1 Corinthians 15:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,

NIV: Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

NASB: Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand,

CSB: Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand

NLT: Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.

KJV: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

NKJV: Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,

Will Christians really be raised from the dead as Christ was? It seems that central Christian truth was being challenged or misunderstood on some level among the believers in Corinth. Paul seems to have saved addressing this for the end of the letter in order to give his response as much weight as possible.

He begins by setting out to remind the Christians in Corinth of what exactly they believed when he preached the gospel to them. They received the gospel: the message of God's grace and forgiveness of sin through faith in Christ.

Paul writes that they still stand in their belief in that gospel. By this, he means that their position as God's children remains because of their faith in Christ and by God's grace. Nothing else they have said or done since then has become the reason for God's approval of them in Christ.

Paul will show in the following verses that their belief in the gospel included belief in both the death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.

First Corinthians 15:1–11 describes the gospel as it was delivered to Paul and as he delivered it to the Corinthians. It begins with the death of Christ on the cross for our sins, but it continues to His burial and, significantly, His resurrection. The alive-again Christ appeared to many people still alive at the time Paul wrote his letter. Paul establishes that the Corinthians believed the gospel, including faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Paul will connect that faith to belief in the resurrection of all believers from the dead.

Paul provides thorough teaching about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. This is a direct counter to some group of Corinthians who did not believe in such a resurrection. He shows that natural death is not the end of life for Christians; it is the last step before receiving a glorified, resurrected body like that of the risen Christ. That ''spiritual'' body will be as different from our current bodies as a star is from a fish. In that moment, for all who have believed in Christ, living and dead, death will be defeated for good.

In chapters 12, 13, and 14, Scripture focused on the concept of spiritual gifts and how best to use them. This follows several other ideas where Paul corrected errors in the Corinthians' thinking. Chapter 15 contains extensive teaching on one last issue about which some Corinthians were confused or misled. Apparently, they harbored some doubts about the physical resurrection of Christians from the dead. After clearing up these confusions, Paul will address various other items, of a less doctrinal nature, and close out his letter.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.

Accessed 5/2/2024 9:01:44 PM