Condemned by Men but Raised by God
For Paul the Resurrection was always the keystone of faith. He had taken particular care to assure himself of the reality of that foundation fact. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 he sets forth at length the testimony culminating in his own experience, on which he rested his belief. He had been allowed to see that blessed One and hear the word from His mouth. He quotes Psalms 2:7; Isaiah 55:3, and Psalms 16:10. He makes unexpected use of the first of these quotations, teaching that it was fulfilled in the Resurrection. This sheds new light on death. It is not death but birth; not an ending but a beginning. Our Lord was the first-born from the dead. We say that a saint has died; angels say that he has been born.
Notice that great word about David, Acts 13:36. He served God's counsel, or purpose, in his own generation. That should be the supreme objective of our lives. Not to get on, or to make money, or to please ourselves, but to serve the will of God who sent us forth.