Is the Gospel Defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4? скачать в хорошем качестве

Is the Gospel Defined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4?

1 Corinthians 15 does not contain the entire gospel. Nor is it a comprehensive list of what a person must believe to receive eternal life. To the contrary, how to receive eternal life is not even in view. Eternal life is assumed, and some elements of the gospel are proclaimed to help those who already have eternal life live in light of it. This study is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary online course (https://redeeminggod.com/courses/gosp...) . This course considers 52 key words of the Gospel and thousands of biblical texts. The course contains over 100 hours Bible teaching. You can take the course by joining my online discipleship group (https://redeeminggod.com/join/) . The Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul’s explanation of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 is probably more controversial than any other gospel-related passage in the New Testament. This is because 1 Corinthians 15 seems to explicitly define “the gospel.” Paul writes, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). Paul writes that he is going to reiterate to them the gospel he preached when he was among them, which they had received, and in which they still stand. All of this is very similar to the language he used in Galatians 2. The dilemma with what Paul writes, however, comes in the second half of 1 Corinthians 15:2: “…by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached.” By this, many believe that Paul is explaining what is necessary to believe in order to receive everlasting life. But note that if this is what Paul means then the last part of verse 2 (“unless you believed in vain”) implies that if a person doesn’t persevere in holding fast to the gospel, then they either lose their salvation or never really believed in the first place. If Paul is defining what a person must believe in order to be justified, then apparently, they have to continue to believe it to stay justified or prove themselves justified. The only other option is to recognize that the word “saved” is not referring to going to heaven when you die, but is similar in meaning to how Paul used the word in Romans 1:16-17. The word saved means “delivered,” and context determines what we are delivered from (see Salvation: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible (https://redeeminggod.com/saved-most-m...) ). The word “saved” in 1 Corinthians refers to being “healthy” or blameless at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18, 21; 3:15; 5:5; 6:19). The word “saved” in 1 Corinthians is not about escaping hell and go to heaven when we die (It almost never means this in the Bible). Instead, it is about believers living in such a way so that when they stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ (a judgment for believers only), they receive praise and commendation from Jesus for a life well lived. So the gospel Paul defines in 1 Corinthians 15 is a message for believers to help prepare them for the Judgment Seat of Christ. This passage is not about the essential elements that must be believed in order to receive everlasting life. This is not a passage for unbelievers. Rather, 1 Corinthians 15 contains essential discipleship truths which affect our sanctification as believers and how we use the power of God in our lives (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18). What if 1 Corinthians 15 IS for non-Christians about how to receive eternal life? Nevertheless, some still want to use 1 Corinthians 15 as a central passage for the gospel that must be presented to unbelievers so they can receive eternal life. So for the sake of argument, let us briefly assume that such a view is correct. Let us assume that Paul is talking about essential “evangelistic” truths that a person must believe in order to receive everlasting life. In this view, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 delineate what these essentials are. Paul writes, “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” When these two verses are used to define the essential gospel elements that people must believe in order to receive eternal life, they end up with three basic gospel truths. This passage, we are told, reveals three things a person must believe in order to receive everlasting life. They must believe that: 1. Christ died for our sins. 2. He was buried. 3. He rose again from the dead. Some might add a fourth element on the top of this list which is implied by Paul but not stated explicitly, namely that we must also believe we are sinners. The logic is that since Paul writes that Christ died for our sins, people must first believe tha...