Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2cJIkQ9Vac
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 4011 | The Story Since Day One
Greg Williams
Do you ever have a commercial jingle or a theme song from a tv show that you can remember perfectly years later? Decades might pass, you will have forgotten libraries of information, but you can still flawlessly recite the opening song. For example, the jingle from the old TV show, The Brady Bunch… “Here’s a story, of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls…”
Stories draw us in, they make us pay attention, they help us remember.
We see Paul using a story for the same reasons. Though, his story is much more meaningful. In his first letter to believers in Corinth Paul wrote:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: 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, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (ESV)
At first glance, this may look like more of Paul’s theological writing—abstract concepts in the early formulation of faith. But scholars have looked more closely at the language in the last hundred years or so and they saw an intrinsic rhythm and meter of the words: “that Christ died…he was buried…he was raised.” What they found was an ancient credal formula—a compact, memorizable statement of faith that was probably around long before 1 Corinthians was written.
Notice how Paul set this up: I delivered to you what I received. He was sharing something he had received—this creed, this jingle, this poem—something that was already in place and most likely part of his discipleship process.
We are seeing here some of the first “hymns” the church ever sang. Remember there was no internet and a significant part of the first audience was illiterate. This would be the way new believers learned faith, similar to a memory verse or a simple song, or a creed in today’s churches.
Just like we can sing some of the words to The Brady Bunch jingle, so the early believers could tell the story of Christ in song, or poem form. The story was circulated in such a way that people could remember it and share it. We still tell the story today—Jesus is of first importance. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension are the story we share each year as we worship our way through the Christian Calendar. Each year the calendar reminds us of the story of Jesus—the same story that has been shared since day one.
I am Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 4011 | The Story Since Day One
Greg Williams
Do you ever have a commercial jingle or a theme song from a tv show that you can remember perfectly years later? Decades might pass, you will have forgotten libraries of information, but you can still flawlessly recite the opening song. For example, the jingle from the old TV show, The Brady Bunch… “Here’s a story, of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls…”
Stories draw us in, they make us pay attention, they help us remember.
We see Paul using a story for the same reasons. Though, his story is much more meaningful. In his first letter to believers in Corinth Paul wrote:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: 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, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 (ESV)
At first glance, this may look like more of Paul’s theological writing—abstract concepts in the early formulation of faith. But scholars have looked more closely at the language in the last hundred years or so and they saw an intrinsic rhythm and meter of the words: “that Christ died…he was buried…he was raised.” What they found was an ancient credal formula—a compact, memorizable statement of faith that was probably around long before 1 Corinthians was written.
Notice how Paul set this up: I delivered to you what I received. He was sharing something he had received—this creed, this jingle, this poem—something that was already in place and most likely part of his discipleship process.
We are seeing here some of the first “hymns” the church ever sang. Remember there was no internet and a significant part of the first audience was illiterate. This would be the way new believers learned faith, similar to a memory verse or a simple song, or a creed in today’s churches.
Just like we can sing some of the words to The Brady Bunch jingle, so the early believers could tell the story of Christ in song, or poem form. The story was circulated in such a way that people could remember it and share it. We still tell the story today—Jesus is of first importance. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension are the story we share each year as we worship our way through the Christian Calendar. Each year the calendar reminds us of the story of Jesus—the same story that has been shared since day one.
I am Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
Psalm 138:1-8 • Isaiah 6:1-13 • 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 • Luke 5:1-11
This week’s theme is faith. In our call to worship Psalm, thanks is given for the Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness. The Old Testament selection recounts Isaiah’s faithful response to accept his call and the difficult words he was to share. Our reading from 1 Corinthians outlines the gospel message Paul reminds us to put our trust in. The Gospel text in Luke recounts the story of Jesus as he builds Peter’s faith by a miraculous catch of fish.
