The Gospel
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Core Idea: The gospel tells us that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day so that we can be forgiven, redeemed, and empowered to live a life that aims to bring glory to God. This truly is good news – then, may this truth be of first importance in all of our lives today.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, Lighthouse. Happy Easter! Now, if you’re new to our church or Christianity in general, we’re so delighted you’re here. Thank you so much for choosing to spend your time with us today. My prayer for you is that your eyes will be opened to see how beautiful and wonderful our God is – and that you’ll experience this incredible love that He has for you through the Word and our community. And my prayer for the rest of us is that we, too, will have our eyes opened to see the gospel in a fresh way so that we’ll leave this place with our minds challenged, hearts inspired, and lives transformed. Then, with that in mind, let me read our passage for us, which is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve 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 to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
To give you a bit of context, this letter was written to the Christians in the city of Corinth by the Apostle Paul because he had heard that the church was plagued by all kinds of problems – problems regarding leadership, sexual immorality, marriage, singleness, food, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and so on. Now, in dealing with these problems, his response was always the same every time – he pointed them to the gospel. Paul was convinced that these problems were just symptoms of their failure to live out what they said they believed – so his goal in writing this letter was ultimately to help them think about every area of their lives through the lens of the gospel, not the lens of worldly values. No wonder he begins this chapter with these words in verse 1, “Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you.” Even as he was preparing to wrap up the letter, Paul felt that it was necessary to remind them of the gospel once more, not because they were really forgetful, but because he wanted to guard them from drifting away from the gospel. He wanted the gospel to be of first importance – central in their lives. And I wonder if some of us here need to hear that reminder as well. The truth is that we all know how important the gospel is, but many of us still see this disconnect between what we say we believe and how we actually live – it has no real bearing on our lives. If this is you, I pray that this will be an opportunity for you to realign yourselves to the gospel – to re-immerse yourselves in the beauty of this gospel so that it’ll begin to shape your thoughts, motivate your actions, and govern your lives once again. Now, in order for this to happen, we must first understand what the gospel is. Right? How can we live it out if we’re not even sure what the gospel is? Then, what I want to do with the rest of our time is teach you exactly that – three things about the gospel.
· THE CONTENT OF THE GOSPEL
· THE CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL
· THE EFFECT OF THE GOSPEL
Now, if you’re not a Christian, I hope that this is still beneficial to you, considering that the world we live in doesn’t really have a clear understanding of what Christians believe in. In fact, if I asked you what the core truths of the Christian faith are, would you be able to answer? Would you say that it’s about going to church, reading the Bible, and praying? Would you say that it’s about becoming a good person so that you can enter heaven? Would you say that it’s about loving others? Well, my desire is that this message will make it clear to you what the core things we as Christians believe in. This is what Christianity is about.
1) THE CONTENT OF THE GOSPEL
Look at verse 3. As soon as he begins the summary of the gospel, Paul points to Christ. In fact, everything he shares is about Christ and what He did – that Christ died, that Christ was buried, and that Christ was raised. There’s nothing about us. Do you see that? This is really important to see because it tells us that Christianity is fundamentally first about Christ and His accomplishments, not ours. Christianity exists because Jesus came. Christianity exists because Jesus fulfilled the mission that was given to Him. Without Jesus, there is no Christianity. Now, let’s take a step back and look at the word “gospel.” You may be surprised to hear this, but the word “gospel” wasn’t originally a religious term. It was, in fact, commonly used by non-Christians in ancient Greek society because the word just means “good news.” It could’ve been about the coronation of a new king, the birth of an heir, or the defeat of an invading army – but the point is that the word “gospel” simply announced joyful news that prompted a celebration of the hearers. Then, it’s no coincidence that the early Christians adopted this word and gave it a new, distinct meaning centered on the person of Jesus, for Christianity is all about the good news that Jesus brings to the world. Does that make sense? This is really important to point out because it distinguishes Christianity from all other religions. Many religions do promise great things – Islam talks about Jannah, an eternal paradise; Buddhism talks about Nirvana, a state of liberation; and Hinduism talks about Moksha, a state of union with the gods. But the thing is that the foundation of all these religions is good advice – they give a set of directions about what we must do in order to receive these great rewards. But Paul tells us that the core of Christianity is good news – it’s an account of what has been done for us. There’s nothing we can do, nothing we have ever done that can make God love us more – we can have a relationship with God simply because Jesus made it possible for us. Yes, it’s true that the gospel transforms lives. It changes our identity and character. It changes our attitude, appetite, and ambition. It causes us to become agents of love and justice in the world. And yet these are all just results of the gospel penetrating our hearts, not prerequisites to the gospel. The core of Christianity is Jesus. The gospel is all about Christ. Then, let’s take a look at what Jesus actually did for us.
