The Elements of Paul's Gospel

"Paul insists on the Resurrection as distinct from the appearances of Christ. Weizsäcker urges that Paul says nothing of what happened at the grave, to prove that he knew nothing of it. It is, of course, true that he gives no account, as do the Gospels, of appearances at the grave. But the Resurrection itself is a concrete fact for him. And what he meant by Resurrection is clear. It immediately follows the mention of the burial, and therefore must be explained as a resurrection of the physical body; and in another place he defines it as a 'quickening of the mortal body.' But this can only mean that the earliest apostolic tradition knew not only of appearances, but of a resurrection of the body. Further, we may well ask, What would have been the point of a reference to the burial of Jesus [in 1 Corinthians 15:4] if the body that was buried played no part in the Resurrection? If Paul's faith rested simply on appearances of Jesus, the body need have played no part, and resurrection would simply have meant a manifestation of the spirit of Jesus from heaven. But when we remember that for Paul resurrection meant a quickening of the mortal body, and when we read [in 1 Corinthians 15:4] that Christ was buried and rose again the third day, we are not at liberty to interpret him as meaning anything else than that the body, which was placed in the tomb dead, was quickened into life, quitted the grave, and appeared to the disciples. On the other interpretation Paul need have said no more than that Jesus died and on the third day appeared to the disciples. But in a summary statement of this kind [in 1 Corinthians 15] we are not entitled to treat the burial as irrelevant and the Resurrection as identical with the appearances; each of the four points—death, burial, resurrection, appearances—was vital to his case. And therefore we may conclude that Paul himself had no doubt that the death and burial of Jesus were followed by the resurrection of the body and the leaving of the tomb."[1] 

“The Gospel consists of certain facts and their interpretation, received from others, handed on by him [Paul] to them [the Corinthians]: Christ’s death on account of sins as set forth in Scripture, the burial (explicitly mentioned, not merely to guarantee the fact of death, but to indicate that the next clause speaks of what happened to the body), the resurrection on the third day also in harmony with prophecy, the appearances mentioned as a fact distinct from the resurrection."[2] 

References:

[1] Arthur S. Peake, Christianity: Its Nature and Its Truth (London: Duckworth and Company, 1909), pp. 202-203.

[2] Arthur S. Peake, A Commentary on the Bible (New York: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1920), p. 846.

God's Who's Who

The other day I was listening to a sermon by Pastor J. D. Greear, and he was preaching about Ehud from the book of Judges. It was excellent, and I want to quote something he said about how God uses weak and ordinary people to accomplish His purposes. Here's what Pastor J. D. said: 

 

“You may not feel like you have much to offer. God doesn’t need the much that you have to offer. All God needs is availability. God can use you. You say, ‘But I don’t have much talent. I don’t have a right hand of strength.’ It’s never been about the right hand of strength! Not with Ehud, not with the apostles, not with you! I remember being on a pastor’s conference, where an old southern Baptist preacher named Adrian Rogers looked out at this group of pastors, thousands of pastors. He said, ‘How many of you were valedictorian? Stand up!’ A handful of them stood up, and some people started clapping. He said, ‘No, no. Don’t clap yet.’ He said, ‘Remain standing. How many of you went to school, college, on an academic scholarship? An athletic scholarship? How many of you were on the homecoming court? How many of you….’ You know, he just went through all these honorifics. How many of you were in these categories? And at the end there was about thirty percent of the audience standing up. He said, ‘Well, there they are. Those standing are the Who’s Who. These are the ones that have something to brag about.’ He looks at that group standing up and he says this. He said, ‘I’ve got good news and bad news for those of you that are standing up.’ He said, ‘The good news is that God can use you, too. The bad news is that you’re not His first choice. His first choice are those that are seated beside you.’ Because God chooses the weak to shame the strong. And God wants to do things in the world in a way that the glory will not go to the strength of the man or the speed of the horse but will go to God who fights through the left hand of weakness. God doesn’t need your ability; He just wants your availability. Where has God told you to act that you’re not obeying Him? Maybe there is a ministry vision He’s put on your heart that you have yet to pursue. Maybe He has told you to start doing something but you’re not doing it. Maybe He’s told you about a person that you need to reach out to, but every time you’re like, ‘God, they’re going to ask me questions I don’t know. They might mock me. I don’t want to be in that situation.’ And what you’re saying is, ‘God, my arm’s not strong enough!’ And God’s like, ‘I don’t need your arm, all I need is for you to obey Me….’ God does His work in the world through ordinary people obeying Him in ordinary ways. And God takes those weak acts of obedience and infuses them with His power so that you in your life can say like Ehud and like Philip and like the little boy [with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes] and Zechariah, ‘It is not by [my] might nor by my power, it is by Your Spirit. And this is what the Lord has said.’....You don’t serve God in your strength. Just as you didn’t save yourself by your strength, you don’t serve Him in your strength. You say, ‘Lord, here I am. I’m ready to follow and obey. You use me and You work in me.”[1]

 

Reference: 

[1] J. D. Greear, "Southpaw Savior, Part 2" (August 22, 2019), J. D. Greear Ministries. Timestamp: 19:30 - 22:15 minutes.

I Never Knew You

by Peter Hann 

Many people have different views on the passage in Matthew 7:21-23 where Jesus says: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven". In a minute I'll give my personal view. 

Some people think Jesus' statement is addressed to believers who are living sloppy carnal Christian lives and they're going to lose their salvation if they don't correct. But you cannot lose your salvation! It's not dependent on how you or I live, it's all about what Jesus did. It's also all about grace otherwise it would be our works saving us and no longer grace (Rom. 11:6). Christians living carnal lives will face chastisement by the Lord but not condemnation (1 Cor. 11:32). 

Personally what I think Jesus is talking about in the Matthew 7:21-23 passage is people who think they are going to heaven because they have church membership, or they give money to the church, or Grandpa is a Christian so they think they're saved, or they've been baptized, or given to the poor, and the list goes on and on. These are people that have outward goodness or appear religious but don't have that faith in Jesus in a personal way. To be saved we must stop trusting in things like baptism and church membership and believe in our hearts that we are actually judgment deserving sinners. We must believe in our hearts that Christ died for our sins (Rom. 5:8), with His burial and resurrection validating who He is and what He did for mankind's sins. When we receive Jesus we truly know Him and He knows us, just like Jesus said: "My sheep hear My voice and I know them" (Jn. 10:27). It's like knowing Him on a personal level. It's knowing Jesus rather than just knowing about Him. 

A few years ago I sent a couple of photographs to Fox 6 Milwaukee's chief meteorologist Vince Condella, because on his weather forecast he shows feature photos that viewers send in to him and then he will display the photos during the broadcast. I gave him two pictures of Wisconsin scenery, like a shot of Lake Michigan and a view of a pond in central Wisconsin. As he was showing my photos it said on the T.V. screen: "Peter from Greenfield". I recorded the broadcast because I wanted to show it to a friend of mine but not tell her what it was. She was a little reluctant at first of seeing it but as soon as Vince Condella said "Peter from Greenfield" my friend started smiling. It was because she knew me and knew who I was. If it had said "Frank from Delavan" my friend wouldn't have been smiling because she doesn't know who Frank is but she knows who I am and that's why she was smiling. It's the same when we receive Jesus and we come to know Him on a personal level and now He knows us as well. So if you don't know Him, receive Him today. Your eternity depends on it!

