| 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.” |
| —1 Corinthians 15:54 |
How do we know when we’ve won? When the buzzer sounds at the end of the last period in basketball? When the last out is made at the bottom of the final inning in baseball? When the last hole is played in golf by the golfer with the fewest number of strokes? When the fastest runner crosses the finish line? When the king is captured in chess? When the shot is put the farthest at the Olympic games?
In most every contest in life, an endpoint arrives and a winner emerges. That’s true in our spiritual lives, too. Notice what the Apostle Paul writes, as found in 1 Corinthians 15:54:
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.”
At the end of the age, when the reality of Christ’s resurrection is fully realized, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
The Protestant Reformed theology described in The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way:
32.1: After death the bodies of human beings decompose and return to dust, but their souls, which do not die or sleep, have an immortal existence and immediately return to God who created them. The souls of the righteous are then perfected in holiness and are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory and wait for the full redemption of their bodies. The souls of the wicked are thrown into hell, where they remain in torment and complete darkness, set apart for the great day of judgment. Scripture recognizes only these two places, and no other, for souls separated from their bodies.
32.2: Those who are alive at the last day will not die but will be changed. At that time all the dead will be raised with the very same bodies and no other than the same bodies they had before, although with different characteristics, which will be united again to their souls forever.
32.3: By the power of Christ the bodies of the unjust shall be raised to dishonor, but by his Spirit the bodies of the just will be raised to honor and be made according to the pattern of his own glorious body.
As we begin a new day, let us rejoice that, as the old gospel song by Albert E. Brumley states: 1
“This world is not my home. I’m just a-passin’ through.”
Amen and Amen.
| 1 Brumley, Albert E. “ I Can’t Feel At Home Any More.” Public Domain. This Hymn is included in various Hymnals that are copyrighted by the publisher of the Hymnal. Though this citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, in the case of anyone claiming Copyright protection of this material, citation of any Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder. |
