The grave

The grave wasn’t His, it was only borrowed for a minute or two. He rested for a few moments, presented Himself to the Father and raised His beautiful body again, forever victorious. No one could hold Him down, He is relentless in His love for His people.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”

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, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

He is the Lord of Life. He holds the keys of death and hell. He decides who lives and who will die, eternally. We fear Him for who He is, but we are not afraid, because He has redeemed us by His precious, all- powerful blood. He will bring His people home to Himself, triumphant, like an army with banners, fearful, rampant… victorious, as He is. He has beaten death forever and will deliver all those who believe in Him and take refuge under His sway. He holds that sway over sin and hell and can rescue us for this place. The grave cannot hold the redeemed sinner, as it could not hold Him. Those who trust in Him are not confounded.

No one can stop Him or stop this happening. Jesus is the Lord. He is the King above all Kings, the Mighty One, the face of heaven’s beauty, heaven’s cover story and Lover of every humble and rescued soul.

One day soon, He will return to the earth to take His people away to safety and security with Him forever. Their bodies will be reunited with their souls and we will, be resurrected to eternal life. This will be the end. There is no more reason to keep the world system going. All the elect people of God are now gathered into the eternal kingdom and the new heavens and new earth are about to start. Sinners will be judged by the Saviour of the world, as God haters and rejecters. They will receive their certain “reward” and will loose their souls to eternal death.

The earth will melt and the heavens will pass away like a rolled up garment. We will be with the Lord forever and enjoy His warm embrace. All sin will be assigned to everlasting darkness, where God will hold all evil in this confined space, never to contaminate ever again. We will be free to do what is right and good always, and the shackles of sin will be forever and completely loosed.

The grave will not just be empty, but will pass away with the dead earth and dead souls who chose its final resting place as their own. The grave is not ours, it is only a holding spot for the body, until the Lord returns.

“But when this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1 Corinthians 15:54

Also the corruption will be put right again. The rot will disappear and glorified flesh will be revealed. We will be as Christ is, even now, as He appears in glory. We shall be with Him everlastingly and will experience that great and unsurpassed joy, that only the Christian knows. It will be untarnished and untainted by sin, death or any disappointment, but be always and ever our righteous reward.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.”

1 John 3:1-3

What privileges we possess. We know some things about how we will be at that glorious time, but not everything. It will be beyond anything we could ever experience in this fallen world, and behind our wildest, most optimistic dreams. We shall be like Him, our hearts desire, our true love, our majestic Saviour and Lord.

We praise His name and give honour to His majesty, who is forever praised…