Victory Over Death

I've seen so many doctor shows and movies over my lifetime.  The hope in each of these shows is always the same: save the patient.  Doctors not only "do no harm," they try their best to "help."

So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49 NIV)

We are reminded, however, of the fact that we are not only flesh and bone humans.  We also bear a spirit.  Just like we bear the flesh and bone image of Adam, we also bear the spirit image of the last Adam: Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is sent to us by Christ.  It is His Spirit that dwells in us when we come home to the Father through the Son.  But even before we receive the gift of Christ's Spirit, we have the breath of life within us.  We have our own spirit - given to us by God.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:50-53 NIV)

This spirit within us (our own spirit) is what gives us hope of immortality.  When it comes to our flesh and bone bodies, you see, the statistics are rather staggering.  One in every one person still dies.  Our bodies break down.  Medicine has not overcome this reality.  Our spirit, however, continues on.  When we receive God's Spirit, God is letting us know that our spirit (and new, eternity-lasting, body) has a home prepared for it...with God.  Death has no power over us because of our spirit...and God's.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been 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! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 NIV)

How about you?  Do you know you have victory over death?  Have you come home to the Father, through the Son, and received the Holy Spirit?  Do you have victory over death?