The Heart of Evangelism | by Jerram Barrs

In the book The Heart of Evangelism, the author Jerram Barrs highlights the importance of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 in connection with the Gospel and evangelism. Barrs writes: 

“At this point in our study we need to turn to another very basic question. What is it that we should communicate to people? You may feel as you read this, ‘That is an unnecessary question! Every Christian knows that the Gospel is as simple as ABC.’ What is this ABC? A—You are a sinner. B—Christ died for you. C—Repent and believe in Him. 

Much training for evangelism specializes in teaching some readily remembered form of this ABC or something similar. The trainee learns a simple outline of the Good News that needs to be imparted to a non-Christian or is taught a set of questions to ask and answers to give to the unbeliever. Is this approach right or wrong? Is it helpful? To answer these questions we need to turn to Scripture itself. There is indeed a basic content to the Gospel, a content that can be summarized simply. It is also clear that this basic content needs to be communicated to the non-Christian. Think, for example, of Paul’s words in the first five verses of 1 Corinthians 15: ‘Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve.’ In this passage Paul teaches us that there are indeed gospel truths that are of first importance: 1. Christ’s death for our sins in fulfillment of Old Testament promises. 2. Christ’s burial in a grave. 3. Christ’s resurrection in agreement with the prophecies of Scripture. 4. Christ’s appearances to the apostles and others, proving that He was alive.”[1] 

After discussing other summaries of the Gospel (e.g. Lu. 24:44-47; Acts 2:22-40, 17:22-31), Barrs goes on to write: 

“In evangelism also, a clear statement of what we believe as Christians will be helpful in communicating the Gospel. There have been times when people have approached me, as the Philippian jailer approached Paul (Acts 16:29-34), asking, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ One can reply as simply as Paul did on that occasion: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.’ Of course, the text then adds: ‘Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him.’ Paul had many other things to say to this man and to his household in addition to that simple summary of what it means to be a Christian. But that one sentence—‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved’—was indeed a good starting place for Paul's presentation of the truth to the jailer and his household. It is valuable for all believers to have a clear outline of the basic truths of the Gospel in mind.”[2] 

 

References: 

[1] Jerram Barrs, The Heart of Evangelism (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2001), pp. 169-170. Note: Jerram Barrs is the founder and resident scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute at Covenant Theological Seminary, where he is professor of Christian studies and contemporary culture. He served on staff with L’Abri Fellowship in England for 18 years.

[2] Ibid., p. 175.

Fishers of Men, Part 3

by Jonathan Perreault

 

I met Marty in the summer of 2006. We both worked at the same factory; he was a pipe-fitter and I was a laborer. Marty had to be every bit of fifty years old, but you'd never guess it except that his full head of hair was almost completely white. Marty was a people person, an affable character who always had a quip that was sure to make you smile. I liked talking to Marty. We'd often spend our breaks conversing about the latest news or various other topics of mutual interest, such as health and fitness. Marty would always walk through my break area to get to the company fitness center because it was a shortcut. Lots of times I'd be reading my Bible when he'd pass by, and so he would ask me questions about it. Similarly, when I would workout in the fitness center to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17), Marty would often be there too, and we would talk about spiritual things. 

One day I gave Marty a little booklet. It was the Gospel of John from the New Living Translation that I had ordered from the International Bible Society.[1] Marty read the booklet with interest and would ask me questions about what he was reading. After he finished reading the Gospel of John, I said to him: "So, who would you say that Jesus is?" I remember Marty said something like, "That's what you've been sharing with me. Jesus is the Son of God!" Soon Marty began calling me his angel. Time and time again he would thank me for sharing the truth with him. The prophet Isaiah says, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation" (Isa. 52:17; cf. Rom. 10:15). I saw that Marty was eager to read more of the Bible, so I gave him a white and gold colored pocket New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs.[2] Marty was like a sponge soaking up the Word of God. He read through the Gospel of Luke in his pocket New Testament, and then the rest of the Gospels. When he asked me what book of the Bible he should read next, I suggested the book of Romans. A few days later I was walking through the factory and I saw Marty sitting at a table with his reading glasses on, reading his New Testament. I sat down next to him and come to find out, he was reading through Romans!

I believe that by God's amazing grace, Marty came to know Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. A year later the company shut down and closed it's doors. All that's there today is a vacant lot. But the gates of heaven haven't closed. In fact, they've been flung wide open by the nail-scarred hands of Jesus, for souls like Marty to enter in (see John 3:14-17, 10:9, 14:6, 20:19-21:14). Will you point these souls to the Savior? Larry Moyer aptly remarks: "When I stand in that heavenly city and saints around me appear, I hope somebody comes up and says, 'You're the one who invited me here.'"[3] 

ENDNOTES: 

[1] The International Bible Society is now known as Biblica.

[2] The pocket New Testament that I gave Marty was from the New King James Version (NKJV).

[3] Larry Moyer, 31 Days With the Master Fisherman: A Daily Devotional on Bringing Christ to Others, p. 79.

Critiquing Dennis Rokser's "Hermeneutical Hopscotch" Method of Bible Interpretation

Is the burial of Christ in 1 Cor 15:4 something to be skipped over when presenting the gospel? What about the appearances of Christ after His resurrection that the apostle John highlights (Jn 20:30-31) at the end of his gospel? Should these facts be skipped over in our presentations of the gospel?

Dennis Rokser, long-time pastor of Duluth Bible Church, takes a non-traditional view of the Free Grace gospel. That is, Rokser doesn't believe that Christ's burial and resurrection appearances are actually part of the gospel. Thus it's not surprising to see how he skips over these important facts in the Gospel of John. For example, Rokser made the following statement in regard to the Gospel of John and "what a sinner needs to believe to have eternal life":

"Furthermore, Hodges fails to note that John does not even personally appeal to his readers to personally believe the content of what has been written in his Gospel until he declares the record of Christ’s death (John 19:35) and His bodily resurrection (John 20:31)."¹

Rokser is right to critique Hodges' view of the gospel. But what's ironic is that Rokser (like Hodges) also has a deficient view of it! Notice how in his statement above, Rokser conveniently skips over the fact that Christ was buried (Jn 19:38-42) and that He appeared to His disciples afterward (Jn 20:19-31). Sadly, Pastor Rokser is playing "hermeneutical hopscotch" with the gospel, skipping over whatever facts he deems are not really part of it and thus twisting the text to meet his own theological agenda (aka "the groundless gospel").² 

But in light of the "content of what has been written" and the context of John's Gospel, Rosker should actually include the truths of Christ's burial and resurrection appearances in the gospel! Thus, Rokser's statement would more accurately read:

"Furthermore, Hodges fails to note that John does not even personally appeal to his readers to personally believe the content of what has been written in his Gospel until he declares the record of Christ’s death for our sins (John 19:35; cf. Jn 1:29-34) and His bodily resurrection from the grave to appear 'in the presence of the disciples' (John 20:30-31; cf. Jn 19:38-21:14)."³ 

This is John's gospel message and what he affirms must be believed for salvation (Jn 20:30-31; cf. 1 Cor. 15:1-11, Gal. 2:6-9). So the next time you present the gospel to someone, don't play "hermeneutical hopscotch"—be sure to include Christ's burial and resurrection appearances as the apostle John does in his Gospel!

