1. corinthians 15,1-10. 11. Trinity

 1. Corinthians 15,1-10           4421 

11. Trinitatis 056

Dormition (falling asleep) of Mary the mother of Jesus, Theotokos, ✠ 

15. August 2021

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father, we beseech You so to guide and direct us by Your Holy Spirit, so that we may not forget our sins and be filled with pride, but continue in daily repentance and renewal, seeking our comfort only in the blessed knowledge that You will be merciful unto us, forgive us our sins and grant us eternal life.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. » Now I remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you have stood, and by which is saving you, 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 500 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.« 

3. What is the gospel the Paul preached, and that pastors continue to preach? The gospel preached by the apostles and pastors consist of two points: 

A. Christ crucified, and

B. Christ risen. 

Paul states these two points in his 1. Epistle to the Corinthians: »When I arrived in your midst, I didn’t arrive preaching to you the mystery of God with lofty words of wisdom. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him having been crucified« (1. Corinthians 2,1-2). »For I delivered to you as a first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, but He was raised on the 3. day in accordance with the Scriptures and that He appeared to Peter, then to the Twelve. Last of all … He appeared also to me.« 

4. Our Lutheran Confessions, particularly the Solid Declaration, more fully explains this gospel: The gospel of Christ crucified teaches us what we should believe, namely, that we receive from God the forgiveness of sins; that is, that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has taken upon Himself the curse of the law and borne it, atoned and paid for all our sins; so that through Him alone we are restored to God’s grace, obtain the forgiveness of sins through faith, are delivered from death and all the punishments of our sins and are saved eternally (BKS 958,18-28 - SD 5,20).

5. However, the gospel is a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others. Christ arrived to save the world, redeemed it and reconciled it back to God the Father (Walther 234 ¶ 1). Many hear and know this gospel but refuse to acknowledge Christ as their Savior or insist on being their own redeemer and reconciler before God (Walther 234 ¶ 1), or they search for a path other than Christ upon which they look for salvation. God in Christ has redeemed the world, but many hear this gospel and reject it. „God wants all people to be saved, since He draws near to all with the word of salvation, and the fault is in the person’s will, which does not grant him admittance“ (WA 18,686,6). 

6. This gospel of Christ crucified is so precious that Paul zealously defended its preaching. He will not allow anyone to preach the gospel of salvation other than Christ crucified and risen. Paul will not allow the works of the law to be mixed in with this gospel. He will not allow human wisdom or lofty speech to be added to this gospel. Paul knows that everything else kills (2. Corinthians 3,6), but only the gospel of Christ crucified and risen is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith (Romans 1,16). Paul is so zealous about the gospel of Christ crucified and risen that he declares if anyone preaches a different gospel for salvation other than Christ crucified and risen, then let that person be anathema (damned to hell). 

7. The Church must take this seriously. If she is preaching something other than Christ crucified and risen, then she is preaching a „gospel“ that is different and contrary to the gospel preached by Paul and all the apostles. If we are trusting in God but then call for trusting anything other than the crucified and risen Christ, then we are relying on a „gospel“ that is condemned by Paul. This different „gospel“ promotes a faith plus obedience that isn’t faith alone; it isn’t Christ alone (Nagel 160). 

8. Let us repent of any stumbling block or foolishness we might have in regards to the gospel. Let us seek to trust in only the gospel of Christ crucified and risen for our salvation, and receive this gospel which assures us that Christ has forgiven our sins. God the Father’s wrath had to be appeased, and His wrath was appeased only through Christ (WA 40 I,295,4). Christ appears as the Mediator (mediator) who by His death makes peace between God and man, or as a Propitiator (propitiator), His work as appeasement (placatio), namely, of the God who has been offended by us, or as reconciliation (reconciliatio), insofar as that greatest discord (maxima discordia) had to be overcome (Elert 2627). Christ makes peace and gives us access to His grace in faith (eyen tzugang tzu seyner gnaden ym glauben) (Elert 2634). The gospel heals the corruption of nature by means of justification (WA 8,106,1). 

9. Christ crucified and risen is the pure gospel that merits our justification. The Apostle Paul spoke of it this way: the gospel is the power of salvation to everyone who believes. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed beginning and ending in faith, as it has been written, the righteous will live by faith (Romans 1,16-17; Habakkuk 2,4).  Amen.

10. Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, the Begotten Son of Lord; ensure and bless the preaching of Your gospel among the peoples of this Earth, so that thanks be given unto You and they  all upon Your Name!  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

✠

 

All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

Luther, Martin. Weimar Ausgabe. 

Nagel, Norman. Selected Sermons of Norman Nagel: From Valparaiso to St. Louis. Frederick W. Baue, Ed. Copyright © 2004 Concordia Publishing House. 

Walther, C. F. W. The Word of His Grace. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod Translation Committee, translator. Copyright © 1978 Graphic Publishing Company, Inc.