O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
1 Corinthians 15:55(AMPC)
Man’s greatest, worst, and last enemy is death. To almost every person death is the end of everything. When someone or something dies that’s it, nothing more can be done. When a child of King David was sick, he lay on the ground all night, wept and fasted, pleading with God. After the child died, he got up, cleaned up, changed his clothes, and went to the house of God, worshipped, and asked for food. His servants were puzzled by this. How could he weep and fast while the child was still alive but rise up and take food when the child died? He answered that while the child was still alive there was hope he would live but now that the child had died that was the end. He couldn’t bring him back to life, he could only go to him. 2 Samuel 12:1 – 23. That’s been humanity’s view of death, a ruthless tyrant from whose grip they can’t escape. But thank God death has been disarmed and defeated through the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Death’s sting or power to hold captive and hurt is sin.
1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death [is] sin, and the strength of sin [is] the law. In other words death is empowered by sin.
God disempowered death by destroying sin in the body of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:3.
Jesus took all our sin in his body on the Cross. He died for our sin. When Jesus rose from the dead sin was judged and death destroyed. Hebrews 2:14,15.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is proof of death’s defeat.
But people are still dying, even Christians, someone might protest. For believers physical death (the body shutting down, ceasing to function, and decaying) is simply the result of your spirit who is the real you leaving your body and going to be with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6,8. According to God’s Word believers do not die but sleep. When Jesus went to raise up dead Lazarus, He said he was sleeping and He was going to wake him up. John 11:11-14.
We should no longer fear death for it’s power to harm and hold captive has been destroyed by Jesus. Whether still in our physical bodies or out of them we live forever with and in the Lord. Hallelujah Glory to God!