It seems as though there were some in the Corinthian church who questioned the fact of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Any Jew who had been influenced by the Sadducees would not have accepted the resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t accept the resurrection of the dead.
Any Greek who had been influenced by some of the Greek philosophers would have also rejected the idea of bodily resurrection. Some of the Greek philosophers considered the body evil, and therefore, to be resurrected in bodily form would not have been desirable.
I. What The Gospel Does
A. It Enables A Person To Stand V. 1
1. 15:1a-The Gospel Must be Received
a. The gospel message is not just for hearing and agreeing to mentally.
b. The Gospel must be received if it is to benefit a person.
c. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
2. 15:1b-The Effect Of The Gospel
a. The truth of the Gospel, which includes the resurrection, gives us a reason to stand.
b. The believer must decide to stand because of the truth of the Gospel.
c. Ray Stedman- That means you have a foundation; you have a place to handle life; you have a security to which you can resort at any time of pressure and problem and you can stand steady, no matter what kind of force comes against you. When you believe that God has forgiven your sins for Christ’s sake, when you believe that God loves you and has accepted you as his child, when you believe that he is working in you by the power of his resurrected life to enable you to love and to live as you ought and to give you power to say “No” when you need to say “No,” you have a place to stand that can handle anything that comes. That is what Paul said these Corinthians had. They were loved by God; therefore, they had a place of emotional security. That is the first thing the gospel does.
B. It Saves The One Who Believes The Message V. 2
1. 15:2-The Gospel Is God’s Plan To Save People
a. Saved from God’s Judgment
i. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
b. The Gospel is good news
i. Stedman- That is the good news, that God did something for us in that marvelous event of the cross. As we contemplate the cross, and the dying of Jesus in our place, we see that the good news is that God takes it seriously, and he is prepared to treat us in an entirely different way than we deserve to be treated on the basis of the death of Jesus on our behalf. That is the good news.
2. Salvation Requires True Faith
a. True salvation is evidenced when we hold fast that word.
b. Some have only a fleeting, temporary belief. They have believed in vain.
c. In vain-without success of effort, without reason, without a cause. Speaks of failure.
3. What does it mean to believe in vain?
a. Parable of the sower.
i. This is he who received seed by the wayside…etc.
ii. “But he who received the seed on stony places…etc.
iii. “Now he who received seed among the thorns…etc.
iv. “But he who received seed on the good ground…etc.
b. 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
c. The Corinthians’ problem was that they denied the fact of our resurrection, according to Greek thought or Sadducee influence–they believed that we lived forever, but not in resurrected bodies
4. What does it mean to believe in vain?
a. Paul may also be referring to 1 Corinthians 15:17.
b. That if they had put their faith in a lie, then their faith was vain, empty, useless.
c. Guzik- If the Corinthian Christians did not continue to hold fast, one day they might let go of the gospel. And if one lets go of the gospel, all their previous belief won’t do them any good. It was as if they had believed in vain.
d. Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel…
II. What The Gospel Is
A. Not The Invention Of Man, But The Work Of God V. 3
1. This gospel is not simply insightful teaching or good advice. Not a philosophy.
2. The Gospel message is based upon something that happened.
3. It isn’t something Paul made up, but he received it.
4. Christianity is based upon historical facts.
B. Jesus Died For Our Sins
1. Jesus didn’t just die as a martyr for a cause.
2. He didn’t die as a revolutionary whose life was cut short.
3. His death was purposed before time began. He came to be a sacrifice.
4. He came to die for the sins of the whole world.
a. For our sins tells us both that our sins were reason for Jesus’ death.
5. 1 John 2:2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
6. Many people have believed that Jesus died, but there is no good news in that.
a. The good news is Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
b. That is the good news, that his death accomplished something for us.
c. It changed us, it delivered us, it set us free.
C. Jesus Was Definitely Dead & Was Buried V. 4
1. The gospel message says that the power of God raised a man from the dead.
2. Jesus did not wake up from a coma, or from a drug induced state.
3. He was not resuscitated to the mortal life that he had. There is no power in that.
4. To arise from the dead, after three days, that is power. He arose with a new body.
5. The gospel is powerful because God is all powerful.
D. Jesus Rose From The Dead
1. He rose again-Jesus’ resurrection was always central in the apostles’ preaching
2. There is no Christianity without the resurrection. See vs. 11-17
3. According to the Scriptures-Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t an accident or the result of happenstance; it was planned by God before the foundation of the world.
4. His death and resurrection is described in many places in the Bible.
a. Read Acts 2:22-39. Peter quoted Acts 16:10, as David prophesied about Jesus, that Jesus would be raised from the dead.
b. Read Isaiah 53:8-12.
c. Read Psalm 22.