That Which I Also Received

 

1 Corinthians 15:1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

That's the gospel, the good news. Paul delivered to the Corinthians the same good news he received, which in a nutshell was that Christ made a way for the forgiveness of our sins.  The good news wasn't only that He died.  The good news wasn't only that He didn't stay dead, it was that he died, was buried, rose again, and there were eyewitnesses that saw of the miracle.

Many will quote these verses with an authoritative "this is it" when confronted with the idea that man has a responsibility or a duty in his own salvation.  There's this "Paul said it here, this is all there is, this is how we're saved".  And in a way, that's absolutely true.  The death, burial, and resurrection is how salvation IS POSSIBLE.  But what some fail to realize is that Paul, speaking here to the already-saved church doesn't mention what he himself had to go through to be converted.  Christ had died before Paul's conversion in Acts 9.  He had been buried and risen again before Paul's conversion.  There were eyewitnesses before Paul's conversion.  If the work was already done, then how did Paul go from being a persecuting Jew to a born-again believer?  One key that is often missed is in the definition of "receive", the other is in Paul's very own salvation account.  Let's look at both.

The word "receive" used here is the Greek paralambnw, Strong's number G3880, and is defined as:

• 1) to take to, to take with one's self, to join to one's self
• 1a) an associate, a companion
• 1b) metaph.
• 1b1) to accept or acknowledge one to be such as he professes to be
• 1b2) not to reject, not to withhold obedience
• 2) to receive something transmitted
• 2a) an office to be discharged
• 2b) to receive with the mind
• 2b1) by oral transmission: of the authors from whom the tradition proceeds
• 2b2) by the narrating to others, by instruction of teachers (used of disciples)

There is some definite verbing going on here.  There's some action.  It isn't "God did His part so it's done!" but rather "God did His part and I didn't withhold obedience; I took what He did with me, I joined it to myself so that it became part of me.  I accepted and acknowledged in a real way where there was action on my part to demonstrate that I was taking hold of all Christ's did."

Let's go back to Acts 9 and look at Paul's conversion story. 

Acts 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. 17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. 19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

We're not told the entirety of the conversation Ananias had with Paul. We don't get to read where Ananias told Paul that Jesus died, was buried, rose again, and there were eyewitnesses.  Surely those things had to come up since Paul declared them in 1 Corinthians 15.  I'm sure a lot came up during Paul's time with Ananias and during his fellowship in Damascus.  But, though we don't get the full scoop from Acts 9, we also don't get the entirety of what was discussed or what happened from 1 Corinthians 15.  Both are just snapshots, discussing the portions that are most relevant for each of those writings at that time.  When we combine them, we start to get a larger picture.  For instance: 

• We know that Christ Himself stopped Paul in his tracks, proving to Paul that the person of Christ was real.  That revelation didn't give him all the information he needed, just like Cornelius' vision of the angel in Acts 10 didn't preach the gospel to him.  
• We know that Paul responded asking what he needed to DO.  Not what do you want me to think is true? Not, what should I believe in my head?  He knew there was something he had to do.
• We know Christ told him to Go and that he would receive instruction.
• We know that, while Paul was waiting for Ananias, he was praying.
• We know that the Lord told Ananias that Paul was instructed he would receive his sight.  
• We know Ananias had been sent to pray with Paul for him to receive his sight AND be filled with the Holy Spirit
• We know that Paul was baptized and that it would have been in water just like John 3:1-8, Mark 16:15-17, and Acts chapters 2, 8, 10-11, and 19 demonstrate.
• We know Paul spoke in tongues because he mentioned it in 1 Corinthians 15.  And lining this account up with John 3:8, Mark 16:17, and the salvation accounts in Acts 2, 10-11, and 19, we know he would have spoken in tongues the moment he received the Holy Spirit.
• And we know that after Paul's conversion he went out preaching that Christ is the Son of God.  
• We also know Paul taught MORE than just Christ as the Son of God because in Acts 19 we see him preach the infilling of the Holy Spirit and that baptism is part of repentance (turning from man's way to God's). 

These stories don't contradict, they are pieces to a larger puzzle.  And when we look at them together we can see they line up beautifully.

1 Corinthians 15 tells us that what Paul received (took with, joined to himself, accepted, acknowledged, and did not withhold obedience to) was that Christ died, was buried, rose again, and that there were eyewitnesses that confirmed it. In Acts 9, we see that Paul himself spiritually died to his own ways, was buried in baptism, rose again to new life through receiving the Holy Spirit, and that there were eyewitnesses that confirmed it.  

Yes, it's correct that the "how" of the gospel is in 1 Corinthians 15.  But there's more.  we must receive, take with, join to ourselves, accept, acknowledge, and not withhold obedience to that "how".  We have to go beyond being convinced that Christ is real and get to the "what wilt thou have me to do?".  We must "obey the Gospel" (Romans 10:16, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17).  And then we must take what we've received and go out and deliver it to others, just as Paul did in Acts 19 when he ran across those 12 men in Ephesus and found out that they had not died to their way and turned to God's way (because they were taught only a partial gospel) so he buried them in baptism (because their first baptism did not count since it was not in truth), and laid hands on them and they were risen to new life through receiving the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in new tongues.