1 Corinthians 15:1-111 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 Script...
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
1 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, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. (NIV 84)
FROM THE LESSON:
The gospel I gospeled: verse 1 literally reads "the gospel I gospeled to you." It is the same word first in noun form and then in verb form.
First importance: the announcement shared by Paul in verses 3-5 is of primary importance to our faith.
Three important components of Christ's death:
- Christ died "for our sins"
- Christ died "according to the Scriptures"
- Christ died "and was buried"
Three Scriptures concerning Christ's death:
Sacrificial - 1 John 3:16 - “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”
Substitution - Isaiah 53:4-5 - “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows; but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”
Saving - Hebrews 9:27-28 - “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Ice Breaker - what is an example of a tradition you have received from someone else? What is an example of a tradition you have passed on to someone else? Are there any traditions surrounding the Holy Week that your family has "received and passed on"?
2. Which of these would best describe how you typically think about the gospel - as a plan of salvation, a set of ideas, a theological statement, or an announcement? Why? Does it help you to think about the gospel simply as an announcement?
3. As we focused on the death of Christ this morning, we emphasized three components of his death. The first one was that Christ died "for our sins." Christ's death was a sacrifice (1 John 3:16), a substitution (Isaiah 53:4-5), and saving (Hebrews 9:27-28). Which of these three aspects was good for you to think about? Why?
4. The other two components of his death was that Christ died "according to the Scriptures" and that Christ died "and was buried." Discuss these components of his death. Why do you think is it important to include these components as part of the announcement?
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