CHRIST DIED FOR US
The gospel Paul preached, the gospel the Corinthians received, the gospel in which they stood and by which they were saved, was not a side note or an optional detail. It was the heart of everything.
“Moreover, brothers and sisters, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you accepted and in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold tightly to that word which I preached—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins as the Scriptures teach, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day as the Scriptures teach” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4).
Paul’s words rise with clarity and weight. The gospel is not only precious, it is essential — the message above all other messages, the truth upon which the entire Christian life rests.
When Paul says Christ died for our sins, he is not speaking just of a tragedy of history or a martyr’s lonely cry. He is speaking of love so fierce and holy that it bore the full burden of human guilt. Jesus did not die because men overpowered Him; He laid down His life willingly, stepping into our darkness so that we might step into His light. He carried what we could never carry. He paid what we could never pay. And the Scriptures had been whispering this promise through every age — from the prophets, from the psalms, from the sacrifices that foreshadowed a greater Lamb who would take away the sin of the world.
And He was buried. Those words matter. They remind us that Jesus entered fully into death, that He went where every human goes, that His body rested in the silent stillness of a borrowed tomb. There was no illusion, no sleight of hand. The Son of God tasted death for everyone.
Yet death could not hold Him. On the third day — just as the Scriptures had foretold — He rose again. The stone rolled away, the grave lost its sting, and Christ stood victorious over the one enemy no human being has ever defeated alone. His resurrection is not merely a miracle to marvel at; it is the foundation of our hope, the promise that life will triumph and that every believer will share in His victory.
Paul calls this message “of first importance,” and rightly so. Everything else in the Christian life grows from this root. Our worship, our obedience, our mission, our comfort in sorrow, our hope in weakness — all of it flows from the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. If we lose this, we lose everything; but if we cling to it, we stand firm on ground that cannot be shaken.
Lord Jesus, thank You for dying for our sins, for entering the grave, and for rising again in power. Help us to keep this gospel at the center of our lives, to hold it tightly, and to share it boldly. Strengthen our faith, deepen our love, and anchor our hope in Your finished work. Amen.
BDD
