Paul gives one of the clearest explanations of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. Before we look at the verses, it helps to understand who is writing and why. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, a busy port city known for money, trade, idols, and sin. The church there struggled with confusion and division. Some people even questioned the resurrection. Paul answered their questions and corrected their thinking by taking them back to the foundation, the gospel.
Paul himself had once been a Pharisee who chased Christians and tried to stop the message of Christ. After meeting the risen Lord on the Damascus road, his whole life changed. Now he wrote to defend the very truth he once tried to destroy. That background is important because it shows that Paul understood both sides. He knew religion without Christ, and he knew salvation through Christ.
The Gospel in Verse One and Two
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:1 to 2
Paul gives four simple truths about the gospel.
1. The gospel is preached
Truth does not start with us. God used preaching to bring the message to Corinth. Paul preached Christ. He did not preach feelings or new ideas. He preached the finished work of Jesus. Every believer today heard the gospel because someone preached it somewhere along the line.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God!
2. The gospel must be received
Hearing is not enough. Corinth heard Paul preach, but Paul says they also received it. That means they welcomed it. They took Christ as their Savior. Receiving the gospel is receiving Christ Himself, since the message and the Person cannot be separated.
3. The gospel is where we stand
Paul says this is the ground under our feet. It is the reason we are secure. We have a secure hole in Heaven because of the gospel of Christ. Our steady place is not good works or our own strength. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus. Paul reminds them that their whole Christian life rests on this foundation. Without it, we would fall.
4. The gospel is what saves us
Paul adds that they are saved by this gospel, unless they believed in vain. “Believing in vain” means to believe without true faith, or to believe something empty or powerless. Real faith in Christ saves. Fake faith does nothing. Paul is making clear that only the true gospel saves, not the clever ideas some in Corinth were starting to listen to.
Paul shows that the gospel is preached, received, stood upon, and it saves. Now he explains exactly what that gospel is.
The Heart of the Gospel in Verse Three and Four
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how 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.” 1 Corinthians 15:3 to 4
Paul gives three parts.
1. Christ died for our sins
Jesus did not die as a victim or a martyr. He died for our sins. That means the guilt was ours. The sacrifice was His. Christ laid down His life. Paul says it happened according to the scriptures. The Old Testament promised a suffering Savior. Isaiah 53 said He would bear our iniquities. David wrote of His hands and feet pierced. Every sacrifice on every altar in Israel pointed to this moment.
2. He was buried
The burial proved that He truly died. His body was placed in a tomb, wrapped and sealed. No one could claim He only fainted. The burial is a key part of the message because it confirms the real cost of sin. Sin brings death. Jesus took that death in our place.
3. He rose again the third day
The resurrection is the power of the gospel. Without it, there is no hope. Paul repeats that this also happened according to the scriptures. Jonah, the Psalms, and the prophets all pointed forward to the risen Christ. When Jesus walked out of the tomb, He proved He is God. He proved the payment was accepted. He proved death has no claim on those who trust Him.
This is the gospel defined by God. Christ died for our sins, Christ was buried, and Christ rose again the third day. Everything else in the chapter and our life rests on those three facts.
