The Gospel

Rev. Mark Miller continues through 1 Corinthians with a message entitled "The Gospel" from 1 Cor 15:1-11. 

I. The Necessity of the Gospel

II. The Subject of the Gospel

III. The Outline of the Gospel

IV. The Effects of the Gospel

Transcript

The Gospel 

1 Cor 15:1-11

15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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 by [a]Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have [b]fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

THE GOSPEL

We have been in 1 Corinthians for a long time. There are many negative things in the book of 1 Corinthians; the Apostle Paul was addressing many negative situations in the Church of Corinth.

But this long chapter – 15 – which we’ll be in a good while, is one of the grandest chapters in all Scripture. In many ways, 1 Corinthians 15 is key to understanding the entire Bible, as we’ll see as we work through it.

But Paul opens this wonderful passage with the Gospel. He says at the very beginning: “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you…”

But what is it?

What is the Gospel?
 
 

The word is used these days mostly as an adjective: Gospel music, churches say they want to have a “Gospel-focus” or a “Gospel-driven mission.” There’s a curriculum called the “Gospel Project.”

But THE GOSPEL is a noun. It is a concrete reality.

What is it? Could you articulate it if someone asked you, “What is the Gospel?” 

Let’s look at the Gospel

I. The Necessity of the Gospel

Look at verse 1. 

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

Paul says it is the Gospel that Saves. It is absolutely necessary if we are to be saved. And he points out three things about the necessity of the Gospel.

A. First, They Received it. 

The Gospel must be received. If you would be saved, you must receive this message. Not just know it; not just hear it. But receive it. Own it. Commit to it.

 Paul praised the Thesalonians: 13 For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

They received it – not as just the words of Paul, but the word of God.

B. Second, They Were Standing in the Gospel.

...which also you received and in which you stand. 

They took a stand. 

Frequently, we talk about taking a stand ON something: "Standing on the Promises of God," "On Christ, the Solid Rock I Stand."

Or we talk about standing FOR something. What do you stand for? What does that person stand for. "Stand Up, Stand Up FOR Jesus."

But here, Paul says they were standing IN the Gospel. They were in it, saturated IN it, taking it in. 

People stand for a cause. But the Gospel is not a cause that needs us in order to survive; the gospel is a reality that we need to be saved.

We need to stand IN it. 

C. Third, They Were Saved by the Gospel.

Look at verse 2.

2 by which also you are saved…

Notice that’s in the present tense.

It is not, "you WERE saved by the Gospel"; but, "you ARE saved by the Gospel."

The Gospel is not a "One and Done." Now, once you are saved, you never stop being saved saved. You will not lose it.

But the Gospel does not save you, and then you just go on your merry way.

The Gospel that saves you once and for all never stops saving you. It brings you into a permanent condition of being saved.

Look at verse 2 again.

2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

We must continually hold fast to the Gospel. And Paul says, “If you don’t keeping holding, you believed in vain.”

He’s not saying – the Bible nowhere teaches – that you can believe and be saved, and then stop believing and be lost.

No. He’s saying that a faith that does not stand the test of time was never a true faith to begin with. Real faith in Jesus Christ never stops. It’s not always strong; but its always there. 

We cannot be saved without receiving and holding on to the Gospel.

The Necessity of the Gospel.

II. The Subject of the Gospel

Look at verse 3.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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 by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After 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. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

CHRIST died.

HE was buried.

HE Rose.

HE was seen. HE was Seen, HE was seen. HE was seen.

The subject of the Gospel is Jesus Christ. The Gospel is about Jesus.

Notice there are two statements in the active voice, and two in the passive.

Christ died and Christ rose (active voice).

Christ WAS buried. Christ was seen (passive voice). 

We're taught in elementary school to avoid the passive voice if possible for the simple reason that it sounds "clunky." Paul says, "Christ was seen BY ME." That's "clunky." Normally, in the active voice, he’d say, “I saw Christ.” But he words it, “Christ was seen by me” to put the emphasis on Christ.

That’s why Paul shifts back and forth between the active and passive. He’s intentionally wording it to keep the focus of Christ, because HE is the Subject of the Gospel.

We are not the subject of the Gospel.

It’s not about us. It’s FOR us. As we’ve seen, we absolutely must receive it; but it’s NOT ABOUT us.

When I was in college, one of the Christian groups on campus planned a big outreach event. 

They picked one of their people, and for several weeks, the members of that organization wore T-shirts and posted signs around campus that said, “I agree with so-and-so.” It was a smart marketing strategy. I generated a lot of curiosity.

Then, on a set day and time, the person was to give a talk either in an auditorium or at the amphitheater. And presumably, he was going to present the Gospel.

They day came, and the strategy had worked. A large crowd showed up to hear what he had to say. I was not able to attend; but several friends of mine did. And I asked one, “How was it?” and she said, “Not very good.”

What was wrong with it? 

“Well, he never got to the Gospel. He talked about how he wasn’t cool - didn’t have many friends - and then he became a Christian. Now he has friends and feels better about himself.”

