Lessons #531 and 532
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Gospel Paul preached (1 Cor 15:1-11)
… 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve 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 to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
We have come to the final consideration of the section of 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 that we have been studying for quite some time. Recall the message is: Be sure you are clear about the gospel message. Our last study was concerned with a digression of Apostle Paul to briefly consider his apostleship in verses 9 and 10. His digression was concerned with two topics: himself and grace of God. The apostle gave an honest evaluation of himself in view of the fact that he described himself as a dead, discarded fetus that worths nothing but by grace of God he occupied the unique position of Jesus Christ appearing to him from heaven after His ascension. He discoursed on the grace of God that was operational as it regards to him so that he was appointed an apostle and was enabled to work harder than all the other apostles with respect to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. With completion of the digression of the apostle, he returned to conclude his major topic of the gospel he preached. It is with this conclusion that we begin our study this morning.
We assert that the apostle concludes or sums up his discourse on the gospel he preached because of the second word then used in verse 11 of the NIV. As we have indicated in previous studies, we are not sure of what our English translators mean by the word “then” when they use it in the beginning of a sentence because the adverb “then” in the English could mean “at that time” or “next” or “therefore.” That aside the word “then” in verse 11 is translated from a Greek particle (oun) that has several usages. It may be used as a marker of continuation of a narrative in which case it may be translated “so, now, then.” It may be used as a marker of emphasis with the meaning “certainly, to be sure.” It may be used as a marker of inference indicating that what it introduces results from or is an inference from what precedes so may be translated “therefore, then.” The word may be used to resume a subject once more after an interruption. An example of this is found in the eighth chapter of 1 Corinthians. The apostle introduced the subject of food sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8:1:
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
Soon after this introduction, he digressed to make a brief comment about knowledge and love in verses 2 and 3. Then he returned to the topic of food sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8:4:
So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
Thus, our Greek particle is translated “so then” in verse 4 as it is used to resume the topic of food sacrificed to idols introduced in verse 1. Our Greek particle is frequently used with other Greek particles in continuation of a discourse or a narrative. Hence, it is used with the Greek particle (eite) used in our verse that means “whether” to continue the apostle’s discourse on subject of food sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 10:31:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
In this passage, our Greek word is translated “so.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:11, the Greek particle may be translated “so” or “now” or “then.” Most of our English versions used the meaning “then” or “so” although the TEV and the CEB used the expression “so then.” Regardless of the word used to translate our Greek word, it is to be understood that it is used both to indicate the apostle was resuming his discourse on the elements of the gospel he preached that he discoursed in verses 3 to 8 before he digressed to his apostleship and to indicate he was concluding the discourse on the gospel he preached.
Apostle Paul’s conclusion consists of two important assertions. The first is that the gospel he discoursed is what he and the other apostles proclaimed and continued to proclaim as he stated in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 15:11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach.
The pronoun “they” is translated from a Greek demonstrative pronoun (ekeinos) that is used to make a reference to a person or object that is relatively distant or absent in a discourse setting. It may mean “that (one)” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the day of the second coming of Jesus Christ when he will receive his reward as stated in 2 Timothy 4:8:
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
The word may be used for third person pronoun. Thus, when many individuals are remotely in view it may be translated “they” as Apostle Paul used it to describe athletic competitors as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:25:
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Of course, when an individual is concerned, it may be translated “he” or “she” as the word is used in referencing Jesus Christ in John the Baptist’s admission regarding his relationship with Jesus Christ who would continue to be more known because of who He is while John disappears into the background as we read in John 3:30:
He must become greater; I must become less.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:11, it is used in the plural sense of “they” to reference the apostles Apostle Paul meant in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:10 I worked harder than all of them. We interpreted “them” as a reference to all the recognized apostles of the early church. Thus, it will make sense that Paul had in mind the other recognized apostles of the church that were involved in preaching of the gospel message. Anyway, the apostle’s first assertion concerns the proclamation of the gospel by him, and others as given in the sentence of verse 11 it was I or they, this is what we preach.