Remembering the Gospel
1 Corinthians 15:1-11 NIV
For the last three weeks we have covered Paul’s concern over the believers in the Corinthian church who had fixated on spiritual gifts in an unhealthy way. They saw themselves as “spiritual” on account of some charismatic gifts that they felt were a badge of spirituality. This seemed to give them cover for the many issues the Corinthian church faced that Paul had to address concerning sexual immorality, divisions, litigations between fellow Christians, idolatry, abuse of the Lord’s Table, and more. In this section, Paul will lay the groundwork to address another issue concerning the resurrection.
Some in the church denied a bodily resurrection. This distorted view of one of the most basic understandings of Christianity seems to be related to the “spirituality” issue Paul has been dealing with up to this point. These Corinthian believers felt they had already attained the pinnacle of spirituality and were not concerned about the body. Since they saw themselves as already fluent in the language of angels, they devalued and dismissed the body, and hence ridiculed the idea of a bodily resurrection. (The belief that the body was evil and the spirit was good is described as Gnosticism and was present at the time Paul was writing to the Corinthians.) This belief would also contribute to their lack of concern with what they did with their bodies in the present. This would set up another justification for many of the sexual sins of which they approved. What does it matter what you do with your body, they may have reasoned, if it is only temporary? Paul constructs three arguments to counter this, and we will cover two of them, one today, and one next week.
In today’s reading, we will see much more than Paul’s attempt to address this issue on the resurrection of the body. In this first section of Paul’s argument, he lays the foundation of what all believers hold in common, the reality of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In short, we are reminded of the gospel message that is distinct to the Christian faith and worship. This is a message about Jesus, in whom we are called to place our trust for all things.
Let’s see how Paul chooses to begin laying the groundwork:
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NIV
Notice as Paul begins, he addresses them as brothers and sisters. By doing so he already appeals to a common belief they share. He does not pit himself against them but identifies with them as a brother. And the first thing he does is “to remind you of the gospel.” That’s what brothers and sisters in Christ should always be in the habit of doing. Each Sunday when we gather for worship, we gather to remind each other of who God is and what he has done in Jesus Christ. Perhaps these believers had gone too long without being reminded of the foundations of the Christian faith and they were susceptible to believing all kinds of distortions. Paul’s strategy here speaks to the need to continually remind each other of the gospel.
We also noticed that this gospel Paul wants to bring to their memory is one that had already come to them by the preaching of Paul. Not only that but they had originally received it and placed their trust in it. This is where they once took their stand. So, we see that Paul’s effort is not to create a clever logical argument to prove the resurrection of the body. He’s not trying to convince them of something they do not know, or at least once knew; he is trying to remind them of what they once knew and believed.
Paul also reminds them that it is this gospel that saved them. If they continue to hold loosely to what they once received, they run the risk of having their faith be “in vain.” These believers, as we have seen in the past few weeks in this letter, have placed their trust elsewhere and it has eroded the life of the church. They need to return to what’s of first importance and stop their flirtation with the latest “spiritual” fad that makes them feel significant or special. They have forgotten who they are in Jesus Christ.
Paul now aims to remind them:
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NIV
Notice how Paul does not claim that he had some new teaching that he came up with for others to believe in. No, Paul clearly states that what he passed on was established before him. He merely seeks to pass on what was given to him. He is not the originator of this good news. That’s an important reminder for the church today. How often are we presented with some new-fangled idea, method, strategy, or program that will amount to some form of salvation? Maybe someone has a new approach that will save our church from decline. Or maybe it’s the newest program for our youth that will keep them in the pews. Or it could be any number of things that do not rely on the once delivered good news of Jesus Christ. How often are we tempted to place our trust in something other than Christ, or at least in something in addition to Christ? Paul is forceful here as he states that the foundation of the Christian faith that he passed on was of “first importance.” Everything else is secondary at best.
Paul then proceeds to remind them of what is of “first importance” since they seem to have forgotten. First, “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” There’s no way to hear this without also hearing that we were once sinners in need of forgiveness. This would be a good and hard reminder for a group of Christians who boasted about their own spirituality. It’s always a good reminder to know that we are saved, not just from some past sins, but from our own sinful nature. We really have nothing to boast about.