That’s not the Gospel.

"Jesus will make you feel better" is not the Gospel.

"Jesus will make you a better husband or parent, or prosper at business or be healed of your maladies" is not the Gospel.

The Gospel is about Jesus Christ.

HE is the subject of the Gospel.

The Necessity of the Gospel

The Subject of the Gospel

III. The Outline of the Gospel

Look at verse 3 again.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: 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 by Cephas, then by the twelve.

Now, there are various Gospel outlines people have used. Bill Bright came up with the “Four Spiritual Laws.” I have tracts that my old pastor gave out everywhere he went called, “7 Things God Wants Us to Know.” Years ago, I learned the 5-point Evangelism Explosion outline.

There are many outlines that can be used for the Gospel. But this is the original. And it’s a 4 point outline: Christ died for our sins. Christ was buried. Christ rose. Christ was seen.

Let’s work through it.

A. Christ Died for Our Sins

Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures

Of course that’s the OT Scriptures. And the death of Christ is prophesied, foreshadowed and typified throughout the OT. But specifically, there is no clearer statement than Isaiah 53:

 Surely He has borne our griefs
 And carried our sorrows;
 Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
 Smitten by God, and afflicted.
 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He Died FOR OUR SINS.

The Lord laid the iniquities of us all on Him. And HE was crushed for our sins.

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned he stood,
Sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Guilty, helpless, lost were we;
Spotless Lamb of God was he,
Full atonement, can it be?
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Christ Died for our sins.

B. He Was Buried

He was really dead. There is a lot to the burial of Jesus that we won’t get into today. But this outline is two main facts and two attestations.

The facts: Christ died and was buried. 

The attestations: He was buried and he was witnessed.

His burial attests to the reality that he was really dead.

C. He Was Raised

Now this entire chapter is about the resurrection of Jesus, so we’ll have multiple messages about the resurrection. But for now, 2 quick things:

1. The Resurrection proved that His sacrifice was accepted. It worked. Paul says in 1 Timothy 3 that Jesus was vindicated or justified in His resurrection. His righteousness on our behalf was accepted.

2. We, too, shall be raised.

Look down at verse 20.

20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

What happened to Jesus in His resurrection will happen to all His people in theirs. He is the firstfruits.

D. He Appeared

Look at verse 5.

5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After 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. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

One of the reasons the enemies of Jesus were not able to snuff out the movement was that there were so many eyewitnesses who saw Him raised. The evidence was overwhelming.

There are many religions in the world. But only one in which billions of people seriously believe their Founder rose from the dead. It is because so people actually saw Him that neither the Jews nor the Romans could explain it away.

That's the outline of the Gospel: 

Christ died for our sins 

Christ was buried

Christ rose

Christ was seen.

The Necessity of the Gospel

The Subject of the Gospel

The Outline of the Gospel

IV. Finally, The Effects of the Gospel

Look at verse 9.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Paul gets real personal at the end.

He had been an enemy of the cross. He had persecuted Christians in Jerusalem and was on his way to persecute more Christians in Damascus. But, on the road to Damascus, He met Jesus - the risen Christ - he man he had claimed was a charlatan and imposter and a dangerous cult leader. Yet, there He was...alive. 

And Saul of Tarsus was changed.

The Gospel is not about us. It was not about Paul. It’s about Jesus alone.

The word "Gospel" means "Good News." That’s why it’s good news. It’s not what we have to do. It’s what He has done for us.

But we must believe it. We must receive it. We must hold fast to it.

John Calvin said, "First, we must understand that as long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separate from him, all that he has suffered and done for the salvation of the human race remains useless and of no value for us."

It’s possible that the Gospel - all that Jesus is  and all that He has done - is useless and worthless to you.

We must receive Him. 

Saul of Tarsus received Him. And Jesus changed His life.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 

The one who had worked to hard to erase Christianity from off the face of the earth became the hardest worker to preach Jesus Christ the world has ever seen.

Has the Gospel gotten ahold of your life? Has it changed you?

The point of this is that JESUS Himself IS the Gospel. Has HE gotten ahold of you? Have you received HIM?

Many of you know the story of John Newton, who as a wild young man went off to sea, was impressed into the British navy, deserted, and wound up being a slave – an enslaved white man – in Africa. Then he was rescued and ended up having a slave ship of his own. But along the way, He met Jesus. And Newton received Him.

And he knew he could not remain in the slave trade and follow Jesus.

And you know the rest of the story. He became a great preacher and hymnwriter. He wrote hundreds of hymns - his own hymnbook - including "Amazing Grace."

But maybe his greatest writing is what he wrote that was chiseled into his grave marker at Olney, where he preached. To this day, you can visit John Newton's grave and read these words:

John Newton
Once an Infidel and Libertine
A Servant of Slaves in Africa Was
By the Rich Mercy of Our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
Preserved Restored Pardoned
And Appointed to Preach the Faith He
Had Longed Laboured to Destroy

That’s the Effect of the Gospel. Has it taken hold of you?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.