The Gospel Grid in 1 Corinthians 15, which I explain in this message, isn’t a one-off sidebar or single-referenced mention in Scripture. Not at all! It’s everywhere by instruction and example.  And just this past week God’s Word was so encouraging to me as I read through 1 John and found it yet again.

Remember the key words contact, content, and change? These also form a thread in the book of 1 John, which is essentially about how to know you have believed in the Son of God (5:13).

Let me show you.

John affirms they were in contact with the personified gospel, Jesus Christ, the One who was from the beginning. They heard him, saw him, touched him, and testified about him. (1:1-3)

John confirms that specific content about Jesus Christ is essential to belonging to God, namely, that he was sent from the Father, came in the flesh, and was the satisfying substitute for our sins. (2:22-23, 4:2-3, 15, 5:1, 13)

John contends that those who have truly come in contact with this content will experience change, namely obedience to the commands of God and love for the people of God. He even boldly says those who don’t practice these things don’t know God even if they say they do. Wow! (2:5, 15, 3:9-10)

God’s Word is so consistently, impeccably compelling; and no wonder—God is consistently, impeccably compellingly! Join me today in thanking him for such a beautifully clarifying (and at the same time attractively mysterious) grid that runs throughout Scripture to help us assure our hearts before him (1 John 3:19-20).