John 3:16 - 21 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
1 Corinthians 15
The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The Risen Christ, Our Hope
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
The Last Enemy Destroyed
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.”[a] But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
Effects of Denying the Resurrection
29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? 30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? 31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[b]
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
A Glorious Body
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh[c] of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.”[d] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord[e] from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear[f] the image of the heavenly Man.
Our Final Victory
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”[g]
55 “ O Death, where is your sting?[h]
O Hades, where is your victory?”[i]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength 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 brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The Risen Christ, Our Hope
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
The Last Enemy Destroyed
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.”[a] But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
Effects of Denying the Resurrection
29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? 30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? 31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[b]
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
A Glorious Body
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh[c] of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.”[d] The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord[e] from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear[f] the image of the heavenly Man.
Our Final Victory
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”[g]
55 “ O Death, where is your sting?[h]
O Hades, where is your victory?”[i]
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength 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 brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
blog posts
9 comments:
amen!
preach it brother.
:)
and Happy resurrection day to all those who belong to Christ! the final victory will be his alone.
------
f s
The book of life has already been writen, i just thank God that my name is in there.
God bless you
Forrest
I love your post on Easter Sunday -- Nouwen is one of my favorites.
I am still amazed that there are a number of people who would argue that Jesus did not have to have a bodily resurrection or some even argue that Jesus’ death alone was enough, but we agree with Paul when he tells us that anything short of a bodily resurrection ignores the victory of God.
God does not want to just rescue people from this material world — God wants to restore all things. God CHOSE to send His son to die on the cross for OUR sins.
Jesus’ resurrection reminds us of three things
God has defeated death.
God has defeated evil.
God has begun His redemptive work.
Christos Aneste! Alethos Aneste!
Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!
Halelujah!
Just like to say
It really is a delight to see Brothers and sisters standing and proclaiming their faith.
We have an awesome opportunity through the internet to get the message of the good news of the Gospel out to so many and reach those that would probably never hear about Christ and the wonderful victory He won for us at Calvary, even in our own (Christian) westernised countries.
In our increasingly secularised and Godless nation in an age were Dawkins has captured many of the hearts and minds of our nation. It is a breath of fresh air to see such a bold proclamation on the WWW.
Blessings in Christ
ConcernedBrit
2 Corinthians 10:4 (New Living Translation)
New Living Translation (NLT)
4 [a]We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
btw the Original King James is my personal preference but this translation of this verse is a good one.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
A blessed Resurrection Day to all believers here!
My Redeemer has given me the gift of eternal life. I claim that gift!
Christ said
"if the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you. This would not be so if you belonged to the world, because the world loves its own."
"remember what I told you: the servant is not greater than his master; if they persecuted me, they will persecute you, too. Have they kept my teaching? Will they then keep yours?"
"All this they will do to you for the sake of my name because they do not know the One who sent me."
One day Jesus asked his disciples "Who do the people say I am?" They answered, "Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say that you are Elijah, and still others that you are one of the former prophets risen from the dead."
Jesus asked, "Who then do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Christ, Son of the Living God"
Jesus replied, "You are a happy man, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you but my Father in heaven."
THE SPIRIT WILL COME
Christ speaking to his disciples:
"From the Father, I will send you the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When this Helper comes, he will testify about me. And you, too, will be my witnesses.
"The hour is coming when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God; they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. I tell you all these things now so that when the time comes you may remember that I told you."
"I am going away and then I will send him(the Holy Spirit) to you. When he comes, he will uncover the lie of the world and show clearly what its sin has been, what the way of righteousness is, and how the Judgement has come."
"What has its sin been? They did not believe in me. What is the way of righteousness? The One you see no more has gone directly to the Father. How has the Judgement come? The Ruler of this world has himself been condemned. When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into the whole truth.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In making us children of his Father, Jesus enables us to discover the intimate mystery of God. In God there is communion among the three persons: the Father, the Son and their common Spirit. We speak of their common Spirit because Jesus said both: The Father will give them another Helper(John 24:16) and: The Helper which I will send you(John 15:26).
"The Spirit" is not a poetic figure: it is Someone. Starting from the day of pentecost, the Spirit began to act in the Church, thus showing that he was the Spirit of Christ. The unbelieving Jews thought that God was with them, but in reality his Spirit did not act among them. So it was clear that they had sinned for not believing in Christ.
What is the way of righteousness: The righteous One is Christ and the righteous persons are those who believe in him without seeing him.
