What a wonderful season of the year this is as we celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There is no other issue more demanding of our attention than the death and resurrection of our Lord. His resurrection is the greatest and most significant event recorded in the Bible (and also in human history). The resurrection of Christ is the heart of Christianity and the foundational truth of the whole gospel of salvation. Concerning the resurrection, Peter writes: "Praised (honored, blessed be) the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to an ever living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; [Born anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay (imperishable), unsullied, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God's power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time"(1 Peter 1:3-5).
Jesus Christ is alive! All the powers of death, hell, and the grave could not hold Him in their grip. He arose victorious! The resurrection of Jesus proves His victory over death and guarantees our resurrection. Jesus spoke to His disciples prior to His death and said, "Just a little while now and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also (John 14:19). Through the resurrection, we have been blessed with the ever living hope of an eternal salvation; a salvation that makes full provision for both our life here in this earth and our "forever after" throughout the endless ages of eternity.
Resurrection Power
How it behooves the Church to truly understand the power of the resurrection of Christ - a power that raised Jesus from the dead, took Him to heaven, and then sat Him down at God's right hand far above all the principalities and powers that were raged against Him. In that death shattering blow Satan and all his demons were eternally defeated. The Apostle Paul prays for the Church to "know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength, Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [Own] right hand in the heavenly [places], Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named above every title that can be conferred not only in this age and in this world, but in the age and world which are to come. And you [He made alive], when you were dead [slain] by [your trespasses] and sins In which you one time walked habitually...But God! So rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead [slain] by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and union with Christ. He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him. [For] it is by grace by His favor and mercy which you did not deserve that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation). And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together giving us joint seating with Him in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One" (Ephesians 1:19-21, 2:1-6).
God demonstrated His mighty power by raising Christ from the dead - a resurrection opposed by all the forces of darkness. On this eternally appointed day, all of God's power was put into the form of energy as God raised His Beloved Son from the dead. However, as marvelous as the resurrection of Christ is, God didn't stop with the resurrection of His Son. Through the process of regeneration (being "born again"), God quickens us, raising us up from the dead, thus flooding our spirits with the same resurrection life that quickened our Blessed Redeemer.
Resurrection Life
The single most important thing about Christianity is the reception of eternal life into the human spirit. Understand, this life is the quality of life in the Father and in His Son. It is the very essence and nature of God. As this life is transmitted into our inner man, we acquire a supernatural substance straight from the realm of eternity; a substance that makes us a new creation "in Christ Jesus." Eternal life is imperishable and cannot suffer diminution (decrease). "Though our outer man is (progressively) decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being (progressively) renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:17). As we grasp a revelation of eternal life, we realize that we have unlimited possibilities for spiritual development and transformation. We must understand that we do not receive a full measure of this life when we are born again. Eternal life is measurable. Some Believers have more of this life than others. Jesus indicates this concept of eternal life as being measurable: "I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance to the full, till it overflows" (John10:10). God's desire for us is not merely the reception of this life, but for this "God-kind" of life to grow and increase in us until we have such a fullness of His life within our spiritual belly that our entire being is affected. It is the increase of this life within our being that will bring forth the glorious Church; the Church who has reached "the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ, and the completeness found in Him" (Ephesians4:13). The Church (His Bride) doesn't need more information so much as she needs more of God's life flooding her being!
Paul instructs us in Colossians, Chapter 3: "If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above the higher things not on the things that are on the earth. For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hid with Christ in God." As we consider the death and resurrection of our precious Lord, and all He procured for us, how can we not set aside worldly trivialities and seek the rich treasures of the eternal realm? For us, He died. For us, He lives. We are His Eternal Love. May the power of the finished work of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus work in you, bringing you to a place of experiencing more of His life, more of His fullness, and more of His glory.
Recommended Reading:
God's Eternal Love Story
A God in Love with His Cherished Creation
The Romance of Redemption
The Romance of Redemption Part 2
Scripture References:
John 10:10
John 14:19
1 Peter 1:3-5
Ephesians 1:19-21
Ephesians 2:1-6
Colossians 3:1-2