Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

Summary: Verses One And Two

Emergent Church guru Brian McLaren tells us in his latest book A New Kind of Christianity that “about fifteen years ago” he was having lunch with “a well-known Evangelical theologian”; somewhere during the lunch with his friend Rod Washington he apparently said McLaren, “Most Evangelicals haven’t got the foggiest notion of what the gospel really is,” and asked McLaren to define it.

McLaren continues:

I answered as any good Romans Protestant would, quoting Romans. He followed up with this simple but annoying rhetorical question: “You’re quoting Paul. Shouldn’t you let Jesus define the gospel?” When I gave him a quizzical look, he asked, “What was the gospel according to Jesus?” A little humiliated, I mumbled something akin to “You tell me,” and he replied, “For Jesus, the gospel was very clear. The Kingdom of God is at hand. That’s the gospel according to Jesus, right?” [1]

Next McLaren tells us that, “The kingdom of God is at hand [means] God’s new benevolent society is already among us.” For the neo-liberal cult of the Emerging Church, and more and more of mainstream squishy evanjellyfish, “the Gospel” has been redefined into a new postmodern form of the spiritually bankrupt social gospel; the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.

But, in the first two verses above Paul tells the church in Corinth that he will remind them of the gospel I preached to you. The Greek here gives the picture — “I would have you know.” As in “this is a very important matter this” gospel I preached to you. In other words, this was not just a littlefriendly reminder; but rather, a short exposition of the Gospel preached by the Apostles of Jesus Christ.

He was telling them that this Gospel was absolutely not to be taken lightly, for it is the very heart of the Christian faith. The Apostle wanted to make sure they understood that only by which [i.e. this gospel] you are being saved; as it is possible—no matter how strongly or sincerely—for one to believe in vain. Paul clearly elaborated further on this in Galatians 1:6-9.

Summary: Verses Three And Four

In the next two verses Paul will pass on what I also received. The words he uses here in the Greek are technical terms; ones which are also used in rabbinical writings. This is why there are many apologists and commentators who will use this passage to link the Apostle Paul with early Christian “tradition” concerning the fact of Christ’s literal bodily resurrection from the dead.

However, Paul is actually doing more than merely passing on an early creed of the ancient Church. Galatians 1:11-12 —For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ (emphasis added).

A careful examination of these verses shows that Paul tells us that no man made up the gospel that was preached by me, and while he was most likely aware of these early creeds that were circulating among the early believers, the Apostle is also informing us that he received the Gospel personally through a revelation of Jesus Christ Himself.

And it is because of his seeing the risen Christ in person that he can even be an Apostle (see—1 Corinthians 9:1). So what Paul is doing here, in actuality, is verifying the truth of this early Christian creed.

In verse 3 the Apostle begins to tell us what the Apostolic Gospel was/is — that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. And that’s why it is so important to know Who Jesus Christ of Nazareth is. Not just that He died for our sins, but also that Christ is God Himself in the person of the Man Jesus of Nazareth (see—Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 14, 18).

Then in verse 4 Paul tells us Christ was buried and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. And therein is the Gospel. And if there was more to it e.g. some “principles” (as in Mormonism); or, some “sacraments” (as in Roman Catholicism), or, “works” of any kind—here is where Paul would have included them.

You will notice however, that he did not. That’s because there are none attached to what God “finished/paid in full” (see—John 19:30). And Paul specifically tells the church at Ephesus that there are no works involved in salvation — For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

And this is the extra Good News for the regenerated Christian, it is by grace you have been saved — it’s past tense; an event which has already happened. So now we can look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 with a fuller understanding of what the Holy Spirit through Paul is actually telling us — Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Can you see there; the common phrase we use — “born again” — is not just a figurative statement; O no, it is a quite literal and glorious fact. Soli Deo gloria!

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Endnotes:

[1] Brian McLaren, A New Kind of Christianity [ New York: HarperOne, 2010], 138, 139.

See also:

THE COST OF THE TRUTH

EMERGING CHURCH PROPHETS FOLLOWING THEIR OWN SPIRIT

THE NON-GOSPEL OF THE EMERGING CHURCH 2.0 

INFLUENCES: RICK WARREN AND C. PETER WAGNER OF NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION

RISING CHRISTIAN IMPERIALISM FUELED BY DOMINION THEOLOGY

THE COALESCING OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT WITH APOSTOLIC DOMINIONISM

THE ROOTS AND FRUITS OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION