OF FIRST IMPORTANCE

To a church full of believers, Paul wrote to remind them of that which he considered to be of first importance…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 15:3-4). Foundational to our faith is the message of this good news, a message Paul received from the Lord himself (I Corinthians 11:23). Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. The Scriptures are saturated with this truth so much so that we can say that this is at the center of everything God has communicated to us. All Scripture points to the cross of Christ. From the first redemptive promise in Genesis 3:15 to the well-known prophetic promises of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, the Old Testament looks forward to God incarnating himself through the Son. The Gospels begin with, focus upon and conclude with Christ, who clearly communicated his sole purpose in coming into the world: to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
He was buried. This statement simply attests to Christ’s death. He died; therefore, he was buried. They made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death… (Isaiah 53:9). Paul used Christ’s burial as an analogy of our spiritual death to sin as we were resurrected to a new life though Christ: We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. Simon Kistemaker makes the following point: “The Greek uses the past tense to describe in a single action in the past for Jesus’ death and burial. But for the verb to be raised the Greek has the perfect tense to indicate an action that occurred in the past but has lasting relevance for the present…That is, Jesus was raised from the dead and continues his life in the resurrected state” (Simon Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, I Corinthians, page 530).
The gospel, Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, is at the heart of apostolic preaching. Paul went so far as to say this: if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (I Corinthians 15:14). He continues with the sober reminder that apart from the resurrection, we are still in our sins and of all people most to be pitied (I Corinthians 15:17, 19).
Tim Keller writes the following: “The gospel has been described as a pool in which a toddler can wade and yet an elephant can swim. It is both simple enough to tell to a child and profound enough for the greatest minds to explore. Indeed, even angels never tire of looking into it (1 Peter 1:12).”
May the Spirit of God give us a love for the gospel and the proclamation of this good news. It is our only hope and the only hope of those God has placed in our lives.