First, Christ died. Now, that usually is the end of a story for many people – with death. But that’s where the gospel begins. Why is that the case? Paul explains – because Christ died for our sins. In other words, Christ did not die in vain – He wasn’t a victim of unfortunate events. No, He died for a purpose – in fact, this was the very reason why He was sent by God. Why? Because the Bible tells us that sin is humanity’s greatest problem. Every suffering and pain results from sin. Every injustice and oppression comes from sin. Every addiction and enslavement results from sin. Every broken relationship is the result of sin. But most importantly, sin breaks our relationship with God – the Creator and Giver of life. Now, if you’re still not convinced, listen to what Pastor Paul Tripp said – it’s a little long, but I think it’s worth the read. “Imagine our world without sin. Imagine the joy of untainted unity, understanding, and love in marriage. Imagine living in this lifelong union with no mixed motives, no susceptibility to unfaithfulness, and no selfish conflict. Imagine no child ever being abused in any way. Imagine being patient and kind toward your children all the time. Imagine your children always having a heart to obey, desiring to do what is right, and living free of the temptation to go their own way. Imagine never fearing what they are up to when they’re out of the house. Imagine friendship with no conflict whatsoever. Imagine never having petty disagreements, selfish jealousies, or entitled demands. Imagine no one taking a quick offense and no misunderstanding getting in the way. Imagine your job or career unaffected by sin. Imagine every boss being motivated by love for each worker and a commitment to their welfare. Imagine the workplace free of selfish competition, back-stabbing, jealousy, deceit, and thievery. Imagine a work environment where people were more important than money, love was more highly valued than success, and decisions were made with pure motivations. Imagine there being no such thing as a corrupt government. Imagine no poverty anywhere, no disease, and no famine. Imagine all people loving God above all else and loving their neighbors as themselves. Imagine peace and harmony everywhere, all the time. Imagine never having your heart broken. Imagine never doing anything to hurt or harm another. Imagine living without fear, disappointment, and discouragement. Imagine a life without sin.” I don’t know about you, but my heart ached as I read this because this is what I want – and yet this isn’t what we experience in life today. Now, he wrote a lot more on this, but I think this is sufficient for us to see that sin really is the greatest problem we face as mankind. But the gospel tells us that Christ died for our sins – to deal with it once and for all. No wonder the gospel is good news.
Now, if you look at verse 3, you’ll see that the word “for” appears twice – one in the beginning (for what I received) and one in the middle (Christ died for our sins). Obviously, we can’t see this in English, but they’re actually two different words in Greek. The first one is gar, which means “since” – but the second one is huper, which means “on behalf of.” This is incredibly important to point out because it implies that Jesus died as our substitute – He died instead of us. He took our place and received what we deserved. In fact, look at the phrase added at the end. “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” In other words, this wasn’t done on a whim. This wasn’t God’s plan B. No, this is exactly how God was going to rescue His people from the beginning of time. Listen to what Isaiah 53:4-5 says, which, by the way, was written around 600 years before Jesus’ death, “Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering… He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” If you forget everything I said today, just remember that the core message of the gospel is substitution. Jesus paid the debt of our sins, Jesus defeated the power of evil and death to secure victory for us, and Jesus bore the wrath of God instead of us because we couldn’t achieve any of these things on our own. Listen to what Pastor John Stott said, “The concept of substitution may be said to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices Himself for man and puts Himself where only man deserves to be.” Isn’t that just incredibly profound? Sin is you substituting yourself for God, while salvation is God substituting Himself for you – putting Himself where you deserve to be. Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins.
Second, Christ was buried. Now, why is it important to point this out? Isn’t this the same thing as Jesus dying? Not necessarily. There were people who claimed that Jesus didn’t really die but that He just passed out as a result of the enormous physical punishment He suffered on the cross. This is called the Swoon Theory. But the Bible makes it clear that Jesus was buried in the grave for three days. This is important because it shows us that Jesus really did receive the penalty for our sins. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” So, if Jesus didn’t truly die, the gospel can’t be good news, for we would still be under the reign of sin. In other words, Paul needed to add this small detail to show that Jesus wasn’t resuscitated at the last minute – no, He really died.
