Redemption

                     By Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko

                     And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
                     and suffered, and was buried.

                     Although Jesus did not sin and did not have to suffer
and die, he
                     voluntarily took upon himself the sins of the world and

                     voluntarily gave himself up to suffering and death for
the sake of
                     salvation. This was his task as the Messiah-Saviour:

                          The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to bring good
                          tidings to the afflicted ... to bind up the
                          broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the
                          captives, and the opening of the prison to those
                          who are bound ... to comfort all who mourn ... to
                          give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of
                          gladness instead of mourning" (Isa 61:1-3).

                     And at the same time, Jesus had to do this as the
suffering
                     servant of Yahweh-God.

                          He was despised and rejected by men, a man of
                          sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one
                          from whom men hide their faces he was despised.
                          and we esteemed him not.

                          Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our
                          sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by
                          God and afflicted.

                          But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
                          was bruised for our iniquities, upon him was the
                          chastisement that made us whole, and by his
                          stripes [i.e., wounds] we are healed.

                          All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
                          turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has
                          laid on him the iniquity of us all.

                          He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he
                          opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the
                          slaughter, and like a sheep that before his
shearers
                          is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.

                          By oppression and judgement he was taken away
                          ... And they made his grave with the wicked, and
                          with a rich man in his death, although he had done

                          no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

                          Yet it was the will of the Lord (Yahweh) to bruise

                          him; he has put him to grief; when he makes
                          himself an offering for sin, he shall see his
                          offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of
the
                          Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the
fruit
                          of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by
his
                          knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
                          make many to be accounted righteous; and he
                          shall bear their iniquities.

                          Therefore I will divide him a portion with the
great
                          and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
                          because he poured out his soul to death, and was
                          numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the
                          sin of many [or the multitude] and made
                          intercession for the transgressors (Isa 53).

                     These words of the prophet Isaiah written centuries
before the
                     birth of Jesus tell the story of his Messianic mission.
It began
                     officially before the eyes of all in his baptism by
John in the
                     Jordan. By allowing himself to be baptized with the
sinners
                     though he had no sin, Jesus shows that he accepts his
calling to
                     be identified with the sinners: "the Beloved" of the
Father and
                     "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"
(Jn
                     1:29; Mt 3:17).

                     Jesus begins to teach, and on the very day and at that
very
                     moment when his disciples first confess him to be the
Messiah,
                     "the Christ, the Son of the Living God," Jesus tells
immediately
                     of his mission to "go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things ... and
                     be killed, and on the third day be raised" (Mt
16:16-23; Mk
                     8:29-33). The apostles are greatly upset by this. Jesus
then
                     immediately shows them his divinity by being
transfigured
                     before them in divine glory on the mountain in the
presence of
                     Moses and Elijah. He then tells them once more: "The
Son of
                     Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they
will kill
                     him, and he will be raised on the third day" (Mt
17:1-23; Mk
                     9:1-9).

                     The powers of evil multiplied against Christ at the
end: "The
                     kings of the earth counsel together against the Lord
and His
                     Christ" (Ps 2:2). They were looking for causes to kill
him. The
                     formal reason was blasphemy, "because you, being a man,

                     make yourself God" (Jn 10:31-38). Yet the deep reasons
were
                     more personal: Jesus told men the truth and revealed
their
                     stubbornness, foolishness, hypocrisy, and sin. For this
reason
                     every sinner, hardened in his sins and refusing to
repent, wishes
                     and causes the crucifixion of Christ.

                     The death of Jesus came at the hands of the religious
and
                     political leaders of his time, with the approval of the
masses:
                     when Caiaphas was high priest, "under Pontius Pilate."
He was
                     "crucified for us ... and suffered and was buried" in
order to be
                     with us in our sufferings and death which we brought
upon
                     ourselves because of our sins: "for the wages of sin
are death"
                     (Rom 6:23). In this sense the Apostle Paul writes of
Jesus that
                     "having become a curse for us" (Gal 3:13), "for our
sake he
                     (God the Father) made him to be sin who knew no sin, so
that
                     in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor

                     5:21).

                     The sufferings and death of Christ in obedience to the
Father
                     reveals the super-abundant divine love of God for his
creation.
                     For when all was sinful, cursed, and dead, Christ
became sin, a
                     curse, and dead for us -- though he himself never
ceased to be
                     the righteousness and blessedness and life of God
Himself. It is
                     to this depth, of which lower and more base cannot be
                     discovered or imagined, that Christ has humiliated
himself "for
                     us men and for our salvation." For being God, he became
man;
                     and being man, he became a slave; and being a slave, he

                     became dead and not only dead, but dead on a cross.
From
                     this deepest degradation of God flows the eternal
exaltation of
                     man. This is the pivotal doctrine of the Orthodox
Christian faith,
                     expressed over and again in many ways throughout the
history
                     of the Orthodox Church. It is the doctrine of the
atonement --
                     for we are made to be "at one" with God. It is the
doctrine of
                     redemption -- for we are redeemed, i.e., "bought with a

                     price," the great price of the blood of God (Acts
20:28; 1 Cor
                     6:20).

