Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 157
14:36–15:19
1 C o ri n thia n s
145
Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you
the only ones to whom it was given? If you claim to be a prophet or think
you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command
from the Lord himself. But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will
not be recognized.
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid
speaking in tongues. But be sure that everything is done properly and in
order.
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I
preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in
it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never
true in the first place.
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been
passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He
was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as
the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After
that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he was seen by James
and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the
wrong time, I also saw him. For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact,
I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted
God’s church.
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor
on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the
other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by
his grace. So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for
we all preach the same message you have already believed.
But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are
some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is
no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if
Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith
is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said
that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no
resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then
Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your
faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have
died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this
life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
