Deep Dive into Of First Importance: Christ Died, Was Buried, and Has Been Raised—According to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

The foundational truths of Christianity are centered in the apostolic deposit, summarized by Paul as the news "of first importance" ($\text{ἐν πρώτοις}$): that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He has been raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. This content is what governs everything else in the church's life, including its doctrine, worship, and ethics.

The gospel’s main aim is to secure salvation through the finished, objective work of Christ. The phrase "Christ died for our sins" declares a penal, substitutionary death that satisfies God's justice and provides the ground for justification. The event that assures this justification is the resurrection, which functions as the Father’s public verdict on the completed work, as Christ was "raised for our justification".

Each clause of this deposit is indispensable. The burial ("He was buried," $\text{ἐτάφη}$) is the indispensable hinge that certifies the reality and finality of Christ’s death in history, ruling out docetic make-believe and "swoon" conjectures. Burial is "history's seal on atonement" and confirms that Christ fully entered the state of death.

The resurrection ("He has been raised," $\text{ἐγήγερται}$) is articulated using the perfect passive tense, which signals an abiding result and proclaims that Christ remains the Risen One. This abiding life intensifies the present force of the resurrection for faith and ethics, ensuring that the believer's justification is a "present, priestly reality".

The authority of this fixed deposit is secured by Paul's transmission verbs, $\text{παρέδωκα/παρέλαβον}$ ("I delivered...what I also received"), which serve as "technical handoff language for authoritative tradition". Furthermore, the authority is canonically grounded by the repeated refrain "according to the Scriptures" ($\text{κατὰ τὰς γραφάς}$), which establishes the rule of faith and confirms that these saving events were the fulfillment of the Old Testament's written, covenantal storyline. This foundational truth moves the church from "personality-driven spirituality to confession-driven stability".

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

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