This morning we are going to HEAR the Gospel that we have been given.
1 Corinthians 15
vs1 ‘…Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand…’
vs2 ‘…by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain…’
vs3 ‘…For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures…’
vs4 ‘…and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures…’ AKJV
Paul begins chapter 15 with the words that will SAVE all of us, all we have to do is BELIEVE.
We MUST believe the words written in the Gospel that was given to us by the apostle Paul.
We MUST believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, we MUST believe that His body was buried, and we MUST believe that on the third day, He rose to LIFE.
That is what is written in the Gospel.
There is another verse that we should pay attention to.
Romans 10:9 ‘…that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…’ AKJV
WHY would God have told us this if it wasn’t meant to mean anything for us?
READ God’s Word again …
Romans 4
vs24 ‘…but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead…’
vs25 ‘…who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification…’ AKJV
2 Timothy 2:8 ‘…Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my Gospel…’ AKJV
1 Thessalonians 4:14 ‘…For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him…’ AKJV
This is not written in any other book written in the Word … it wasn’t meant to be.
God intended this book for the believer.
God intended this apostle for the one that would teach us BELIEVERS.
God wanted us ALL to HEAR this Message that He has given us … ALL ANYONE OF US HAVE TO DO IS OPEN HIS WORD AND READ WHAT HE DESIRES FOR US TO KNOW.
Paul reminds us in that verse from 2 Timothy, how it is from his Gospel, that we are reminded of his Message to us.
There are several verses that we should LISTEN to in 2 Timothy. Here are just a couple of them.
2 Timothy 2:15 ‘…Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth…’ NKJV (New King James Version)
2 Timothy 3:16 ‘…All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…’ AKJV
In 2:15, there are two very important words that we should acknowledge and pay attention to.
We are too be wise in the Word of God, and we should know how and where to RIGHTLY DIVIDE the Word of Truth.
I used the NKJV version on purpose, because the AKJV version uses words, maybe unfamiliar to some people today.
Here is that verse in the AKJV.
2 Timothy 2:15 ‘…Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth…’ AKJV
There is a group of people in the United States that claim the King James Version should be the ONLY version used when studying the Bible in the English language.
And yet, when most of these people read this verse, they will say: Study to SHOW yourself approved to God.
Correct interpretation but that isn’t what is written.
These people will change the words, so it is easier for them to read the verses … that is the same thing that almost every other version of the Bible that is written in the English language does. Words are changed so it is easier to read and comprehend what has been written.
And then the verse written in 3:16, it isn’t necessarily what has been written, more than what HAS NOT been written.
The word FOLLOW is not used in that verse.
ALL Scripture has been Inspired by God, but NOT all Scripture is intended for us all, to FOLLOW.
We are to be WISE enough to know and understand what God is telling us … not what our pastor or our priest tell us … not what our Bible teacher teaches us … not what I (Leon) writes in his lessons.
We are to be WISE enough to HEAR God speak to us through His words and KNOW what we are to follow and what we are not to follow.
Finally, we are going to address what the reader can find in that verse written in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 … but first let me show another verse that was written in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15:51 ‘…Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…’ AKJV
Let me now show you that verse in 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 ‘…For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him…’ AKJV
The apostle Paul is the one that has shown us these ‘MYSTERIES’ of God, or these ‘SECRETS.’
Here we are shown a SECRET that God has known about since the beginning of time, but He hasn’t revealed it to anyone on this earth until in these epistles, written by the apostle Paul.
Here are verses 51 and 52.
1 Corinthians 15
vs51 ‘…Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed…’
vs52 ‘…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed…’ AKJV
We are told more about this event in 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 4
vs13 ‘…But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope…’
vs14 ‘…For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him…’
vs15 ‘…For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep…’
vs16 ‘…For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first…’
vs17 ‘…then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so, shall we ever be with the Lord…’
vs18 ‘…Wherefore comfort one another with these words…’ AKJV
This is what many call the RAPTURE, here in the English language it is referred to as being CAUGHT UP.
In the Latin Vulgate, it is written as:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 ‘…deinde nos qui vivimus qui relinquimur simul rapiemur cum illis in nubibus obviam Domino in aera et semper cum Domino erimus…’ VUL (Latin Vulgate)
In the Greek language the word used is harpazō.
The word is defined as a Koine Greek verb (ἁρπάζω) that translates to ‘to seize, snatch away, or take by force.’
There are many that do not believe in the RAPTURE because the word itself is not found, written in the Bible.
But, neither is the word ‘TRINITY’ and we all believe in the God head, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is to much emphasis put on not believing instead of where the emphasis should be place …
WE ARE TO BELIEVE.
In our small, tiny, human minds it is impossible for us to know and understand everything that God knows.
It is impossible for us to imagine that everything written in the Word of God can be true.
But we’ve NEVER been shown where we have to know and understand everything written in the Word … ALL WEW’VE BEEN TOLD IS THAT WE ARE TO BELIEVE.
I want to openly invite you to follow me in my pursuit to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
I love ALL of y’all.
Here is a reading plan I’d like to suggest for the one searching to find God in the 21st century:
Day 1 – Galatians 1-6, 1Thessalonians 1-5
Day 2 – 2Thessalonians 1-3, 1Corinthians 1-8
Day 3 – 1Corinthians 9-16
Day 4 – 2Corinthians 1-13
Day 5 – Romans 1-10
Day 6 – Romans 11-16, Philippians 1-4
Day 7 – Colossians 1-4, Ephesians 1-6
Day 8 – Philemon 1, 1 Timothy 1-6, Titus 1-3, 2Timothy 1-4
Day 9 – Acts 1-7
Day 10 – Acts 8-13
Day 11 – Acts 14-20
Day 12 – Acts 21-28
The entire Bible, ALL SCRIPTURE has been given to us by God (2TIM3:16), but NOT ALL Scripture has been meant for us ALL to follow … we are told we MUST know how to RIGHTLY DIVIDE the truth of God (2TIM2:15).
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