ENDNOTES:

¹ Dennis Rokser, "Stakes Through the Heart of Zane Hodges' Hydra Head," In Defense of the Gospel blog (accessed October 8, 2008).

² This is a common tactic among groundless gospel advocates. For example, Tom Stegall skips over Christ's burial and resurrection appearances in Acts 13 (see my blog post titled "What Gospel Did Paul Preach to the Galatians?"), and J. B. Hixson skips over Christ's burial and resurrection appearances in Isaiah 53 (see footnote 7 in my chart "The Free Grace Gospel Debate").

³ This is my adaptation of Rokser's original statement, which skipped over the facts of Christ's burial and resurrection appearances.

God's Jewelry Box

"He was put in a rich man's grave..." (Isa. 53:9, NLT).

I remember some time ago my wife and I were discussing the burial of Christ and she shared a wonderful thought with me about it. She said that when she thinks of Christ's burial, she thinks of it as God's jewelry box. Christ is the precious jewel and the tomb is the beautiful jewelry box! I thought, "Wow! That's a great way to think of it!" 

It reminds me of how in the Gospel accounts, when Joseph of Arimethea prepared the body of Jesus for burial, he carefully wrapped it with about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes and placed the body in his own new tomb (Matthew 27:57-60; John 19:39-42). This was a direct fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that the Messiah would be buried with the rich in His death (see Isaiah 53:9). Ray Vander Laan expounds on this thought:

AN EXPENSIVE GIFT 

Only the wealthy could afford large tombs cut into the rock. Their families were buried in these tombs for years (sometimes centuries). The tomb that Joseph of Arimathea provided for Jesus was such a tomb (Matt. 27:59-60; Luke 23:53; John 19:41). The stone was so large that the women were afraid they would not be able to open it (Mark 16:1-3). A stone of this size would be found on the tomb of a wealthy man. 

Joseph's tomb was also new (Matt. 27:60). Jewish law apparently declared that new tombs could be sold, but used tombs could not. Once a family had used a tomb, only members of that family could be properly buried in it. Considering the cost of property near Jerusalem and for such a rock-hewn tomb, Joseph's gift to Jesus was very generous. The willingness with which he offered his tomb for Jesus' burial shows us the measure of his devotion to him. It also fulfilled the prophecy that Jesus would be buried "with the rich" (Isa. 53:9).¹

The tomb in which Jesus was buried is like God's jewelry box. Don't rob the gospel of this precious truth! Be sure to include Christ's burial in the gospel like it says in the Bible!²

ENDNOTES:

¹ Ray Vander Laan, "A New Tomb," That the World May Know blog, https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/a-new-tomb

²  Also see: Acts 13:29; 1 Corinthians 15:4.

Christ Died For Our Sins | A Poem

Written by Jonathan Perreault

In the ground a tomb was made,
And on the cross our Lord was laid.

That for our sins the Lord should die,
Upon the cross they raised Him high.

Above the cross the sign was used,
"Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."

The soldiers gambled at the cross,
To win Christ's robe and gained but loss.

One thief just scoffed and turned away;
No faith had he in Christ that day.

The other thief to Jesus turned:
Believing he of heaven learned.

Into the Savior's precious side,
A spear was driven when He died.

Upon this cross for you and me
He died from sin to set us free!

Because He loves us with such love,
He is my Savior from above.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but has everlasting life" (John 3:16).

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31).

The Exalted Christ

From "No Place" to "The Highest Place"

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was NO PLACE for them in the inn" (Lk. 2:7).

"Jesus replied, 'Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has NO PLACE to lay his head'" (Matt. 8:20).

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has NO PLACE in you" (Jn. 8:37).

"Therefore God exalted Him to THE HIGHEST PLACE and gave Him the name that is above every name..." (Phil. 2:9).

A Reply to the Article: "How Does a Mom Pray as a Calvinist?"

I recently came across an interesting article posted on The Gospel Coalition (TGC) website titled "How Does a Mom Pray as a Calvinist?" In the article, the author Courtney Reissig writes:

 

"How does a mom, who believes that God is sovereign over salvation, find any hope for her children? How does she not live in fear about the state of their souls every day? If only those chosen by God find eternal life in him, can she sleep at night if none of them has yet professed faith?

 

In a recent interview about Calvinism, Andy Stanley—senior pastor of North Point Community Church in Atlanta—posed several questions as he critiqued Calvinism from several angles. In one particular segment, he talked specifically about women, and from his vantage point women are less vocal about their belief in God’s sovereignty in salvation because of how harsh it sounds (to him). Mothers, he said, would have a hard time reconciling their maternal instinct to protect, care for, and provide for their child with a view of salvation that, as he sees it, provides little assurance that they will be saved."¹

In response to Courtney Reissig's questions (and her Calvinistic views), I think the following statement is very good:

 

"There is no limitation, but your own rejection of it, to that Divine yearning desire according to which He willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that they would turn from their evil ways and live [Ezek. 18:23, 33:11]. Is there a child, O ye mothers and fathers, whom ye unconditionally hate and doom to destruction? Not one. And can ye suppose that ye are kinder and better than your God?"²     

 

There is also much to be learned on the topic of divine election from the following dialogue between D. L. Moody and Rev. Marcus Rainsford (excerpted from the book Sovereign Grace by D. L. Moody):

 

Mr. M. -- Suppose a man say he is not "elected?"

 

Mr. R. -- Do you remember the story of the woman of Canaan? Poor soul; she had come a long journey. She asked the Lord to have mercy on her afflicted child. He wanted to try her faith, and He said: "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [Matthew 15:24] That looked as if He Himself told her that she was not one of the elect. But she came and worshipped Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" and He helped her there and then. No; there is no election separating between the sinner and Christ.

 

Mr. M. -- Say that again.

 

Mr. R. -- THERE IS NO ELECTION SEPARATING BETWEEN THE SINNER AND CHRIST.

 

Mr. M. -- What is there between the sinner and Christ?

 

Mr. R. -- Mercy!! Mercy!!

 

Mr. M. -- That brings me near to Christ.

 

Mr. R. -- So near that we cannot be nearer. But we must claim it. In John [6:39-40] we get God's teaching about election. "This is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing; but should raise it up again at the last day." He will do his work, you may depend upon it. Then in the next verse we read: "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." That is the part I am to take: and when I have done so I shall know the Father's will concerning me.³

 

ENDNOTES:

¹ Courtney Reissig, "How Does a Mom Pray as a Calvinist?" The Gospel Coalition website (December 22, 2018).