Third, Christ was raised on the third day – which is what today is about. Now, the resurrection of Jesus is crucial to the gospel because it confirms that Jesus actually paid the penalty for our sin. Let me explain this using a metaphor that Pastor Tim Keller used. Let’s say that you were in prison because you couldn’t pay the debt you owed. What would be the only way you could leave that prison? Either finish serving the sentence or have someone pay the debt for you. In other words, one of those things must happen in order for you to be released from prison. In the same way, Jesus coming out of the grave implies that He has paid the debt of our sin. If He didn’t, He would still be in the grave. Does that make sense? This is why the resurrection is an essential part of the gospel, for, without it, our victory over death is not guaranteed. But because Jesus conquered the grave, there’s nothing left for us to do. If you’re in Christ, your past sins can’t condemn you, and your future is secure, all because Jesus was raised from the dead.
What is the gospel? It’s that Christ died, that Christ was buried, and that Christ was raised on the third day. This is why the core message of Christianity is good news – the battle against sin, evil, and death is complete in Christ. Jesus has done it all – all we need to do is simply receive it in faith. Then, let me quickly speak to my non-Christian friends. Imagine a life without sin – imagine a life forever with the Creator God. This is made available to you today in Christ. Then, don’t delay – trust Jesus today. There are no prerequisites – you don’t have to be someone to be saved. You don’t have to make yourself look good before you come. You can just come as you are. He’s waiting for you with His arms wide open. Then, I pray that you’ll run to Him right now – He’ll embrace you and welcome you in.
2) THE CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL
Now, as much as this sounds amazing, how can we be sure that Jesus actually rose from the dead? How can anyone confidently say that someone can come back to life after being in the grave for three days? It doesn’t make sense – but this is exactly why Paul shared that Christ appeared to many people after His resurrection. Verse 5 – Jesus appeared to Cephas, as in Peter. He then appeared to the Twelve – technically, there were now eleven because Judas had died. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred people at one time – making it hard for anyone to claim that the disciples had lied about Jesus’ resurrection just to start a movement. This, by the way, is what some people really believed. Then, this was Paul’s way of saying to the Corinthians, “If you think I’m making this up, go and talk to these people I mentioned because most of them are actually still alive. Check it for yourself. Talk to these eyewitnesses to confirm what I’m saying is true.” After that, He appeared to James – probably Jesus’ brother. And then He appeared to all the apostles – probably referring to the core group of disciples sent out by Jesus to preach the gospel and build the church. Lastly, Paul shares that Christ appeared to him as well. He was basically saying, “I saw the risen Lord. And I’m willing to suffer and die for Him, for that’s how serious I am about this.” All that to say, Paul’s point was that the resurrection is history – it really did happen. And by sharing the names of these eyewitnesses, he wanted to strengthen the credibility of the gospel.
Now, people have come up with a number of theories to explain away, to deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let me share just a few. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach the Spirit Theory, which says that Jesus was not raised bodily but only in a spirit form. German scholar David Strauss teaches the Hallucination Theory, which says that the disciples simply imagined Jesus’ resurrection because they so desperately wanted to believe He was still alive. The Wrong Tomb Theory suggests that the disciples thought Jesus was alive because they accidentally went to the wrong tomb. Lastly, the Twin Theory suggests that Jesus actually had an identical twin brother who was separated at birth – and that this twin brother pretended to be Jesus after His death. Again, these are real arguments – in fact, there’s a lot more. But here are some theories that argue for the historicity of the resurrection. Number one, the empty tomb. The tomb, where Jesus was buried, was found empty a few days after His crucifixion. If Jewish and Roman authorities wanted to refute the claims of resurrection, they could’ve just presented Jesus’ dead body – but they didn’t. Number two, the transformation of the disciples. The disciples went from being terrified to boldly proclaiming the gospel – even though they had nothing to gain but everything to lose. People usually don’t die for something they know is a lie. Number three, the growth of the early church. Something extraordinary must have happened to convince so many people to become Christians so rapidly despite fierce persecution. Number four, the conversion of skeptics. People who initially opposed or doubted Jesus became believers – for example, James (a skeptic during Jesus’ life, later became a key leader in the church) and Paul (a persecutor of Christians who was transformed inside out after meeting the risen Christ). Lastly, the female eyewitnesses. In the biblical days, women weren’t even qualified to be witnesses in court – which means that if this story was made up, no one would put women as the only eyewitnesses of Jesus’ empty tomb, knowing that this story would be quickly dismissed by many, unless it was true. All that to say, we have more than enough reasons to be sure that the resurrection is historically true. We’re not taking a leap of faith – the gospel is rooted in truth. Now, there are a lot of resources on this – so take some time to dig deeper because it’s only going to strengthen your faith.
