The apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 15:54-58,
“54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then
shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
The victory that Christ gives to all believers is the victory over sin and death! Jesus Christ came to fix everything that is broken in our world due to sin. The apostles were eyewitnesses of His resurrection, and they urged us to hold fast to the truth of this message (1 Cor. 15:1-6). The resurrection of our Lord is so central to the Gospel message that without it, without the resurrection, you do not have a Gospel at all (1 Cor. 15:12-14).
In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul contrasts the natural body we have during this life with the resurrection body in God’s eternal kingdom. The apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:42,43,
“42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is
imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is
raised in power.”
Christ rose on Easter Sunday triumphant over sin and death. His victory is applied to all those who are united to Him because they trust in His atoning death and glorious resurrection for that cleansing and for the rebuilding of their broken relationship with God. We can all relate to the fleetingness of this life and the mortality of our perishable, weak bodies. The effects of Adam’s sin and our sins is evident in our physical bodies as the years pass. The flesh grows weaker despite our efforts to hold its decline at bay. While we sometimes try not to think about the brevity of life, it is wise to reckon with this reality. During the last few weeks, many people have been anxious because of the Corona Virus. Some of our apprehension has to do with the natural human response to recoil or not to want to dwell on death’s reality at all. This unwillingness to think about death is not healthy. God has revealed in His Word how the story of human history ends. Therefore, we can live with confidence in the promise of Christ’s resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus is spoken of throughout the New Testament in connection with the final hope that those who belong to Jesus will one day be raised as He has been.
Since the Good News is the good news of Christ’s resurrection and our hope in Christ, may the resurrection of the Lord Jesus inspire us toward the hopeful knowledge that our labor in the Lord is not in vain!