Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. – 1 Corinthians 15:1-2

As a hardcore OSAS, this is one of the first passages that I figgered Paul got wrong.

Since I am eternally secure, and my initial faith equaled a one time contractual negotiation with God, how could the apostle Paul say such a difficult saying that seems to bring question to the remainder of the Word. A number of items arise in this passage that just scrambled my brain as an OSAS adherent.

Brothers

Paul called them brothers. Why would he call them brothers if they had not given evidence of their faith in the Living God? His time with them gave him ample evidence of the Spirit of the Living God residing in them. Remember that Paul was with this church for 18 months, not three weekends like the Thessalonians, or the very short time he had with the Philippians. He witnessed first hand what the gospel produced in these people.

Received

Paul declared that they received the gospel. To receive is to take, acquire or accept. Paul understood that at the preaching of the gospel, these brothers took the gospel, accepted it as truth and received the message into their lives. I may be overreaching to say that they did not merely accept it intellectually due to the time the apostle spent with this congregation. To receive the gospel is to become the brother he referenced them as earlier.

Note that this verb is aorist tense, that is that they received the gospel at a point in time in the past.

Stand

Paul wrote that they stood in the gospel. When I read of standing in the gospel, I am reminded of Paul’s use of the term in Ephesians 6:14, speaking to believers concerning their responsibility in their Christian life, to be firm in their convictions, to be active in their faith, to be established in the faith.

Note that this verb is perfect tense, that is the Corinthians live in the gospel, they are active believers in the Messiah.

Being Saved

Paul said they were being saved by the gospel. Now this was where I started to go off the rails in my thinking with Paul. It is amazing that he could slip from the truth of OSAS so quickly, but I would be forgiving towards him, in that I would simply “ignore” his mistakes, like he is slipping into here!

Yet the passage speaks of being saved. Describing believers (who are saved) as being saved! Why are you muddying the waters of my OSAS mind, Paul? What are you saying? It seems the salvation we received, and as believers, are standing in, is an active living salvation, that the salvation we have is working in our lives, bringing us to a maturity that is not only expected, but that God will perform in our faith.

If

Then comes that dreaded word. IF.

Some may think Paul intended to say since, instead of if here. In my research, I have found no support for this term to be translated as since. The word “if” speaks of a conditional state, dependent on someone to perform an action. “If’” is a primary particle of conditionality. Something Paul’s writes next will be what the brothers will require to perform in order to maintain their current status as brothers.

Hold fast to the word Paul preached. Do not let it slip away, as the author of Hebrews describes the falling brother in chapter 2.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Of course, if the brothers do let the gospel slip from them, if they do not hold fast to the message Paul preached, – well what does that mean? Paul’s conclusion is that they believed in vain. Did they not really believe at the initial preaching of the gospel? Is that what believing in vain refers to?

Of might it mean that they believed “in a random” sort of manner, to no purpose, to be void of result, empty. To be void of result, to not complete the initial faith they exhibited in the Messiah. Might this be where Paul is taking us. The believers in Corinth had placed their faith in the Messiah, yet it appears this “faith” may not produce the end result intended.

The argument comes down to this.

Never Brothers

Is Paul graciously calling these folks brothers, (though if OSAS is correct, Paul fears some are not) and these “never brothers” are falling away from Christ because they had no (a vain) faith? In other words, is Paul just being kind calling them brothers, but in reality have never believed in the Savior?

Currently Brothers

Is Paul accurately calling his audience brothers, and is expressing his fear of their slipping away, a danger of leaving the faith, of an apostacy within the church? Is Paul expressing a fear of their not holding fast to the word that was preached unto them?

How do you see this passage?

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below

Follow Considering the Bible on WordPress.com