Key Text: When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).
Ancient Israel’s communal and individual offering to God included “firstlings,” or firstborn animals (Exodus 13:12). The story of the attempt by Abraham to sacrifice his son Issaac (Gen. 22:2-10) was the turning point in transition to the custom of dedicating the life of the firstborn to the service of God. It is where a ram was substituted by the Lord (Gen. 22:13). The offering was given to God in thankfulness and anticipation of the remaining harvest to come. It was further exemplified in the offering by Hannah of her firstborn, Samuel, to the Lord (1 Sam. 1). Jesus is the “firstborn/firstfruits of a vast future harvest. His followers (His Church) will transition from a world dominated by sin to a place dominated by righteousness. Each one will be raised in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, then afterward, those who belong to Him during his presence. Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians addressed doubts, disbeliefs, the lack of certainty of Christ’s Resurrection, and end-times events when Christ returns to earth.
The Apostle Paul’s teaching impressed upon the minds of those who stand before the world and take for themselves a versiion of an ancient confession: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth: and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, the third day he rose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church (the universal Church), the Communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,f and the life everlasting.” The Resurrection is universal and it is believed all over the Church. Paul debunked the theory that Mary, Peter, John, Paul, and all the rest of them were conspirators in a lie. He said, “If Christ be not risen, then, our preaching and faith are in vain (1 Cor. 15:14). Paul explained the theological basis of the resurrection by contrasting Jesus with Adam. Adam was given life, but chose to disobey God, thereby introducing sin tinto the world. The disobedience of Adam and Eve caused sin and death to be passed on to every person. Jesus was also a man; but He was also the perfect, sinless Son of God. When Jesus rose from the dead, he was raised to everlasting life. Those who are born again inherit this everlasting life as children of God. Those who have fallen asleep in Christ are not lost and will be resurrected from the dead, when Jesus returns.
Jesus’ final victory will be over death where Satan loses all of his power on earth. By rising from the dead, Jesus takes away from Satan his strongest weapon: sickness and disease (v 26). The Second Coming of Christ encompasses the Rapture of Christ’s reign, the beginning of the end of this world as we know it, and Jesus will present the kingdom of God to the Father free of sin and death. .AMEN!
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