                          Have this mind among yourselves which you have
                          in Christ Jesus who, though He was in the form of
                          God, did not count equality with God a thing to be

                          grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a

                          servant [slave], being born in the likeness of
men.
                          And being found in human form, He humbled
                          Himself and became obedient unto death, even
                          death on a cross. Therefore God has highly
                          exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name
                          which is above every name, that at the name of
                          Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on
                          earth and under the earth, and every tongue
                          confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of

                          God the Father (Phil 2:5-11).

                     In contemplating the saving and redeeming action of
Christ, it
                     has become traditional to emphasize three aspects which
in
                     reality are not divided, and cannot be; but which in
theory (i.e.,
                     in the vision of Christ's being.and activity as the
Saviour of the
                     world) may be distinguished. The first of these three
aspects of
                     the redeeming work of Christ is the fact that Jesus
saves
                     mankind by providing the perfect image and example of
human
                     life as filled with the grace and power of God.

                     Jesus, the Perfect Image of Human
                     Life

                     Christ is the incarnate Word of God. He is the Teacher
and
                     Master sent by God to the world. He is the embodiment
of
                     God Himself in human form. He is "the image of the
invisible
                     God" (Col 1:15). In Him "the fullness of divinity
dwells bodily"
                     (Col 2:9). The person who sees Jesus sees God the
Father (Jn
                     14:9). He is the "reflection of the glory of God and
the express
                     image of His person" (Heb 1:3). He is the "light of the
world"
                     who "enlightens every man...coming into the world" (Jn
8:12,
                     1:9). To be saved by Jesus Christ is first of all to be
enlightened
                     by Him; to see Him as the Light, and to see all things
in the light
                     of Him. It is to know Him as "the Truth" (Jn 14:6); and
to
                     know the truth in Him.

                          And you will know the truth and the truth will
                          make you free (Jn 8:31).

                     When one is saved by God in Christ one comes to the
                     knowledge of the truth, fulfilling God's desire for His
creatures,
                     for "God our Saviour ... desires all men to be saved
and to
                     come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). In
saving
                     God's world, Jesus Christ enlightens God's creatures by
the
                     Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God who is the Spirit of
Truth who
                     proceeds from the Father and is sent into the world
through
                     Christ.

                          If you love Me, you will keep My
                          commandments. And I will pray the Father, and
                          He will give you another Counselor, to be with
                          you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the
                          world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him
                          nor knows Him; you know Him, for He dwells
                          with you, and will be in you (Jn 14:15-17).

                          But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the
                          Father will send in My name, He will teach you all

                          things, and bring to your remembrance all that I
                          have said to you ... (Jn 15:26).

                          When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you
                          into all the truth ... (Jn 16:13).

                     The first aspect of salvation in Christ, therefore, is
to be
                     enlightened by Him and to know the truth about God and
man
                     by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
Truth, which
                     God gives through Him to those who believe. This is
witnessed
                     to in the apostolic writings of Saints John and Paul:

                          Now we have received not the spirit of the world,
                          but the Spirit which is from God, that we might
                          understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And
                          we impart this in words not taught by human
                          wisdom, but taught by the Spirit, interpreting
                          spiritual truths to those who possess the Spirit.
                          [...] For who has known the mind of the Lord so
                          as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ

                          (1 Cor 2:13-16).

                          For [God] has made known to us in all wisdom
                          and insight the mystery of His will, according to
                          His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a plan

                          for the fullness of time, to unite all things in
Him,
                          things in heaven and things on earth. [...] To me
...
                          this grace was given ... to make all men see what
                          is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God
                          ... that through the church the manifold wisdom of

                          God might now be made known ... (Eph 1:8-10;
                          3:9).

                          For I want ... that their hearts may be encouraged

                          as they are knit together in love, to have all the

                          riches of assured understanding and the
                          knowledge of God's mystery in Christ, in whom
                          are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
                          (Col 2:1-3).

                          But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and
                          you know all things I write to you, not because
                          you do not know the truth, but because you know
                          it, and know that no lie is of the truth. [...]
but the
                          anointing which you received from Him abides in
                          you, and you have no need that any one should
                          teach you; as His anointing teaches you about
                          everything, and is true and is no lie, just as it
has
                          taught you, abide in Him. [...] And by this we
                          know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He
                          has given to us (1 Jn 2:20-27; 3:24).

