Christ’s Conquest of Death

Brothers and sisters:
When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:

Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:54-58 (Lectionary)

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Creatures out of tune with God divide and decompose,
But death will be swallowed in a spiritual cosmos.

In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for sin (chatta’ah/chata and hamartia/hamartanó) is literally to “miss the mark.” One who strays from the path is “out of tune with God.” Separation from God leads to disintegration, disorder, and death.

Jesus Christ, the God-man, swallowed death on the Cross and rose victorious from the tomb in glory. Clothed in immortality, the last Adam ascended in the flesh to open the gates of Paradise for all creation.

And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I will draw everyone to myself.

John 12:32