1 Corinthians 5:1-20 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1a. If Christ is not risen, then the ____________ of the world is in our hands.

1b. But Christ is risen indeed and will make __________ __________ right.

2a. If Christ is not risen, then ____________ reigns.

2b. But Jesus is risen indeed and He promises that we will __________ to be with Him forever!

3a. If Christ is not risen, then we are still in our ____________ and God is our ____________.

3b. But Jesus is risen indeed so that we know God as a ____________ __________ who has removed all your ____________.

Scripture Readings
John 20:1-18
Isaiah 25:6-9
1 Corinthians 15:1-20
Mark 16:1-8

Take It With You!

Here are some further thoughts to help you contemplate and celebrate Christ's Easter victory over sin, death, and the devil!

[In I Corinthians 15 St. Paul] is battling to get into the heads of the ex-pagan Corinthians, many of whom clearly didn't fully grasp that the gospel meant what it said about Jesus resurrection. The crunch comes in verse 17: if the Messiah isn't raised, then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. In other words, with the resurrection of Jesus a new world has dawned in which forgiveness of sins is not simply a private experience; it is a fact about the cosmos. Sin is the root cause of death; if death has been defeated, it must mean that sin has been dealt with. But, if the Messiah has not been raised, we are still in a world where sin reigns supreme and undefeated so that the foundational Christian belief, that God has dealt with our sins in Christ, is based on thin air and is reduced to whistling in the dark.

Paul then describes this new world in the striking passage in verses 20-28. The writing here is typically dense, but the central statements are strong and clear. The Jewish expectation of resurrection- the resurrection of all God's people at the end of time- has been split in two: first an advance foretaste, then the rest follow. The Messiah has been raised as the start of the general resurrection; those who belong to him will be raised at his final appearing. Then, and only then, will he complete the implementation of the victory he won at Calvary and Easter. That is the time when all enemies, including death itself, will be put under his feet, in the fulfillment of the scriptural promise.

NT Wright, Surprised by Hope.