Wednesday, May 9, 2007
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
JESUS' EASTER VICTORY CHANGES US SPIRITUALLY
In this world, the temptation is for people to be focused almost exclusively on that which is physical; that which can be measured and observed by humans. However, the problem with this is that it is not the physical that governs itself; it is ultimately spiritual matters that govern physical matters. To get down to the root of all things, we need to be aware of spiritual truths that are told to us in the Bible.
There are people who pour years of their lives into things such as cancer research -- a noble pursuit, in its own right. But the limitation of something like cancer research is that a scientist will never be able to see sin through his microscope. Even if God in His grace allows men to find a cure for cancer, our earthly bodies will continue to die.
Since sin has entered the world, so has death. Death is the end result of sin. As is apparent to every human being, we all die here in this world. However, this is only a physical death. Once again, the real question is: what is happening on a spiritual level?
Through Jesus, God has provided a spiritual answer to the spiritual problems of sin and death. Jesus has lived a perfect life and died a death in the place of sinners, so that whoever believes in Him has forgiveness of sins and will rise to eternal life just as Jesus did. The Easter victory means spiritual change and spiritual healing for believers. And again, it is the spiritual that governs the physical. Since our spiritual problem has been taken care of by Jesus, so has our physical problem. Death will not retain its hold on our physical bodies. With our sins out of the picture, our bodies will also rise again, free from the effects of sin.
