1 Corinthians 15:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

NIV: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

NASB: For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

CSB: For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

NLT: I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

KJV: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

NKJV: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

As Paul begins to confront some confusion or false teaching about the resurrection from the dead, he has emphasized to the Corinthians that their eternal future stands or falls based on their belief in the entire gospel truth. That includes the truth of both Christ's death on the cross for our sin and His resurrection from the dead by God's power.

Now Paul begins to spell out specifically what the gospel message about Jesus Christ really is. Paul insists that he presented it to the Corinthians exactly as it had been presented to him by Christ. In passages such as Galatians 1:12, Paul indicates that this reception was literal: he received this information directly from Jesus.

The first truth of the gospel message is this: Christ died for our sins. That is, the sinless Son of God was sacrificed on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins that we committed. He did so exactly as the Old Testament Scriptures predicted that He would. Famous passages explaining this include Psalm 53 and Psalm 22.

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 5/7/2024 10:45:30 AM