Christ’s Resurrection and Ours

Isaiah prophesied that death would be trampled under Christ’s feet by saying, “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken” (Is. 25:8). It is well known that sin is a reproach to any people (Prov. 14:34). St. Paul invoked this prophecy by saying, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1Cor. 15:22). That is, all men die like Adam because of the corrupted nature inherited from him, but we receive a new life, through Christ, in our bodies since our life in Christ leads us to our blessed resurrection. Through Christ’s resurrection, we are able to sing joyfully the song of victory, “O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:55), the same song foretold by the prophet Hosea about death which lost its power by the Savior: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O grave, I will be your destruction!” (Hos 13:14).

If Christ is not risen, we will not rise; eternal death will be the end of our life, and we will be of all men the most pitiable (1Cor 15:19). If the hope we have in Christ is ended by this life, we’ll be deceived because we are suffering the afflictions of this life without legitimate hope in the life to come.

Christ’s resurrection is the perfect assurance for our resurrection, as St. Paul said, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor 15:20). He proved the fact of Christ’s resurrection without a doubt, which does not need any further proofs (1Cor 15:1-58), but gives hope and joy to the believers in eternal life. St. Paul declared that Christ, through His resurrection, became the firstfruits, meaning others who have “fallen asleep” will rise from the dead as well.