The word “preach” is translated from a Greek word (kēryssō) that may mean to make an official announcement, that is, “to announce, make known,” by an official herald or one who functions as such, as the word is used in Revelation 5:2:
And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”
The sentence I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice of the NIV is translated in the TEV as I saw a mighty angel, who announced in a loud voice. The word may mean to make public declaration and so means “to proclaim aloud.” In a general sense, it may mean “to speak of, mention publicly” as the word was used to describe what Jesus wanted from the man he healed of demon possession, as we read in Luke 8:39:
“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
The expression told all over town how much Jesus had done for him is literally proclaiming throughout the whole town all that Jesus had done for him. When the word is used of proclamation that is divine in origin or relates to divinity, it may mean “to preach” as in Galatians 5:11:
Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
Or it may mean “to proclaim” as it is used in Colossians 1:23:
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
It is in the sense of to proclaim, that is, to make known publicly and loudly an important news that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:11.
The apostle’s declaration in Corinthians 15:11 it was I or they, this is what we preach may be understood to imply that the apostle wanted the Corinthians to know that there is no disagreement among those who preach the gospel message, if the message is to be considered the gospel of Jesus Christ. He recognized that there were people peddling a message that is no gospel as he wrote to the Galatians warning them of false gospel in Galatians 1:6–8:
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
This notwithstanding, the apostle wanted the Corinthians to be clear in their minds that all true apostles of the Lord Jesus and all true communicators of the gospel, preach the same message as he had discoursed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8. The implication we considered about what the apostle wrote should remind us to be tolerant of other believers if they go wrong with their doctrines, but we should not tolerate any distortion of the gospel message.
The apostle, of course, conveyed that neither he nor the other apostles stopped proclaiming the gospel when he wrote in Corinthians 15:11 it was I or they, this is what we preach. This we say because the apostle used a present tense in the Greek for the word translated “preach” in the NIV. The present tense the apostle used is difficult to fully translate into the English, but the full meaning of the Greek present tense used in our context is something like “something has been and still is.” Thus, the apostle indicated that he and the other apostles proclaimed the gospel in the past and they are continuing to do so as he wrote this epistle and will continue until he departs from this life. The implication of the apostle’s use of present tense is that we should recognize that the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is something that we should continue to do despite any past preaching of it. Again, we contend that the first assertion of Apostle Paul as he concludes his discourse on the gospel elements is that he and the other apostles proclaimed and would continue to proclaim the gospel as he discoursed in verses 3 to 8.
A second assertion of the apostle as he concludes his discourse on the elements of the gospel he preached, is that the Corinthians accepted the gospel so that they trusted in Jesus Christ as that is what he meant in the second clause of 1 Corinthians 15:11 and this is what you believed.
The word “believed” is translated from a Greek word (pisteuō) that its predominant meaning in the Greek NT is “to believe”, as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe the belief in resurrection, cast in the sense of living with Christ in Romans 6:8:
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
The Greek word may also mean “to trust”, with the implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted, as it is used in the apostle’s short prayer for the Roman believers in Romans 15:13:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The word has the sense of entrusting or putting something to the care of another. Apostle Paul was so conscious of the fact that the preaching of the gospel was entrusted to him that he states it several times. Writing to the Galatians, he indicated that preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles is a task given to him, as we read in Galatians 2:7:
On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.
He informed the Thessalonians that he was entrusted with the preaching of the gospel although he did not envision himself as the only one entrusted with that task, as we can gather from his statement in 1 Thessalonians 2:4:
On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
The apostle also reminds Timothy that he has been entrusted with the gospel that is, no doubt, concerned with eternal life that he described with the word “glorious”, indicating its greatness certainly because it contains the promise of eternal life in 1 Timothy 1:11:
that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:11, the word has the sense of “to believe” or “to trust,” that is, “to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence.” Here the object of trust is Jesus Christ.
The apostle was concerned to assert what is factual as it pertains to the Corinthians when it comes to the gospel message. The thing he wanted to convey to the Corinthians is that it is a fact that they have accepted the gospel message and so trusted in Jesus Christ for their salvation. He was not concerned at this point with such matters as the nature of their salvation, that is, he was not concerned with eternal security of their salvation. No! His focus was simply to state what is factual. The Corinthians have believed in Jesus Christ and so they were saved. We state that the apostle was concerned with stating what is factual because he used an aorist tense of the Greek verb translated “believe” in the verse we are considering. His use of the aorist tense, as we have stated, is simply to state a fact of what has happened.
