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1 Corinthians 15:12-19
The Christian faith revolves around the resurrection of Jesus. It is not the death of Jesus on the cross that separates Christianity from all other religions; two other men were crucified with Jesus – they are not saviors of anyone. So what must it be that gives Jesus the separation from all human beings to be (John 3:16-17) the Savior of the world? It is the sinless life that He lived in being not deserving of death as we learn in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Jesus had no sin, and in being so, did not deserve to die. But He did. We may ask, “If Jesus was not deserving of death because of being sinless, and sin being the cause of death, then how or why did Jesus die? The Bible teaches us in Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV), “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And in 2 Corinthians 5:21 the Bible teaches us, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It is important that Jesus was sinless in His death as being sinless entering death is the only way to overcome death; but the key is that Jesus was not held by death but that He overcame it because of His sinlessness and was therefore resurrected. Romans 5:17 declares, “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” It was not simply through the death that He was required to die, but through the resurrection that gives life eternal for all who will believe in Him.
This is a promise of the power of the resurrected Savior Jesus.
We learn in Romans 6:4, “therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” The act of being baptized is a public declaration of one’s faith in Jesus as their Savior. The going under the water is representative of going under the grave with Jesus as He did for us. The coming up from under the water is representative of being risen from the grave with Jesus into a new life that only He can give as He is the sinless One who conquered death through His resurrection. The Bible teaches us in John 1:11-13, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” This is what we refer to as being born again. It is a new life through believing that Jesus died for your sins so that you may be forgiven and begin living a new life; a new life in Christ – the Savior of the world! It is His resurrection that makes it all possible; without it we are left the most pitiful of all men (1 Corinthians 15:19).
Dear LORD,
It is common for us to hear that Jesus died for our sins but help us to understand and realize that it is through His resurrection that forgiveness is made possible as if there were no resurrection death would still reign. You teach us in Your word, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Please let it be so LORD in our hearts, in our minds, and in our souls – in Christ, that we would all believe in Him and profess Him our Lord and Savior. In Jesus name I pray, amen.