First Importance

Dear friend,

I know that this might come as a shock to some, but the gospel does not need to be the message of first importance nor should it become the message of first importance! It simply IS the message of first importance and will always be whether we think it is or not! The question is, do we recognize and accept this truth? Let’s look together at the profound words written to the Corinthians about the gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.

The gospel simply is the message of first importance and will always be! It was the message Paul himself received and was now passing on to the Corinthians. But how did he “receive” the gospel message and why is it the message of “first importance” that he was now passing on? 

Many of us already know the gospel message and have believed it for many years. But is it the message of first importance to us, the message we received, and the message we are now passing on to others? Or has it simply been reduced to a story about an old rugged cross and a dying Savior that paid for your sins and mine?

Is it not about the power to live new lives through Jesus’ resurrection too? Is it not about receiving the Holy Spirit and power to overcome sin as well? Is it not about receiving a new heart of flesh and an old heart of stone removed? Is it not about receiving a new life and desires with the ability to live out new lives?

Paul was ravaging the church and persecuting Christians for their faith until he received the gospel message and was transformed himself. When the scales fell from his eyes he received the Holy Spirit, a new heart and he was given a new spirit. 

This is what happens when anyone hears and believes the gospel message. They are forgiven and set free. Their hearts and minds are forever changed. And God can never forsake them because He now lives in them. This is the reason the gospel is the message of first importance and why it must be believed before it can be received. It must take root in our hearts so it can transform those who hear it. And this message is not to be believed only once but to be continually passed on to all believers so we know how to live out our new lives by the gospel’s power in any situation. 

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.