                     The first aspect of man's salvation by God in Christ
is,
                     therefore, the ability and power to see, to know, to
believe and
                     to love the truth of God in Christ, who is the Truth,
by the Spirit
                     of Truth. It is the gift of knowledge and wisdom, of
illumination
                     and enlightenment, it is the condition of being "taught
by God"
                     as foretold by the prophets and fulfilled by Christ
(Isa 54:13;
                     Jer 31:33-34; Jn 6:45). Thus, in the Orthodox Church,
the
                     entrance into the saving life of the Church through
baptism and
                     chrismation is called "holy illumination."

                          For it is God who said, "Let light shine out of
                          darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the

                          light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
                          face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6).

                     Jesus, the Reconciler of Man with
                     God

                     The second aspect of Christ's one, indivisible act of
salvation of
                     man and his world is the accomplishment of man's
reconciliation
                     with God the Father through the forgiveness of sins.
This is the
                     redemption and atonement strictly speaking, the release
from
                     sins, and the punishment due to sins; the being made
"at one"
                     with God.

                          While we were yet helpless, at the right time
                          Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly
                          die for a righteous man -- though perhaps for a
                          good man one will dare even to die. But God
                          shows His love for us in that while we were yet
                          sinners Christ died for us. Since therefore we are

                          now made righteous by His blood, much more
                          shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.
                          For if while we were enemies we were reconciled
                          to God by the death of His Son, much more, now
                          that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His
                          life. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God
                          through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
                          have now received our reconciliation (Rom
                          5:6-11).

                          Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
                          creation; the old has passed away, behold, the
                          new has come. All this is from God, who through
                          Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the
                          ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in
                          Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not
                          counting their trespasses against them, and
                          entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2
                          Cor 5:17-19).

                     The forgiveness of sins is one of the signs of the
coming of the
                     Christ, the Messiah, as foretold in the Old Testament:

                          ... they shall all know me, from the least to the
                          greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their
                          iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more
(Jer
                          31:34).

                     Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of
the
                     world, the Lamb that is slain that through Him all sins
might be
                     forgiven. He is also the great high priest, who offers
the perfect
                     sacrifice by which man is purged from his sins and
cleansed
                     from his iniquities. Jesus offers, as high priest, the
perfect
                     sacrifice of His own very life, His own body, as the
Lamb of
                     God, upon the tree of the cross.

                          For to this you have been called, because Christ
                          suffered for you, leaving you an example that you
                          should follow in His steps. He committed no sin;
                          no guile was found on His lips. When He was
                          reviled, He did not revile in return; when He
                          suffered, He did not threaten; but He trusted to
                          Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins
                          in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin
                          and live to righteousness. By His wounds you
                          have been healed. For you were straying like
                          sheep, but have now returned to the Pastor and
                          Bishop of your souls (1 Pet 2:22-25).

                     The high-priestly offering and sacrifice of the Son of
God to His
                     eternal Father is described in great detail in the
Letter to the
                     Hebrews in the New Testament scriptures.

                          In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers

                          and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to
                          Him who was able to save Him from death, and
                          He was heard for His godly fear. Although He
                          was a Son, He learned obedience through what
                          He suffered, and being made perfect, He became
                          the source of eternal salvation to all who obey
                          Him, being designated a high priest by God,
                          according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb
                          5:7-10).

                          But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the
                          good things that have come ... He entered once
                          for all into the Holy Place [not made by hands,
                          i.e., the Presence of God] taking ... His own
                          blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if

                          the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood
of
                          goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer
                          sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how
                          much more shall the blood of Christ who through
                          the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish

                          to God, purify your conscience from dead works
                          to serve the living God. Therefore, He is the
                          mediator of a new covenant, so that those who
                          are called may receive the promised eternal
                          inheritance, since a death has occurred which
                          redeems them from the transgressions under the
                          first covenant (Heb 9:11-15).

                     According to the scriptures, man's sins and the sins of
the whole
                     world are forgiven and pardoned by the sacrifice of
Christ, by
                     the offering of His life -- His body and His blood,
which is the
                     "blood of God" (Acts 20:28) -- upon the cross. This is
the
                     "redemption," the "ransom," the "expiation," the
"propitiation"
                     spoken about in the scriptures which had to be made so
that
                     man could be "at one" with God. Christ "paid the price"
which
                     was necessary to be paid for the world to be pardoned
and
                     cleansed of all iniquities and sins (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23).

