Resurrection Power
He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 1 Cor. 15:5-8, RSV.
Paul has a burden on the topic of the Resurrection. So much so that he devotes what is probably his most extensive discussion on any single topic to Christ's resurrection and its meaning for our lives. The 58 verses of 1 Corinthians 15 are his tour de force on the Resurrection.
But Paul was not alone in this opinion. All of the Gospels, the books of Acts and Revelation, and the rest of the New Testament highlight the fact that "He has risen!"
Why? Because without that central fact we have nothing to believe in but a man who was a "nice guy" and had some good things to say while He was alive, but is now dead and powerless. That might be an adequate foundation for a philosophic school, but not for Christianity, a faith anchored in the reality that Christ lives and is a force in every believer's life. Because He lives, we as His followers have hope in both the present and the future.
But the Greek world in which Christianity was born doubted bodily resurrection and even the value of the body itself. Thus we find the great pains the New Testament writers expended to demonstrate not only that Christ rose, but that He did so with a physical body that they could see and touch, a body that could even eat fish. He was not a phantom or a ghost or a disembodied spirit, but the risen Lord Jesus who appeared to hundreds of witnesses, some of them very skeptical.
Paul himself had been one of those skeptics. To the pre-Christian Paul the resurrection of Jesus had been merely one more superstition cooked up by the disciples. His response to the "myth" was to stomp it out in a wave of persecution. And he did so until he himself met the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.
After that the reality of the Resurrection became the central point of his life. Paul surrendered his life to the direction and power of his resurrected Lord. And Jesus used him mightily.
The same resurrected Lord wants to take each of our lives and fill them with hope and energy and purpose. The only question is whether we will let Him.
Lord, thank You for the possibility of resurrection power. I accept it this day for the direction and energizing of my life.
He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 1 Cor. 15:5-8, RSV.
Paul has a burden on the topic of the Resurrection. So much so that he devotes what is probably his most extensive discussion on any single topic to Christ's resurrection and its meaning for our lives. The 58 verses of 1 Corinthians 15 are his tour de force on the Resurrection.
But Paul was not alone in this opinion. All of the Gospels, the books of Acts and Revelation, and the rest of the New Testament highlight the fact that "He has risen!"
Why? Because without that central fact we have nothing to believe in but a man who was a "nice guy" and had some good things to say while He was alive, but is now dead and powerless. That might be an adequate foundation for a philosophic school, but not for Christianity, a faith anchored in the reality that Christ lives and is a force in every believer's life. Because He lives, we as His followers have hope in both the present and the future.
But the Greek world in which Christianity was born doubted bodily resurrection and even the value of the body itself. Thus we find the great pains the New Testament writers expended to demonstrate not only that Christ rose, but that He did so with a physical body that they could see and touch, a body that could even eat fish. He was not a phantom or a ghost or a disembodied spirit, but the risen Lord Jesus who appeared to hundreds of witnesses, some of them very skeptical.
Paul himself had been one of those skeptics. To the pre-Christian Paul the resurrection of Jesus had been merely one more superstition cooked up by the disciples. His response to the "myth" was to stomp it out in a wave of persecution. And he did so until he himself met the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.
After that the reality of the Resurrection became the central point of his life. Paul surrendered his life to the direction and power of his resurrected Lord. And Jesus used him mightily.
The same resurrected Lord wants to take each of our lives and fill them with hope and energy and purpose. The only question is whether we will let Him.
Lord, thank You for the possibility of resurrection power. I accept it this day for the direction and energizing of my life.
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