The Spirit gives to believers the knowledge of God, new capacities for working, healing, serving and shaking up a sinful world. Throughout history the Spirit will raise up people of faith, martyrs, prophets, and through them will transform the world. In this way the Saviour, seemingly defeated, will be justified; and it will be evident that the loser is Satan, who already has been condemned. The evil spirit, great director of the worldly show, is displaced and his influence limited. A new force, which is the Spirit, orients history and guides us towards the total truth.
(Christian Community Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition)
Happy Easter to all.
May Christ be with you and may His Holy Spirit reside within you and keep you all the days of your lives. Amen
celtcrusader.
Glorious Resurrection Day
Jesus said -
"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." John 3:13
....and yet people still ignore the word of Jesus Christ and believe that when they die they go to heaven....
God Help and Bless Us All
I find it curious that those that cannot believe the possibility of the resurrection of Jesus as the Christ, Son of God, come from such worlds apart.
There are the Muslims that do not think that Jesus was even put on the cross, let alone died there.
Perhaps if they were to think that it were possible that Jesus rose again from the dead, that it would challenge their belief in the one they place above all others, though he was but a mortal human himself.
Strangely allied with them in disbelief in the super-natural Spirit body of Jesus, it seems we find many of the clergy of the Church of England, yes even Bishops, who are prepared to think only that Jesus was a person who may indeed have died in crucifixion, but that the notion of the resurrection of a spiritual Christ was just an allegory, or even a fiction.
Alongside these two strange bedfellows are the aforementioned "Dawkinists" those scientific absolutists who are so determined to go to their graves believing that they are but dust and dust alone, somehow ignoring the wonder of life itself as more than just atoms or quarks.
Quirky indeed to any who have squeaked open the door of that other room just a little, perhaps at the death of a loved one, or perhaps at the moment their life turned around from a fateful illness to health once more.
Even Tim Leary and Aldous Huxley, both scientists and deep philosophical thinkers, were left with profound spiritual insight after ingesting just a few microgrammes of the product of a common fungus! Ergot!
Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum.
Doubt is of course at the beginning of human self awareness, and at the end of mortal human existence.
"Father, hast thou forsaken me?"
Without doubt, certainty cannot be attained and this is perhaps the key of the door to the hereafter.
The journey of the mortal soul, to the Tibetan, is one of convoluted passage through inner worlds of demons and tormentors that seek to drive the spirit this way and that, eventually to reap the karma of our lives. This Easter we see the modern western liberal calling out to atheist China, to release the Tibetan people from the bondage of Communist subservience, oblivious to the fact that this ancient People are more concerned with the freedom of their Spirit bodies than that of the material, much like the servants of Christ that modern liberality can show such disdain towards.
It should be no surprise then that these same agonists show little concern for the mistreatment of Christians in so many parts of the world, yes even in the lands of ancient "Palestine."
In Britain today, we see the spectacle of a "socialist" liberal democratic Labour Party, enforcing it's leader's "great clubbing fist" upon those of it's believing Christian Ministers who deem it wrong in principal to allow scientists to create "chimera," transient lifeforms in the test tube, which if taken to fruition could be human headed fish, or boneless zombie viruses.
They announce with supreme ironic superiority, that those such Ministers may vote against those parts of the Bill, but only so long as the Bill passes through Parliament unhindered!
What arrogance, and what timely interjection by those Bishops of Wales, Kent and Scotland, that dared to speak out on their beliefs.
It may not surprise the reader, that the Muslim world remains silent on these issues, maybe because it it's laid down in their holy book that the fetus does not attain humanity until the fortieth day after conception. Thus they are opposed to abortion but not so to the experimentation on the unborn child, until after the passing of the magic number fourty!
Sometimes I can see the logic of dismissing all religious notions in their entirety, as Dawkins does.
It certainly is easier to hold such a clear cut belief than to uphold the dogma of religions.
Is the challenge of Christ's resurrection to rise above the human quagmire of self deception and to strain to see beyond the crack of light in the doorway to that other room?
Myself, I chose to spend some time amongst the Easter snows that lay upon much of Britain, and observed the quiet immortality of the humble daffodil, golden in it's cold white linen bed.
How as a germ it lays beneath the soil each year to be reborn anew, and sparkle with absurd generosity on our strife torn world, oblivious to human doubt and eternal in it's majesty.
Heaven is at our feet and all about.
God's love is manifest in all things in equal measure.
Are Martyrs those that die and celebrate the death of others, or those that die in celebration of new life for all to see?
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