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 grace 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.
(the following is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary -- www.christnotes.org)
"Chapter Contents
The apostle proves the resurrection of Christ from the dead. (1-11)
Those answered who deny the resurrection of the body. (12-19) The
resurrection of believers to eternal life. (20-34) Objections against it
answered. (35-50) The mystery of the change that will be made on those
living at Christ's second coming. (51-54) The believer's triumph over
death and the grave, An exhortation to diligence. (55-58)
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The word resurrection, usually points out our existence beyond the
grave. Of the apostle's doctrine not a trace can be found in all the
teaching of philosophers. The doctrine of Christ's death and
resurrection, is the foundation of Christianity. Remove this, and all
our hopes for eternity sink at once. And it is by holding this truth
firm, that Christians stand in the day of trial, and are kept faithful
to God. We believe in vain, unless we keep in the faith of the gospel.
This truth is confirmed by Old Testament prophecies; and many saw Christ
after he was risen. This apostle was highly favoured, but he always had
a low opinion of himself, and expressed it. When sinners are, by Divine
grace, turned into saints, God causes the remembrance of former sins to
make them humble, diligent, and faithful. He ascribes to Divine grace
all that was valuable in him. True believers, though not ignorant of
what the Lord has done for, in, and by them, yet when they look at their
whole conduct and their obligations, they are led to feel that none are
so worthless as they are. All true Christians believe that Jesus
Christ, and him crucified, and then risen from the dead, is the sun and
substance of Christianity. All the apostles agreed in this testimony; by
this faith they lived, and in this faith they died."
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