointed to apostleship, driven to work harder in ministry than his peers who also preached by grace as Paul did.
So the Corinthians received the message of grace and believed it by grace.
4 Paul Declared
a Doctrine False
1Cor 15, Verses 12-19
Next, Paul dealt with an inconsistency in what some were teaching about the resurrection. While the resurrection of Christ was preached, some of the Corinthians were saying that there will be no general resurrection at the last day. Paul taught that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then there was no resurrection of Christ because he was the firstfruits of that general resurrection. The two events stand or fall together.
Paul further pointed out that if Christ was not raised, the preachers, including Paul himself, were false witnesses. They were saying that Jesus was raised when he wasn't. Their preaching was empty, and so was their faith. In that case, it followed that nobody was forgiven of sins. There was no hope for anyone, alive or dead. That would have been the situation if the heresy were not a heresy but the truth.
5 Paul Declared
Christ’s Reign
1Cor 15, Verses 20-28
So Paul painted a picture of the coming judgment. At his first coming to this world, Christ died, then he arose from the dead as the "firstfruits" of those who had died. Paul said that just as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Jesus Christ. This occurs at his second coming. Between his first and second comings he reigns as king on his Father’s throne in heaven. All things are subject to him except God his Father. At the resurrection he will destroy death. That was Paul’s message.
6 Paul Declared
Other Arguments
1Cor 15, Verses 29-32
Paul next put forward some secondary arguments. If there was no resurrection of the dead, there was no point in the following...
- (1) Some converts had felt encouraged to be baptised because of someone’s death. That would not make sense if there was no resurrection.
- (2) Paul constantly put his life in extreme jeopardy. Why would he do that if he had no hope of resurrection?
- (3) Everyone should have taken the attitude, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" — if they were not to be raised from death.
7 Paul Declared
His Plea
1Cor 15, Verses 33-34
Paul closed this section of his letter with a plea to avoid certain dangerous situations:
Evil company
Asleep to righteousness
Practising sin
Lack of knowledge