1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened… What is "joy"? The firstborn of love and the parent of peace — "love, joy, peace." And what was the far end of all our Redeemer's work on earth? "That your joy may be full." And how can the Church reach to its deep things of privilege unless it takes the right vessel to the cistern and "draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation"? Let us ask, Why ought we to be happy in the resurrection of Christ? Because — I. OUR LORD IS HAPPY. From the moment of His rising neither His body nor His mind appear to have been subject to, or even capable of, pain. When He said, "It is finished!" His sufferings were over. Now in proportion as our sympathy is with Him, our heart will always make the tone of our mind. Be glad, then, because your Lord is glad. Jesus is not "a Man of sorrows" now. He is a Man of joys. II. TRUTH HAS BEEN VINDICATED. To a well-ordered mind it is a great satisfaction to see any truth thoroughly established. The resurrection of Christ must stand or fall on revelation. In the Old Testament it is involved in the types and prophecies. Our Lord's own teaching showed it, and it was the mainspring of His whole life. And the apostles are emphatic — "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain," &c. So that it is the end of all Divine truth; and the evidence is most exact and clear. The Bible is verified and the truth of Christianity placed beyond doubt. III. THE FATHER HAS ACCEPTED THE SACRIFICE OF HIS SON. Christ was "justified in the Spirit," which "quickened" Him. And in that He was justified, His atoning work is justified, and in that His atoning work is justified I am justified, and God Himself is justified to forgive me. IV. HONOUR IS PUT ON THE BODY. Some Christians, wishing to avoid the extreme into which they once ran, now disparage the body too much. But what is this body? The broken mirror of God, to be recast presently into a counterpart of the form of Jesus as He is now in glory — the temple walls of the Holy Ghost. This reflection is full of comfort. If the next world were to be peopled only with spirits, we might be called upon in vain to believe in the communion of saints. It would be almost impossible to realise anything so abstract; but now "in our flesh we shall see God." V. A WARRANT IS GIVEN OF A GLORIOUS RESURRECTION. Where the Head is, there must the members be. The tomb is not dark now, for Jesus left a light; not degrading, for it has been dignified by fellowship with Him; not final, for it is open the other end. (J. Vaughan, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: |
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