The Foundation of the Gospel of Christ

What is referred to in Scripture, exclusively  in the epistles of the apostle Paul, as “the gospel of Christ”  ((Rom 1:16; Rom 15:19; Rom 15:29; 1 Cor 9:12; 1 Cor 9:18; 2 Cor 4:4; Cor 9:13; 2 Cor 10:14; Gal 1:7; Phil 1:27; 1 Thess 3:2)) is summarized in the fifteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:

1 Cor 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

The critical verses here are verses 3 and 4, which say that “Christ died for our sins ….and…. rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

In the first two verses of this passage, Paul declares that anyone who receives this as truth is “saved.”

This truth is supported by passages in Paul’s other epistles, such as this one from his letter to the Ephesians:

Eph 1:12-13

“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise..”

The Corinthian passage says the Corinthians who “received” the gospel are “saved,” while the Ephesian passage uses the words “trusted,” “believed,”  and “sealed.”  The Ephesian passage also differs in that it says they “trusted in Christ.”

It is not my intention in this essay to split hairs over the differences in words in these two passages of Scripture. I believe when one believes and receives something they are, in effect, trusting in its veracity, and to trust in Christ is to believe that his death on the cross paid for our sins, and that his resurrection from the dead was the positive proof–the receipt, if you will–that the payment was, indeed,  made.

But hold on a minute. What about that little phrase in the Corinthian passage, “unless ye have believed in vain…”?   The word “vain” in that passage means, “without a cause.”  In other words, is there a valid reason for believing that the historical event of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in AD 33, was anything more than the execution of another of a great number of people who have made themselves  martyrs for a cause? How could the execution of a man, even a great man, wipe out anyone’s sins, and secure them a future place in heaven?

Well, the unbelieving, gainsaying world says it it is foolishness to believe such a thing.  Even if they believe that Jesus the Christ actually was a man who existed 2000 years ago, ((There is only one other historical account in that era, other than the  Christian Bible, that mentions the name Jesus Christ: Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, makes one mention of him in his monumental historical account,  “The Wars of the Jews”)), they certainly don’t believe the claim made by him and by those who followed him, that is, the singular claim that he was “the Christ..the only begotten  Son of God,” indeed, God come in the flesh.  Therefore, they are precluded from believing that his death paid for anything, much less their sins.

To believe anything other than Jesus was God almighty, come in the flesh, is to believe on him in vain.  This is the very foundation of Paul’s gospel, the gospel of Christ.  Paul called it “the gospel of God” in his letter to the Romans:

Rom 1:1-4
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

2(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:”

He elaborates on who Jesus Christ is in his letter to the Colossians:

Col 1:12-17; 2:9
“Giving thanks unto the Father…..Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son…..Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist…..For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

This is the solid rock upon which the declarations of 1 Corinthians 15 and Ephesians 1 stand.  If this is not true, then Christ’s sacrificial death was totally in vain, and so is the faith of those folks who call themselves Christians and followers of Christ, who hold him out to be less than God come in the flesh.

All Scripture references are quoted from the King James Bible.

Feel free to copy and publish this essay as you see fit.

Related articles: Believing in Vain; Why Paul?; Who was the Founder of Christianity?

Post Script
Are you saved? Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God—“who knew no sin” ((2 Cor. 5:21)) —and his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made the way for “everyone that believeth…to be reconciled to God.  History has shown that whatever peace man has achieved in the world can only be temporary.  The Bible says that individual men and women can know, beyond a doubt, that they are saved and bound for heaven, and therefore have absolute and permanent peace, regardless of what is going on in the world, by trusting Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for their eternal salvation.    Have you ever done this?