1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Paul begins to address an issue where some had begun to believe that there was no resurrection of the dead. He begins by reminding them of the gospel that he preached and which they received (believed). It is also the gospel by which they are being saved. Salvation for eternal life is an instantaneous, once-off thing, also called justification. The moment you believe, you are saved (John 5:24). But the gospel is also the means by which we are sanctified daily if we hold fast (or abide in) the word. All of this is only true if what they believed in is valid, so Paul goes on to reaffirm the gospel and how it is grounded in the resurrection.
The gospel Paul preached was that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures (Isa 53:10-12) which was confirmed when He was buried. He was raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures (Ps 16:10) which was confirmed by many witnesses. He was first seen by Cephas (Peter) and also by the twelve disciples (Judas replaced by Matthias). Then Jesus appeared to more than five hundred people at the same time. At the time of Paul’s writing, some of those had died but most were still alive and these eyewitnesses of the resurrection would be able to verify what Paul was claiming. Jesus also appeared to James (His brother and the leader of the Jerusalem church) and to the other apostles. These would be others than the twelve but qualified to be apostles because they had been with Christ during His ministry on earth, perhaps some of the 72 (Luke 10:1-12). Last of all Paul himself had seen the risen Christ though he considered himself unworthy to be called an apostle because he had persecuted the church of God. Paul was unable to forget that terrible blemish on his life but it showed God’s grace much more clearly. And God’s grace towards him was not in vain because he worked harder than anyone, yet still, it was not his own efforts but God working through him. Ultimately Paul was not concerned who received the credit in ministry, only that the gospel was preached and people believed.
Paul provided multiple eye witness accounts of Jesus’ resurrection which his readers of the time could have verified. Therefore they had not believed in vain, because Christ has risen indeed. By God’s grace, we have been given a gift. Do you take that gift for granted, or are you like Paul and compelled by God’s grace to serve Him?