We have in Jesus death victory over sin and law. We are no longer held captive in our abusive relationship with sin. Through Christ’s death we are no longer victims of sin, but now have been rescued from it. If you remember last week when we read from Romans 7 we have been freed from our marriage to sin by uniting ourselves in the death of Christ. We die alongside him and because of that we are now free. But what good is freedom if we are dead? It isn’t any good at all. As Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 15, if Jesus and by extension us, remained dead then all of his suffering and endurance were a complete waste of time and as he says we are in fact to be pitied. But as Easter Sunday reminds us, this is not where the story ends. Jesus is put on the cross and dies, but the victory is still not complete. Read with me Luke 24:1-12;
Luke 24:1-12 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Jesus did not stay in the grave. While to all the world this would appear to be a fatal blow to Jesus and God, after all he was crucified as a criminal, this in fact was the beginning of the victory. After remaining in the grave three days Jesus came back to life. Something that none could conceive or accept on word alone, the resurrection of the dead had occurred. Jesus had not just conquered sin, releasing as from its grasp and making us clean, but he had victory over the effects of sin as well, death. Death no longer held power over him and therefore just as we unite ourselves in the death of Christ we will unite ourselves in his resurrection as well. This is what it means to be born again. The old is gone through uniting in Christ’s death. We are no longer enslaved to sin. We get a clean slate, a new start. All of our past failures wiped away. We are made into a new creation as well through our united in the resurrection of Christ. It is as if we are born again. We are a different person all together. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15:42-58
1 Corinthians 15:42-58 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. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
When sin entered the world it corrupted everything. All of creation, including our bodies. As we all know, people die. There is nothing that lives in this world that does not die. So for us to be given a clean slate is not much of a victory at all, if we are simply going to pass away. As Jesus continually taught, we cannot focus on what is passing away, but rather on what is eternal. In order for to focus on the eternal we must be able to experience the eternal. As Jesus died and rose our Spirits were given life, but our bodies are still stuck in a broken creation. Therefore the old body, just as the old spirit, must pass away in order for us to receive the eternal body. Our hope cannot be founded in anything of this world because this world is passing and if the world is passing then that means our hope is passing. But rather our hope is found in Jesus Christ and his resurrection. There is victory to be had, and celebrating to be done. Continue reading with me
51 ¶ Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 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.
Often times it is hard for us to grasp the idea of Jesus accomplishing victory over death because we all know we are still going to die. But Paul contends that no we will not die, but rather we will be changed. The body will die yes, but we are not the body. The Spirit will not die, it will not pass away, but rather it will change and inhabit a new body that has not touched death. This new body will be perfect with no pain or suffering. We will be changed into an eternal immortality that cannot be taken from us. This is our hope realized, and faith made true. Then death will be swallowed in victory and we can taunt it just like in Isaiah where Paul quotes from, shouting, “death where is your sting?”
Therefore as Paul says, we shouldn’t simply wait for the victory and hope for it, but we should live as if we have it, because in reality we do. This means, as he says, being steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. We cannot let this world bring us down. We can’t be overwhelmed by fear and doubt. Yes pain is terrible, yes confrontation disheartening. Our loses can many times seem unbearable. But we must remain unmovable remembering what lies ahead.
One of the things I have learned to despise the most is long car drives. I cannot stand driving for 7, 8, 9 hours. It is boring, monotonous, and uncomfortable. By the time I am halfway through I have already listened to my music twice through and I am tired with it. I have lost feeling in one leg and the other is fading. That sun is glaring in my eyes and my back is sweating. Traffic is terrible and that guy just cut me off and now is blaring his horn at me. On top of it all I have to drive through the border crossing and I have yet to have a pleasant experience with that. Yet despite all of my loathing for it I am going to drive 7 or 8 hours Thursday all the way to MI and I am in fact excited to be doing it. Is it the drive I am looking forward to? You already know the answer to that. It definitely is not the border crossing. I am excited because I know what lies at the end of my drive. My wife Sarah will be waiting for me in MI. I have a hope that will be fulfilled upon my arrival. When the journey is done, I will have a joy that makes it all worth it. But the resulting fulfillment of my hope does not simply wait to affect me when I get there, but it is affecting me know. I will drive with joy and anticipation. I am excited about driving 7 or 8 hours. I am excited about customs, traffic and my legs falling asleep, because my hope transforms the way I act and live before it is even realized. I love the drive because every agonizing moment is one step closer to the goal. I am going to drive with a smile and song. I will be singing victory louder and louder as it comes closer to my grasp.
This is the same concept that Paul is trying to communicate to us. There are so many great reasons to celebrate what is coming. It is going to be great, it is hope fulfilled. But when we place all of our being into this hope, believing without question that it will be accomplished, then it will affect how we endure the drive to get there. The drive is not pleasant, it I not fun. In fact its pretty uncomfortable, annoying, and even painful. But when we engage this journey with spirit of victory and celebration, when we shout, O death where is your sting. It suddenly becomes bearable and it changes us. It makes us steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Let us all remember and experience that today, all this week, and every day as we go forward. I want to leave you with one last passage from 1 Peter 1:3-9. This is not an exhortation, not a urging to do better, or a call to repentance, but rather it is a call to celebration. It is an outpouring of the mutual joy we all share and experience because of Christ. It reads,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
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