1 Corinthians 15:4: Is It More Than the Gospel?

In the book The Gospel of the Christ, author Tom Stegall presents a fictitious case study about a man named Joe who doesn't believe that Christ "rose again the third day" (1 Cor. 15:4). Stegall writes: "Even though Joe believes wholeheartedly in Christ's substitutionary death and bodily resurrection and salvation by God's grace, he is vociferously denying the truth of 1 Corinthians 15:4 that Christ's resurrection occurred on 'the third day.' So, again, we must ask, is Joe saved or lost?"¹

Stegall goes on to say that "a person is saved by believing the gospel (1 Cor. 4:15; 2 Thess. 1:8-10)".² But what is the gospel according to Tom Stegall? Apparently a gospel without any mention of Christ's burial or the fact that His resurrection occurred on "the third day" (1 Cor. 15:4). Amazingly, Stegall goes on to conclude that these two facts included by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:4 are actually "more than the gospel",³ and he makes it clear that in his opinion "a person does not have to believe" these details in order to be saved!⁴

But there are at least three glaring problems with Stegall's reductionist reasoning. The first glaring problem with Stegall's reasoning is that he is using a completely hypothetical case study to define the gospel. In his book, Stegall actually presents two hypothetical case studies in which he attempts to show that the lost don't have to believe the truth of Christ's burial nor the fact that His resurrection occurred on "the third day". Ironically, Stegall prefaces his fictional case studies by saying: "when seeking to determine the contents of saving faith, we are not considering what is typical for most Christians, or even what is logical [is Stegall admitting that his groundless gospel is illogical?], but rather what is divinely required for eternal life according to the Word of God."⁵ In light of this statement the reader would naturally expect Stegall to explain what the Bible says about what's required for eternal life, but Stegall does just the opposite. Instead of addressing any biblical basis, Stegall goes on to present two fictional case studies of people who supposedly got saved even though they rejected the truth of Christ's burial and the fact that His resurrection occurred on "the third day".⁶ Amazingly, Stegall then concludes that these facts are not part of the gospel!⁷ The real problem with Stegall's fictional case studies is not the case studies themselves, but that Stegall uses them to form soteriological conclusions about the gospel. This mindset is more postmodern than it is biblical. Stegall would do well to follow his own doctrinal statement when it says: "We believe the Bible is the only infallible rule for all faith and practice, and it is therefore solely sufficient (apart from human wisdom and ecclesiastical tradition) to lead an individual to salvation".⁸

The second glaring problem with Stegall's reductionist reasoning is that it is inconsistent with and contrary to the apostle Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 15 where the fact of the third day is included in the content of the gospel (notice the hoti content clause in verse 4: "that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"). While verses 1-11 give the context of Paul's gospel, verses 3b-5 give the actual content of the gospel message. Notice the four content conjunctions beginning in verse 3: "that Christ died...and that He was buried...and that He was raised...and that He appeared...." The word "that" (Greek hoti), repeated four times in verses 3-5, functions as a "content conjunction" and indicates a content clause. Greek grammarian David Alan Black affirms: "Content clauses involve a subject, predicate nominative, direct object, or an appositional noun clause. Such clauses are commonly introduced by hina, hoti, hopos, and hos."⁹ More specifically, Daniel Wallace cites 1 Corinthians 15:3 to illustrate a "content conjunction".¹⁰ And John Niemela notes under the heading "Indicating a Content Clause" that "1 Corinthians...15:3...15:4a-b, [and] 5" (but not 15:6ff) each indicate "a Content Clause".¹¹ Even Stegall affirms that "Paul begins by stating explicitly, 'I declare to you the gospel (to euangelion) which I preached (euengelisamen) to you' (1 Cor. 15:1a)....In the following verses Paul then specifies the content contained in that good news starting with the conjunction 'that' (hoti) in verse 3."¹² Ironically, Stegall points out the significance of the hoti content clause in relation to the gospel message when he says that "a content clause, express[es] essential content"!¹³

The third glaring problem with Stegall's reductionist reasoning is that Christ made it clear that He would rise from the dead "on the third day" according to the Scriptures (see Lk. 18:31-33; 24:44-48; Jn. 2:19-22; cf. 1 Cor. 15:1; Gal. 1:11-12). Thus, if someone is trusting in a "Jesus" who did not rise from the dead "on the third day"—who are they trusting in? Obviously not the biblical Jesus! In regards to Stegall's hypothetical scenario, if Joe is "vociferously denying the truth of 1 Corinthians 15:4 that Christ's resurrection occurred on 'the third day'"¹⁴ as Stegall asserts, then Joe is not trusting in the true Christ who predicted that He would indeed "rise from the dead on the third day" (Lk. 24:46). Robert Gromacki writes: "If Christ had been raised from the dead on the second, fourth, or any succeeding day, that would have been a remarkable, unprecedented achievement; but it also would have declared Him to be a false prophet."¹⁵ Sadly, Joe is trusting in a "false Christ" (Matt. 24:4-5, 24) and in "another Jesus" (2 Cor. 11:4), neither of which can save.

It's easy to get side-tracked by hypothetical scenarios and fictional case studies! But our authority should be the Word of God, not the traditions of men (see Galatians 1:11-12). And in light of what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, it's clear that he included the fact of "the third day" in his inspired declaration of the gospel to the Corinthians. So if we are going "by the book"—in other words, if we are going by what the Bible actually says rather than according to man's opinions or hypothetical scenarios, then the fact of the third day is an important part of the gospel message which Paul passed on to the Corinthians and to everyone else (Acts 20:24; cf. Rom. 15:19; Col. 1:23). Have you believed it? If not, do so today!

References:

¹ Thomas L. Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ (Milwaukee: Grace Gospel Press, 2009), p. 563, italics his.

² Ibid., p. 563.

³ Ibid.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ Ibid., p. 561.

⁶ Ibid., p. 561-563.

⁷ Ibid., p. 563.

⁸ "THE DOCTRINAL STATEMENT OF THE WORD OF GRACE BIBLE CHURCH, THE HOLY SCRIPTURES" (accessed September 22, 2010).

⁹ David Alan Black, It's Still Greek To Me, p. 144.

¹⁰ Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond The Basics, p. 678.

¹¹ John Niemela, "For You Have Kept My Word: The Grammar of Revelation 3:10," Chafer Theological Seminary Journal 6 (January 2000): 29-30.

¹² Thomas L. Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ, p. 532.

¹³ Ibid., pp. 393-394.

¹⁴ Ibid., p. 563.

¹⁵ Robert Gromacki, Called To Be Saints, p. 182, bold added.