1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you…v. 1

…which also you received…v. 1

…in which also you stand…v. 1

…by which also you were saved…v. 2

…if you hold fast the word…v.2

Luke 8:15
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared…

He died.

John 10:17-18
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.

Galatians 1:4
…who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…

Isaiah 53:11
As a result of the anguish of His soul, he will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, my Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.

He was buried.

He was raised.

Romans 6:4
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

He appeared.

…He appeared to Cephas…v. 5
…then to the twelve…v. 5
…He appeared to more than five hundred…v. 6
…He appeared to James, then to all the apostles…v. 7
…He appeared to me also…v. 8

2 Peter 1:16
For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that He said; if He didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like His teaching but whether or not He rose from the dead.”

- Tim Keller

1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Grace is the action and attitude from God toward a person that gives favor and undeserved acceptance - and is at the same time unconditional.

Acts 9:3-5
As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting…

"Grace is God's best idea. His decision to ravage a people by love, to rescue passionately, and to restore justly - what rivals it?"

- Max Lucado

“By the grace of God…His grace toward me…the grace of God with me.”