What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:3? For what I received Paul stresses that the gospel he is about to rehearse did not originate with him. It was “received”—handed down by the risen Christ (Galatians 1:11-12). As he tells another church, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you” (1 Corinthians 11:23), the same pattern appears. Because the gospel is revealed, not invented, it carries divine authority. • Source: Jesus Himself, not human opinion. • Implication: tampering with it means tampering with God’s truth (Galatians 1:8-9). I passed on to you Receiving leads to transmitting. Paul faithfully relayed the very message that saved him. Acts 18:1-11 shows him spending eighteen months in Corinth doing just that. He models the principle of 2 Timothy 2:2—what we receive we entrust to others who will pass it on again. • The gospel is a relay baton, not a private possession. • The unbroken chain from Christ to Paul to the Corinthians assures us we hold the original gospel. As of first importance Among all doctrines Paul taught, this truth sits at the top. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). • Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, no other Christian teaching matters (Romans 10:9). • This core message unites believers across cultures and centuries. That Christ died The gospel is historical, not mythical. “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit” (Matthew 27:50). Eyewitnesses saw His lifeless body taken from the cross (John 19:33-35). • His death satisfied divine justice (Romans 3:25-26). • It fulfilled His own predictions (Mark 8:31). • It displayed God’s love (Romans 5:8). For our sins He did not die merely as a martyr but as a substitute for people. Isaiah foretold, “He was pierced for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5-6). Peter echoes, “Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Peter 3:18). • Our sins created a debt we could never pay (Romans 6:23). • His death removes wrath and reconciles us to God (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:2). • The phrase “for our sins” makes the gospel intensely personal. According to the Scriptures Nothing in the gospel is accidental; every detail fulfills the written Word. Jesus said, “Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). • Psalm 22 pictures crucifixion centuries before it existed. • Isaiah 53 lays out the suffering Servant bearing iniquity. • Daniel 9:26 foretells Messiah being cut off. By anchoring the gospel in Scripture, Paul shows God’s plan is consistent from Genesis to Revelation. summary 1 Corinthians 15:3 distills the heart of the gospel: a divinely delivered message, faithfully transmitted, occupying first place, declaring that the real, historical Christ died a substitutionary, Scripture-foretold death for our sins. Every hope we have rests on this bedrock truth, and every believer is called to receive it, rejoice in it, and pass it on unchanged. |
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