Thanks Be To God:
Victory Through Jesus!
1 Corinthians 15:49-58 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 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.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Five times in his epistles Paul uses the phrase, “Thanks be to God.” Every one of them speaks to what Jesus has done for us. During this season of thanksgiving I will be sharing the blessings we have in Jesus.
Last week we discussed the victory over sin, next week we will examine our victory over life, but today we will celebrate our victory over death.
Apparently, some in Corinth were denying the resurrection from the dead. The reason, I suppose, is a matter of speculation, but Paul affirms the resurrection as central to our faith and hope.
1 Corinthians 15:16-20 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
What does the resurrection mean for the Christian? What kind of bodies will we have? Paul answers these questions and more.
Please join us this Sunday! — Joey
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