Be that as it may, the apostle was emphatic that both what he and others proclaimed and what the Corinthians believed conform to the elements of the gospel he preached. We say this because the apostle used a Greek adverb (houtōs) that the translators of the NIV rendered twice with the expression this is what in 1 Corinthians 15:11. Actually, the Greek adverb (houtōs) is used primarily in two ways in the Greek. It could refer to that which follows in a discourse material and so may be translated “in this way” or “as follows.” Another usage is to refer to what precedes, in which case, it may mean “in this way, in this manner, so, thus.” It is in the second usage of referring to what precedes that the apostle used the word in our passage so that it may be translated “so” or “thus,” that is, “in the way indicated.” This being the case, the apostle referred to the elements of the gospel message that he preached. What he and others proclaimed and continued to proclaim and what the Corinthians believed agree with the elements of the gospel he had discoursed with focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
To conclude the discourse of the apostle regarding the gospel message he and others preached, we will do two things: review what the apostle discoursed and examine examples of the preaching of the gospel recorded in Acts of the Apostles to enable us to make final points about the preaching of the gospel. We begin with a review. We stated there are five elements of the gospel Apostle Paul preached although a surface reading of 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 suggests there are three elements to the gospel he preached. The first element of the gospel the apostle wants us to recognize is that it is a message that is foremost about Christ before anything else. In effect, it is not even about us although we are the beneficiaries of the message but at its core, it is a message about Christ as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:3 that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. A second element concerns sin as conveyed in the sentence Christ died for our sins. Consequently, the second element of the gospel that should be conveyed to an unbeliever is that all humans are sinners. A third element is about the solution to the sin problem that involves the death of Christ on the cross. It is this element that is given in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. The fourth element is the fact of burial of Jesus Christ. It is this fact that is given in the first clause of 1 Corinthians 15:4 that he was buried. The fifth element concerns the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that is, being raised from the dead never to die again. It is this element that is conveyed in the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:4 that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. This fifth element is supported by the information the apostle provided regarding the various post resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. With this summary, we proceed to examine consider examples of preaching of the gospel by Apostles Peter and Paul to enable us to make any further observations about the preaching of the gospel.
Apostle Peter empowered by the Holy Spirit preached the first recorded gospel message on the day of Pentecost. He began with an introduction that was a defense of the charge that the disciples were drunk because they spoke in tongues, by explaining that the speaking in tongues people observed was what Joel meant in his prophecy as he quoted him, as we may gather from Acts 2:16:
No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
This verse is better translated No, it is rather what was meant by Joel the prophet, when he said. Anyway, the goal of this message was simply to show that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on the cross for man’s sins. In effect, after his introduction, Peter communicated that the message he was about to deliver was about one person, Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, Peter did this by making six assertions about Jesus Christ.
First, he asserted that Jesus is true in all He said and did and that He was the One that was appointed by God for a specific task, as God has shown to the people through the various miracles Jesus performed. Thus, Peter said to those gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost what is recorded in Acts 2:22:
"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.
The word “accredited” is translated from a Greek word (apodeiknymi) that here means “to show forth the quality of an entity” or “to demonstrate that something is true.” It is a word that also means to be appointed to a specific task. Hence, Apostle Peter declared that Jesus was appointed by God and clearly shown to have been appoint by Him through His miracles.
Second, Peter asserted that Jesus was put to death on the cross according to God’s plan. This assertion is important because God the Holy Spirit knew that many years after this message there would be people who would deny that Jesus actually died on the cross or blame the Jews. So, it is not a trivial assertion. It may seem that human beings on their own decision crucified Jesus, which would imply that man was in control of history and not God. The apostle said no such thing ever happened. The death of Christ on the cross was by divine plan so he said in Acts 2:23:
This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
The death of Jesus on the cross took place according to God’s predetermined plan. The Greek word (prognōsis) translated “foreknowledge” is better rendered “predetermination” in this context. Thus, God had planned ahead that Jesus was going to be crucified in order to accomplish the purpose of sending Him into the world.
