0970. An Inquiry
An Inquiry
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1Co_15:55)
There are many questions which come to the mind as we study the resurrection of the dead. Some of these inquiries are found in the 15th chapter of I Corinthians. Let us notice them.
1. "How say some * * that there is no resurrection of the dead?" (1Co_15:12). There are those who say it, but when they say it they rob us first, of the resurrection of Christ, and secondly, of the resurrection of our own bodies. Indeed, those who deny the resurrection, would rob us of everything that is worth the while in our faith. They would take from the believer every vestige of his hope, and of his faith.
2. "What advantageth it me, if the dead rise not?" (1Co_15:29). The Apostle is speaking of the rewards and the glories which the Lord will bring with Him when He comes. These rewards will be ours at the resurrection. Why should we fight the good fight of faith, why bear the toil and endure the pain of the Christian's conflict, if the dead rise not?
It was the glory of the resurrection with which the Holy Spirit encircled the shame of the Cross. Read the 22d Psalm, or the 69th Psalm, or the 53d of Isaiah. After the Cross with its suffering and its shame was set forth, the Holy Spirit never failed to pass into the resplendent glory that shall crown the Risen Christ. What advantage has the believer over the unbeliever if the dead rise not? Our present sufferings are encircled with the glory that shall be revealed in us.
3. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1Co_15:55). The believer, realizing the fact of resurrection and with all that it brings, can look into the face of death without a quiver.
Robert Ingersoll may stand at the grave of his brother and say, "We stand on the brink of two eternities, and we cry, and the only answer is an echo to our wailing cry." Not so with the believer. We stand at the grave and we see the stone rolled away. We see death robbed of its sting and the grave robbed of its victory. In the hands of our Lord are the keys of death and of hades. With exultant shout we cry, "Because He lives, we too shall live!"
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR