THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
In a context about the resurrection of Jesus, Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians: "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied" (15:19). What he meant was that, if Christ did not rise, the faith of Christians was "useless" and they, like others confessing to other religions, remained "lost" and imprisoned "in their sins" (15:17). This situation stems from the fact that sin is a force that leads man to death (15.56). If Christ did not rise from the dead, that force remained active over humanity, separating it from God.
However, Paul, continuing in his reflection, stated that "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead" (15:20) and this historical event was witnessed by many people. The apostle recorded that the resurrected Jesus "appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep” (15.5-7). Later, Jesus appeared to James and to him, the Apostle Paul himself.
It was necessary for Jesus Christ to relive and sit again at the right hand of God with the glory which He had before the foundation of the world (John 17: 5). Otherwise, all his effort would had been in vain and would be stuck in the same fate of the sinners: in the grave. Jesus "had no sin", but God "made him sin for us" and therefore died. However, through the action of the Holy Spirit, the Creator raised him up, so that, through him, mankind could be justified from its sins (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The resurrection of Christ is the end of death (1 Cor. 15:54-58), for He, in raising, brought with him the “keys of death and of Hades" (Rev. 1.18). It is also the last part the way that Jesus opened for man to return to God and his original condition. This is the way of Christ: "I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father "(John 16:28). For this reason, He said of himself: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me "(John 14: 6).
Thus, according to the Scriptures, every human being can now "return to the Father.", taking, by faith, the way Jesus Christ. Faith that the Spirit of God grants to those who surrender to him and give themselves completely. This faith is strong enough to overcome the world, to cross the valley of death, and to come into the presence of God. The Apostle John said: "for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5: 4,5).
Antônio Maia – M.Div.
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