Third, Peter asserted that Jesus resurrected from the dead, as was prophesied by David. It is this that he asserted in Acts 2:24, 31:
24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
Fourth, Peter asserted that he along with other disciples witnessed this resurrection as recorded in Acts 2:32:
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
Fifth, Peter asserted that Jesus had ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father. It is this point that Peter makes in Acts 2:33:
Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Sixth, Peter declared that as a result of the resurrection, God had designated Jesus as the Yahweh or LORD of the OT Scripture and Christ as we read in Acts 2:36:
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Apostle Peter did not directly state that Jesus died for our sins but as he offered his hearers opportunity to experience salvation that is through Jesus Christ, he then mentioned sins as we read in Acts 2:38:
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Another preaching of the gospel by Apostle Peter occurred after the miracle of healing a crippled man recorded in the third chapter of Acts. The record of the astonishment of the people that observed the miracle, and the message of Peter is given in Acts 3:11–16:
11 While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
Apostle Peter began this preaching with an introduction that was intended to indicate that the healing the people observed had nothing to do with him or Apostle John. After the introduction, the apostle made several declarations. First, he declared that God acknowledged the nature or characteristics of Jesus in the sentence of verse 13 the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. The word “glorified” here is translated from a Greek word (doxazō) that may means “to honor, praise” but in our passage, it has the sense of “to glorify. “that is, “to positively acknowledge, recognize, or esteem one’s character, nature, or attributes.” Second, Apostle Peter declared that after rejecting Jesus, the Jews killed Him despite the fact Pilate wanted to set Him free. Third, Peter declared that God raised Jesus from the dead and His disciples were witnesses to His resurrection. Fourth, Peter declared that the miracle of healing the people observed was through the name of Jesus Christ and faith in Him. Again, the apostle did not mention sin in his preaching of the gospel but only as he offered the message of salvation that he referenced sin as we read in Acts 3:19:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
After offering salvation to his audience, Peter’s further declarations convey that Jesus was appointed by God and by implication He had ascended to heaven as we read in Acts 3:20–21:
20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
Peter’s other recorded gospel message occurred at Cornelius’ house as narrated in the tenth chapter of Acts. After Peter inquired from Cornelius the reason, he sent for him to come to his house, the apostle preached the gospel as recorded in Acts 10:34–43:
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. 39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Apostle Peter after an introduction that indicates God does not show favoritism but accepts anyone from any nation that fears Him as indicated by doing what is right, proceeded to make several assertions about Jesus Christ. First, he asserted that God sent good news of peace through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all. Second, he asserted that under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, Jesus performed many miracles. Third, Peter asserted that he and others were witnesses to Jesus’ work. Fourth, he asserted that the Jews killed Jesus on the cross or on a tree. Fifth, he asserted that God raised Jesus from the dead and that He appeared to a select few after His resurrection. Sixth, Peter asserted that Jesus commissioned him and the other apostles to preach Him. Seventh, he asserted that all the prophets testified that forgiveness of sins is available to anyone who believes in His name. Thus, we note that there are several facts about Jesus that Peter presented as he preached the gospel to Cornelius and those assembled in his house. Anyway, we shift our attention to recorded sermons of Apostle Paul.
The first recorded sermon of Apostle Paul occurred at a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. This sermon is recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Acts. He began with a summary history of God’s dealing with Israel right from their deliverance from Egypt to the time David became Israel’s king. With that summary, he proceeded to speak of Jesus Christ as we read in Acts 13:23–40:
23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you think I am? I am not that one. No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ 26 “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. 32 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’ 34 The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: “ ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ 35 So it is stated elsewhere: “ ‘You will not let your Holy One see decay.’ 36 “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
There are several assertions the apostle made about Jesus Christ. First, that Jesus is the Savior, a descendant of David that God promised. Second, that John the Baptist, who denied being the One Israel was looking forward to His coming, pointed to Jesus as the One coming after him. Third, that the message of salvation was sent to Israel and God-fearing Gentiles. Fourth, that people of Jerusalem and their leaders rejected Jesus and so had Him killed in a manner that involved a tree. Fifth, that Jesus was buried. Sixth, that God raised Him from the dead and He was seen by many over several days. Seventh, that the resurrection of Jesus is good news that indicates the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel’s forefathers and fulfillment of several promises given to David that included the promise of sonship and not suffering bodily decay after death. Eighth, that resurrection of Jesus results in availability of forgiveness of sins and being set free from sins (or justification) to anyone who believes in Him.
