JULY 27 READING…1 CORINTHIANS 15
One of the most important and crucial sections of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth is here in the 15th chapter. Paul begins with making sure we know what the saving Gospel is… Christ came, Christ died, Christ rose again on the third day. A simple way to understand what the saving Gospel is, in order that we might believe and that we might share is that the Gospel is based on two eternal truths, and they both have Jesus Christ at their center. They are…who Jesus is, and what Jesus accomplished. If either one of these two truths about Jesus are reject, or not believed, there is no salvation. Who is Jesus? He is God Incarnate. He is eternal God…one of the Persons of the Trinity. He took on the flesh of His own creation, He was born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit. He is the only sinless man to ever walk on the earth. He is the only sacrifice acceptable for the sin of mankind. He is Messiah, the Son of the living God…He is the one and only Savior. What did Jesus do? He came to seek and save we who are lost. He did so through His substitutionary atoning death on the cross, where He took all our sin and the punishment for those sins on Himself. He died for us on that cross. Then three days later He rose from the dead, overcoming sin, death, and hell for all who believe. This is the Gospel, and it must be believed and received in order for anyone to know salvation. Jesus is, “The Way, The Truth, and The Life, and NO one can come to the Father except through Him.”
Paul uses most of the rest of chapter 15 to speak of the crucial nature of the Resurrection of Jesus, and the coming resurrection of those who have put their faith in Him. Sadly, there are churches today that do not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus…these churches are teaching a false Gospel, and leading many precious souls to an eternal hell. Paul says that if Jesus did not rise from the dead that preaching is empty and powerless, that any faith is in vain, that all of the Scripture is a lie, and finally that we are still lost in our sin. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then no one can rise from the dead…they have all perished. But, because Jesus has risen from the dead, we too shall rise from the dead. We will put off these corruptible, fleshly, bodies…and we shall receive our resurrected bodies, made for eternity. Death will have lost its sting for we who believe in Jesus…hades will lose it threat of power over us. Because Jesus is risen, we too shall be raised from the dead unto eternal life. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for all that you have freely given to we who believe through your life, death, and resurrection!
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READING…1 CORINTHIANS 16
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