First Importance

August 7

Nehemiah 12-13

Psalm 89:19-26

Proverbs 19:28-29

I Corinthians 15:1-19

First Importance

“Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I proclaimed as good news to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I proclaimed to you as good news, unless you believed for nothing.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep.  After that, He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

I Corinthians 15:1-8 LSB 

Paul clearly and concisely laid out the basis of the gospel and the things that are of “first importance” in relation to our faith.  In other words, if we get these things right, then everything else will fall into place, but if we aren’t holding fast to these truths, then we have “believed for nothing.”  First we have to acknowledge that Christ died for our sins.  There has to be a recognition that you are a sinner and you deserve punishment.  Romans 6:23 explains that the wages of sin is death.  But Christ took the punishment for our sin by shedding His blood on the cross (Romans 4:25, 5:8, I Peter 2:24, 3:18).  Then we believe that He was buried (Matthew 27:57-66, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42).  The burial confirms that Jesus was really dead and wasn’t just unconscious.  There were rumors at the time of His resurrection that He had not died, but eye-witness testimony at the cross confirms that the Roman soldier “pierced His side with a spear and immediately blood and water came out.”  John 19:34  Jesus was most likely experiencing hypovolemic shock resulting in pleural effusion as evidenced by the blood and water confirming that He was dead.  Finally, we believe that on the third day Jesus raised Himself from the dead defeating death and hell (2 Timothy 1:10, Romans 6:9) once for all.  Paul lists the many witnesses to His resurrection.  First He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve disciples, then He appeared to 500 believers at once.  Many of them were still alive and could testify to this at the time Paul wrote I Corinthians.  Jesus then appeared to James and the apostles and finally He appeared on the road to Damascus to Paul. 

Eye-witness testimony is the most powerful evidence in a court of law.  Paul was making the case that there were at least 515 people who personally saw Jesus after His resurrection.  This was not just a tale made up by the apostles to get people to believe Jesus was the Messiah. It was not some conspiracy to deceive people.  There is verifiable evidence that Jesus was crucified on a cross, was buried and raised from the dead.  It is the basis of our faith.  If it is not true, then our faith is in vain.  If the resurrection didn’t happen and He is still dead then He is no different from any other man who ever lived.  If He didn’t really die then He must have died later and again He is a mere human and not worth worshipping.  If however, He was resurrected from the dead then He is the Son of God and deserves our complete devotion.  Do you believe?