² James Morison, "THE GOSPEL AS PREACHED BY DR. MORISON," p. 284. The Evangelical Repository: A Quarterly Magazine of Theological Literature. EIGHTH SERIES. VOL. III. GLASGOW: 1885.

³ D. L. Moody, Sovereign Grace, pp. 117-118, emphasis his.

D. L. Moody on the Doctrine of Election

“Do not stumble at the doctrine of election. Preach the gospel to all, and (as some one has said) if you convert any one who was not ‘chosen,’ God will forgive you.”¹ —D. L. Moody

“‘The elect’ are the ‘whosoever will’s’: the ‘non-elect’ are the ‘whosoever wont’s’.”² —D. L. Moody

 

There is also an interesting dialogue between D. L. Moody and Rev. Marcus Rainsford on the topic of divine election:

“Mr. M. -- Suppose a man say he is not ‘elected?’ 

Mr. R. -- Do you remember the story of the woman of Canaan? Poor soul; she had come a long journey. She asked the Lord to have mercy on her afflicted child. He wanted to try her faith, and He said: ‘I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ [Matthew 15:24.] That looked as if He Himself told her that she was not one of the elect. But she came and worshipped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’ and He helped her there and then. No; there is no election separating between the sinner and Christ.

Mr. M. -- Say that again.

Mr. R. -- THERE IS NO ELECTION SEPARATING BETWEEN THE SINNER AND CHRIST.

Mr. M. -- What is there between the sinner and Christ?

Mr. R. -- Mercy!! Mercy!! 

Mr. M. -- That brings me near to Christ.

Mr. R. -- So near that we cannot be nearer. But we must claim it. In John [6:39-40] we get God's teaching about election. ‘This is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing; but should raise it up again at the last day.’  He will do his work, you may depend upon it. Then in the next verse we read: ‘And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ That is the part I am to take: and when I have done so I shall know the Father’s will concerning me.”³

ENDNOTES:

¹ D. L. Moody, Notes from My Bible, p. 167.

² D. L. Moody, Notes from My Bible, p. 108.

³ D. L. Moody, Sovereign Grace, pp. 117-118, emphasis his.

The Grace Evangelical Society and Duluth Bible Church: "Crossless" and "Groundless" Till Jesus Comes?

I remember some years ago a friend told me that Bob Wilkin and the Grace Evangelical Society (GES) would never change their view about "the new crossless gospel"¹ (as Tom Stegall has dubbed it) and it would be promoted until Jesus returns at the Rapture.

   
Ironically the same thing can also be said about the new "groundless gospel" of Tom Stegall and the Duluth Bible Church. Their new no-burial view of the gospel² will likely be promoted till Jesus comes.

   
These schisms within the Free Grace Movement remind me of what the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:19: "For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you" (NASB).

   
The apostle Paul also says in another place to "rejoice in the Lord always" (Phil. 4:4). How can Free Grace Christians rejoice amidst these divisions in the Free Grace Movement over the gospel? One reason we can rejoice is because these contrary views of the Free Grace gospel prompt us to take a close look at the question "What is the gospel?" and also help to clarify the correct interpretation of the gospel. As Scot McKnight, a New Testament scholar and historian of early Christianity has well said, gospel orthodoxy is "often in response to threats to that gospel...articulated by those who are most concerned with the gospel."³

So let's keep standing for the gospel till Jesus comes! Praise the Lord!

ENDNOTES:

¹ Tom Stegall, "The Tragedy of the Crossless Gospel, Pt. 1," Grace Family Journal (Spring 2007): p. 9.

² See Tom Stegall's "Proposed Change" to the "SOLE CONDITION FOR SALVATION" section of the Word of Grace Bible Church Doctrinal Statement, Word of Grace Bible Church handout (circa 2007), no page number, emphasis his. Note: Word of Grace Bible Church is a church-plant of Duluth Bible Church.

³ Scot McKnight, “The Gospel and Orthodoxy,” Jesus Creed blog (February 5, 2009), bold his, ellipsis added (http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/2009/02/the-gospel-and-orthodoxy.html, also see the link: www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2009/02/05/the-gospel-and-orthodoxy/). A similar statement by Vance Havner is worth noting. Mr. Havner writes: "Well did Gresham Machen say that 'the most important things are not those about which men are agreed but those for which men will fight.'" (Havner, The Best of Vance Havner [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980], p. 82.)

Know Your Bible: Is Christ's Burial an Essential Part of the Gospel?

Is the burial of Christ part of "the essential substance of the gospel" in 1 Corinthians 15:4? Notice what C. I. Scofield writes in his Scofield Bible Correspondence Course on the New Testament. In his correspondence course there are 179 exam questions on the book of 1 Corinthians. For question 146, Scofield asks: "What three facts in [1 Corinthians] xv. 3, 4, constitute the essential substance of the gospel?"[1] No doubt Scofield is referring to the three facts of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.[2] Thus, contrary to what groundless gospel advocates would have us believe,[3] Scofield affirms that Christ's burial is an "essential" part of "the gospel" in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4!

If you were to take Scofield's exam, would you get this question right?

ENDNOTES:

[1] C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Bible Correspondence Course, Vol. 2: New Testament (Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1934), p. 366, question 146. Note: The original copyright is 1907 by C. I. Scofield.

[2] Elsewhere Scofield affirms: "Jesus Christ brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. [...] Atoning for man's sin by the blood of the cross, coming again from the dead in eternal triumph over the grave, Jesus Christ begins to carry the salvation of the cross into all the world." (C. I. Scofield, In Many Pulpits [New York: Oxford University Press, 1922], p. 65)

