1 Corinthians chApter 15... therein lies the importance of the resurrection of Jesus...
The Resurrection of Christ
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet."[c] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die."[d] 33Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. 42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[e]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[f] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."[g]
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"[h] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
we should all do bible studies... I mean, really studying the bible as parts, and as a whole...and when you do, you'll start to see the framework, the intricacies, the links, the accuracy, the details, the parallels... ...everything falls into place so well,when u come to understand it, it stands out so much so, that it can't be just a work of a genius...
it's God's word.
really.
I was convinced that the gospel was true... but over the camp, I'm more convinced after all that bible studies and sermons and stuff on the gospel message... just makes it so amazing. and cleared up so many questions that I used to have... and now, it's just clear! and it's so important! really so important!
everyone ought to read the bible, and everyone ought to be surprised and amazed at how much more you undertstand of God, and how much more "Sound" the bible is than we actually think it is... cos very often we take God apart from Reality, but nOoooO... read the bible and find out how God's so much part of reality!
Many things I've learnt...
1 Cor 15:22, "Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life."
you know...questions like, why is it so unfair that just because of Adam, all of us have become sinful, and bound to death?
Just as it took one man's sin (Adam) to bring about condemnation and destruction to all of mankind... Take a look at this, and now think about it, about the magnitude of unfairness... about the magnitude of sin... (all it takes is one man) - so absurdly unfair!!!!!
but it took one man's sacrifice (Jesus) to bring about salvation for all... Take a look at this, and now think about it, about the magnitude of unfairness... about the magnitude of the sacrifice... (all it takes is one man too) - so absurbly unfair too!!!
both of similar magnitudes (therein, the fairness in unfairness), but in complete opposites... that's God's plan of salvation...
but You know, how can one uphold Justice and be Merciful at the same time? It's just not comprehendable... unthinkable... it's almost as if both attributes contradict. Think about it, a man who commits adultery... How can God be just/fair to his wife, and yet, merciful to the man?
some attributes of God are hard to reconcile... of course, everyone can still say that God is Merciful, God is Just/Fair... because He is God!
but You know why Satan has power over death in the world? A very logical reason... that's because Satan's the accuser. Accuse the man of commiting adultery, and that's why he should be condemned to death. That man has no way of escaping death... just because satan has accused the man of sinning, and rightly so. Therein, the power that satan holds over the world...
and you know something? All that's of satan's power over us is accusation!
Jesus was not sent to make an exchange with Satan... He never made a pact with Satan to redeem our lives! He didn't need to... Instead we know that Jesus fought a battle... Fighting a battle is very different from making an agreement.
In the past, I would use to think that Satan was really "foolish" to make that agreement with Jesus, thinking that Jesus would die... and so made us free from his power over us in exchange for Jesus life.
But i've come to understand that Satan doesn't have power over life or even death itself!
God's power over life and death was always in His hands. Satan's power lies only in his accusations...
but watch how his accusations become futile...!
1) Satan Accuses us, that we have to die because of Sin...
2) God is Just/Fair, and that, we have to die because of Sin...
3) But now, from one man's sin comes death, and through one mans' death comes life... and so that the only way that God could reconcile man to him, and still be just/fair when He chooses to forgive us, was that Jesus became that sacrifice to death...
In Romans 4v25:" This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time." - even for people who had Sin in the past!!!! through the past, for the present, till the future, God's was still fair!
4) Now everything can be reconciled... God's Just/Fair. God's Merciful. (The grace that was shown on the cross is the very place where Justice and Mercy meets)
It's amazing how David understood God this way, wayYYyyy back before Jesus came. and but We have the benefit of hindsight today (David didn't). The very fact that he said that, Pslam 51v4 "Against you, you only, have I sinned..." showed the very essence of sin... and the possibilty of forgiveness when He knew God as a God who would bring him Salvation. For now, the man who commits adultery... can be forgiven! there is a chance for salvation...!! How could it be?
a) You only sin against God (JUST BETWEEN GOD AND YOU)
What if we could sin against people.... this will be what happens...So if the man who commited adultery could sin against his wife... and that means that sin was counted by his wife... then there can be no salvation because the wages of sin is death.
Work backwards... So then if the wages of sin is death... but there can be salvation... and the sin cannot be counted by his wife... and there still is salvation even though sin leads to death....
and in knowing that there was salvation, David must have had an idea of Jesus, or at least the meaning behind the sacrifices for sins then...! Ps 51 v4 "and justified when you judge." + v9 "and blot out all my iniquity." = in which both can only come through sacrifice/Jesus's act on the cross...
and so we sin only against God...
b) So how is it still fair? If david had not sinned against his wife... and murdered her Husband, probably broke up a family? How can it be fair?!
Now look at who the sin is against... The punishment for Sin is greater when the one you sin against is greater... If we were to look in this light, the punishment for that Sin, for an infinitely great God, is an infinitely great punishment => death. Now, for that sin against God is death... is it fair?
5) So now when the wife accuses the husband of sinning... of commiting adultery... that's not wrong! the wife accuses rightly... and satan accuses, that the punishment must be death... that was also not wrong either! Someone had to die for it... but the punishment was met... just but now, who bore that punishment? Jesus did, that's grace.
so the punishment of Sin was paid in its price in Full at the Cross, the pivotal point for all humanity and all history, where Mercy and Justice met! that only through grace that we could be saved.
and see, Satan's accusations fall to the ground with no more power of condemnation... suddenly at the cross, Satan's accusations became futile... so it was never an exchange (not so much as an exchange, that God required that exchange to get back his power over death), it was more like a victory won! Where Satan had no choice to decide from the beginning...
but so now, the only way of reconciling man to God was through Jesus, in which,
God still uphold's jUstice, He can be merciful in the world of sIn, only at the expense of what we call GracE, shown through JesuS on that CroSs.
and u know the extent that God had to go through... to save us through Grace? the extent of love poured down for us?
I think, and think and think... ponder... ponder... ponder...
think for a second... maybe take more than a second...
look into it... c'mon. what greater love than this?
so God could choose 2 options...
1) just leave man as He is, eternally seperated from Him
2) Or if He chose to reconcile man to God... had no other choice but to go through such extents of laying down His life for us all. think about it, there was no other choice really (remember the magnitude of one man's sin *adam... now the magnitude of one man's sacrifice *Jesus... see how both reconcile to say that God is still just/fair even though he choose to forgive? if not, God wouldn't be fair... and merciful at the same time...), and it's probably the toughest choice anyone could make... unless there is Love.
what greater love can there be?
So now, know what does it mean when Jesus had to die for our sins?
and of course, so many other questions I had were answered :D
posted by Jordanio at 9:23 PM
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