Saturday, May 17, 2008

1 Cor 15, 1-5 Christ died for our sins and was raised

1Corinthians 15
(1 Cor 15, 1-5) Christ died for our sins and was raised

[1] Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. [2] Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. [3] For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; [4] that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; [5] that he appeared to Kephas, then to the Twelve.
(CCC 186) From the beginning, the apostolic Church expressed and handed on her faith in brief formulae normative for all (Cf. Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 15:3-5, etc.). But already very early on, the Church also wanted to gather the essential elements of her faith into organic and articulated summaries, intended especially for candidates for Baptism: This synthesis of faith was not made to accord with human opinions, but rather what was of the greatest importance was gathered from all the Scriptures, to present the one teaching of the faith in its entirety. And just as the mustard seed contains a great number of branches in a tiny grain, so too this summary of faith encompassed in a few words the whole knowledge of the true religion contained in the Old and the New Testaments (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. illum. 5, 12: PG 33, 521-524). (CCC 639) The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about a.d. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve…" (1 Cor 15:3-4). The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus (Cf. Acts 9:3-18). (CCC 652) Christ's Resurrection is the fulfilment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life (Cf. Mt 28:6; Mk 16:7; Lk 24:6-7, 26-27, 44-48). The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures" (Cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4; cf. The Nicene Creed) indicates that Christ's Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.

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