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The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria Anglican Communion

The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 26 April 2019 – The Hope of Resurrection

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TOPIC: The Hope of Resurrection

READ: 1 Corinthians 15:12-28 New King James Version (NKJV)

  1. 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?
  2. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
  3. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
  4. 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.
  5. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
  6. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
  7. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
  8. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
  9. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
  10. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
  11. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
  12. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
  13. 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.
  14. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
  15. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
  16. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him, ” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
  17. 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.

THE MESSAGE:

Paul, in today’s passage, is gradually getting to the conclusion of this first letter to the Corinthian church. But he still had a very critical issue to address: the resurrection of the dead. It appears the Christians at Corinth were becoming increasingly confused about what happens after death. Many of them were beginning to be deceived by the lie of the devil that life on earth is all there is.

The danger, therefore, was for people to begin to live lives anyhow, assuming that there will be no judgment after death since there is no resurrection of the dead!
God inspired the Apostle Paul to address this matter. God’s verdict is very clear: if Jesus Christ rose from the dead (and He did), then definitely humanity will also rise from the dead – some to honour, some to dishonour (John 6:39-54; Matthew 16:24-27).

The truth is that if life were to end only on this earth, Jesus would not have bothered to come and to lay down His life for the world. But He died so that we who trust in Him might have hope, not only for this life, but also for the life after resurrection.

Let us, therefore, live each day as a rehearsal for the life to be spent in eternity with Christ.

Prayer: Father, thank You for the sacrifices of Your Son, Jesus Christ for me. Help me to live each day with eternity in mind.

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