Also, notice Paul added “according to the Scriptures.” The only Scriptures recognized At the time of Paul’s writing, “Scripture” was the Old Testament, which pointed ahead to the coming of the Messiah. This gospel reminder has been revealed in the Scriptures and has culminated in Jesus Christ. We can never detach the Scriptures from our proclamations of the gospel. This too is a matter of faith. Do we trust that God’s word is sufficient to bear witness to Christ? Do we trust that God’s way of changing hearts and minds through His written word is sufficient? Or do we have a better plan, one that we can take credit for?
Paul continues with his reminder with “he was buried” and “he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Again, Paul was clear that what he was saying was nothing beyond what the Scriptures were saying. Paul emphasized that Jesus did objectively die by including the fact that He was buried. Jesus didn’t experience some “spiritual” transformation or higher plain of thinking that got branded as a “resurrection.” No, Jesus experienced a real death in a real body just like you and I will. But He was raised. Now Paul comes to his point that aims to correct the Corinthian believers who criticized the message of the resurrection. For extra measure, he grounds this claim in real historical events. He reminds the Corinthian believers that Peter, the Twelve, and then five hundred other brothers and sisters gave witness to the fact that Jesus had indeed been risen from the dead.
Paul doesn’t leave them with only an account of all these witnesses who experienced seeing Jesus alive after the resurrection. He goes on to include his own experience as well. And he qualifies, saying “and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” Paul has certainly not elevated his witness as the key witness involved, but neither does he leave it out. Why would one argue for a belief that wasn’t true for them personally? Paul makes it personal.
Paul will conclude this portion of his argument. He explains why he referred to his own witness of the resurrected Lord in such self-deprecating terms.
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. 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. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 NIV
Paul was not held in high esteem by those in the Corinthian church who took issue with some of his teachings. They felt they knew more than him and that Paul wasn’t even an apostle. It’s interesting how Paul deals with this. He does not argue by way of virtue or “spirituality” for being an apostle. He states that he is the “least of the apostles” and does not even deserve the title. However, in doing so, he does not deny that he is an apostle. Rather, he bases his calling on the grace of God, and not by some measure of “spirituality” that the Corinthians favored. He takes the Corinthian believer’s argument against him and uses it as a witness of God’s grace, and therefore a more solid foundation for his appointment as an apostle.
Note also how Paul referred to his past experience of persecuting the church. What he thought was correct and zeal for God, was, in reality, an enemy of God. Perhaps he hopes the Corinthian church will reflect on their own self-acclamations of being “spiritual” and exercise some caution. Paul does mention that he “worked harder than all of them,” but that does not mean he seeks to compare his work ethic to theirs. Instead, he is points to the grace of God at work in him. Grace had a deeper work to do in Paul seeing that he was the “least of the apostles.” And that lands us on a final note of the good news we are to be reminded of today.
God’s grace does not cease to work in any of us, no matter our past or how bull-headed and arrogant we may behave in the present. God’s grace will never give up on any of us. We can trust He will complete the good work He has set out to do. Our response is to trust in God’s grace, letting it work out of us all that needs to be repented of so we to can pass on to others what we once received.
Rick Shallenberger—Year C Epiphany 5
February 9, 2025 — 5th Sunday after Epiphany
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
CLICK HERE to listen to the whole podcast.
If you get a chance to rate and review the show, that helps a lot. And invite your fellow preachers and Bible lovers to join us!
Follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcast.
Program Transcript
Rick Shallenberger—Year C Epiphany 5
Anthony: Let’s transition to our second pericope of the month. It is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany on February 9. Rick, would you read it for us, please?
Rick: I’d be happy to.
Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. 3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit 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 toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.
Anthony: ” Though it was not I, but the grace of God.” Hallelujah.
Rick, I think to the detriment of formation and discipleship as people of God, too often salvation has been reduced down to a single decision of faith. You might call it a “one and done” salvation. But Paul refers to being saved in verse 2; it’s an ongoing reality and act of God. Would you tell us more about this ongoing salvation?
