The Church’s Message

If you google the phrase “the church’s message,” you soon discover that not everyone is in agreement. One website says that the church’s core message is about love. Another says it is about reconciliation. Someone else thinks that it is about changing the world. In one sense the church’s message is about all these things. But today’s passage makes it clear that there is a concern that rises above all the others. The church’s core message is about Jesus Christ. It is a message about His death and resurrection. It is the message of the gospel.

Paul’s summary of the gospel may seem theologically unsophisticated to some. It focuses on a specific set of facts. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He was raised again on the third day. He appeared to many of His disciples, including Paul himself (vv. 3–8). This summary is consistent with several others recorded in the book of Acts.

Paul’s emphasis on the death and resurrection of Christ needed to be emphasized, given the doctrinal situation in Corinth. Some in the church had begun to question whether bodily resurrection was even possible (see vv. 12–19). Paul’s response was simple. If there is no resurrection of the body, there is no gospel. If there is no gospel, there is no salvation.

Notice that Paul does not begin with the doctrinal problem. He begins with the gospel. He states what is true before addressing what is false. We need to remember this starting point today. In a world with so many religions and belief systems, it is impossible for us to understand every false doctrine in order to refute it. It is better to focus on the truth as it is revealed in God’s Word. If our faith is built on the solid foundation of God’s Word, we will be able to test every other doctrine or philosophy.

Pray with Us

On this Thanksgiving Day, let's express gratitude to the Lord for everything we learned this month about the church and its ministries, nowadays and through the ages. May the church be our passion because it was Christ's passion!

BY Dr. John Koessler

John Koessler is Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and Church Ministries at Moody Bible Institute. John authors the “Practical Theology” column for Today in the Word of which he is also a contributing writer and theological editor. An award-winning author, John’s newest title is When God is Silent: Let the Bible Teach You to Pray (Kirkdale). Prior to joining the Moody faculty, he served as a pastor of Valley Chapel in Green Valley, Illinois, for nine years. He and his wife, Jane, now enjoy living in a lakeside town in Michigan.