[3] For example, one groundless gospel advocate writes the following in reference to The Scofield Reference Bible's note on the two goats in Leviticus 16: "Scofield also makes no connection to the burial but includes references to Christ’s death and resurrection, saying, 'The living goat typifies that aspect of Christ’s work which puts away our sins from before God (Heb. 9:26; Rom. 8:33-34).'" (Thomas L. Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ [Milwaukee: Grace Gospel Press, 2009], p. 587.) It should be a clue to Stegall that we agree with him that Christ's burial is not redemptive (i.e. Christ's burial didn't pay for sin, His death did), but Stegall is going beyond this to conclude that Christ's burial is not part of the gospel. In other words, proving that Christ's burial is not redemptive is different from proving His burial is not part of the gospel. They are two different things. Yet Stegall tries to equate them. For example, in a 2007 church handout titled "Proposed Change" (to the "SOLE CONDITION FOR SALVATION" section of the Word of Grace Bible Church Doctrinal Statement), Stegall claims that "His [Christ's] being buried was not a work which accomplished our eternal redemption, and it is therefore not absolutely essential for someone to know about it and believe it in order to go to heaven, as the original statement seemed to indicate." Stegall is correct to point out that Christ's burial did not accomplish our eternal redemption, but his conclusion that it is therefore not part of the gospel is non sequitur. First, let's make sure we understand what redemption is, and then I will make my point. In the Bible, "redemption" involves the payment for sin; Christ redeemed us by His death on the cross (1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:12-15; 1 Pet. 1:18-19, etc.). This is an important point: Christ redeemed us (paid our sin penalty) by His death, not by His burial, and not by His resurrection. "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3). In other words, Christ's burial did not pay for sins, nor did His resurrection. Redemption was accomplished on the cross. It was there that the ransom price was fully paid (see John 19:30, Greek tetelestai = "paid in full"). Even Stegall affirms that "[Christ's] resurrection didn't pay for our sins, His death did." (Stegall, "THE GOSPEL OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST," [1 Corinthians 15:1-11], March 27, 2005.) Similarly, in an article titled "TRUTHS ONE MUST SEE AND BELIEVE IN ORDER TO BE SAVED," Stegall writes: "[Christ's] sacrifice for our sins paid the penalty in full, satisfying God's holy demands completely...Christ fully paid for our sins when He died". (Stegall, "TRUTHS ONE MUST SEE AND BELIEVE IN ORDER TO BE SAVED," Word of Grace Bible Church website [accessed April 5, 2011].) In his book The Gospel of the Christ, Stegall makes several more statements connecting full redemption with Christ's substitutionary death on the cross. He talks about being "redeemed by the blood of the Lamb". (Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ, p. 30.) He goes on to explain that, "The Lord has seen fit to use a multiplicity of metaphors, images, and diverse terminology to depict the one truth of the Savior's death for our sins. These terms include 'cross,' 'tree,' 'blood,' 'gave,' 'offered,' 'sacrificed,' 'redeemed,' 'suffered,' 'slain,' etc. Yet, despite such rich diversity of expression, there is still a unity of content, as each of these terms point to the same substitutionary, atoning death of the Savior." (Ibid., p. 312.) Stegall also says: "Jesus had in fact provided redemption for Israel by that very crucifixion, and this redemption was proven by virtue of His resurrection." (Ibid., p. 660, italics his.) Stegall is echoing the words of John Hart when he says: "The resurrection proved our justification, but it did not provide for our justification." (Hart, "Why Confess Christ? The Use and Abuse of Romans 10:9-10," Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society 12 [Autumn 1999].) Dennis Rokser of Duluth Bible Church also affirms this same basic truth, saying in reference to 1 Corinthians 15:4: "'and rose again' (which is the proof that God was satisfied with Christ's payment of our sins)." (Rokser, "EXAMINING LORDSHIP SALVATION Pt. 2," The Grace Family Journal [Fall 2007]: p. 13, italics his.) One last statement by Stegall is particularly to the point. Commenting on "the redemptive and propitious aspect of Christ's death in Acts 20:28," Stegall emphasizes: "The redemption price for every member of the Church was clearly the death of Christ". (Stegall, The Gospel of the Christ, pp. 660-661.) My point is simply this: Stegall doesn't believe that Christ's resurrection "accomplished our eternal redemption" (i.e. the resurrection didn't pay for our sins in any way, shape, or form) yet he still includes it in his gospel! Thus, for him to exclude Christ's burial for the same reason is the logical fallacy of special pleading (i.e. a double standard). If Stegall were consistent with his own reductionist reasoning, he would not only have to exclude Christ's burial from the gospel but he would also have to exclude Christ's resurrection because it wasn't redemptive either: "His resurrection didn't pay for our sins, His death did." (Stegall, "THE GOSPEL OF THE RESURRECTED CHRIST," [1 Corinthians 15:1-11], March 27, 2005.)

The Gospel in the Old Testament

Are the resurrection appearances of Christ to His disciples ever prophesied in the Old Testament? For those who may think otherwise, this question is important because it relates to the gospel. 

When the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian church of "the gospel" (1 Cor. 15:1) that he preached to them, he included the fact that Christ "appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve" (1 Cor. 15:5). Commenting on Paul's gospel in 1 Corinthians 15, W. Harold Mare affirms: "Part of the gospel message Paul passed on to the Corinthians was eyewitness reports of the resurrection of Christ."^[1]
   
Another reason this is an important question is because in the book of Romans the apostle Paul writes: "The Good News was promised long ago by God through His prophets, as written in the Holy Scriptures" (Romans 1:2, GNT). Those who hold to the non-traditional Free Grace "groundless gospel" argue that the resurrection appearances of Christ to His disciples are not prophesied in the Old Testament, and therefore the resurrection appearances are not part of the gospel. One groundless gospel advocate named Greg Schliesmann puts it this way:

"Paul says this gospel [in 1 Corinthians 15] is 'according to the Scriptures'. This phrase only modifies Christ’s death for sins and resurrection in v. 3 and v. 4 about the death and resurrection of Christ 'He died for our sins according to the Scriptures' and 'He rose from the dead according to the Scriptures'. Aside from that, we know the Scriptures did not predict anything referenced in [1 Cor. 15] vv. 5-10 regarding who saw Christ. In Romans 1:2, Paul indicated that the gospel was promised before in the Scriptures. The extra elements Paul mentions do not constitute the truths promised before in the Scriptures but serve as proofs of them."^[2]

What I noticed after reading Mr. Schliesmann's statement is that he actually had to rewrite the Bible to fit his groundless gospel! In 1 Corinthians 15:4, the apostle Paul says that Christ was raised "on the third day according to the Scriptures". But in Mr. Schliesmann's quotation of 1 Corinthians 15:4, the words "on the third day" are nowhere to be found! It reminds me of the Bible created by Thomas Jefferson, commonly referred to as the Jefferson Bible. If any part of the New Testament didn't fit with Jefferson's theology of Jesus, he literally cut those statements out of the Bible. When Jefferson got through with it, his New Testament looked like Swiss cheese—there were lots of holes in it! The Bible has severe warnings against those who take away from the Word of God (see Deut. 4:2, 12:32; Rev. 22:18-19). "So dangerous a thing it is to meddle ever so slightly with the words of—GOD."^[3] The fact that groundless gospel advocates must re-write the Bible to fit their unique interpretation of the gospel is a glaring problem! Maybe Mr. Schliesmann took a cue from the agnostic Bart Ehman who also omitted the words "on the third day" when he misquoted 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. (See my blog post titled "Bart Ehrman's Misquoting Jesus on 1 Corinthians 15:3-4".) But regardless, when someone in the Free Grace movement meddles with the Word of God, it's truly a tragedy.

   
What's more, the groundless gospel error is even more extreme because it actually contradicts the Bible.  Does Mr. Schliesmann really want us to believe that Christ's resurrection appearances are not "according to the Scriptures"? The truth is, both Christ's burial (1 Cor. 15:4) and His resurrection appearances to His disciples (1 Cor. 15:5) are prophesied in the Old Testament. Isaiah chapter 53 is a key passage, and it predicts both Christ's burial (Isa. 53:9) and His resurrection appearances to "His followers" (Isa. 53:10, Berkeley Version).

