When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” I Corinthians 15:54 (I Corinthians 15-16, Acts 19:23-20:2)
Life is found only in the resurrection of Jesus The Christ. It is the singular event separating Christianity from all other religious thought and has been affirmed, validated and established by first hand witnesses. Because some early church leaders attempted to discredit this reality Paul gives the Bible’s most detailed teaching of resurrection theology. Don’t argue, debate or doubt this. Through faith you are saved and enter into the life eternal.
These thoughts are Paul’s closing comments in his first letter to the Corinthian believers. He is in Ephesus with other disciples awaiting news and declaring the promise of a living, breathing Savior, when the local silversmith guild becomes alarmed at the power of this new religious thought. It is being said that gods made by man’s hand have no power. The Ephesian economy was strongly bolstered by the presence of Diana’s temple. Taking over 200 years to build, it was a magnificent structure and is listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Worship of this goddess was a perpetual festival of vise, securing these craftsmen a hefty annual income. They became enraged and their ire caught on in the crowded streets creating a lengthy riot where some of Paul’s fellow laborers were beaten. A local official calmed things down, but for the good of public safety, Paul made his way to Macedonia.
Man has an instinctive need for tangible/touchable proof. We need the unexplained defined and broken into elemental increments we can comprehend and process. It is this urge that drove the early philosophers to discredit Christ’s living, breathing resurrection, but it is our only Hope and it is fact. Death has been swallowed and life remains, so live!
Love,
Gretchen