Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain (1 Cor 15:1-2, emphasis added).
I’ve written blogs on 1 Cor 15:1-2 before. See this August 2019 blog that includes quotes from several leading commentators who, in my opinion, misunderstood what Paul was saying. They thought he was teaching that one must persevere in faith and good works in order to get into Christ’s kingdom.
I want to keep the focus of this blog very narrow. Why did Paul say, “You are saved if you hold fast that word which I preached to you”?
In Eph 2:8-9 Paul used a past tense, “For by grace you have been saved through faith…” (emphasis added). But in 1 Cor 15:2, he used the present tense form of the verb and conditioned the salvation under discussion upon holding fast to Paul’s gospel.
The explanation is simple.
Some of the believers in Corinth thought that the resurrection had already happened. Paul said, “Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Cor 15:12). That was a denial of Paul’s gospel. The gospel, or good news, of 1 Corinthians 15 is that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. The entire chapter focuses on the fact that He rose from the dead and that we who believe in Him will also rise from the dead. The very last verse in the chapter concerns eternal rewards for those who steadfastly hold to Paul’s gospel (1 Cor 15:58).
The word saved in 1 Cor 15:2 does not refer to being born again. That is secure the moment we believe in Christ. We do not need to hold fast to the good news of the resurrection in order to retain everlasting life. Saved in 1 Cor 15:2 refers to being spiritually healthy. Compare 1 Cor 3:15 and 1 Cor 5:5.
To remain spiritually healthy, we must hold fast to Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, and to the promise of our coming resurrection.
As mentioned above, most commentators think that Paul was teaching that perseverance is needed in order to get into Christ’s kingdom. However, Dwight Hunt, who recently went to be with the Lord, explains this well. He wrote:
This statement stresses the fact that the gospel includes more than justification, which brings forth eternal life; it also includes a daily sanctification (are saved) if believers hold fast (or abide in) the word (cf. John 8:31–32; Rom 1:15; 10:9; 1 Cor 15:2; Gal 2:20; Eph 2:10; Jas 1:21). This daily sanctification process relates to the quality of life the Christian will spend in eternity (3:9–15; Luke 19:11–27; Rom 8:16–17; 2 Pet 1:10–11) (“1 Corinthians” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, p. 758).
Dave Lowery understands it the same way:
15:1–2. The gospel Paul had preached in Corinth (2:1–2) had not changed; but he feared that just as there had been declension in the church concerning the message of Christ crucified and its implication for believers, the same was happening with regard to the message of Christ resurrected. As the former message was an essential element in the Corinthians’ experience of ongoing salvation (the pres. tense of the verb saved focuses on sanctification), so was the latter. To reject bodily resurrection eviscerated “the gospel” and made faith vain (eikē, “without cause” or “without success”; cf. vv. 14, 17) because it had an unworthy object (cf. 15:13, 17). Believing the gospel includes holding firmly to belief in Christ’s resurrection. Unless one holds firmly, his belief is “in vain”; cf. Matt. 13:18–22) (“1 Corinthians” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, p. 542).
Yes. To remain spiritually healthy, we must hold fast to the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. That is what Paul meant in 1 Cor 15:2.
