What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:2?

By this gospel you are saved

The sentence opens with an unshakable promise. Salvation rests on the gospel Paul has just defined (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

• The gospel is not advice but “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

• It is entirely grace-based: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith… not by works” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

• Because Jesus died, was buried, and rose again “according to the Scriptures,” the believer’s rescue is already accomplished, not tentative.

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if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you

Here Paul highlights the necessary response to that finished work.

• Genuine faith continues; it is “established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel” (Colossians 1:23).

• Jesus said, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples” (John 8:31). Perseverance is not an added requirement; it is the evidence that faith is real.

• Think of the seed in good soil: it “hears the word and understands it,” then produces a harvest (Matthew 13:23). The grip on the gospel is active and lifelong.

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Otherwise, you have believed in vain

A sobering caution follows.

• Superficial belief can spring up quickly and then fade: “They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away” (Luke 8:13).

• James warns that “faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead” (James 2:17). Empty belief never unites a person to Christ.

• Hebrews echoes Paul: “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at first” (Hebrews 3:14). The point is not losing salvation but revealing whether it was ever possessed.

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summary

1 Corinthians 15:2 packs comfort and challenge into one line. The gospel alone saves—because Jesus finished the work. Those truly rescued will cling to that message, proving its reality over time. A temporary or casual association with the gospel, however enthusiastic at first, ultimately shows itself hollow. Hold tight to the word proclaimed, and rest assured that the salvation secured by Christ is eternally yours.