Chapter 12: I Declare Unto You the Gospel
Let us review all of what we have seen so far before we proceed.
1 Corinthians 15:1-6: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (5) And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: (6) After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
- The gospel means “glad tidings” or “good news.” 1 Corinthians 15:1. Being saved from the lake of fire and being forgiven of sins is good news! What exactly constitutes the gospel?
- Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection is the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. We were hopeless before God as His enemies. Our sin deserved the punishment and wrath of God.
God showed Adam and Eve that He could punish their sin without punishing them by slaying innocent animals and giving them animal skins to cover their shame. Abel knew that the best of his sheep were suitable offerings because the animal’s blood was shed instead of his.
There was a problem, though. Adam and Eve’s animal skins eventually wore out and they needed new ones. Abel’s sheep died instead of Abel, but the sheep stayed dead. Another one would be sacrificed, and another, and another... All of these offerings really never could pay for sin, because they were temporary at best.
It took the almighty Son of God to become a man and offer Himself on the Cross, the righteous God dying instead of sinful humankind. It took more than a mortal creature for the remission of humankind’s sin; Jesus Christ suffered and died once and for all... and as a sacrifice He did not remain in the grave. He rose again from the dead, and is alive today, never again to die. - Jesus was seen alive by over 500 people. It is not as if a few people saw the resurrected Christ; a multitude saw Him. After Jesus ascended into heaven (which we will discuss later), every believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving power of the Holy Ghost, spread this good news across the vast majority of the Roman Empire within a generation or two... without picking up swords and without threatening. In fact, they were persecuted and many were executed, but swimming against the tide, God spread this religion through these believers in Jesus Christ.
- Believing the gospel is salvation from sin, Satan, and the lake of fire. 1 Corinthians 15:2. The events of the gospel do not guarantee that everyone is saved. Cain brought an offering, but He did not believe the promises of God. Let us look at this word “believe.”
A common illustration is sitting in a chair. When you sit in a chair, you do not normally inspect it to see if it will hold you. You trust that it will hold you. The idea is a matter of trusting Christ. We are not looking at our own resources to save ourselves from the coming wrath of God. We know that we are not righteous people, and are not acceptable to God. We admit that we need God to unilaterally save us.
The gospel is the historical facts of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. This is objective truth. But this objective truth must be made subjective in our lives: this great salvation is appropriated by faith.
Objective truth: Jesus died for humanity’s sins, and rose from the dead.
Subjective truth: Jesus died for your sins, and rose from the dead. - This happened “according to the scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. We looked at several Scriptures that effectively predicted the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we did not even scratch the surface of all that is in the Bible. God preserved the Bible over millennia in order to show us that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world.
How extensive is the salvation that God has given us in Jesus Christ? Let us look at another famous passage of Scripture.
Ephesians 2:1-10: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
- We are made alive. God made us “quick,” or made us alive, though we were previously helpless in our sin (Ephesians 2:1). Note the past tense; it has happened already. We still physically die, living in the cursed flesh with which we were born, but we will be resurrected when Jesus Christ returns for us sometime in the future (which we will discuss later). What is meant here is that we are no longer helpless to do anything but sin. As saved people, we can now do what pleases God.
- Previously, we served Satan. We used to live according to “the prince of the power of the air,” which is another name for Satan. Being enslaved to sin was to serve Satan. Do you remember the first promise of the Savior in Genesis 3:15?
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
God pronounced this judgment upon Satan because he led Adam and Eve to rebel against God. Satan was going to bruise the heel of this Savior. This was Christ on the cross. But Christ, rising from the dead, delivered the death blow to Satan, in bruising his head. Satan and his angels no longer have the power over us like they did. One day, he will be destroyed forever, and the risen Savior Jesus Christ will throw him into the lake of fire.
We are no longer Satan’s subjects. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are free. There are days that we may not feel free or act free, but we are free. It is not that we feel saved, for faith is not an emotion. We are saved based on the historical fact that Jesus was crucified for our sins, and rose again. - But God. These are two beautiful words in Ephesians 2:4. We previously served Satan and our lusts and sins, but God, seeing that we were helpless to do anything but sin, destined for eternal flame, made us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:5). We are saved by grace, which is unmerited favor. God was not looking at us, thinking, “Well, he was a sinner, but not too bad.” No, rather, He was disgusted with the entire human race, enough to cast us out of His sight forever, but He showed mercy by creating us anew.
- We sit together in heaven with Him. Now we may still sin, still living this side of heaven, but the Lord Jesus is our advocate to God the Father when we do sin (1 John 2:1). We were declared righteous by God on the basis of a new union with Jesus Christ. We have died with Christ, rose again with Christ, and we ascended and are seated with the risen Christ (Ephesians 2:6). We truly are new creatures by His decree, born again, having passed from death to life. Having this unity with Jesus Christ, we now have the power by faith to live in our experience what we have been declared by the Lord Jesus.
There is a lot of information here, and I have not even scratched the surface of the implications of these beautiful truths. If you take anything from this, know how thoroughly the Lord Jesus has saved us from sin, Satan, and the lake of fire. One day, we will rise again from the dead ourselves, never to sin again, and be saved forever from the presence of sin if we believe that Jesus died for us and rose again. - Good works have been ordained for us. Ephesians 2:8-10 is a very famous triad of verses. Being saved by the Lord Jesus was something that He alone did, not of any good work, action, or intrinsic quality we possess (Ephesians 2:8). It is a gift that God gave us (Ephesians 2:9).
However, God did not stop there, but gave us good works to do in this life (Ephesians 2:10). Being “created in Christ Jesus” is not when we were born, but when we were born again. Saved people are God’s true workmanship.
Please note the order of these verses, however, because this is misunderstood a lot by many well-meaning people. We are saved, and then we are commissioned for good works. To say otherwise is to put the cart before the horse.
For example, the unbeliever cannot do good works, surrender their lives to Christ, turn from sin, say prayers, or make any other promise to God to be saved. We have already established that the unsaved are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), walking “according to the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), and are “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). The unsaved are helpless to do anything that pleases God, and are His enemies. Salvation is believing the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, and only then, can we walk in the good works we were ordained to do.
One final note, is that one day we will rise from the dead when Jesus returns to the earth. What happens to us who are saved in the meantime? The Bible tells us, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). We who are saved are instantly with the Lord the moment we breathe our last breath. Our spirit, absent from the body, is with Jesus. What a glorious thought!
Next: Chapter 13: As the Days of Noe Were
Previous: Chapter 11: It is Finished