Living Hope

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17

  The teaching of the good news of Jesus Christ must never be restricted to the accomplishments of the cross, although an integral part is His shed blood for our sins as the Scriptures attest. A partial gospel is no gospel at all, as it would stand as insufficient (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The sacrifice of Christ was sufficient payment for all sin, yet the return of Christ to life from the dead was efficient achievement over all sin (1 Cor. 15:17). As the sinless Son of God, He died for our sin and rose for our justification - declaring that sin and its result of death had no hold on Him, and those believing in Him would know release from sin and experience life in Christ, the everliving one (Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3). In Christ, who has conquered death, it is declared that death no longer has dominion over us who have come to Him by faith (Romans 6:8-10). The bodily resurrection of Christ was the clear and convincing declaration that sin was truly and completely overcome through His powerful act that gave full proof of His deity (Romans 1:4).
 
  As the Scriptures have forthrightly defended the necessity of Christ’s resurrection, what is the proof of Christ’s resurrection being bodily? It is by this truth that we have the assurance that one day this vile, corruptible and mortal body of ours will be changed and made like unto the Lord’s glorious body so that we can reside in Heaven with Him (1 Cor. 15:51-54; Philippians 3:20-21). Three days after Christ’s death His followers viewed the evidence that the Christ was risen based upon the fact that all that was left in the tomb were the grave clothes, and following He began appearing to individuals and groups of the disciples (John 20:1-9; 19-20). They not only viewed him, but touched the very Christ, who bearing the scars of His sufferings, had flesh and bones (Matthew 28:9; John 20:24-29; Luke 24:39; 1 John 1:1). Furthermore, eyewitness accounts recorded that the risen Lord was more than a spirit, for He ate before them and with them (Luke 24:41-43; John 21:12-14). This same Jesus of whom over 500 at one time saw with their own eyes ascend up into heaven, will in the same way return to the earth and set his very feet on the mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-11; Zechariah 14:3-4).

Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: