The Gospel of God, Part 2

In my last post, I took a look at Paul's description of the gospel of God from Romans 1:1-4, showing that his gospel was rooted in the prior revelation of God in the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Old Testament. In this post, I will focus on 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, and how that passage also informs Paul's (and the Church's) gospel presentation.

Paul begins chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians (although it was not actually his first letter to them, see 1 Corinthians 5:9) like this, "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..."

I covered some of the Old Testament references for the gospel in my last post, so in this post, I will lay out the vital components of the gospel of God. In the first place, the gospel is the message whereby we are saved, as Paul says. In fact, it is the only message whereby people are delivered from an eternity of condemnation and judgment from a holy God. Elsewhere Paul calls the gospel the "gospel of your salvation" (Ephesians 1:13). In yet another place, Paul writes that those who preach a different gospel (whether they be apostles or angels) are under God's curse of anathema (Galatians 1:6-9). The reason why someone would be under God's curse for preaching a different gospel is because those who do so are misleading people into putting their trust in something and/or someone that cannot save!

Secondly, Paul places the gospel as something which is "of first importance." This cannot be overstated. The gospel of Christ is of first importance and supersedes all other considerations in living as Christians. Think of things in church life that are very important: a statement of faith, good music, preaching, small groups, children's and youth ministries, elders, prayer, biblical counseling, etc... Most would agree that these and other things carry massive importance in being followers of Jesus - both individually and together as a local body of believers. But as important as all those things are (and they are very important), the truth of the gospel message is infinitely more so. Because without a proper and firm grasp of the gospel, all the important things mentioned above will profit no one anything, and may even contribute to increasing judgment on us if they are not properly rooted in who Jesus is and what he has done. 

And what has Jesus done in the gospel? Well, in the first place, Paul tells us that Christ died for our sins. A gospel where Christ has not died (such as in Islam) is no gospel at all. But not only is the gospel that Jesus died, he died according to the Scriptures (i.e., the Old Testament). In other words, it is not only that Jesus died, but that he died a certain way which is laid out in the Old Testament. Jesus could not have fallen sick and died peacefully in his sleep for example. His death had to be public, by piercing and being witnessed by others (Psalm 22:7; Isaiah 53:5; Zechariah 12:10). More than this, though, Christ died "for our sins." This is why the doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement is so necessary. Yes, it is true that Christ by his death disarmed Satan and his demons (Colossians 2:14-15). The doctrine of Christus Victor is certainly true. But by itself it is insufficient. Christ's death by crucifixion was only a victory over Satan because he took away one of Satan's most effective weapons, namely accusation (Revelation 12:10). 

Next, Paul writes that Christ was buried. I have written elsewhere on why it is so important that Christ was buried. To briefly reiterate, Christ's burial is vital to prove that he really was dead since only a dead person is buried (not even the Romans were so cruel as to bury someone alive). But more than this, it was necessary to prove that he really was resurrected since witnesses saw him being buried and subsequently saw him alive; as well as to show that his dead body was not eaten by carrion birds or otherwise disposed of.

Lastly, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul reminds his readers and us that Christ was raised up and seen by many witnesses. The true, physical, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the capstone of the Christian faith. Without it, there can be no forgiveness of sins, the early church was full of liars, and the whole of the faith is reduced to nothing (1 Corinthians 15:14-19). This is why the Apostles especially were at pains to emphasize the resurrection and their personal experience of it. The Apostle John, for example, writes that he bears eyewitness testimony of the totality of Jesus' ministry, including his resurrection, "This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true" (John 21:24). Paul also relates his personal experience of the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1).

The gospel is a trust that God himself has given the Church to declare throughout the whole world. It belongs to God, is rooted in the Old Testament, and concerns Jesus Christ - and him alone - as the crucified, buried, and risen one. It is the only message that when believed, leads to salvation. False gospels and false Christs do not save, but only lead to condemnation. I pray that those who read may be encouraged to believe and share this wonderful message of God's kindness, mercy, and grace given in Jesus Christ. Amen.