Isaiah 53: The Gospel in the Old Testament

Christ's death for our sins: Isa. 53:5-6

His burial: Isa. 53:9

His resurrection: Isa. 53:10b

His appearances: Isa. 53:10b

There are also other Scriptures in the Old Testament which predict Christ's burial and His resurrection appearances, such as Psalm 22 and Psalm 40. These are Messianic Psalms, and these two passages of Scripture also predict Christ's burial and His resurrection appearances. 

Psalm 22: A Prediction of the Gospel
Christ's crucifixion: Psa. 22:16

 His burial: Psa. 22:15
His resurrection: Psa. 22:22

His appearances: Psa. 22:22

Psalm 40: A Prophecy of the Gospel
Christ on the cross: Psa. 40:1^[4]

His burial: Psa. 40:2a
His resurrection: Psa. 40:2b

His appearances: Psa. 40:3

In response to Mr. Schliesmann, I will focus on the fact that Christ's resurrection appearances to His disciples are predicted in the Old Testament. I already wrote about this in my paper Getting the Gospel Right, but it bears repeating:

"Christ's resurrection appearances were prophesied in the Old Testament like the other elements of the gospel (Rom. 1:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:10-12; cf. Ps. 22:22; Isa. 53:10). . . . Commenting on the gospel in Isaiah 53, Herbert Lockyer relates the following true story from the life of D. L. Moody: 'When Moody was asked to conduct his first mission in London in 1874, union meetings were comparatively new. The committee asked him to explain his methods. Everything went smoothly until one member asked him his creed. Moody calmly replied, 'My creed is already in print.' A member seized a paper and pencil and asked where it could be found. 'In the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah,' Moody answered."^[5]     

Commenting on Psalm 22, notice how C. I. Scofield draws attention to the prophecy of Christ's resurrection appearance to His brethren:

"Psalm 22 is a graphic picture of death by crucifixion. The bones (of the hands, arms, shoulders, and pelvis) out of joint (v. 14); the profuse perspiration caused by intense suffering (v. 14); the action of the heart affected (v. 14); strength exhausted, and extreme thirst (v. 15); the hands and feet pierced (v. 16); partial nudity with the hurt to modesty (v. 17), are all incidental to that mode of death. The accompanying circumstances are precisely those fulfilled in the crucifixion of Christ. The desolate cry of verse 1 (Mt. 27:46); the periods of light and darkness of verse 2 (Mt. 27:45); the contumely [insults and harsh treatment] of verses 6-8, 12, 13 (Mt. 27:39-43); the casting lots of verse 18 (Mt. 27:35), all were literally fulfilled. When it is remembered that crucifixion was a Roman, not a Jewish, form of execution, the proof of inspiration is irresistible. At verse 22 the Psalm breaks from crucifixion to resurrection; fulfilled in the 'Go to my brethren,' etc., of John 20:17. The risen Christ declares to His brethren the name, 'Father.'"^[6]

And commenting on Psalm 40, similarly notice how Scofield makes a point to highlight the prediction of Christ's resurrection testimony to those who saw Him:

"The 40th Psalm speaks of Messiah, Jehovah’s Servant, obedient unto death. The Psalm begins with the joy of Christ in resurrection (vs. 1, 2). He has been in the horrible pit of the grave, but has been brought up. Verses 3-5 are His resurrection testimony, His 'new song.' Verses 6 and 7 are retrospective. When sacrifice and offering had become abominable because of the wickedness of the people (Isa. 1:10-15), then the obedient Servant came to make the pure offering (vs. 7-17; Heb. 10:5-17).^[7]

The gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-5) was promised beforehand in the Holy Scriptures (Rom. 1:1-2); all four elements of the gospel were predicted in the Old Testament—not just part of it, but all of it!

Praise the Lord!

ENDNOTES:

^[1] W. Harold Mare, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, 12 Vols., Vol. 10 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976), p. 282.

^[2] Greg Schliesmann, "The Technical Meaning of the Term, 'THE GOSPEL,' Part 3," In Defense of the Gospel blog (December 19, 2007). Note: Mr. Schliesmann was a member of Tom Stegall's church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was Mr. Schliesmann who compiled the Scripture Index for Stegall's book The Gospel of the Christ. I have responded to Mr. Schliesmann's views elsewhere, such as in my article "The Free Grace Gospel Debate" (FGFS, June 9, 2012).

^[3] Ivan Panin, Editor, The New Testament From The Greek Text (Toronto: The Book Society of Canada, 1979), p. xiii, italics and caps his.

^[4] Commenting on Psalm 40:1, C. H. Spurgeon writes: "'I waited patiently for the Lord.' Patient waiting upon God was a special characteristic of our Lord Jesus. Impatience never lingered in his heart, much less escaped his lips. All through his agony in the garden, his trial of cruel mockings before Herod and Pilate, and his passion on the tree, he waited in omnipotence of patience. No glance of wrath, no word of murmuring, no deed of vengeance came from God's patient Lamb; he waited and waited on; was patient, and patient to perfection, far excelling all others who have according to their measure glorified God in the fires. Job on the dunghill does not equal Jesus on the cross. The Christ of God wears the imperial crown among the patient." (Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 7 Vols., Vol. 2, p. 261.)

^[5] Jonathan Perreault, Getting the Gospel Right, p. 10.

^[6] Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible (1909), p. 608, note 3; p. 609, note 1. Although Scofield does not specifically mention Christ's burial here in connection with Psalm 22 (it's implied, not denied!), his statement still supports my overall point because he does highlight how this passage of Scripture predicts the resurrection testimony of Christ to those who saw Him after He was raised from the dead (Psa. 22:22; cf. Jn. 20:17). And  concerning Christ's burial, Scofield clearly sees predictions of it in other Old Testament Scriptures, such as in the book of Jonah. In the introduction to the book of Jonah in The Scofield Reference Bible, Scofield writes: "THE historical character of the man Jonah is vouched for by Jesus Christ (Mt. 12:39-41), as also that his preservation in the great fish was a ‘sign’ or type of our Lord’s own entombment and resurrection.” (Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible [New York: Oxford University Press, 1909, 1917], p. 943.) Furthermore, Mr. Schliesmann even admits that Christ's burial is predicted in the Old Testament. Schliesmann says: "I agree that Christ's burial was prophesied in the OT." (See Schliesmann's comment for the blog post "The Technical Meaning of the Term, 'THE GOSPEL,' Part 3," In Defense of the Gospel blog.) This admission by Schliesmann highlights the error of his groundless gospel, because although the apostle Paul doesn't specifically say in 1 Corinthians 15:4 that the burial of Christ is "according to the Scriptures"—it's obviously "according to the Scriptures" because it was promised beforehand in the Old Testament!

^[7] Ibid., p. 618, note 1.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:3ff | by Robert H. Mounce

I'd like to share some excellent statements on the gospel from a book by Robert H. Mounce titled The Essential Nature of New Testament Preaching.[1] I have also included the original footnote numbers as they appear in Mounce's book.[2] In the chapter titled "CLUES TO A PRE-PAULINE KERYGMA" (pp. 90-93), Mounce writes the following:

I CORINTHIANS 15:3ff. 

