According to the Scriptures

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures….

I Corinthians 15: 3 & 4

The Apostle Paul was boldly staking his claim upon the Scriptures. The Bible is the Word of God which the people of God hold to be inspired, inerrant, and infallible. Paul stated his view of Scriptures again toward the close of his life when he said, ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness….’  When Paul preached, it was ‘according to the Scriptures.’ In this, he followed Christ, for when Christ wanted to preach Himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaeus, it was ‘beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.’ As Christ stood upon the Scriptures, so Paul stood upon the Scriptures. We also stand upon the Scriptures. We believe in the Book and in all the revelations of Christ contained therein. We believe in the Seed of the woman in Genesis, in the Lamb which the Lord will provide, in the Captain of the Lord’s Host, in the Messenger of Jehovah, the Burning Bush, the Fiery Cloudy Pillar and the Rock that followed Israel. We believe in the King, high and lifted up and in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. From the start of the Scriptures to the last ‘Amen,’ Christ is on page after page. All that we have to say about Christ is ‘according to the Scriptures.’ Today, let us take the opportunity to return to the Sacred Page to see what God will show us there of Christ. May the Blessed Holy Spirit take the things of Christ from the Book which He inspired and show them unto us, that we may speak ‘according to the Scriptures.’

Our God of Grace and Truth,
we praise You that You have given unto us clear revelation of Yourself.
We rejoice that You have magnified Your Word above all Your Name,
that Christ is the Living Word Whom we find revealed in the written Word.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘That Which I Also Received’

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures…

I Corinthians 15: 3 & 4

As the Apostle Paul began his great exposition of the doctrine of the resurrection, he laid the groundwork for all that would follow with the verses we will be considering for the next little while. For today, let us dwell upon just these words, ‘For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received.’ From whence had Paul received this message? Remember that Paul was an Old Testament scholar. He knew, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, came to understand that the Old Testament is full of the Message of Christ. From the very first mention of Christ, and right away through the prophecies of the ‘holy men of God’ who ‘spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,’ Christ appears again and again. Beyond that, Paul had heard the testimonies of the saints of God whom he had persecuted, and had seen them die in faith.  The third source from which Paul had received his message was from Christ, Himself. Christ had revealed Himself to Paul upon the Road to Damascus, and had expanded that revelation during his three years in Arabia. This made Paul very certain about this message which he was preaching. It was a message upon which he would stand, and from which he would not waver. It is the message that we also have received and from which we cannot and will not waver. As Paul declared it, so also do we declare it. Christ is all. This is what we have received.

O God of Truth,
we praise You that You have revealed unto us
all that is necessary for us to know You.
We rejoice that Your message leads us to Christ,
and to eternal peace.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning