Sharing the Word: He is Risen!

Published 2:18 pm Thursday, March 24, 2016

What a simple three word statement whose meaning resounds throughout the universe.  With the resurrection of Jesus Christ comes the assurance that the Heavenly Father is satisfied with the finished work of Christ on the Cross.  That redemptive work on behalf of mankind has implications for all creation. The victory of resurrection assures us that sin and death are defeated enemies. That victory of resurrection assures all of creation that the time will come when it will be released from the curse that fell upon it in the Garden. God’s plan for the ages continues unimpeded even though the Adversary continues his attacks on the Person and Work of Christ.  As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we share in His victory on the Cross. Because He lives, we, by faith in Him, possess eternal life now and we will live forever in His presence. Of course skeptics have throughout every generation tried to discredit the resurrection. Though the resurrection of Christ is one of the most documented events in history, there are still those who say that it was all a myth, or that the body of our Lord was stolen and the resurrection story fabricated. The Scriptures address the resurrection of our Lord and the Apostle Paul writes extensively concerning its importance.  In his letter to the Corinthian Christians, he speaks specifically in the fifteenth chapter on the subject of resurrection.  He logically presents his case for the resurrection and Paul’s conclusion brings great comfort and joy to all who have placed their faith in Christ – He is risen!
1 Cor 15:12- 22
12 “Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life?
13 If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe.
15 More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that he raised Christ from death — but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then he did not raise Christ.
16 For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins.
18 It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost.
19 If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.
20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.
21 For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man.
22 For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ” (TEV).
Question:  Are you in Christ or in Adam?