WAS BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST PART OF THE ORIGINAL GOSPEL?

There have been skeptics who have said that belief in the resurrection of Christ from the dead is a later development--that it has no part to play in the original Gospel. Is that true? Can scripture attest that the resurrection is an essential part of the Original Gospel? Yes, it can. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Paul encourages the church to not wander away from their belief in resurrection Christ, and if we look closely, we will see that he actually quotes the earliest known creed of the church in his encouragement. 

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word 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 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.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.  For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy 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 toward me was not 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.  Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11 ESV)

DO NOT BELIEVE IN VAIN! (v.1-2,11).

Because this passage gives a robust list of those who became eye-witnesses of Jesus after he rose from the grave, we often read these passages as a proof text to provide evidence of the resurrection. It is useful for that for sure, but that was not Paul’s message. He was not trying to convince them, but rather he was calling them back to the original Gospel so that their belief would not be in vain! Your belief is not in vain if:

You Received the Gospel (v.1). 

When Paul preached the original gospel, they received it. This was not to agree with the philosophy of the gospel, but to ‘receive’ it intimately and join yourself to it. It became part of you!

You Stand on the Gospel (v.1). 

When the Corinthians received the original gospel, the made their ‘stand’ upon it. The Gospel became the foundation unto which they believed, thought and conducted themselves.

You Are Being Saved by the Gospel (v.2). 

When the Corinthians received the original gospel something began to happen. They were ‘being’ saved by the Gospel. They were not only saved positionally with God, but also progressively.

First, you are positionally saved. The moment you believe, meaning, you receive and make your stand upon the Gospel, you positionally saved. This means that you now have right standing before God!

Second, you are progressively saved. From the moment you believe, you are progressively being transformed into the image of Christ.

Third, You will be perfectly saved. When you stand before Christ at the end of the age your will be completely transformed. You will be made perfect, complete and whole.

You Hold Fast to the Gospel (v.3). 

Now Paul gives them the condition for this salvation—They must hold fast to the Gospel. They cannot turn from the gospel to other philosophies, religions or saviors! The image is that of holding a ship’s course straight through a storm. Our faith must weather the storm! The Lord actually expects that we will grow and make progress in our faith without being caught in currents of doubt that lead to unbelief!
  

WHAT IS THE ORGINAL GOSPEL?

 What did the original church—the church in the Acts believe? Paul gives us the earliest creed of the church recorded in scripture. Paul writes, “I delivered to you…what I also received”(v.3). This is the technical language that was used to identify that which was passed on by oral tradition. That means that this creed was confessed by those who followed Jesus before the NT was written. This is the ORIGINAL GOSPEL! This creed contains two confessions:

Christ died for our sin (v.3) 

Christ died ‘for,’ meaning, ‘on behalf of’. Christ died for us. Christ was our substitute. He died in our place.

...He was buried (V.4)

He did not faint or pass out. He did not die figuratively—He died a complete death! He remained lifeless in the grave for three days.
 Remember that death came into the world because Adam sinned. If Adam never sinned, he would have never died. Christ who knew no sin subjected himself to a death.

 Christ was raised on the Last Day! (v.4)

 The Greek usage is interesting in these creed. “died” and “buried” are in the past tense, but “raised” is in the perfect tense. Christ having died and being buried are in the past, but Christ having been raised are now and forever! Christ has risen! [He is risen indeed!] and he remains risen forevermore! 

WHY DID THE EARLY CHURCH BELIEVE THAT CHRIST WAS RAISED ON THE THIRD DAY?

Paul gives a select list of eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ. Christ actually appeared first to the women in the gospels. But, because women were not allowed to eyewitness in court, Paul begins with Peter—He intended to make a court case here!

Jesus Appeared to Peter then the Twelve (v.5) 

As soon as Mary Magdalene reported that Jesus’ tomb was empty and his body was missing, both Peter and John ran to see for themselves. Later that evening, Jesus showed himself and the scars from the cross. Peter later writes:

 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1Pe 1:3-4).“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1Pe 1:8-9).

Jesus Appeared to More Than Five Hundred Men at Once (v.6) 

When Jesus met with the disciples, he told them,

“Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Mt28:10).

I have often asked myself, “Why didn’t Jesus march right into Jerusalem, into the temple and show himself alive? But studying Mark this year I have come to understand, why he would make his public appearance in Galilee. This was his hometown, the home base of his ministry. These were the people whom he taught, healed and delivered! These are the ones that knew him personally and could testify as eyewitnesses!

Jesus Appeared to James then All the Apostles (v.7) 

This one is my favorite. James was Jesus’ brother. He did not believe in Jesus’ claims, he thought Jesus was out of his mind (Mk 3), until He appeared to Him! From that point forward he referred to Jesus not as brother, but Lord!

Jesus Appeared to Paul (v.8) 

This is the most unlikely eyewitness to the resurrection of Christ. Paul was not only a skeptic; he was an enemy of Christ! He persecuted the church, hunting Christians down. The garments of the very first Christian martyr were place at his feet. But while on the hunt, Jesus appeared to him in his full splendor!

“…formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1Ti 1:L13-17).

Taking this closer look, it is easy to see that belief in the resurrection of Christ was part of what I call the Original Gospel. It was part of their creed. They had many eyewitness' to his resurrection, many of whom were unlikely to have believed if they had not seen him themselves! Finally, the Apostle Paul continually charged the church to hold fast to this gospel!