The Power of the Glorified Resurrection‏

                                                        

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our Christian faith.  As St. Paul wrote to us: "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised: and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:13-14 ESV

The resurrection of Christ overcame the power of death, and now St. Paul can say: "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"  1Corinthians 15: 55

The resurrection of Christ abolished death, with its different types: The Bodily , Spiritual death and  Eternal death.
 
The resurrection of Christ is the best proof for our resurrection.  Christ is the only “person” in history who died and rose again so as not to die once more.  Contrast Christ to other people in history who temporary rose from the dead (e.g. Lazarus)  Christ told us: “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.  John: 11: 25 ESV and He proved it.

God intent in the creation of Man: God created man for eternity, and in Genesis, we are told that we were created “in God’s image” Genesis 1: 26 and given this, we find that the man was blessed by many important characteristics:

Wisdom, Intellect and Speech:  God gave man the power of Intellect.  We can study and analyze things, deduce knowledge, and we are capable of growth and progress.
Holiness:  Man is the only creation who is given the opportunity to be holy as God is holy.
Freedom:  When God created Man, He gave him freedom. Out of His great love, God created us with a free will to either choose to live with Him or not.

Everlasting Life:  We were created for Eternity !  Please take a moment to think about the implications of that !!!
Christ killed Death that killed All: Through the Incarnation, it became possible for Christ to die on our behalf, and to renew our fallen nature.  According to St. Athanasius, the Incarnation had two primarily objectives: To lift up the punishment of death  and renew the fallen nature of man. The resurrection opened the doors of paradise for us.  

Death in the light of the Resurrection:
For the saints and the righteous, death became something they long for.  When our church celebrates the feast of a certain Saint, we celebrate on the day he/she left this world, and went to live with the Lord forever. We read in the history of the Church, that the Martyrs would wear their best clothes when going to where they would be martyred, and they would be filled with joy. Christ’s resurrection conquered death  "Who abolished death and brought Light and immortality to light through the gospel"  2 Timothy 1: 10 ESV

O Lord Let Your True Light shine and enlighten our hearts "I am the Light of the world, he whoever follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the Light of Life"   John 8: 12