This passage is without doubt the most valuable piece of pre-Pauline Christianity in the New Testament. Not only is it authentic tradition, but it also furnishes direct evidence of the missionary kerygma [preaching] proclaimed by the early Church. It relates the very terms⁶ in which Paul (v. 1) and the others (v. 11) preached the Gospel.

     

What are the reasons for accepting this account of the Gospel as genuine pre-Pauline paradosis?

     

(1) The verbs that Paul uses for the reception and transmission of the Gospel are equivalent to the official Jewish terms for the taking over and passing on of tradition.⁷ This would indicate that what follows is to be understood as an authentic block of primitive material.

     

(2) The total structure of the passage with its fourfold repetition of hoti ("that") indicates that it is a creedal formulation.

    

(3)  This formula displays a number of un-Pauline characteristics:  (a) The phrase "according to the scriptures" occurs nowhere else in Paul⁸ (who generally uses "as it is written"). (b) Since for Paul hamartia (singular) is the principle of sin, it is doubtful that he would have used it in the plural, as in verse 3. (c) Certain other expressions, such as "the twelve," are not specifically Pauline.⁹

     

(4) The double reference to the Old Testament Scriptures suggests that it stems from a Jewish-Christian source. So also does the Aramaic "Cephas," and the reference to James.

   

(5)  Paul indicates in verse 11 that what he has reproduced has been the common proclamation of all the apostles.

     

It is not going beyond the evidence to conclude with Meyer that here we have the oldest document of the Christian Church in existence.¹⁰ But now we come to the more difficult task of defining the limits of this segment of paradosis [tradition]. Had Paul stopped quoting as decisively as he began, there would have been no problem. But he seems to add a parenthetic remark, extend the final issue, and then trail off into a personal testimony. In view of this we must ask, Where does the kerygma stop, and Paul begin?

     

The explanatory remark connected to the phrase "more than five hundred brethren," leads Goguel to strike out all of verse six as a Pauline addition.¹¹ The following phrase ("Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles") is taken as genuine kerygma because of its linguistic similarity to verse 5. The appearance to Paul, says Goguel, was added as a personal testimony.

     

While something can be said for this interpretation, it is much more probable that the original formula extended from 3b through 5. This gives a better balance to the entire passage and brings the final item into harmony with the conciseness with which the other three are set forth. This division is also supported by the definite syntactical break at the beginning of verse 6. The reason for expanding this particular section of the kerygma was to establish firmly the fact of Christ's resurrection. From this basic premise, Paul will argue the resurrection of the believer. The choice of witnesses - well-known leaders of the Church and a large body of people who could easily be found and questioned - shows the care with which Paul built his case.

     

Where and when did Paul receive this block of tradition? The usual answer is that it was passed on to him by Peter when they first met in Jerusalem for a fortnight visit (Gal. 1:18-20) i.e., about A.D. 35.¹² This does not, however, take into sufficient consideration Paul's prior ministry in Damascus (Acts 9). Paul's proof of the Messiahship of Jesus (v. 22) most certainly rested upon the kerygmatic foundation of Christ's death, resurrection, and exaltation.

     

It is much more likely that this bit of paradosis had a much earlier origin. Hunter suggests that Paul is here reproducing the baptismal creed of the Damascus church.¹³ A comparison with the baptismal formula that underlies 1 Peter 3:18-22 favors this view.¹⁴ But whatever its relationship to baptismal or catechetical confessions, it is primarily the terms in which the Gospel was preached (cf. v. 1). It is difficult not to infer from this that it was originally drawn up as a convenient summary of the missionary proclamation.

     

And where did it originate? Against Heitmϋller's thesis that it was an evangelical summary current in Hellenistic Christianity and radically different from the Palestinian kerygma, Hunter argues convincingly that it emanated originally from the primitive Palestinian church.¹⁵ If this be so, then I Corinthians 15:3-5 may represent the very message that won the first converts at Damascus. In any event, we may safely conclude that Paul received this kerygmatic summary from the Damascus church shortly after his conversion and before beginning his evangelistic ministry.

     

Let us now set this passage out as it might have looked had Paul used sermon notes:

           Christ died for our sins -

                  in accordance with the scriptures.

           He was buried.

           He was raised on the third day -

                  in accordance with the scriptures.

           He appeared to Cephas,

                  then to the Twelve.

  

FOOTNOTES:

⁶ tini logōi ("in what terms") refers to both the form and the substance of Paul's preaching.

⁷ Dibelius, From Tradition to Gospel, p. 21. Pirke Aboth 1:1 tells how Moses received the (oral) Law from Sinai, and committed it to Joshua.

⁸ Interestingly enough, the only other occurrence of this phrase is in James 2:8 - most certainly Palestinian in origin.

⁹ For further linguistic evidence, see Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, pp. 129-130.

¹⁰ H. A. W. Meyer, Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums, III, 210.

¹¹ Maurice Goguel, The Birth of Christianity, p. 42.

¹² Dodd, The Apostolic Preaching, p. 16.

¹³ Hunter, op. cit., p. 16. Cf. also J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Creeds, p. 17.

¹⁴ Note the similar pattern: death for sins, descent, resurrection, exaltation.

¹⁵ Hunter, op. cit., pp. 16-17.

References:

[1] Robert H. Mounce, The Essential Nature of New Testament Preaching (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1960), pp. 90-93.

[2] Ibid., pp. 90-93.

A Powerful Fact of the Gospel

Here's a great thought on the glorious gospel! In the book Great Preaching on the Resurrection, Christian theologian W. B. Riley writes: “[The Old Testament scholar Hermann] Gunkel tells us that they claimed an empty grave for Zeus in Crete. What if they did? What came of it? Who became apostles of that faith? What proof of their position did they present? What movement dominating the centuries did they originate?”[1] 

 

What is the power of the gospel? Remember, it wasn't until after the apostles saw the risen Christ in the flesh that they turned the world upside down. You see, the biblical gospel does not end with the empty tomb, or even with the resurrection (as essential as these are to the gospel); it also includes “the power of an endless life” (Heb. 7:16, KJV, cf. Heb. 7:25). Jesus “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:10, ESV). In contrast to Lazarus, Jesus did not die again after His resurrection (Rom. 6:9). He is still alive, and “alive forevermore” as our Lord says in Revelation 1:18. In the words of the Apostle John: 

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched -- this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us” (1 Jn. 1:1-2, NIV). 

