to the first epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians and we'll read the first 10 verses of chapter
15. That's the first epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians and chapter 15 and reading the first 10 verses. Moreover brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if
ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed
in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received, how 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, and that he
was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that he was seen
of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater
part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James,
then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the
apostles that have not meet 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 which was bestowed upon me was not
in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet
not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I often think it's good to be
able to read the testimony of the Apostle Paul who was very
modest in the way that he spoke and the things that he recorded
and it's good to see how he judges himself It's a good example for
us today to realise that we really fall into that same category
because he tells us in the 9th verse, for I am the least of
the apostles that am not meet to be called an apostle because
I persecuted the Church of God. And it's good therefore if all
of us can come under that category and feel, as the Apostle quite
clearly did, to be the least. And we know that in another place
he said he was less than the least. So it's good to be taught
by the Holy Spirit, not to have warned ourselves as somebody
of any importance, but to recognise that the Lord is most kind and
gracious to us and therefore We come on to this 10th verse,
which was really the verse that drew me to this passage, which
tells us, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace,
which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain, but I labored more
abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God,
which was with me. Well, it's a blessing to be able
to come alongside the Apostle and recognise this great truth,
because it is so in every believer, by the grace of God, as he says,
I am what I am, and as we may say, as we are, we're only what
we are, by the grace of God. That's a very humbling position
and it's really a very God-honouring position because it's not something
that you and I produced ourselves and were worthy of any mercy
and worthy of any favour, but it was through God's great goodness
and God's great mercy. So what a mercy for us tonight
if we come under this category in our own estimation. to be
indeed less than the least. Well, we know that the Apostle
was called by God, quite a remarkable conversion as we know on that
Damascus road, and that all wonderfully blessed him. And as we know that
he was an Apostle, it would seem quite clear that he was the 12th
Apostle, took the place of Judas Iscariot and the Apostles are
normally characterized by those who actually personally had a
personal contact with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle
tells us of his own experience in this matter and in the second
epistle of the Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 2 to 5 we read this
and he tells us he speaks in the third person and I often
think it's a good way to speak when we're speaking of God's
goodness and mercy to us it's very easy to take credit to ourselves
and the most important thing is that the credit goes to God
and that's why the Apostle addresses the Corinthians in this way he
tells us I knew a man in Christ 14 years ago it was of course
himself the Apostle Paul whether in the body I cannot tell or
whether out of the body I cannot tell God knoweth such and one
caught up to the third heaven And I knew such a man, whether
in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth how
that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words,
which it is not lawful for a man to utter, or such and one will
I glory, yet of myself I will not glory but in mine infirmities. Well that's a good testimony
and a good example for us to realize how the Apostle desires
to exhort Christ and to be nothing in and of himself and yet he
was blessed with this wonderful vision and situation as he says
he wasn't sure whether he was in the body or out of the body,
he didn't know but nonetheless he did know what he saw and how
wonderful that is and of course therefore he was enabled to declare
and to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and that's why
in the beginning of this 15th chapter the first epistle to
the Corinthians he commences and tells us Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which
also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are
saved. Well, what a wonderful statement
that was, because there is a glorious gospel which the Apostle was
able, by the grace of God, to preach. And he also notes that
those who he preached to received that word. And how important
that is for us tonight. As we've heard the Gospel preached,
have we received it? Not as a word of man, but as
the Word of God. And so the Apostle says, and
wherein ye stand. Well how important it is that
you and I stand in the truth of God's Word. We stand in the
truth of the glorious Gospel and to know therefore that through
that truth we are amongst those who are saved. And if we note
what he says as he goes on, if ye keep in memory what I preached
unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. How easy it is for you
and me to forget the great truths of the Gospel, the great things
that we here preached, and we forget them. Well, here says
the Apostle, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
you have believed in vain. And then he tells us, for I delivered
unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins. And it's a wonderful blessing
if God's servants are able to preach that which God has given
to them, so that they are able to preach from a personal experience
and preach from their heart the great and glorious truths of
the Gospel. And so Paul says, For I delivered
unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Again, it's
a soul-strengthening statement to realise He didn't preach that
way. And he wrote that way. That which
he also had received. What a blessing it was to have
a testimony like that. For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received. How that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. And how fundamental that statement
is. how necessary that statement
is, to know indeed that the Blessed Saviour did indeed die for our
sins, to take away our sins according to the Scriptures. Again he confirms
those truths which had been recorded by the prophets, and that now
had come to pass, how 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. Again that soul-strengthening,
to realise here was the Apostle, speaking in his glorious way
of the Saviour and telling them it was according to the Scriptures. It wasn't some new theory that
he drummed up. It was that which was recorded
in the Word of God. And he goes on and says, and
that he was seen of Cephas, that's Peter of course, then of the
Twelve. After that he was seen of above
five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
unto this day, this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James,
then of all the apostles. And then he says, and last of
all, he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. It was a glorious statement,
wasn't it? That the apostle was able to
make. He ran through that list of those
who had physically seen Christ, and then he comes to himself.
And that wonderful revelation that we read in that 2nd Corinthians,
the 12th chapter, how he was caught up into the third heaven,
and therefore he had a personal knowledge of the Savior himself. Well, what a wonderful thing
it is After that, he was seen of 500 brethren at once, of whom
the greater part remain unto this day, but some are fallen
asleep. And after that, he was seen of
James and of all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen
of me. Yes, it was less than the least. What a blessing to come to that
position. And then he says, but by the
grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace, which was bestowed
upon me, the free, unmerited favour of God, bestowed upon
unworthy mortals, unworthy sinners, was not in vain. Again, what
a blessing if that's so. Not in vain. But, he tells us,
but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me. Well it's a wonderful truth
that the Apostle was able to lay before the Corinthians and
that truth that we now are able to read and to bless God for
it and to realise as he says so very ably, yet not I, but
the grace of God which was with me. Well, may God bless these
few remarks and may they be precious to us as indeed they were to
the Apostle. He was so happy to be able to
declare them so clearly and plainly to the Corinthians. Amen.