Rick: Yeah, it’s really an interesting, I think, a question a lot of people ask, Anthony, is, am I saved or am I being saved?
And the answer is yes. There, we’ll just stop there.
Anthony: Yes.
Rick: Or would you like more? Because see, it’s both in the context here. Paul is talking about the resurrection. And he shares details about the resurrection here that nowhere else you find in Scripture. He talks about how many people saw Jesus after His resurrection.
He shares a sequence we hadn’t seen in previous texts. He emphasizes that the truth of the resurrection is the truth upon which you stand, and upon which rests your salvation. Now salvation was a big topic to Paul, and he refers to it in most of his books. And to believers in Ephesus, he said, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith.
And of course, there is past tense. This is not from yourselves. It is a gift of God, not by work, so that no one can boast. This is referred to as justification. In other words, God pronounces a person to be righteous. You remember in the letter to the Corinthians, he says, we hate, God gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
So, it’s a gift. It’s a gift to all who believe in the one who gives the gift. And I say that because you can’t believe in the gift if you don’t believe in the gift giver. So, God gives us Christ’s righteousness. That’s a free gift. That’s the one and done salvation that some people refer to. But let’s be honest.
Though God declares us righteous, we still sin. At least I do. And I think I heard you say earlier that you struggle as well.
Anthony: But I think that’s being edited out. So, I’m not sure that I said it. No, I did.
Rick: Yeah, because I know you.
So, in other words, Anthony, we still have thoughts that we shouldn’t have and we don’t want to have. We still do things we should not do and we don’t want to do. Paul talked about the struggle in Romans 7. We still struggle with the power of sin. And here’s the key: in our relationship with Jesus, we are being saved. Get that! We are being saved from the power of sin. This is referred to as sanctification.
In other words, sin tries to control us, but it can’t. Because we now don’t belong to sin, we belong to God who has declared us righteous. And sin can’t control us because of the resurrection, because Jesus rose from the grave and destroyed all that was holding us back. Paul emphasizes in this passage that he works harder than most, but that’s not what saves him.
We are saved because Jesus rose from the grave, and this is of first importance.
Anthony: And it’s not only a first importance, which it is, but it seems like Paul repeatedly comes back to the death, resurrection, and the risen and ascended Christ. Maybe you’ve already been touching on this, but maybe we can dive in a little further.
If he’s already told us this, why does he repeatedly come back to the reality of the death, resurrection, and risen Christ?
Rick: Anthony, if you’re like me and I think you are, you have a lot of important things in your life, right? And it’s quite easy to let those important things become even more important and sometimes even more important than anything else.
And when we do that, these important things become our primary focus, and our lives can revolve around these important things. And sometimes we believe that these important things might be important things that we do, and that those are the things that gain us favor with God, salvation even. And Paul is reminding us of that. In other passages, he talks about how he is more qualified than anyone else to be a follower of God, but that doesn’t qualify him.
His heritage, his actions don’t qualify him. What qualifies him is God’s grace. And he continually points this out because we often fall into the trap that we believe it’s something we do and something we need to do better. And Paul is continuing to remind us that Christ is a first importance.
There’s nothing more important than knowing the power of His death, resurrection, and return. Because let’s think about it. Without His death we would not have forgiveness, right? Without His resurrection, we wouldn’t have hope in our own resurrection or a future. Without His return, we wouldn’t have hope that our resurrection leads to living in kingdom life with Him as king and entering that future time of no more pain, tears, sorrow, and death.
So, I am a person that needs constant reminders of what is of first importance to keep me grounded. That keeps me looking to the Father, Son, and the Spirit rather than looking to myself.
Anthony: Yeah. Amen. And amen to that. And you were talking about forgiveness and our own resurrection and the return of Christ. I want to remind our listeners when we talk about return, we’re not talking about the absence of God. God is with us. Jesus made the promise that He is with us, but we are longing for that reappearance, that second coming, the Parousia in Scripture that will bring fulfillment of all things.