The apostles couldn’t stop talking about Jesus risen from the dead and telling people what they saw. Take a look at Peter’s first sermon in the book of Acts: he boldly preaches the gospel to the unbelieving Jews and 3,000 people got saved! Pastor Chuck Swindoll affirms:

“Look at [Acts] chapter two, verse 41 ... ‘Those who believed’ [NLT] what Peter said (this is a reference to Peter’s first sermon, which we’ve not taken the time to go into; you’ve read it, and we’ve studied it before); ‘Those who believed’ what Peter said (that’s the gospel), they believed that Christ died, and was buried, and that Christ rose again from the dead—miraculously and bodily, and was seen by those around Him, and they believed in Jesus Christ with their hearts, and they believed the message, that’s called the gospel, and the result is they were baptized, and added to the church that day about 3,000.”[2]

The power that transformed the apostles was the fact that they saw the resurrected Jesus in the flesh! Not merely that someone told them about the resurrection of Jesus, but they saw Him! And it wasn’t merely an apparition or a ghost that they saw. Jesus said to His apostles after His resurrection: “Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (Luke 24:39, NIV). 

This highlights the fact that the groundless gospel which excludes Christ’s resurrection appearances from the gospel is, in other words, the ghostly gospel! The groundless gospel of the non-buried and never-seen savior is the ghostly gospel! In contrast to this, the risen Christ manifested was the powerful evidence that enabled the apostles to “turn the world upside down” (Acts 17:6, ESV) and led to the founding of the Christian community. Reginald Fuller writes: “We conclude, therefore, that the appearances to Peter and to the Twelve share a common function. In these appearances the Risen One initiates the foundation of the eschatological community: they are ‘church-founding appearances.’”[3] Similarly, Thiselton writes: “Our understanding of the fourth line [of 1 Corinthians 15:3-5], ‘He appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve’ (v. 5), cannot be isolated from all of these major considerations set forth already on the basis of vv. 3b and 4....Wilckens rightly discusses the issue as one of foundation: ‘It was the appearances...which inspired belief...and led to the founding of the primitive community.’”[4] 

The words of Free Grace theologian William R. Newell are appropriate in conclusion when he writes: “this good news concerning Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and appearing, ‘is the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believeth.’ [See Romans 1:16.] There is no fact for a preacher or teacher to hold more consistently in his mind than this.”[5] “Again we repeat that it is of the very first and final importance that the preacher or teacher of the gospel believe in the bottom of his soul that the simple story, Christ died for our sins, was buried, hath been raised from the dead the third day, and was seen, IS THE POWER OF GOD to salvation to every one who rests in it – who believes!”[6] “This story of Christ’s dying for our sins, buried, raised, manifested, is the great wire along which runs God’s mighty current of saving power. Beware lest you be putting up some little wire of your own, unconnected with the Divine throne, and therefore non-saving to those to whom you speak.”[7]

ENDNOTES:

[1] W. B. Riley, Great Preaching on the Resurrection, Curtis Hutson, Editor (Murfreesboro: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1986), p. 39.

[2] Chuck Swindoll, “An Original Snapshot of the First Church, Part 2,” Series: The Great Commission, Insight For Living Ministries, Thursday, June 14, 2018, Moody Radio, 

http://insight.org/broadcasts/player/?bid=3137 (timestamp: 06:37 minutes - 08:21 minutes).

[3] Reginald Fuller, The Formation of the Resurrection Narratives, p. 35.

[4] Anthony Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, pp. 1198, 1202. 

[5] William R. Newell, Romans: Verse-by-Verse: A Classic Evangelical Commentary, pp. 18-19.

[6] Ibid., p. 19, emphasis his.
 

[7] Ibid., p. 21.

A Funeral Foretold in Detail

Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, author of the Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible and many other books, has written an excellent commentary on 1 Corinthians 15 which I came across while doing some research for one of my articles. The book is titled Conquering the Fear of Death in View of the Empty Tomb. 

     

By the way, in case anyone is wondering, Zodhiates affirms that the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 includes the four facts of Christ's atoning death, His burial, His resurrection on the third day, and the fact that He was seen afterwards by His disciples. 

     

There are so many great quotes in this book! I wrote some of them down, but there are others too which I just did not have the time to write down. The book is massive. If I remember correctly, it's over 800 pages – and this is just commentary on 1 Corinthians 15! Here's what Dr. Zodhiates says in a chapter of the book titled: 

A FUNERAL FORETOLD IN DETAIL

"He was buried . . . (I Cor. 15:4a)."

     "Here, then, a few sorrowful friends laid the mangled body of Jesus, consigning to a sepulcher the One whom they had hoped to see on a throne. Oh, the depth of the Saviour's humiliation! Here we witness the Prince of life, who holds in His hand the keys of hell and of death, and in whom we all 'live, and move, and have our being,' brought to the dust of death in a borrowed grave. Yet with what loving reverence was He attended and His body prepared for burial. Surely the decent solemnities of a funeral are not displeasing to God. There is a respect due to the body, especially that of a Christian as the temple wherein God has been served and honored. It is designed to be rebuilt in another world, and it ought not to be cast away like common dust in this one. 

     Since Christ's body was to be raised to life in three days, why was it necessary that it be committed to the grave at all? Why could it not have remained in the home of Joseph of Arimathea as safely as in his sepulcher? The reason is stated by Paul: 'He was buried, and...he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.' The phrase 'according to the scriptures' applies both to the burial and to the resurrection. Christ was buried in this manner so that the prophecies concerning Him as the Messiah should be fulfilled. So minute and precious were these prophecies that they not only foretold His incarnation, His passion, and the glorious resurrection that was to follow, but also His burial and the very mode and circumstance of it. His burial in the heart of the earth was prefigured by Jonah's enforced stay for three days and three nights inside the great fish; and Isaiah had expressly declared concerning Him, that He 'made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death' (Isa. 53:9).

     Under the circumstances, it seemed humanly impossible for these prophecies concerning Christ's burial to be fulfilled. The Roman law, under which the Savior was put to death, allowed no interment to the bodies of those who died on the cross; and lest any pitying hand should take their bodies from the tree and cover them with earth, a guard was usually stationed around them for several days.

     We are accordingly told by Matthew that the centurion, and those that were with him, still remained on the hill of Calvary, watching Jesus, after He had given up the ghost (Matt. 27:50-56). And even if these difficulties could be surmounted, there was another obstacle to be removed before He could have an honorable burial. The Jews had a public burial place for all who died as criminals, and if any interment were allowed to Jesus by the Romans, this pit appeared to be the only grave in which His countrymen would allow Him to rest.

     But what are difficulties and obstacles to God? He caused the very people who crucified His Son to prepare the way for the fulfillment of the prophecies that proved His deity and condemned their unbelief. The Jewish law required that malefactors should be buried on the day of their execution; and to prevent their city from being ceremonially unclean on the succeeding sabbath, certain men besought Pilate that the sufferings of the dying criminals might be ended and their bodies taken down. Pilate granted their request, and no sooner was it granted than the rich and honorable Joseph of Arimathea came forward to rescue the body of Christ from the hands of His enemies and to lay Him in his own new tomb. What infinite wisdom foretold these details; what infinite power fulfilled them! A mighty God never lacks means and instruments to fulfill His purposes. He often passes by those whom we might expect to be employed in His service and singles out others who will perform His will with the greatest glory to Himself."¹

Reference:

¹ Zodhiates, Conquering the Fear of Death in View of the Empty Tomb (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), pp. 47-49.