1 Corinthians Chapter 15

Paul defends the resurrection of Christ and believers, grounding Christian hope, holy living, and final victory over death.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

The Gospel of the Risen Christ

1 Corinthians 15:12-28

Why Resurrection Is Essential

1 Corinthians 15:29-34

Live in Resurrection Hope

1 Corinthians 15:35-49

The Resurrection Body

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Death Swallowed Up in Victory

1 Corinthians 15:1

Paul begins by bringing the Corinthians back to the gospel he had already preached among them. He is not introducing a new message or correcting the resurrection controversy with a later addition to Christian faith. He is reminding them of the good news that first brought them into the life of Christ. Whatever questions, divisions, gifts, failures, and disputes had arisen in the congregation, their spiritual existence rested upon this gospel.

They had “received” the message. The gospel was not merely information they had heard with interest; they had welcomed it as God’s saving word. They had entrusted themselves to the crucified and risen Christ proclaimed through it. Their reception did not make the gospel theirs to reshape. Paul had delivered it to them, and they had received something that came with divine authority and a definite content.

It was also the gospel “in which” they stood. Their present relationship with God did not rest upon intellectual brilliance, spiritual gifts, religious achievements, or the strength of their personalities. They stood because the gospel placed them upon Christ and His saving work. The same message that first called them to faith remained the ground beneath their feet.

The church must continually return to the gospel, not because Christ’s work is deficient, but because human hearts easily become distracted. Familiar truth may be treated as though it were elementary and disposable. Paul refuses to let the Corinthians move beyond the gospel in that sense. Every true advance in faith moves more deeply into the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Their standing is therefore a standing in grace. They have not secured themselves by their own wisdom. They remain dependent upon the good news they received. The gospel is not merely the entrance into Christian life; it is the atmosphere, foundation, and sustaining reality of the whole journey.

Study Links

Cross References

1 Corinthians 15:3-111 Corinthians 1:4-81 Corinthians 1:23

Word / Phrase Notes

The gospel

The gospel is the announced good news of Christ’s saving death and resurrection, not general religious advice. The Corinthians received it and continue to stand within it. Paul begins the resurrection argument by returning them to the message that created their faith and still sustains it.

1 Corinthians 15:3-111 Corinthians 1:23