And Epiphany is one of those times where we really recognize we’re living in between the times, longing for the culmination of the kingdom. And one of the things that we see in God’s resurrection in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins, we still face the consequences of those sins, right?
Even though it does not hold us down, and it is not our future, and sin has no future in God’s kingdom, we aren’t saved from feeling the pain. The pain of the consequences when I do something wrong, when I harm a friend, I feel that. I recognize it as sin. And I think that’s good in terms of our being conformed to the image of Christ.
But thanks be to God that we can keep going back to His death and resurrection, which would reveal so powerfully God’s love made manifest in Jesus. Thank you.
Rick: I agree, Anthony. I think one of the things that we need to remind ourselves is that every single day that we wake up is a new day with God, and He has cleansed us of the day before.
And as you said, that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to go back and repair some relationships, because we do things that hurt other people. But in Christ, we are new, we are renewed every day. And that is the proof that He lives in us, as you were talking about. And there is a misnomer that, God is off somewhere, and we all await His return, and then everything will change.
Everything will change, but the truth is, He is changing us now, by living in us through the Spirit. Honestly, that is what enables us to love people like He loves us. We can’t do that on our own. That is what enables us to see that we need to ask forgiveness when we hurt somebody. Those are the things that help us to realize relationships are important and I’ve hurt this relationship.
I need to go back and fix this. It’s Christ’s love in us that compels us in that way. And yeah, I really appreciate the fact that you pointed out that it’s not just His return, He is here now living in us, but we look forward to that return with the fullness of the kingdom.
Program Transcript
Rick Shallenberger—Year C Epiphany 5
Anthony: Let’s transition to our second pericope of the month. It is 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. It is a Revised Common Lectionary passage for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany on February 9. Rick, would you read it for us, please?
Rick: I’d be happy to.
Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain. 3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures 4 and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit 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 toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.
Anthony: ” Though it was not I, but the grace of God.” Hallelujah.
Rick, I think to the detriment of formation and discipleship as people of God, too often salvation has been reduced down to a single decision of faith. You might call it a “one and done” salvation. But Paul refers to being saved in verse 2; it’s an ongoing reality and act of God. Would you tell us more about this ongoing salvation?
Rick: Yeah, it’s really an interesting, I think, a question a lot of people ask, Anthony, is, am I saved or am I being saved?
And the answer is yes. There, we’ll just stop there.
Anthony: Yes.
Rick: Or would you like more? Because see, it’s both in the context here. Paul is talking about the resurrection. And he shares details about the resurrection here that nowhere else you find in Scripture. He talks about how many people saw Jesus after His resurrection.
He shares a sequence we hadn’t seen in previous texts. He emphasizes that the truth of the resurrection is the truth upon which you stand, and upon which rests your salvation. Now salvation was a big topic to Paul, and he refers to it in most of his books. And to believers in Ephesus, he said, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith.
And of course, there is past tense. This is not from yourselves. It is a gift of God, not by work, so that no one can boast. This is referred to as justification. In other words, God pronounces a person to be righteous. You remember in the letter to the Corinthians, he says, we hate, God gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
So, it’s a gift. It’s a gift to all who believe in the one who gives the gift. And I say that because you can’t believe in the gift if you don’t believe in the gift giver. So, God gives us Christ’s righteousness. That’s a free gift. That’s the one and done salvation that some people refer to. But let’s be honest.
Though God declares us righteous, we still sin. At least I do. And I think I heard you say earlier that you struggle as well.
Anthony: But I think that’s being edited out. So, I’m not sure that I said it. No, I did.
Rick: Yeah, because I know you.
So, in other words, Anthony, we still have thoughts that we shouldn’t have and we don’t want to have. We still do things we should not do and we don’t want to do. Paul talked about the struggle in Romans 7. We still struggle with the power of sin. And here’s the key: in our relationship with Jesus, we are being saved. Get that! We are being saved from the power of sin. This is referred to as sanctification.
