Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. – I Corinthians 15:1-5
The Apostle Paul had once preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Corinthians. Now he is reminding them of it.
Why?
Is it because the same Gospel that saves us also sanctifies us? No, that is not found in this passage of Scripture. That would be eisogesis, or better, ‘lack-o-gesis’ at its finest.
The reason Paul is making known the Gospel to the Corinthians once again is found in Scripture itself, and in fact, in the same chapter; specifically, verses 12 and 13.
Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
The Apostle Paul is reminding them of the Gospel teaching, not because it sanctifies them by ‘going deeper’ and by contemplating more deeply the finished work of Christ, oh no. He is addressing the fact that some in Corinth who had professed Christ and professed to believe the Gospel, are now rejecting or objecting to the doctrine of the resurrection. They are believing that God raises the soul, but not the body.
That is why Paul is once again reminding them of the Gospel. Not to stress the necessity of the Gospel for the purpose of sanctification, but for doctrinal correction.
If any preacher tells you that the Gospel sanctifies you apart from obedience, that man needs to be marked for division according to Scripture.
You finished well by stating, “If any preacher tells you that the Gospel sanctifies you apart from obedience, that man needs to be marked for division according to Scripture.” Amen and amen. The Gospel is a proclamation of an historical, finished work of Christ. As such, we cannot obey it nor can it work on us. It stands as a milestone that, as the Jews did after they crossed the Red Sea and set up stones as a memorial, reminds us of God’s great work of mercy on our behalf. Being raised to new life in Christ, we walk as obedient children – knowing He works His will in us to will and to do His good pleasure.
Joel,
In what sense do you think the gospel is God’s power for salvation for those who are being saved (1 Cor. 1:18)? “If any preacher tells you that the Gospel sanctifies you apart from obedience, that man needs to be marked for division according to Scripture.” It seems to me the question we need to answer is “Does the gospel sanctify believers? ” If not, it seems to me the NT writers wrote a great deal of unnecessary “good news” to believers in the New Testament. If the message of the cross had nothing to do with their sanctification, why didn’t they just say, “Read the Ten Commandments, and obey them?” If you are right, they spilled an ocean of unnecessary ink.
Once you answer that question, then the other question is appropriate. Does the gospel sanctify us apart from our obedience? Of course not! But does the gospel motivate us to obey? I don’t know about you but I am certainly motivated by Christ’s dying love for me. I think the apostle Paul may have been too. When he wrote, “The love of Christ constrains me. . . .” he wasn’t talking about his love for Christ but about Christ’s dying love for him. He continues “Hereby we thus judge that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all [not simply that those for whom he died might be reconciled and justified] that those who live should not live unto themselves any longer but unto him who died for them and rose again.” That sounds to me as if they are being sanctified by the same gospel that justified them. Does not the salvation bringing grace of God [Wow! That sounds like it is mildly associated with the gospel to me] teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires etc.”
Randy
Randy,
First, you read much into what I have not said, and assume even more. But, I see you agree with me. I took the liberty to highlight it in bold. Thanks for the comment.
Joel,
Perhaps I have been interacting too much with Paul D., who denies the idea that the same gospel that justifies us also sanctifies us. In my view, it is impossible to read the NT Scriptures without understanding that the same work of Christ that is our justification is also our sanctification. If he died for us, we died with him. Both these benefits occurred in the same act. It is God’s good news not only that we are saved from the penalty of our sins but also that we are saved from the reigning power of our sins. Nothing we do in obedience to Christ would be possible apart from his definitive, objective work of sanctifying us, by his sacrificial death. Our task is to 1. account this to be true, (Rom. 6:11), 2. Refuse to obey sin’s commands any longer (Rom. 6:12), 3. Present ourselves as those who are alive from the dead for obedience to God and our members as weapons of righteousness for God (6:13).
My point is that though we are called on to obey and are therefore involved in the process of progressive sanctification, we don’t accomplish it. Jesus accomplished it on the cross. He now, by his Spirit, works in us both to give us the desire to obey and the ability to obey. Thus, we can take credit for none of the advances we make in sanctification. The glory is all his.
