For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Into the Text
First Corinthians 15:3–5 offers us a perfect summary of the work of Christ. It reminds us of the foundation of our faith: Christ died for our sins, as the scriptures foretold. He was buried, showing the world that He was truly dead. On the third day, He was raised to life. Finally, He appeared to Peter and then to the rest of the disciples.Â
Even though Jesus finished His work on the cross, His resurrection was God’s official seal of approval for His life and death. It was the proof that Jesus was who He had claimed to be and that His atoning sacrifice was accepted by God. For His followers to be absolutely sure about this, Christ appeared not only to His disciples but to many other people before He ascended into heaven. God wanted us to know that Jesus was raised to life, and because of this, everything would be different.Â
Our sins caused us to be enemies of God. We were living for ourselves, ignoring Him instead of loving God with all our hearts. By putting to death His physical body, Christ changed all of this. Because of the death of Christ, we are reconciled to God. We are presented to Him as holy, without blemish, and blameless.
Jesus was resurrected to new life and now gives the same life to those who are in Him. Christ has not only removed all our sins, but He causes us to have a new birth, with new desires and a true love for God. He gives us a new heart and puts His Holy Spirit into us. As we live for Christ, we remain steadfast, clinging to the hope of the gospel. We are servants of Christ, proclaiming the victory and redemption we have in Christ to the world. We can rest in the truth that the work of our redemption is complete. Our redeemer lives, and He is coming again.Â