"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Yeshua died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." — 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 (KJV)

Four verses. That is all Paul needed.

No elaborate theological system. No multi-step initiation. No prerequisite knowledge of church history or denominational doctrine. Just four verses — and in them, the complete, sufficient, saving gospel of Yeshua the Anointed One.

At End Time Gospel Fellowship, we come back to this passage again and again — not because we lack depth, but because we refuse to lose the foundation. You can read more about who we are and what we believe. The gospel is not complicated. It has been made complicated. And there is a difference.

What Is the Gospel? Paul's Definition

The word gospel comes from the Greek euangelion — literally, "good news." But good news about what? That is the question every generation must answer clearly, because the answer determines everything.

Paul does not leave room for ambiguity. In 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, he defines the gospel with surgical precision:

1. Yeshua died for our sins according to the scriptures
2. He was buried
3. He rose again the third day according to the scriptures

Death. Burial. Resurrection. This is the gospel. Not a philosophy. Not a moral code. Not a self-improvement program. It is the announcement of a historical event — the most consequential event in the history of the universe — and its meaning for every human being who has ever lived.

Notice that Paul says he "delivered" this gospel — the same word used for handing down a tradition with care and precision. He received it, and he passed it on unchanged. The gospel is not something each generation reinvents. It is something each generation receives and proclaims.

"According to the Scriptures" — Why This Phrase Matters

Paul repeats the phrase "according to the scriptures" twice in these four verses — once for the death of Yeshua and once for His resurrection. This is not accidental repetition. It is a theological anchor.

The death and resurrection of Yeshua were not random events. They were the fulfillment of a plan that Almighty Yahweh had been unfolding through the Hebrew Scriptures for centuries. Isaiah 53 described a suffering servant who would be "wounded for our transgressions" and "bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). Psalm 16:10 declared that Almighty Yahweh would not allow His Holy One to see corruption. Jonah's three days in the belly of the great fish was itself a sign pointing forward to the three days Yeshua would spend in the tomb (Matthew 12:40).

The gospel is not a new idea. It is the ancient promise of Almighty Yahweh, kept in full. When Paul says "according to the scriptures," he is saying: this was always the plan. Yeshua did not improvise. Almighty Yahweh did not change course. The cross was not a tragedy that Almighty Yahweh turned into a victory — it was the victory, planned before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

Why Simple Is Not Shallow

There is a temptation in religious culture — and it is an old one — to equate complexity with depth. The more elaborate the theology, the more sophisticated the system, the more credible the teacher. Paul had no patience for this.

In 2 Corinthians 11:3, he warned the church at Corinth: "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Yeshua."

The simplicity that is in Yeshua. Paul uses the word haplotes — singleness, sincerity, undivided focus. The gospel is not simple because it is shallow. It is simple because it is singular. There is one Savior. One sacrifice. One resurrection. One way to Almighty Yahweh (John 14:6).

Complexity in the gospel is almost always a sign that something has been added that does not belong. Human tradition, religious performance, cultural gatekeeping — these are the things that make the gospel complicated. Strip them away, and you are left with 1 Corinthians 15:3–4: He died. He was buried. He rose.

That is not shallow. That is the deepest truth in the universe, stated plainly enough for a child to receive it.

"Wherein Ye Stand" — The Gospel Is Not Just the Starting Line

One of the most important phrases in 1 Corinthians 15:1 is often overlooked: Paul says the gospel is that "wherein ye stand." Not wherein ye stood — past tense, something you passed through on your way to more advanced teaching. Present tense. Ongoing. The gospel is not the entry point that you graduate beyond. It is the ground you stand on every single day of your Christian life.

The death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua is not just the beginning of your faith. It is the foundation of your identity, the source of your power, the reason for your hope, and the content of your witness. You never outgrow the gospel. You grow deeper into it.

This is why at End Time Gospel Fellowship, we do not move past the gospel to "deeper" things. We move deeper into the gospel itself — into the inexhaustible riches of what it means that Yeshua died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. There is no bottom to that well.

"By Which Also Ye Are Saved" — Present Tense Salvation

Paul's grammar is precise: ye are saved — present tense, ongoing action. Salvation in the biblical sense is not merely a past event ("I got saved") or a future hope ("I will be saved"). It is a present reality — a living, active relationship with Almighty Yahweh through Yeshua, sustained by the same gospel that initiated it.

This matters practically. When you face temptation, you do not reach for a new technique — you return to the gospel. When you fail, you do not earn your way back — you return to the gospel. When you are discouraged, you do not manufacture fresh motivation — you return to the gospel. The power that saved you is the power that keeps you, and it is the same power that will ultimately glorify you (Romans 8:30).

Keeping It Simple in an Age of Noise

We live in an era of information overload. Theological debates rage on social media. New doctrines emerge every season. Competing voices claim to have the deeper revelation, the hidden key, the unlocked mystery that the mainstream church has missed.

In the middle of all that noise, 1 Corinthians 15:1–4 stands like a rock.

Brother Bonner often says it this way: the gospel does not need your improvement. It needs your proclamation. You do not make the gospel more effective by making it more complex. You make it more effective by making it more clear.

Keep it simple:

• Yeshua died for your sins — the penalty has been paid
• He was buried — the death was real, not symbolic
• He rose again the third day — death has been defeated, and so has everything that death represents: sin, shame, condemnation, and the grave

That is the gospel. Receive it. Stand in it. Proclaim it.

The Gospel That Reaches the Nations

One of the reasons End Time Gospel Fellowship broadcasts across nations is precisely because the gospel is simple enough to cross every cultural and linguistic boundary. You do not need a PhD in theology to understand that Yeshua died for your sins and rose from the dead. You need a heart that is open and ears that are willing to hear.

The simplicity of the gospel is not a limitation — it is its greatest strength. It is accessible to the scholar and the child, the elder and the new believer, the person who has been in church their whole life and the person hearing the name of Yeshua for the very first time.

Romans 1:16 declares that the gospel is the power of Almighty Yahweh unto salvation to every one that believeth. Not every one that understands systematic theology. Not every one that has mastered the original languages. Every one that believeth. The simplicity is the point.

This is the gospel we preach at End Time Gospel Fellowship — unchanged, unashamed, and uncompromised. Join us live, explore our sermon library, and go deeper into the simple, sufficient, saving message of 1 Corinthians 15:1–4.

Related reading: Romans 1:16 — I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel • The Great Commission and the End-Time Gospel