In other words, sin tries to control us, but it can’t. Because we now don’t belong to sin, we belong to God who has declared us righteous. And sin can’t control us because of the resurrection, because Jesus rose from the grave and destroyed all that was holding us back. Paul emphasizes in this passage that he works harder than most, but that’s not what saves him.
We are saved because Jesus rose from the grave, and this is of first importance.
Anthony: And it’s not only a first importance, which it is, but it seems like Paul repeatedly comes back to the death, resurrection, and the risen and ascended Christ. Maybe you’ve already been touching on this, but maybe we can dive in a little further.
If he’s already told us this, why does he repeatedly come back to the reality of the death, resurrection, and risen Christ?
Rick: Anthony, if you’re like me and I think you are, you have a lot of important things in your life, right? And it’s quite easy to let those important things become even more important and sometimes even more important than anything else.
And when we do that, these important things become our primary focus, and our lives can revolve around these important things. And sometimes we believe that these important things might be important things that we do, and that those are the things that gain us favor with God, salvation even. And Paul is reminding us of that. In other passages, he talks about how he is more qualified than anyone else to be a follower of God, but that doesn’t qualify him.
His heritage, his actions don’t qualify him. What qualifies him is God’s grace. And he continually points this out because we often fall into the trap that we believe it’s something we do and something we need to do better. And Paul is continuing to remind us that Christ is a first importance.
There’s nothing more important than knowing the power of His death, resurrection, and return. Because let’s think about it. Without His death we would not have forgiveness, right? Without His resurrection, we wouldn’t have hope in our own resurrection or a future. Without His return, we wouldn’t have hope that our resurrection leads to living in kingdom life with Him as king and entering that future time of no more pain, tears, sorrow, and death.
So, I am a person that needs constant reminders of what is of first importance to keep me grounded. That keeps me looking to the Father, Son, and the Spirit rather than looking to myself.
Anthony: Yeah. Amen. And amen to that. And you were talking about forgiveness and our own resurrection and the return of Christ. I want to remind our listeners when we talk about return, we’re not talking about the absence of God. God is with us. Jesus made the promise that He is with us, but we are longing for that reappearance, that second coming, the Parousia in Scripture that will bring fulfillment of all things.
And Epiphany is one of those times where we really recognize we’re living in between the times, longing for the culmination of the kingdom. And one of the things that we see in God’s resurrection in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins, we still face the consequences of those sins, right?
Even though it does not hold us down, and it is not our future, and sin has no future in God’s kingdom, we aren’t saved from feeling the pain. The pain of the consequences when I do something wrong, when I harm a friend, I feel that. I recognize it as sin. And I think that’s good in terms of our being conformed to the image of Christ.
But thanks be to God that we can keep going back to His death and resurrection, which would reveal so powerfully God’s love made manifest in Jesus. Thank you.
Rick: I agree, Anthony. I think one of the things that we need to remind ourselves is that every single day that we wake up is a new day with God, and He has cleansed us of the day before.
And as you said, that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to go back and repair some relationships, because we do things that hurt other people. But in Christ, we are new, we are renewed every day. And that is the proof that He lives in us, as you were talking about. And there is a misnomer that, God is off somewhere, and we all await His return, and then everything will change.
Everything will change, but the truth is, He is changing us now, by living in us through the Spirit. Honestly, that is what enables us to love people like He loves us. We can’t do that on our own. That is what enables us to see that we need to ask forgiveness when we hurt somebody. Those are the things that help us to realize relationships are important and I’ve hurt this relationship.
I need to go back and fix this. It’s Christ’s love in us that compels us in that way. And yeah, I really appreciate the fact that you pointed out that it’s not just His return, He is here now living in us, but we look forward to that return with the fullness of the kingdom.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- With all the difficulties Paul was having with the Corinthian church, why do you think he addressed them as “brothers and sisters”?
- How can we, as siblings in Christ, remind each other of the gospel?
- What significance do you see in Paul reminding us that the gospel is “according to the Scriptures”?
- Why is grace a firmer foundation than anything else we can build on?
