Saturday 15 March 2008
- Bible Book:
- 1 Corinthians
"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain." (v.13-14)
Background
Paul addresses the Corinthians' confusion (and our own modernstruggle) by proclaiming the absolute reality of Christ's bodilyresurrection. He reinforces the central fact of the Christian faithas the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If it all hadended on the cross, there would be no good news to share, no boldChurch that would bear witness, no New Testament to teach and topreach and no hope for real life here or in the hereafter.
If the resurrection had not occurred, then Paul's words would notbe true and the whole purpose of his life would be pointless. Thefaith of the new group of Christians meeting in Corinth would bebased on a lie.
If there was no resurrection, and as a consequence, no possibilityof resurrection for others, what would we be left with? Perhapssome wonderful stories and powerful moral teachings from a man wholived over 2000 years ago. But ultimately, a man who was mistakenabout himself and his relationship with God?
That said, the question of the resurrection remains one of belief,of faith, of trust and of relationship and experience.
To Ponder
The title for this week's collection of Biblestudies is, "Alive in Christ". How could you explain what thismeans for you?
It seems strange that the main event we try toshare with our local communities over Easter is the 'walk ofwitness' (often a procession through a town or local community) onGood Friday. But what about Easter Sunday - the day ofresurrection? In today's society, where there is such lack ofknowledge and confusion about Easter, how can we best celebrate thegood news of the resurrection and with it, hope for the world? (