1 Corinthians 15:1-8

Saved by the bell!  A stitch in time saves nine! A penny saved … Saved at the last moment, in the nick of time!  Amazing grace, that saved a wretch like me!

This week we begin the second half of our Hungry series.  First, we have looked at what it means to be Hungry for God; now, in these weeks leading up to Easter, we’ll look at Hungry for a Savior.  We’ll spend these four weeks looking at just one chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, because –

-- there’s a lot that is pertinent to our topic in this one chapter!  A lot!

A Savior means that there is something to be saved from: an enemy, a danger or threat.  

But does it also mean saved to, saved from a threat in order to be or do something new or different?  If I am “saved by the bell,” it means the teacher was about to ask me to answer a question or hand in an assignment for which I was totally unprepared.  I was saved from embarrassment or an “F” in order (we hope) to be better prepared next time.  If you save me from drowning, I get to live a longer and wiser life, which might include learning to swim.  If you save me from a bad financial decision, I am rescued from debt or other financial distress, and ushered into a better way of handling my resources.  If I am saved by grace, by Christ, it leads to …?

Paul begins our chapter with a highly compressed summary statement of the Gospel, which in the interest of space, we will compress a bit further: the Good News is the proclamation

… 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 many faithful witnesses] (verses 3-5).

Paul will spend the rest of this lengthy chapter unpacking some of the many ways to understand “What is the Gospel?” and how to express “What happened through the cross and resurrection of Jesus?”  He’ll draw upon language from Genesis (Christ as “the second/new Adam”), Leviticus (sacrifice), Exodus (redemption and release from slavery), 1 Samuel through 2 Chronicles (what does it mean to be a king?  What is the nature of our King and his Kingdom?), the Psalms and prophets – when Paul says “according to the Scriptures,” he really means it!

But just before this Gospel summary statement just quoted, Paul gives an admonition: keep this Gospel front and center always; it is the foundation of our salvation; upon it we have taken our stand – upon it we have bet our lives.

If you’re really betting your life on something, wouldn’t it make sense to understand it as fully and deeply as possible?

And is it possible that there is more to understand than we have understood so far?

Lord Jesus, deliver us from a shrunken Gospel!  In this season, lead us more deeply into the fullness of your Good News!  Help us to be willing to add to what we already understand – and thank you that your Gospel is vast and spacious beyond our understanding!