Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: 1 CORINTHIANS #20 - 15:1-11)
V. 15:1-58 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON THE RESURRECTION
A. 15:1-11 THE ESSENCE OF THE GOSPEL WITH WITNESSES
a. 15:1-2 THE GOSPEL: SALVATION'S BASIS WHEN CONTINUED IN
GnoRIzo[1107]de huMIN, a-delPHOI, to eu-agGEli-on [2098]ho eu-eg-ge-liSAmen [2097]huMIN,
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you,
ho kai pa-reLAbe-te, en hokai hesTEka-te [2476], di' hou kai SOzes-the [4982],
which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are being saved,
TIni LOgoeu-eg-ge-liSAmen huMIN ei kaTEche-te [2476], ei meeiKE[1500]e-pisTEUsa-te.
if you hold fast to the word which I preached to you, except you believed to no purpose.
b. 15:3-8 THE ELEMENTS AND WITNESSES OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
paREdo-ka [3860]gar huMIN en PROtois ho kai paREla-bon:
For I delivered to you among first thingswhat also I received:
HOti ChrisTOS aPEtha-nen [599]huPER ton ha-mar-tiON [266]heMON kaTA tas graPHAS [1124];
that Christ died for our :sins according to the scriptures;
kai HOti eTAphe[2290]; kai HOti eGEger-tai [1453] teheMEra teTRItekaTA tas graPHAS;
4and that he was buried; and that he has been raisedon the third :day according to the scriptures;
kai HOti OPHthe[3700]KePHA; EIta tois DOde-ka;
5and that he was seen of Cephas; then of the twelve;
Epei-ta OPHtheePAnopen-ta-koSIois a-delPHOIS ePHApax,
6thereupon was seen of above five hundred brethren at once,
ex hon hoi PLEIon-es MEnou-sin HEos ARti, tiNES de e-koiMEthe-san [3306];
of whom the more remain until now, but some are fallen asleep;
Epei-ta OPHthe'IaKObo; EIta tois a-poSTOlois PAsin;
7thereupon was seen of James; then of all the apostles;
EScha-ton PANton, hos-peREI toekTROma-ti [1626], OPHtheka' 'MOI.
8and last of all, as of the untimely birth, he was seen of me also.
c. 15:9 THE UNWORTHY ASPECT OF PAUL, THE LAST OF CHRIST'S WITNESSES
E-GOGAR ei-mi ho eLAchis-tos [1646]ton a-poSTOlon,
For I am the least of the apostles,
hos ouk eiMI hi-kaNOS [2425]kaLEISthai aPOsto-los, di' HOti eDIo-xa [1377]ten ek-kleSIan tou TheOU.
that am not worthy to be called apostle, because I persecuted the church of :God.
d. 15:10 HOW GOD'S GRACE OVERCAME PAUL'S UINWORTHINESS
CHAri-ti de TheOU ei-mi HO ei-mi: kai heCHAris auTOU heeis eME ou keNE[2756]e-geNEthe;
But by God's grace I am what I am: and his :grace :unto me was not found void;
alLA pe-risSOte-ron [4054]auTON PANton e-koPIa-sa: ouk eGOde, alLA heCHAris tou TheOU sun eMOI.
but I toiled more abundantly than they all: not I, but the grace of :God with me.
e. 15:11 CONCLUSION
EIte oun eGOEIte eKEInoi, HOUtos keRUSso-men [2784], kai HOUtos e-pisTEUsa-te [4100] .
Whether then I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.
NOTE: Paul is very explicit about four basic points of the Gospel. These he had made known to the Corinthians, which no doubt had a great deal to do with their belief in and reception of Christ. Note them again:
Christ died for our :sins according to the scriptures;
he was buried;
he has been raised the third day according to the scriptures;
that he was seen of many witnesses,
including Paul as of the untimely birth.
Why is Paul so insistent concerning the beginning of the Gospel for the Corinthians? Could it be because God Himself is insistent that His Gospel of the Kingdom must be based on solid historical fact? Thiscuts the legs from under false cults such as the New Age, and all present day Gnostic Movements!
The Gospel of God is not just ethereal! It isbased on solid historical fact. It is based on an absolute balance between Spirit revelation and the written Word. Jesus and the Word are one. See John 1:1 (1:1-18) “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with :God, and the Word was God.” The Rema word (spiritual gifts) and the LOgos word (the written word) must always be in balance. 70 times REma appears in the NT to LOgos 330x - 4 ½ to one!
We ought to spend this proportionof time between these two! George Muller, Oswald Chambers and all fruitful and balanced teachers have.
Paul as apostle to the Gentiles was specifically chosen by God for this office. He said, “Follow me, as Ifollow Christ!” How many of us can say thisin all honesty and truthfulness?
So these 11 verses are a fitting introduction to the greatest chapter in the Bible on Resurrection! Resurrection is one of the four integral, basic, foundation truths for the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. - J.A.W.