In Christ Alone

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

The third verse of In Christ Alone focuses on the victory of Christ over the grave.  Seemingly, defeated and put in the ground, Christ rises and stands in victory both His and ours.

The day after his death and placement in the tomb, must have been about the darkest days for those who knew and believed in him.  It was over, maybe on Good Friday, they kept thinking that somehow it wouldn’t happen.  Somehow the madness of it all would stop and the powers that put him to death would see his innocence and produce a final stay of execution at the last minute.  But now he is dead and even put in the tomb.  It was over.  The Light of the world was extinguished.  But on Sunday morning, the sun must have shined brighter than normal.  I never imagine that the first Easter Sunday, was a cloudy, rainy day, but a bright sun filled day.  We might look at it now as a day of Victory (and we certainly should) but for his immediate followers, it was still a day of unbelief.  Whenever, we sing this song in church, I almost shout the words, “Up from the grave He rose” I shout it in victory.  We have not lost; we have hope; we are not our own but belong to Him.  And our hope is “In Christ Alone.”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:56-58