I Corinthians 15:1  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.

We continue to live in a very interesting time in the history of the world. The Roman system that was in place during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth, as well as the time of the apostles, was not friendly toward God. It had found a way to deceive and manipulate the majority of the Jewish people. A few like the apostles were not deceived and they did not bow down to that system. They sought to work within that system where they could, but they refused to be quiet regarding the only hope of man.
This week a young Muslim man attacked an idol of Mary in Switzerland. He proved there is no power in idols. He is a lost man and his religion is corrupt and vain. No one dared to interfere with his “attack” against that idol. People were filming him but there were no negative consequences for him, to his actions.
The U.S. has given Ukraine further permission to use U.S. rockets to attack Russia on its own land. Russia has threatened the West with further retaliation if Ukraine carries out this threat. That situation is becoming more fragile all the time.
In Israel, the situation is also becoming hotter. There are Democrats in the U.S. who want the U.S. government to withhold more weapons shipments to Israel. The current administration is still in power for a few more months. As we can see, much can happen in a very short time.
When we look at the presumed upcoming administration in the U.S. we see a government in waiting that is not proving itself to be very wise. Far too much future planning is being publicized, giving the enemies much ammunition and much opportunity to put in place plans that could greatly hamper any possible good the new government wants to bring in. The wise person knows you don’t tell your enemy your plans ahead of time. Just wait until you can actually act and then enact your policies. It is an interesting time we are living in.
Then of course there is our own government which is foolishly doubling and tripling down on “climate change”. They insist that anyone who would dare to question their lies, is guilty of spreading “misinformation and disinformation.” They have the media on their side and the WEF is demanding they continue their lies. Current discussions taking place in Peru are continuing to move the world into the worship of ‘mother nature’, in its various forms.
In the midst of this, the study of God’s Word is most important, as at any time. The apostle Paul did not allow the ungodly Roman government to intimidate him in his calling from God. He knew he had an important work to do and he was busy doing it. He knew the people of his time needed to know the truth. He was willing to address the situation in Corinth, knowing that his letter to them would not be kept secret. He knew he was working on behalf of the God of Creation. The need then was not the overthrow of the Roman government. The need was the repentance of sin among saints. The need was for a bright shining light that could expose the darkness and help others to come to know God’s forgiveness and peace.
As we move into chapter 15, the need was to remind all, that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was an indisputable fact. Without His resurrection, there was no hope for anyone.
The church in Corinth had been wasting their time on lies. They were carnal. They were not immersed in the study of God’s Word. They were busy promoting false doctrines. God directed the apostle Paul to expose the corruption they were involved in. He also taught them the truth.
It is not enough to expose the lies that are so prevalent even today. There must also be the teaching of the truth. There are many people who love to hear of controversy. They love to see sin exposed. However, they also need to be taught the truth. The truth is not what we might want to hear. The truth is what we need to hear.
In the opening verses of chapter 15, the apostle reminded the saints of the central point of the Gospel. The saints in Corinth had received this crucial information. They not only received it but this was the ground upon which they stood. They were not behaving as those who had been blessed with the Truth. Thus they needed to be rebuked and also reminded of the significance of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 2 we are reminded that salvation is only possible through believing the true Gospel. The saints in Corinth had received the true Gospel. The apostle Paul reminded them that he had been faithful to his calling. He challenged the saints to think about what he had preached to them. They needed to keep that in their memory. The danger was that possibly they had believed in vain. Perhaps they were frauds. Possibly they had not believed what he declared, but rather they had chosen to believe lies. That would be a tragedy of the greatest magnitude.
In verse 3 Paul began to lay down the fundamental facts of the Gospel of Christ. Paul reminded the saints that his message was not merely that of a man. The apostle Paul had personally received the message he was preaching now at Corinth. He had been saved through the faithful preaching of the Gospel of Christ. He had personally been confronted with his sin. He was unique in that the Lord Jesus Christ audibly confronted him as he sought to attack the saints in Damascus.
We do not receive that audible confrontation from the Lord Jesus Christ today. However, God’s Word is just as powerful as the audible voice that Saul heard. God’s written Word is just as powerful as His spoken Word. Saul/Paul was converted and then he was personally taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. This teaching superseded the teaching he had received from Gamaliel. His teaching from the Lord Jesus Christ gave him the foundational truths he needed as a new child of God. He was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to be an apostle. He would have authority that was not common to saints. The saints in Corinth were trying to demonstrate an authority they did not have. They were foolish in their pursuits and they were hindering others from coming to know the truth. They needed to get back to the foundation of their salvation. It was not fighting over some man, or ignoring sin, or taking one another to court, or in abusing gifts that had a specific purpose. They were seeking after things that were not for them, and they were missing out on the privilege of helping others to know the true peace of God in their hearts.
Paul reminded the saints that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. The Scriptures had prophesied the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and that He would be cut off from His people. It was necessary for the saints to acknowledge they were sinners and that Jesus Christ had died for their sins. The same is true today. If we truly allow that truth to sink into our hearts, those who are saved will think very carefully about what they choose to follow. Lost people have no problem spitting in Jesus’ face. Saved people would never want to do that. Yet, with their actions, the saints were spitting in Jesus’ face. Many professing Christians are doing the same today.
Jesus Christ was also buried and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. Most of Christendom has rejected this important fact. Jesus referred back to the time that Jonah spent in the belly of the whale as He taught of His time in the heart of the earth. It was not two and a part days. It was three days and three nights. We cannot paraphrase and make up our own stories when we deal with God’s Word. God gave “holy men” His Word. They wrote it down exactly as it was given to them. God promised to preserve His Word “from this generation and for ever.” He has done that. Those who want to limit that preservation to the “originals” have missed out on God’s promise. His Word is preserved in the King James Version in the English language. We have the truth today. It is up to us to receive the Truth.
In verse 5 we are reminded that Cephas (Peter) saw the risen Saviour. Jesus did not cast him off. Peter was given the opportunity to confess his sin of denial and be restored. After appearing to Cephas, Jesus appeared to the rest of the twelve.
In verse 6 we see that after that He was also seen of above 500 brethren at one time. There was a large gathering of saints that saw the Lord Jesus Christ alive. Most of those brethren were still alive as Paul was writing these words. The evidence was there. Some of those 500 had died already. They had not missed out on anything important by dying. The important fact was to know that Jesus Christ was alive and their faith was not in vain.
The saints in Corinth needed to get back to the facts. They needed to abandon their fleshly pursuits and follow after righteousness. They were missing out on so much because of their carnality. This needed to stop. God was being gracious to them. He is also being gracious to us today. Let us make sure we are following that which is true.
Pastor Bartel