Sunday, 15 March 2015
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:21
Paul has, in his ever-consistent way, confirmed his words of Romans 5:12 –
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned…”
He explains this in further detail in the following two verses –
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
&
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
One can see the logical progression of sin’s entrance into the world through Adam. Death came into humanity because of sin, and that sin spread to all men because all are “in Adam,” and thus “all have sinned.” Humanity is condemned to death because of one transgression. But there is the good new of Jesus Christ to follow up the terrible news of Adam! “By Man also came the resurrection of the dead.”
What is implicit here, but explicit elsewhere, is that this Man (meaning Christ Jesus) had no sin. If the resurrection of the dead came through Him, but the wages of sin is death, then He must have been sinless in order to resurrect. It also means that He had to die because of sin, even if not in sin. The meaning of this is that His death was substitutionary in nature. If He died, but had no sin of His own, then He must have died because of some other sin, because “the wages of sin is death.” How could Christ die if He had no sins unless there was still sin involved? The answer is that He died for our sins, not in His own.
In this then is a truth that cannot be missed. If He died for our sins, but had none of His own, then death could not hold Him. And at the same time, death can no longer hold us because “the wages of sin is death;” but Christ died for our sins. If our sins resulted in the death of Another, then our sins can no longer be imputed to us. The guilt is pardoned, the stain is removed, and the life which is true life has come. Paul dealt with this in Romans and he will continue to touch on it as he proceeds through the verses ahead.
Life application: Our sins are forgiven in Christ; all of them. We are completely free from the condemnation of sins committed in the body. However, we are still responsible for not sinning once we are “in Christ.” Our future rewards and losses will be determined by our deeds and by sins committed from the time we are saved. Let us live in holiness and apart from sin as we await our final redemption!
O God! What a truly amazing honor to know Your love as is revealed in the giving of Christ. When sin separated us, and where there was nothing I could do to resolve that sin, You sent Jesus to handle it. Born without sin, living out the law in sinless perfection, and giving His life in exchange for me! Now I stand free because of Another. What a Gift! What a blessing! What an honor bestowed upon undeserving me. Thank You for my Lord. Amen.