PART 1
I Corinthians 15:1-8
(V1) "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;"
(V1) Here Paul is writing his first letter to this troubled church at Corinth. He is proclaiming the same gospel that he had preached to them before. This gospel was the same one they had received when Paul preached to them in an earlier visit. In this evil, faithless generation when the great apostasy is getting more noticeable every day, we see and hear of entire congregations turning away from the original teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. I would compare today's apostatizing church or our nation to the decaying of a fish that begins to rot in the head first.
When a preacher (head of the church) begins to preach another gospel from the pulpit the entire body will soon spiritually decompose. That's why we see so many little splinter groups breaking away from the churches main body and like the little fish, they desintegrate and die. Paul is reminding the congregation at Corinth to keep their feet on the solid Rock gospel that will never roll regardless of the power and the strength of the storm.
(V2) "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain."
(V2) This verse reminds us that the gospel Paul preached was not just a tickling of the ears or a so called feel good gospel but a sermon that contained the words of God that's spiritually required for biblical salvation. The absence of this kind of gospel preaching today is the reason our altars are empty and dry.
(V3) "For I delievered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures."
(V3) Retrospectively, Paul brings to their attention that he was not preaching something to them that he had not first received himself. In other words he was saying that he was not a hypocrite like so many pulpit fakes today that have never been born again while telling others that they should be. What Paul received according to the scriptures was how Christ died for our sins. From his soul stirring conviction Paul preached with a great anointing to the Corinth congregation so they could receive it for themselves. On the other hand, there is a day coming when all fakers and pretenders will stand before the great God of the universe to face the real facts of their life.
(V4) "And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."
(V4) Verses 3 and 4 are absolute essentials in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Without His death, burial and resurrection we have no delieverance from sin, no means of salvation, no way to be saved, and no way to heaven. If He hadn't died He wouldn't have been buried, if He hadn't been buried He couldn't have raised from the dead, and if He hadn't raised from the dead there would not have been any post resurrection sightings.
(V5) "And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve."
(V5) The post resurrection sightings are very important not only in establishing the eternal truth about the last days of the Son of God upon this earth, but also establishes the caliber of those that observed Him. Cephas (Peter) was the first of the Apostles to see Him after His resurrection. The rest of the twelve witnessed that they saw Him also. The last Apostle to see Him was Paul as one born out of due season.
(V6) "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."
(V6) After that He was seen of above five hundred brethren at the same time. Many of those who saw Him were still alive at the time Paul wrote this but some had fallen asleep (died).
(V7) "After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles."
(V7) Later He was seen by James and then by the rest of the Apostles. James was the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ and is believed to be the writer of the five chapter book of James. Although he was the Lord's brother he was not a believer until after the resurrection (John 7:3-5), (Acts 1:14), (I Corinthians 15:7). He later became the pillar and then the head of the Jerusalem church (Galatians 1:19; 2:19).
(V8) "And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time."
(V8) Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Syria and had quite an encounter with Him. It was here that this evil man was changed into one of the greatest preachers that ever preached the gospel. I am under the persuasion that the Apostle Paul wrote 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament, so that means that over half of the books in the New Testament were penned by him.
To Be Continued.......
DEAR READER, ARE YOU RAPTURE READY???
No comments:
Post a Comment