1 Corinthians 15: 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
We've been walking through the epistle of 1 Corinthians in the Mini Bible College study and recently reviewed the great "resurrection" chapter (Chapter 15). The heart of the Gospel message is clearly shown in this passage as the apostle Paul answers the concerns of some about whether the dead really are raised to life. One aspect that grabbed my attention this morning, as I reflected on resurrection, was that only a man needs to be resurrected, because only a man can die. Ever since Adam, we have all experienced a natural birth followed by a natural death...but God really intended for life to be eternal. His solution was to become a man, Himself, so that He would be capable of death also. But only God can raise the dead to life because God is the inventor of life. Only a man can die...and only God can raise to life again. Now here's the really interesting part: Only a man can believe that this is possible through faith...and through believing his eternal life begins even before he dies. God doesn't need faith...the angels don't need faith...Satan has rejected this reality...but fragile, vulnerable, flawed man who is traveling in this temporary bag of bones and flesh has the unique opportunity of experiencing death and resurrection. Our train got derailed back there with Adam but God placed the wheels back on the tracks when Jesus came, died and was raised to life again. Over 500 people saw Jesus after he was raised, according to Paul.
Only a man can die...only a man can be resurrected...only a man can believe that God came as a man to do both for us!
Merry Christmas!
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