But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death... 28 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. 1Corinthians15:20-28
Christus Rex is the Latin Phrase which means "Christ the King" or "Christ Reigns." Today's passage makes this abundantly clear:
1.Jesus is the first to rise from the dead - never to die again! All other humans who experienced resurrection died again. His is the first human body to enter the throne room of God. He is the pioneer, the first-fruit of God's Kingdom Harvest.
2.Death came into the world through Adam and became our mortal enemy (if you will pardon the pun!) Jesus is the "Second Adam" who would defeat death and break its power over us. "The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
3.Jesus will return and when He does, those who belong to Him will experience resurrection and then the end will come. The end is when he "has destroyed all dominion, authority and power."
4.And then... at the end of it all, when He has defeated all His enemies and nothing stands in His way, He will do an amazing thing: having conquered and overcome, He will do what many earthly kings and rulers have not been able to do: He will subject Himself to God the Father so that God may be all in all.
Dear eDev friends, this is our glorious King:
1.Humbles Himself by becoming a child in Mary's womb and submitting to the "squalor of a borrowed stable."
2.Then, having obeyed His Father's will for 33 years in our broken world, He submits to the beating, suffering, torture of the trial and the cross. (Imagine God's Son, spat on, humiliated and crushed.)
3.Then He emerges from the tomb,conquering death and defeating death and every other enemy. There is nothing that stands in His way.
4.BUT He doesn't pathetically cling to power and glory, (which is what Satan tried to do) but lays His crown down before the Father.
What a Saviour, what a Messiah, what a KING!
Bow your head and your heart and WORSHIP Him!
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