                     In the history of Christian doctrine there has been
great debate
                     over the question of to whom Christ "pays the price"
for the
                     ransom of the world and the salvation of mankind. Some
have
                     said that the "payment" was made to the devil. This is
the view
                     that the devil received certain "rights" over man and
his world
                     because of man's sin. In his rebellion against God, man
"sold
                     himself to the devil" thus allowing the Evil One to
become the
                     "prince of this world" (Jn 12:31). Christ comes to pay
the debt
                     to the devil and to release man from his control by
sacrificing
                     Himself upon the cross.

                     Others say that Christ's "payment" on behalf of man had
to be
                     made to God the Father. This is the view which
interprets
                     Christ's sacrificial death on the cross as the proper
punishment
                     that had to be paid to satisfy God's wrath over the
human race.
                     God was insulted by man's sin. His law was broken and
His
                     righteousness was offended. Man had to pay the penalty
for his
                     sin by offering the proper punishment. But no amount of
human
                     punishment could satisfy God's justice because God's
justice is
                     divine. Thus the Son of God had to be born into the
world and
                     receive the punishment that was rightly to be placed on
men. He
                     had to die in order for God to receive proper
satisfaction for
                     man's offenses against Him. Christ substituted Himself
on our
                     behalf and died for our sins, offering His blood as the
satisfying
                     sacrifice for the sins of the world. By dying on the
cross in place
                     of sinful man, Christ pays the full and total payment
for man's
                     sins. God's wrath is removed. Man's insult is punished.
The
                     world is reconciled with its Creator.

                     Commenting on this question about to whom Christ "pays
the
                     price" for man's salvation, St. Gregory the Theologian
in the
                     fourth century wrote the following in his second Easter
Oration:

                          Now we are to examine another fact and dogma,
                          neglected by most people, but in my judgment
                          well worth enquiring into. To whom was that
                          Blood offered that was shed for us, and why was
                          It shed? I mean the precious and famous Blood of
                          our God and High Priest and Sacrifice.

                          We were detained in bondage by the Evil One,
                          sold under sin, and receiving pleasure in exchange

                          for wickedness. Now, since a ransom belongs
                          only to him who holds in bondage, I ask to whom
                          was this offered, and for what cause?

                          If to the Evil One, fie upon the outrage! If the
                          robber receives ransom, not only from God, but a
                          ransom which consists of God Himself, and has
                          such an illustrious payment for his tyranny, then
it
                          would have been right for him to have left us
alone
                          altogether!

                          But if to God the Father, I ask first, how? For it

                          was not by Him that we were being oppressed.
                          And next, on what principle did the Blood of His
                          only-begotten Son delight the Father, who would
                          not receive even Isaac, when he was being
                          sacrificed by his father, [Abraham,] but changed
                          the sacrifice by putting a ram in the place of the

                          human victim? (See Gen 22).

                          Is it not evident that the Father accepts Him, but

                          neither asked for Him nor demanded Him; but on
                          account of the incarnation, and because Humanity
                          must be sanctified by the Humanity of God, that
                          He might deliver us Himself, and overcome the
                          tyrant (i.e., the devil) and draw us to Himself by

                          the mediation of His Son who also arranged this to

                          the honor of the Father, whom it is manifest He
                          obeys in all things.

                     In Orthodox theology generally it can be said that the
language
                     of "payment" and "ransom" is rather understood as a
                     metaphorical and symbolical way of saying that Christ
has done
                     all things necessary to save and redeem mankind
enslaved to
                     the devil, sin and death, and under the wrath of God.
He "paid
                     the price," not in some legalistic or juridical or
economic
                     meaning. He "paid the price" not to the devil whose
rights over
                     man were won by deceit and tyranny. He "paid the price"
not to
                     God the Father in the sense that God delights in His
sufferings
                     and received "satisfaction" from His creatures in Him.
He "paid
                     the price" rather, we might say, to Reality Itself. He
"paid the
                     price" to create the conditions in and through which
man might
                     receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life by
dying and
                     rising again in Him to newness of life (See Rom 5-8;
Gal 2-4).

                     By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus
Christ
                     cleansed the world from evil and sin. He defeated the
devil "in
                     his own territory" and on "his own terms." The "wages
of sin is
                     death" (Rom 6:23). So the Son of God became man and
took
                     upon Himself the sins of the world and died a voluntary
death.
                     By His sinless and innocent death accomplished entirely
by His
                     free will -- and not by physical, moral, or juridical
necessity --
                     He made death to die and to become itself the source
and the
                     way into life eternal. This is what the Church sings on
the feast
                     of the Resurrection, the New Passover in Christ, the
new
                     Paschal Lamb, who is risen from the dead:

                          Christ is risen from the dead!
                          Trampling down death by death!
                          And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
                          (Easter Troparion)

                     And this is how the Church prays at the divine liturgy
of Saint
                     Basil the Great:

                          He was God before the ages, yet He appeared on
                          earth and lived among men, becoming incarnate of
                          a holy Virgin;

                          He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,
                          being likened to the body of our lowliness, that
He
                          might liken us to the image of His Glory.

