1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-10 – “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LIVING THANKFUL FOR THE GOSPEL. What unfolds in today’s scripture is the clearest and most detailed description of the gospel of the Lord Jesus found in God’s Word. It provides for us the truth of Christ’s substitutionary death, triumphant resurrection, irrefutable eyewitnesses of Jesus being alive after His death, and all this truth revealed by the trustworthiness of scripture.
How are we to respond to such gospel? First, and foremost, receive it by faith and enjoy the reality of God’s forgiveness and the freedom of walking with Him as reconciled children – “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19–20). The other response is the theme of today’s nugget – living thankful for the gospel.
In his excellent book, A Gospel Primer for Christians, Milton Vincent wrote the following:
“The gospel reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and mine. On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God’s unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness and not mine own.”
The more we see the power of the gospel in our lives as Christians, on good days and bad, the more the spirit of thanksgiving swells in our hearts. And when the spirit of thanksgiving fills the hearts of Christians, the fervency and consistency of first love for Christ is safeguarded.
As one ponders the gospel of the Lord Jesus, we cannot help but be amazed over God’s wisdom and love in such a beautiful truth. The gospel is so amazing, so beautiful, and so worthy of not only embracing but living thankful for it. And a thankful heart is a heart growing deeper in Iove with Him who is the Gospel.
PRAYER: Father, worthy are You to receive praise for such a glorious gospel coming from Your heart of love.
REFLECTION: Living thankful for the gospel enables us to maintain fervency of first love for Jesus.