May 14. 1 Corinthians 15. Chip Kempston

Persevering in the Gospel

Here we have Paul providing a succinct summary of the Gospel: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared….” (vs 3-5). This is the good news! In Christ, sin and death have been defeated, just as God said they would be! It is on these facts that we take our firm stand.

Paul also provides an outline assuring us of our salvation – the Gospel was preached to us, we received it, take our stand on it, and we must persevere in it. If we do this, we are – and will ultimately be – saved. Although our conversion is important and necessary, it can be in vain if we do not persevere. God desires and requires our participation with His work in us. We must stay strong for our own sake and the sake of others. We must plead with those who are slipping back into worldly patterns, toying with sin, or struggling with doubt. Remind them of the Gospel! That is where the power is.

How are we persevering today? Are we “holding firmly” to the Word that was preached to us? Or are we compromising and allowing the world to creep in? Are we trading the true Gospel for a counterfeit? These are all things we must guard against in ourselves so that we can also help others.

The ultimate hope of Christians is in the Resurrection (1 Cor 15:13ff). Christ himself is the first fruits and provides the template of what we will be. Just imagine – your resurrection body will be like Christ’s! We will still be physical (and apparently will still enjoy food, Hallelujah! Luke 24:40-43), but we’ll be incorruptible and glorious! Paul continues explaining the nature of our risen bodies a couple of paragraphs later – we will get the ultimate upgrade! Not everyone will be the same – just as stars differ in glory, so will we differ. The Resurrection will start a party like we can’t even imagine. If we keep our eyes on that, no present challenge will be too great.

The church in Corinth apparently had a practice of baptizing “for the dead” (vs 29). It's not clear exactly what's going on here, but whatever it means, Paul seems to neither endorse nor condemn it, but uses the practice to support his underlying point about the importance of Resurrection. If the dead are not actually raised, then everything, including our faith is meaningless; if that is the case, we may as well “eat and drink for tomorrow we die.”

But this is not the case! “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Sin and death no longer hold power over us as Christians. Let’s live in that reality today and every day.