3) THE EFFECT OF THE GOSPEL
Verse 8, “Last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” The phrase “abnormally born” in Greek actually describes a birth that is unexpected or unnatural. Then, Paul uses this to explain how his conversion was radically different and unusual, but real and valid, nonetheless. He knows that his salvation truly is a miracle, for he sees himself unworthy of God’s grace. In verses 9-10, Paul essentially gives us his personal testimony – sharing how the gospel had powerfully transformed him. Then, let’s take a look at this by focusing on the two “I am” statements Paul uses here. First, “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” This is a bit shocking to read because Paul was considered a top-tier Pharisee in that he was highly educated, deeply devout, and widely influential. If anyone could earn salvation with their credentials and performance, it would be Paul – and yet he shares that he’s the least of the apostles and that he doesn’t deserve to be saved. Why? Because he was passionately against Christ. He did everything he could to stop Christians from preaching the gospel – and he couldn’t understand how he could not just be forgiven but also be sent out to represent Christ. Then, what happened? What caused this radical transformation in Paul? Second, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” What turned Paul’s life around? He says it three times: Grace, grace, grace. I shared this at our prayer meeting on Friday – but hopefully this will help us understand what this word means. Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Justice is getting punished for what you did. Mercy is being freed to go without being punished. Grace is to be welcomed into the house of the one you offended and be loved unconditionally. Does that make sense? That’s what Paul is talking about here. His life was completely changed because he received what he didn’t deserve – the love of Christ. Grace humbled him, for it reminded him that he wasn’t worthy to be called a child of God. But grace also lifted him up, for that’s what he really became – a child of God, not because of what he has done, but solely because of what Christ has done for him on the cross.
If you’re a Christian, I invite you to do the same for yourself today – in that, think of your own two “I am” statements. First, think about all the ways you don’t deserve God’s salvation. List your sins, your idols, your love of reputation, your desire to be first, your determination to stay in control of your life, your self-exalting motives, your failures, your reckless decisions, your cruelty toward others, and more. Allow these things to remind you that there was nothing you had, nothing you did that made you worthy of God’s love. But don’t stop there – remember God’s grace. Because of His amazing grace, your sins are covered, and your failures are redeemed. Because of His amazing grace, you’re no longer condemned, abandoned, and forsaken – no, you’re forgiven, embraced, and loved as a child of God. “Because of His amazing grace, I am what I am” – may that be your own confession as well. The gospel tells us that Christ loved us precisely when we were unworthy, so that we can now live in a manner worthy of the gospel.
In fact, this is why Paul worked harder than anyone. The gospel doesn’t just forgive and redeem, but it also empowers us. It doesn’t leave us where we are. It doesn’t cause us to be lazy, thinking that Christ has done all the work. No, it empowers us to serve the Lord with joy and bring glory to God with all that we do. We now have a new ambition for life – to advance the gospel wherever we are. Again, he’s not working to be saved – he’s working because he’s saved. No wonder he adds the phrase, “Yet not I.” I love that phrase because I think it describes the life of a Christian. In fact, I want to read a portion of the song, “Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me,” by CityAlight, because I think it wonderfully shows how grace operates in our lives. “Oh, how strange and divine, I can sing, ‘All is mine,’ yet not I, but through Christ in me. Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome, yet not I, but through Christ in me. Oh, the chains are released, I can sing, ‘I am free,’ yet not I, but through Christ in me. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat, ‘Yet not I, but through Christ in me.’” Brothers and sisters, this is our story. Then, let’s continue to make every effort to glorify God in every aspect of our lives. Let’s intentionally apply the gospel truths in all circumstances. Let’s joyfully work hard so that we can accomplish great things for the Lord – yet not I, but through Christ in me.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, the gospel tells us that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day so that we can be forgiven, redeemed, and empowered to live a life that aims to bring glory to God. This truly is good news – then, may this truth be of first importance in all of our lives today.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) If someone asked you, “What is Christianity really about?” what would you say? Would you be able to clearly explain the gospel to them? Try sharing it right now with one another.
2) The gospel is centered entirely on what Christ has done, not on what we do. Why is this distinction so important?
3) What are your own two “I am” statements? One that reflects where you came from, and one that reflects who you are by God’s grace?
4) What would it look like to keep the gospel at the center of your daily life? Are there areas of your life where the gospel hasn’t fully penetrated yet – like how you handle conflict, success, failure, or fear?