Resurrection Freedom

November 12, 2016

Devotions:

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." ‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:16-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

        Here Paul is making a argument for the resurrection by citing the fact the Christ was raised.  At the beginning of this chapter Paul states the simple Gospel.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:1-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

        So in the Gospel, Christ was raised from the dead.  In his arguments Paul says that because Christ was raised as witnessed by over five hundred people even so those who are dead in Christ will be raised.  His argument that if Christ has not been raised from the dead then our faith is in vain and we are still in our sins.  By this He is stating that because Christ was raised from the dead we are no longer in our sins.  Jesus has paid the full price, totally satisfactory before the Father for all our sins.  We are the forgiven in Christ. 

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” ‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:34‬ ‭KJV‬‬

        Our power over sin then resides in knowing who we are, righteous with the righteousness of God, not by our own doing but we are a work of God.  The better we get to know God the more we walk in that righteousness.