“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” – I Corinthians 15:20

Now is Christ risen.

“Death in vain forbids Him rise.”

Now He lives, awakened from the dead, leading the procession of those who have slept.

“Christ hath opened Paradise.”

Now is Christ risen and those who have died in Him are alive in Him.

It is the holy now, the sacred moment, the dynamic present where Christ Jesus is alive and where we live also in Him. It is the glorious culmination of His purpose, the verification of His assurances, and the proclamation of His power.

Coming out of the grave, He is the first. He is the firstfruits from among sleepers, not as the God He was and is, but as man, “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” (I Corinthians 5:21-22)

He is representative humanity, inseparable from His divinity, and incorruptible as our link to eternity.

As William Gaither penned, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.”

More than that, because He lives, death is utterly frustrated and thoroughly devastated in its ability to render us helpless and hopeless. Only life bears any relevance to those who trust in Him. Eternal life is now.

Now is Christ risen!