By free grace alone,
Randy
Joel,
One additional thought. I agree with you that in his passage the apostle is reminding his readers of the gospel for the purpose of answering those who were denying the resurrection of the dead. However, one must still deal with his words as he addresses this problem, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2by which also you are saved, IF YOU HOLD FAST THE WORD WHICH I PREACHED TO YOU—unless you believed in vain. ” The word or message which he preached to them in this context is the gospel. He tells them he preached this good news to them, they received it, they stand in it and they are saved by it IF THEY HOLD FAST TO IT. That doesn’t sound as if we can get beyond the gospel does it?
Randy,
hold fast the word, refers to Paul’s teachings, and the emphasis here is encouraging the Corinthians to not be merely hearers of the Word, but doers also. Otherwise, if they are not ‘doers’ they have believed in vain. Again, you assume much – too much. No one ever said we should ‘get beyond’ the Gospel. Be careful you do not stick words in others mouths brother. Also, I trust you have, by now, read the comment policy.
Brother Joel,
Someone has said “We need to get beyond the gospel.” Paul D. says that continuously, and he is using your posts as though you agree with him.
I agree, we must put the word into practice, but our manner of life cannot very well be as is becoming to the gospel (Phil. 1:27) if our practice has no relationship to the gospel. My point to you is that whatever the apostle’s reason for rehearsing the gospel in 1 Cor 15, the “word” he is talking about in this context is the word of the gospel, and they are to hold it fast. That would seem to indicate they were not to get beyond it.
If you are not saying what Paul seems to think you are saying, please forgive me for putting words in your mouth. By the way, if you are not saying that, what was the reason for your post? You wrote, “Is it because the same Gospel that saves us also sanctifies us? No, that is not found in this passage of Scripture. You implication seemed to be that you wrote this because you were trying to show that we are not sanctified by the gospel. Perhaps you just felt the need to expound on that chapter for no reason at all. But, rather than putting words in your mouth, I will wait for you to tell me what your point was if you weren’t saying what I thought you were saying.
Yes, I read your comment policy. Though I grant your right to refuse to post comments at your whim, I don’t know for what other reason you are mentioning it. If you don’t wish for me to comment, just let me know.
Randy
I encourage everyone to read the comment policy due to past abuses…of my time, and people’s assumed ‘rights’.
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Interesting article and comments. I appreciate how the Westminster Confession of Faith summarizes how the scriptural uses of the law of God “sweetly comply” with the grace of the Gospel and how the Spirit of Christ subdues and enables “the will of man to do that freely, and cheerfully, which the will of God, revealed in the law, requires to be done.” Certainly it is not only a good idea, but also an apostolic command, to think about what Christ has done, is doing, and will do for his glory on behalf of his body and its members. Just today, my son and I were listening to a biblically balanced sermon by an OPC pastor in the San Diego area. He explained how Pauls’ ethical instructions (in Colossians for example) were always in the context of what Christ had done and is doing. Without the context, the instructions really would be just a set of rules. However, set in the right context, the ethical instructions are not only commands to be followed, but they can be followed and “freely and cheerfully” performed. We couldn’t help compare this sermon with sermons that we had heard for years by the pastor at the “Reformed” church we used to attend. For years we heard sermons that minimized and even outright omitted the ethical instructions of the apostles and of Christ himself. All the while, the pastor emphasized Christ in an almost mystical way – detached from the commands of Christ and his apostles. He failed to see that the work of Christ (past, present and future) provides the context for all of the ethical instructions, for doing all that is commanded.
Joel –
Are you saying I cannot take Jesus as my savior without taking Him as my LORD?
I don’t know if Joel is saying that or not, but the Scripture clearly teaches that. Jesus is Lord. You can’t receive him if you don’t receive him for what he is and all he is.
Randy
Randy -
I was a joke! Lighten up
Not being heavy my namesake. Just stating facts.
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