5/24 - 1 Corinthians 15, Part 2

Good morning. So after reading the chapter again, it's evident that the resurrection is kind of a big deal. It's a key component (if not the key component) of the story of our salvation, and it can't be fully appreciated without going back to the beginning, as Paul does in this chapter. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (v. 22). The fall of man occurs in Genesis 3 where, through Adam, sin first enters the world. God has made it clear that the only way He can deal with sin is with a death sentence.

"but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you surely shall die" - Gen 2:17

"For the wages of sin is death..." - Romans 6:23

Now I hope I haven't lost your interest yet because now I'm talking about the vengeful God who's always looking for something to get us with. That's not the point, nor is it what I believe. God is so holy, He can't tolerate the mere presence of sin which is why He can't just allow us to sweep sin under the rug and let us get away with 'just a little guilty pleasure' every once in a while. In Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, John Piper describes God's holiness:

"God is holy in His absolute uniqueness. Everything else belongs to a class. We are human; Rover is a dog; the oak is a tree; Earth is a planet; the Milky Way is one of a billion galaxies; Gabriel is an angel; Satan is a demon. But only God is God. And therefore He is holy, utterly different, distinct, unique...He alone is self-sufficient. And therefore the holiness of God is synonymous with His infinite value."

When you think about it, only a God this holy is truly worthy of worship. Imagine bringing your sins, big or small, before a God like this. Ok, God didn't really need my defense there, but we'll keep going.

So when sin enters the world, death had this amazing power over humanity in that every man would now have to face it...and lose. Through Adam, because we're born in sin, we all die. So now we have Christ, who was conceived without sin, would live a sinless life and was therefore eligible to be a perfect sacrifice whereby we can receive the life mentioned at the end of verse 22. The resurrection was proof that, first off Jesus wasn't a liar, and secondly that death was once and for all defeated. He actually came back from death. Without the resurrection, death still has it's grip on us, salvation is impossible, and the hope we have is futile. So, my takeaways from chapter 15:

1. I didn't discuss it much, but this chapter also talks about the heavenly bodies that believers will inherit upon is return. I'm so looking forward to that day, sounds like it'll be pretty tight.

2. Until that day, it might behoove me to tell a person or two about this Jesus who has eternal life waiting for those who will come to redeem it.

3. I thank God fairly often for His sacrifice on the cross, but not nearly enough for His resurrection. Thank you Lord, just for getting up that day.