1 Corinthians 15:1

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

Context 2-4 ² By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

God does not mind reminding me of important things through His Word the Bible. It is what I do with the important things He tells me that matter. Do a I stop a bad habit because He tells me? Do I stop not doing somthing that I should be doing? Or I should really say it stronger than that: STOP SINNING because He tells me to! Do I put away the old life for the new life? Is the gospel alive in me and changing me each day? Do I battle and fight the good fight when it comes to the living and whole gospel working in me? Have I deflated it, diluted it, reduced it, to less than it is? Have I put God in a box? To draw a parallel in CS Lewis’s book The Last Battle, the king Aslan the lion the powerful creator of Naria is described by one of the characters as a tame lion: not fully knowing or remembering the majesty of Aslan the savior and lord. Do I describe Jesus as less than He is by my actions?

The Bible is reminding me in these verses of the Gospel that Jesus died for my sins. Jesus was buried. Jesus was raised. None of my life in Jesus is possible if it was not for His death. No settling of debts, no forgiveness, no justice, no perfect love. I know Jesus’s death was excepted and He was raised and risen from death to new amazing life, which we now live in. Have I forgotten any aspect of this work that Jesus has done on my behalf? How amazing that Jesus loves me that much that He would go through the crucifixion for me and die for the sins of the world. Jesus was buried for me and it looked like He was defeated when He was buried. How low can you go? If you want to lead you must be the servant of all. Jesus has earned the right to lead, to be King of my life in every moment.

Jesus was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. Other religions depict life after death, but not resurrection. No resurrection in Jesus. Since I have been raised with Jesus I must set my heart on the things above.

In the book The Other Spanish Christ, which was written about 80 years ago, the Spanish conquistadors introduced Latin Americans to Jesus in the 16^th century. There was no sign of a resurrection. Looking at some of their art work, they had a particular portrait portraying Jesus as naked, bloody and dying. Never alive, always powerless. This bred a Cult of Death around Jesus. In Peru, missionary Henry Nouwen said Jesus was mainly portrayed as a powerless infant or a dying corps. Some Christians in the church today have a powerless Jesus – they have penal substation but not Christus victorious. In CS Lewis’s book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The White Witch made it always winter but never Christmas. But in this case, it is always good Friday and never Easter. There is no power.

Application: Jesus’s work of atonement continues to work through the Holy Spirit, who Jesus sent, as Jesus intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. My arisen Jesus is Lord and Savior. All powerful and all good is Jesus, King of His Bride the church who He has called and redeemed for good works to live out the gospel of holy love following the example He left. I will pray with Jeremy on my way back from Guatemala City, asking Him if there is anything I can pray for him.