But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Phillipians 3:7-11)
This past Sunday was my first Easter celebration in 35 years since returning to faith in Christ, and I have to say it was a day of both joy and humility. On one hand, I must acknowledge how lost I was because of my sin, yet I share the miracle of the power of the resurrection of Jesus that has raised me above the stupor of my dark, sinful nature. I am no longer subject to this lost and perverse generation or this world that is not my home.
Romans 8.11: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
Without the power of the resurrection of Jesus, this man wouldn’t be writing this today. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt in whom I believe in. The Holy Spirit has filled my heart and mind with His love, acceptance, and forgiveness that I could NEVER deserve or fake.
Without the resurrection, the Holy Spirit would not have been sent to dwell among and inside of those of us who believe.
Our faith is the only one that serves a risen God who came in the flesh to conquer sin and death…whose body was never found, and believe me they tried. The whole power of the Roman empire failed at finding a corpse.
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
Without the truth of His resurrection we have no light, no reason for hope, peace, or joy. Easter was the event that cemented BC and AD on the world’s calendars.
Hundreds and even perhaps thousands saw the risen Christ after His crucifixion and as He ascended to the heavens. Due to their eyewitness and willingness to die for what they saw, our spirit bears witness with theirs that Christ indeed is still alive. While we continue to experience this through faith as the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, we also hold the promise that we WILL see Him again soon.
1 Thessalonians 4 contains for me some of the most hopeful words in the Bible and is only true in light of the power of Jesus’ resurrection…
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
The resurrection of Christ is the central point of the Gospels. Without the resurrection, all our beliefs or faith are in vain. Had Jesus not resurrected, there would be no Holy Spirit of God within us who convicts us of sin and brings the power of faith in the resurrection to enliven our spirits. Because of God’s Spirit dwelling within us, we can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the truth of the resurrection and the spiritual kingdom that is coming and even now with us.
Because of Christ’s victory over death, we need not fear it. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Because of the resurrection, we also no longer fear living. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow and our mortality. We can actually rejoice at the prospects of soon seeing Jesus again.
The conditions of today’s world point to the second coming of Christ being imminent. Many of us living today may not experience physical death before Christ’s return, but regardless, we are made alive by the resurrection power so that “it is not I who lives, but Christ who lives within me” (Galations 2:20).
It is my hope today that the resurrection power of Christ dwells in each of us so that we may be assured of His will for our lives. We no longer think in terms of short meaningless lives but are assured of living eternally with our risen Savior. In the shadow of His grace and mercy, we live, breathe, and find our being.