Easter Changes Everything

Easter changes everything. Paul spends all of 1 Corinthians 15 affirming the significance of the resurrection. He argues that now life has meaning, because Christ is risen from the dead.

“The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15: 53– 57) Jesus’ victory over death means that He is indestructible, and that means that we will experience victory over death! Bryan Loritts puts it this way: “What does this mean for us as we go about today’s affairs? Everything. If this life is not final, then you and I are a part of a grand metanarrative that’s so much more than work, money, clothes, and status. Life now has a rich, textured meaning. All of us are searching for meaning. We want to matter, and that’s a good thing. A part of what it means to be made in the image of God is to have an unfettered desire to leave our mark for good on this earth. The apathetic life is not worth living. So each day, all of us in our own way set about our journeys toward significance.”

So the resurrection changes our present, but also our future. It means that the day is coming when our physical bodies will be transformed. As Paul tells the Philippians, "He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control" (Phil 3:21). The resurrected Jesus not only transforms our present. In fact, as Paul emphasizes, "if our hope in Christ is only for this life," we are to be pitied (1 Cor 15:19). Thank God that he transforms our future as well.

Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus has gone before fore us in defeating and overcoming our last enemy, death (1 Cor 15:26), which came into the world and spread to all creation as a result of Adam's sin. By his victory, Jesus has broken death's power and the power it gave the devil over us (Heb 2:14). Through his triumph, he has set us free from our fear of death and removed moved its sting (1 Cor 15:56).

Philosopher Stephen Davis maintains that the resurrection is "the best piece of news the world has ever heard." Why? Because: “It assures us that God will win in the end and that accordingly the world is not mad. Events do happen that we cannot explain. Irrational tragedies and horrible outrages do occur. But because God raised Jesus from the dead after the catastrophe of the cross, we can be sure that God will one day overcome all catastrophes.... The resurrection is proof that no matter how bad things get, we can trust in God. God loves us. God has our interests at heart. God works to achieve what is beneficial to us. And in the end God will win.”