Another recorded sermon of Apostle Paul was in Athens in the meeting of the Areopagus. The record of the apostle’s sermon is given in Acts 17:22–31:
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
This sermon begins with an introduction that recognized the background of idolatry of the Athenians that led the apostle to acknowledge that the people were religious or superstitious. Consequently, he used an inscription on an altar that reads TO AN UNKNOWN GOD to be the basis of his sermon that focused on God. He made several assertions about God. First, the apostle asserted that the God who is the creator does not live in a man-made temple, does not need anything from humans since He is the giver of life and everything else humans need. Second, the apostle asserted that God created all humans from one man and places each person where the individual lives at any given time. Third, the apostle asserted that God’s work is intended to get humans to seek Him since He is near them. Fourth, the apostle asserted that because humans are God’s offspring, He could not be an immaterial object of man’s design. Fifth, the apostle asserted that God now commands people to repent because of the coming judgment through a man He appointed that is certain to come because of the resurrection of the man.
It is interesting to note that the apostle did not explicitly state that Jesus died but that He was raised from the dead implying that he died. Furthermore, the apostle did not mention forgiveness of sins through Jesus but implies that one would escape judgment by being in good terms with the judge, Jesus. Hence, this sermon in many respects did not contain all the elements of the gospel message the apostle summarized that he preached. However, an important element mentioned directly is the resurrection while the death of Jesus Christ is mentioned by implication.
Examination of the sermons preached by Apostles Peter and Paul leads to six observations. First, the introduction of the gospel sermon depended on the audience and so was not a prepared message written out beforehand. When the audience was primarily the Jews, both Peter and Paul began with a reference to Israel’s history or prophecy. Thus, Peter introduced his sermon on the day of Pentecost by referencing the prophecy of Joel because he had to defend the charge against the disciples being drunk as they spoke in tongues. Paul in Pisidian Antioch began with the history of Israel and God’s promise. But when both spoke primarily before a Gentile audience, their introduction was governed by the situation they were faced with. Peter before Cornelius began with a confession of the justice of God while Paul before the Athenians began with the subject of idolatry. Second, the element of the burial of Jesus was not mentioned directly by Peter in any of his sermons while Paul mentioned that directly while he preached in the Jewish synagogue. Third, Peter, but not Paul, directly referenced the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven. Fourth, the death of Jesus was directly or indirectly stated. Fifth, in all sermons the resurrection of Jesus Christ was directly stated with mention of eyewitness to support the claim. Sixth, sin was not directly mentioned when the audience was primarily Jews but in the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ sin was indirectly mentioned in terms of forgiveness of sins that is available through faith in Jesus Christ.
The various observations we have noted lead us to say few things about the presentation of the gospel. First, there is no fixed rule as to how a person should begin the presentation of the gospel. That should be determined by the situation that one is presented with. In effect, the idea that one can be coached how to witness for Christ ignores the various situations those who witness find themselves. Second, when presenting the gospel, it is essential that the death and resurrection of Jesus must be included in some way, again depending on the situation. However, one cannot ignore these two elements and claim to have preached the gospel. By the way, depending on the situation, the person who presents the gospel may reference the fact that Jesus’ resurrection was witnessed by His disciples and by Apostle Paul. The appearance of the resurrected Jesus to Paul should be used as a strong argument that explains how an ardent opponent of the Christian faith became its foremost champion among the Gentiles. Third, the gospel message should be presented in a manner that leaves no doubt that forgiveness of sins is only available through faith in Christ. Fourth, it should be clear that a believer should rely on the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the presentation of the gospel. I am confident that a person who relies on the ministry of the Holy Spirit will be guided on how to present the gospel in every situation. In effect, I am saying that the promise of the Holy Spirit aiding believers in a hostile situation would apply during presentation of the gospel. The promise I mean is given in Luke 12:11–12:
11 “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
The point is that it is important to depend on the Holy Spirit in order to be effective presenter of the gospel message. Let me end by reminding you of the message of 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 that we have expounded. It is this: Be sure you are clear about the gospel message.
06/23/23