1 Corinthians 15:3

Delivered. Paul never claims authorship for the gospel he is preaching. He makes clear that he is passing on a message that had been given to him by the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 11:2, 23; Gal. 1:12; Eph. 3:2, 3). This stresses the divine origin of the doctrine he is preaching, thus exalting his message and making its observance imperative.

First of all. Either, first in order of presentation or first in importance. The apostle lists four “first” facts that he had given to the believers: (1) Christ died for our sins, (2) Christ was buried, (3) Christ was resurrected, and (4) Christ appeared (vs. 3-5). Some have suggested that these form the basis for the earliest known Christian creed.

For our sins. The Greek word translated “for” (huper) carries the force of “on behalf of,” or “because of.” Jesus, the Lamb of God, died as an expiatory offering on account of our sins. He died to make an atonement for sin (see on Rom. 3:24-26; 4:25; 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 1 Peter 2:24). This is the first great fact taught by Paul to the Corinthians. Christ’s vicarious death atoned for our sins, but He did not remain under the power of death. Inasmuch as He did not sin, death could not hold Him, and He rose triumphant from the grave (see on John 10:17; Acts 2:22-24).

Scriptures. It is apparent that Paul had given his converts a thoroughly scriptural basis for their faith, and can now appeal to many of the prophecies concerning the Messiah that are found in the OT (cf. on Luke 24:26, 27, 44). Elsewhere his skillful applications of the passages dealing with the life, sufferings, and death of the promised Messiah had brought conviction to his hearers and silenced the opposition of his Jewish critics (see on Acts 9:19-22; 13:14-41; 17:3; 18:4-6; 24:14; 26:4-8, 22, 23; 28:23).