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1 Corinthians 15:3-8
The Apostle Paul has declared to the Corinthians of the gospel in which he shared with them, the gospel by which they were saved and by which they believe (1 Corinthians 15:1-2). In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (NKJV) Paul explains the gospel message to them, “3For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” Not only is Paul giving proof of the resurrection of Jesus, he is giving witnesses that, at the time, were still alive, as if anyone who might refute his declaration may go and speak with the witnesses themselves. And not only that, but that Paul himself has seen the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus in his magnificent calling and salvation (Acts 9).
This is a promise and example of the gospel message.
This same gospel message is our responsibility to share with the world today. Nothing has changed, and we should not attempt to change it to fit our own desires. Christ died for our sins; He was buried; He rose again; He was seen by many people after His resurrection. Jesus teaches His disciples in Matthew 17:22, “the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” I cannot emphasize enough the declaration of why this is so important but to quote the words of Jesus Himself in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God loves the world that He created – even though the world has fallen to sin, God still loves His creation so much that He has launched His great plan to save us from our sins – sins that have separated us from Him and experiencing His great love for us as He has intended for us to live in – His love and life relationship with Him. How do we get this in our lives – by believing. The Apostle Paul gives us the simple steps to salvation if we will come to God with a sincere heart to Him. Romans 10:9-10 teach us, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This is the gospel message; believe it and confess it, and be saved – in Christ!
Dear LORD,
This is the message that we all desire to share with everyone throughout the world; that Jesus died for our sins; that He was buried; that He rose from the dead on the third day; and that it is a proven fact by many witnesses. We know from the Bible in Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death,” and we also know that Jesus died without sin – He was not guilty and deserving of death, but He took our place and died sinless to go into death and defeat it once for all who will believe in Him (Romans 6:10) so that we may receive the gift through believing in Him as we learn in Romans 6:23b, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Lead us to the death of the cross that we may find life in it – in Christ! In Jesus name I pray, amen.