1 Corinthians 15:3 (27.10.20)

1 Corinthians 15.3
[3] For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

The essence of the gospel is, first of all, that Christ died for our sins. He died for us, so that we may live (1 Thess 5.10). He died for ungodly sinners (Romans 5.6-8). We are reconciled to God by the cross (Eph 2.16), which is the power of God (1 Cor 1.18). Moreover his death was “according to the scriptures”; this was not obvious to those who read the Old Testament beforehand, not even to the disciples until after the event, but in retrospect we can see how this was always God’s gracious plan, as seen for example in Isaiah 53, or in the entire system of sacrificial offerings. What was obscure and symbolic in Leviticus is now plain as we see how the death of Jesus met God’s anger against sin, and allows us to come to an utterly holy God.

Thank you Father that you have always had a salvation plan for your people and creation.