In Christ all will be made alive

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

 

There are many who do not believe in the resurrection of Christ. At Jesus' time too, there were the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the apostles preached Christ the resurrected, but there were people who did not believe it. If Christ’s resurrection isn’t true, the gospel that has been delivered on so far will be only the vain. That is because except for resurrection in Christian teaching, it becomes a lesson without substance. If a Christian who has believed in resurrection has no spiritual recognition of resurrection, he is an unhappy man in fact. True Christians can confirm the resurrection in their own lives, and they will be experienced in person a historic resurrection later.

 

‘Faith in salvation through the resurrection of Christ’ is the basic idea Christians have. The idea of resurrection has existed from the past, but it became a concept expanded and developed to perfection only after the Christ’s resurrection. If Adam, who was expelled out of the Garden of Eden, had eaten the fruit of the Tree of Life, his deeds of sin could have been excused. In Job 19:25~26, “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.” Job said so staying in suffering. Here Job expressed the idea of Christ’s advent and the resurrection. The contents in the Old Testament, and the salvation and resurrection recorded in the New Testament are all prophecies and the fulfillment focused to Christ. Accordingly the idea of resurrection is not something that has changed or developed, but rather a spiritual and historical concept that progressed in the framework of God’s creation and salvation.

 

Paul’s message about the resurrection, was nothing new or special. Thus it was a gospel that should be accepted by others as well. But many people said there was no resurrection of the dead, so Paul became rather absurd in heart. It is because of the salvation, that is, the life of resurrection, that he has preached Christ with all his life, and if the resurrection of Christ is false, what is more vain than that? The feeling of emptiness would might end up as one’s own only, but it will be a miserable thing greatly if that is a false scam to many people who have been taught. But Paul asserted clearly that the resurrection of Christ was a stark fact, and that the resurrection of everyone can be proved by the resurrection of Christ.

 

The looks of faith, which makes confirm the resurrection, is to depart from sin and walk on the holy path of the righteous. If one doesn’t believe in the resurrection of Christ, anybody can’t depart from sin. From childhood, we have been taught the lesson of ‘Kwon-Seon-Jing-Ak’ which is old saying in Korean. The saying means a person receives blessing if they live with good-heart, and if they live bad, they are punished. Some of people may not affirm that lesson, but even though someone consents to it, not for the person to become good fundamentally. That means the same thing as saying, “If you don’t believe in the resurrection of Christ, you can’t escape sin.” There is one who goes to church but still can’t give up his sins, strictly speaking, the reason is the person doesn’t believe in the resurrection of Christ. Resurrection is the process of restoring to the original life before the depravity. One who has got out of sin will be devoted oneself earnestly from then to the life of righteousness.

 

All the descendants of Adam who had been expelled from the Garden of Eden had to be born under dead conditions. In other words, that tells their body and soul aren’t whole. Among the people who hear that, some might scream, “What are you talking crazy?” Because they confidently think their body and spirit are healthy all. However, man’s body is going gradually toward death from birth, and body feels tired all the time. The soul, as a servant of sin, is anxious with a great deal of trouble always. Because everyone became the imperfect who had died in Adam. But the road to the Tree of Life was opened in Christ. If you believe in Christ Jesus, that is, if you live as the life of resurrection that has been saved by Christ, you are altered a healthy person beyond the death of the soul and body. In other words, the resurrection of Christ is the fruit of the Tree of Life after all.

 

One who has been reborn by Christ can experience newness in every life. Person who realizes one’s wrong direction on the way going stops, changes direction, and walks on the new path. Now the steps changed are much lighter than before, and his going way gets more enjoyable. There used to be a lot of complaints on account of uncertain situations, but now they make everything that belongs under Christ as materials for life of themselves. This is the salvation life that Christians received, that is, the happiness of resurrection.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on April 9th 2023)