Tuesday, May 15, 2012

EMMDEV 2012-05-15 [Forty Days of Resurrection] 07.First Importance

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures... 1Corinthians15:1-4

There has been much discussion around the significance of the Resurrection. Some scholars have expressed their doubts about the physical Resurrection of Christ and have argued that this is not a key issue.

Paul writes a great deal about the importance of the Resurrection. Much of what he has written is found in 1Corinthians 15. To a certain extent we need to take today's passage as part of Paul's "creeds" and we will spend the next few days looking at this significant chapter.

Paul is summarising the gospel he preached.
He goes on to qualify this gospel as the one they received, that they took a _stand_ on and the gospel that _saves_ them if they hold firmly to it.

Paul points out that this is not a new version of the gospel, it is the gospel passed on to him - it has stood the test of time. There are always new and revisionist ideas that tantalise the minds of those who like to "tweak", but Paul's gospel has stood the test of time.

And he lists the four things that are of "first importance":
- Christ died for our sins (Only the Son of God could carry our sins)
- Christ was buried (He was really dead - He was also fully human)
- And Christ was raised from the dead (His victory is complete)
- And this was all "ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES"

Paul is clear:
The resurrection of Christ _is_ important! It is as important as His death and Scripture predicts, explains and underscores the importance of this victory.

Even if we firmly believe in the resurrection, I think it is vital for us to make sure that it is not simply that we believe this as a historical fact that took place 2000 years ago, but that we will get our hearts with Paul as we understand that this is a matter of "first importance." It is part of our salvation and how we stand firm and it assures us that our faith is not in vain.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/