Paul's First Letter To The Church At Corinth. Day 39, Life Through Christ

The Apostle Paul continues on with his discussion regarding resurrection. There were evidently some Christians at Corinth who believed in the eternal life of the soul but did not believe in the resurrection of the body. Paul reminds them that Christ's resurrection is the proof that we who are in Him will rise from the dead and will have immortal bodies like His.

"But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:20) It is thought by scholars that Paul is writing this letter very close to Passover. He made mention of Passover in Chapter 5 as if it wasn't far away, and this means that the Festival of Firstfruits is also close at hand. This festival was held on the day after the Sabbath (the Sunday after the Saturday) following Passover. It was on Passover that the sacrifice was made, and it was at the Festival of Firstfruits that a grain offering was made to God. In the same way, Jesus died on Passover (Friday) and rose on the day of the Festival of Firstfruits (Sunday). And just as the grain offering represented the whole harvest, the resurrection of Christ represents the resurrection of us all. Paul is saying to his readers, "Christ is the first to rise from the dead in an immortal body, never to die again. Your loved ones who died in faith will also rise from the dead in an immortal body, never to die again. You yourselves, if you have passed on before Christ's return, will rise from the dead with an immortal body like His."

"For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:21-22) If Adam had not sinned, he would never have died, but by his sin he brought death to himself and to the whole human race. By his sin he brought spiritual death (separation between man and God) to himself and to the entire human race. But Christ lived a sinless life, and through faith in Him we are made right with God, and through faith in Him we have eternal life in His presence.

Paul is speaking to believers. We know that there is a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous, but only the resurrection of the righteous has any power. The resurrection of the righteous is what Paul is talking about in our passage today. Jesus said in John 5:29, "Those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned." Jesus wasn't teaching righteousness through good works. He was teaching righteousness through faith in Him. None of us can do enough good works to be made righteous, but our faith in Christ imputes His righteousness upon us so that when God, the holy Judge, looks at us, He sees the righteousness of His precious Son. And when God sees this, He declares us not guilty. He bangs the gavel and dismisses all the charges against us. He allows us to go free because Christ paid our penalty. Once a penalty is paid there is nothing more to be said or done. The case is dismissed from court.

We inherited our fallen nature from Adam. We inherit our righteous nature through Christ. He gave everything He had to pay a penalty He didn't owe so we could be declared "not guilty" in the highest courtroom there is. Let's honor the price He paid by living in a way that brings glory to Him.