CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

November 23, 2008

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

OF FIRST IMPORTANCE

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance…” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

What is “of first importance?” What is the gospel? Paul reminded the Corinthians what the gospel is, the good news, that he preached to them. The gospel isn’t saying that we are right and everyone else is wrong. The gospel isn’t first principles or the basics such as the plan of salvation or the organization of the church. The gospel isn’t the whole New Testament. From Acts to Revelation is the theology of and the way to live the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul defined the gospel in 15:3-11.

Paul stated that whatever the gospel is, it is of first importance. Why would the Corinthians need to hear this again? The context of chapter fifteen deals with various aspects of the resurrection. There was confusion on this in the Corinthian church. Paul wanted to clarify what the resurrection meant. In order to do that, he again had to explain the good news to them. There is a priority that is extremely important, a priority that can be missed when we emphasize the wrong aspects, though those aspects may be right.

First, “Christ died for our sins.” There is so much to this brief statement. Jesus came into a sinful world to offer Himself as a sin-offering for us. We were and are sinners and needed someone to deal with those sins. Jesus came to do just that! We can use any number of words and metaphors to explain what He did: ransom, redeem, sacrifice, even substitute (though we need to be careful with this word). We talk about Him paying the penalty for our sins (again we need to be careful in defining this). In this mixture is dealing with God anger and wrath due to sin, and how His love plays into this.

The bad news is that we are sinners. The good news is the cross. Some see it as foolish and others as a curse (1 Corinthians 1:23). When we examine other texts to grasp the fullness of this, we see that we have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20), that we are living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), and that we are to have the mind or attitude of Christ (Philippians 2:5). In Christ, we have the forgiveness of sins. Our sins have been “washed away” (Acts 22:16) through Christ in baptism (Romans 6:3-4). That is, we trust in His work in order for us to be forgiven.

The first thing we do is attempt to show people that we are all sinners and need a Savior. In a individualistic age where we think we can do it on our own, and in our pride refuse to ask for help, this can be difficult to grasp. Another difficulty is that as Christians, while forgiven, we are not perfect and need a constant recognition of our situation as we confess our sins and are constantly forgiven (1 John 1:9). We also need to be honest, maybe more confessional, admitting that while we live in Christ, we do not always present our Savior well, but considering where we once were, we certainly have changed. The attitude of “that’s the way I am” just will not do. Growth in Christ requires us to be transformed, or renewed, in the image of our Creator.

Second, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Given that when Paul said this, he was referring to the Hebrew scriptures, it would do us well to examine those scriptures. A number of texts become clear with the help of New Testament writers and what Jesus said. For instance, we read Psalm 22 and see that while David was struggling with his situation, looking beyond we see Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Isaiah teaches us of the Suffering Servant and chapter 53 is often quoted in the New Testament concerning Jesus.

When the two on the road to Emmaus and then the disciples gathered in a room saw the resurrected Jesus, He opened their minds and caused them to understand the scriptures from verse to verse. Paul would defined himself before Jewish and Roman governors by saying that he preached nothing but what Moses and the prophets taught (Acts 26:22-23). As such, we too appeal to the scriptures, both Old and New. We understand that they are both historical and theological in there presentation.

Third, “he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Jesus was raised from the dead. This idea has been and is being attacked. Some think that Jesus was only raised “spiritually” but not physically, primarily because they do not believe in miracles. Luke, who examined carefully the life of Jesus, tells us that when Jesus appeared to His disciples the night of His resurrection, ate with them (Luke 24:36-43), after He asked them to touch Him. Another idea is that Jesus somehow survived the crucifixion, left Israel with one of the Mary’s, married and had a child or two (see The Da Vinci Code). That comes from a view that has difficult with a holy God coming into a sinful world.

The resurrection is key to understand that Jesus died for our sins. The resurrection is proof of the accomplishment of the cross. The evidences are there for any who would examine them. Who moved the stone from the tomb? How did the Roman soldier know Jesus was dead? Who saw where He was buried?

More importantly, the resurrection is connected with our life in Christ. We die with Him in baptism and are raised with Him in the likeness of His resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). To the Corinthians, Paul used the crossing of the Red Sea as an example of baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-13). We were “raised with Christ” is stated both in Ephesians and Colossians. If Jesus wasn’t raised, how could Paul write such things?

This too is “according to the Scriptures.” Again, when we look at the Old Testament, and with the help of New Testament writers and Jesus Himself, we can see the idea of resurrection. Daniel twelve introduces the idea. Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones coming to life is yet another (chapter 37). While they did not have a systemic idea of resurrection in the Old Testament, it was not unknown. Several prophets raised people who had died.

Finally, there are the witnesses to Jesus and His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:5-11). He appears to over five hundred people, most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote in the middle 50s A.D. Luke, who earlier had gone and examined and talked with the witnesses about the faith they believed in, wrote down what became his Gospel (see Luke 1:1-5). Luke was thorough using people, places, events, culture, and religious activities to explain Jesus (see Luke 1:1-5; 2:1-5; 3:1-5).

When we understand that after the resurrection, Jesus was busy appearing to people on and off over a forty day period, before being taken up into heaven (the ascension), they become important witnesses to the resurrection. Paul himself saw Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9). For Paul, if the resurrection had not occurred, then our faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). But it went beyond the here and now and looked down the road to the not yet. Paul speaks of the final resurrection where we will receive our new bodies and eternal life in Christ (15:35-58). The first resurrection leads to the final; if the first is not true then there will be no final. So much is at stake in understanding the resurrection of Jesus, historically as well as theologically.

For Paul, this was “of first importance” and should be for us. That doesn’t mean that there are not other important themes but this is the basis of those themes. We see a number of themes in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We see the importance of Jesus, for without Jesus we would have no Savior. Our emphasis is on “The First Principle” Jesus Christ (1). This makes the gospel Christological, that is, we focus first and foremost on Jesus, His life, death, and resurrection (2). We see the importance of the Bible, the scriptures, making the gospel Biblical, for our appeal is always to the scriptures. Our concern is for the reliability of those scriptures. Yes, there are some difficulties, but they are not insurmountable. It requires more study and patience. We see theology in this and how of what is of first importance relates to the God of the universe, His creation, and His work in redemptive fellowship. It becomes theological. We see the idea of the importance of history, for the Bible is historical. Archaeology, culture and religious aspects, people and places all play a role in scripture. We examine these as they relate to scripture, which helps us better understand the gospel. Another theme is that it is intellectual. The gospel is not irrational nor was it presented by delusional and insane people. C.S. Lewis stated that Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. The gospel is intellectually challenging for those who seek. The gospel is missional. It is given to be spread by word and example. Timothy Keller makes an important point when he states that according to the scholars of Islam, the Koran can only be correctly understood by reading Arabic, but that the good news found in scripture can be translated into any language and can then be understood in that culture (3). It crosses all national and cultural lines as is seen in the conversions of numerous people throughout the world. Finally, the gospel is eschatological, a fancy word meaning it looks to the final things, the future found in eternity, or as I like to say, Eden. We look forward to the eternal fellowship with that great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us (Hebrews 11:39-40).

The good news is Jesus Christ, crucified and raised!

George B. Mearns

(1) See George B. Mearns, The First Principle, Image, 3/15/1986.

(2) Some of the thoughts for this last paragraph come from D.A. Carson, Of First Importance, http://preachingtoday.com