                          For as by man sin entered into the world, and
                          death by sin, so it pleased Thine Only-begotten
                          Son, who was in the bosom of Thee, the God and
                          Father, who was born of a woman, the holy
                          Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, who was born
                          under the law to condemn sin in His flesh, so that

                          those who were dead in Adam might be made
                          alive in Thy Christ Himself.

                          He lived in this world and gave commandments of
                          salvation; releasing us from the delusions of
                          idolatry, He brought us to knowledge of Thee, the
                          true God and Father. He obtained us for His own
                          chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

                          Having cleansed us in water, and sanctified us
with
                          the Holy Spirit, He gave Himself as a ransom to
                          death, in which we were held captive, sold under
                          sin.

                          Descending through the cross into Sheol -- that
                          He might fill all things with Himself -- He loosed

                          the pangs of death. He arose on the third day,
                          having made for all flesh a path to the
resurrection
                          from the dead, since it was not possible for the
                          Author of Life to be a victim of corruption.

                          So He became the first-fruits of those who have
                          fallen asleep, the first-born of the dead, that He

                          might be Himself truly the first in all things ...

                          (Eucharistic Prayer of the Liturgy of St. Basil)

                     Jesus, the Destroyer of Death

                     The third and final aspect of the saving and redeeming
action of
                     Christ, therefore, is the deepest and most
comprehensive. It is
                     the destruction of death by Christ's own death. It is
the
                     transformation of death itself into an act of life. It
is the
                     recreation of Sheol -- the spiritual condition of being
dead --
                     into the paradise of God. Thus, in and through the
death of
                     Jesus Christ, death is made to die. In Him, who is the
                     Resurrection and the Life, man cannot die, but lives
forever with
                     God.

                          Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears my word
                          and believes in Him who sent me has eternal life;
                          he does not come into judgment, but has passed
                          from death into life (Jn 5:24).

                          "I am the Resurrection and the Life! He who
                          believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
and
                          whoever lives and believes in me shall never die"
                          (Jn 11:25-26).

                          It is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who was raised
                          from the dead, who is at the right hand of God,
                          who indeed intercedes for us! Who shall separate
                          us from the love of Christ? [...] For I am sure
that
                          neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
                          principalities, nor things present, nor things to
                          come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
                          anything else in all creation will be able to
separate
                          us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord
                          (Rom 8:34-39).

                          For in Him the whole fullness of divinity dwells
                          bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in
                          Him ... and you were buried with Him in baptism,
                          in which you were also raised with Him through
                          faith in the working of God who raised Him from
                          the dead. And you were dead in trespasses ...
                          God made alive together with Him, having
                          forgiven us all our trespasses, having cancelled
the
                          bond which stood against us with its legal
                          demands; this He set aside, nailing it to the
cross.
                          He disarmed the [demonic] principalities and
                          powers and made a public example of them,
                          triumphing over them ... for you have died, and
                          your life is hid with Christ in God (Col 2:9 ff).

                     This is the doctrine of the New Testament scriptures,
repeated
                     over and again in many ways in the tradition of the
Church: in its
                     sacraments, hymnology, theology, iconography. Christ's
victory
                     over death is man's release from sins and man's victory
over
                     enslavement to the devil because in and through
Christ's death
                     man dies and is born again to eternal life. In his
death sins are
                     no longer counted. In his death the devil no longer
holds him. In
                     his death he is born again to newness of life and is
liberated
                     from all that is evil, false, demonic, and sinful. In a
word, he is
                     freed from all that is dead by dying and rising again
in and with
                     Jesus.

                          But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made
                          lower than the angels, crowned with glory and
                          honor because of the suffering of death, so that
by
                          the grace of God He might taste death for every
                          one. [...] Since therefore the children share in
flesh
                          and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the
                          same nature, that through death He might destroy
                          him who has the power of death, that is, the
devil,
                          and deliver all those who through fear of death
                          were subject to lifelong bondage (Heb 2:9-15).

                          But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,
                          the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For
                          as by a man came death, by a Man has come also
                          the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
                          die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
[...]
                          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 (1 Cor
                          15:20ff; 56-57).