Resurrection Power

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Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. John 11:25-26a NIV

Jesus Himself is the resurrection and the life! Resurrection life in Christ begins the moment we say yes to Jesus and continues throughout all of eternity!

Hard to Believe

Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Jesus had conversations with His followers about how He was to be killed and raised again to life. But it was hard for them to believe that this man who healed the sick, drove demons out of people and even raised the dead would allow anyone to kill Him.

Jesus’ disciples had come to believe that He was the Son of God– the Messiah. His miracle power and the way He taught scripture was enough proof. Jesus’ love was supernatural and they loved Him! But when Jesus started talking about being killed they became confused.

Do What?

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:54 NKJV

And when Jesus preached publicly that they would have to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” many people stopped following Him. They didn’t understand He was speaking about the cross He would die on and God’s resurrection power.

Receiving the flesh and blood sacrifice of Jesus is spiritual– by faith. It is like “eating His flesh and drinking His blood.” His blood was poured out for us to create a covenant of forgiveness for the sins of the world. Also, His Word tells us we must die to our own fleshly and earthly desires to live in His Spirit.

After Jesus rose from the dead He appeared to many of His disciples and explained these things. They finally understood and believed. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into His closest disciples. Then one day they saw Him go up into a cloud and disappear. Jesus went to Heaven but God’s Spirit stayed inside them. Later as they waited and prayed, the Holy Spirit immersed them with resurrection power. After that, they risked their lives to tell the world about Jesus!

Resurrection Power is in Us Now

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11 NIV

The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us giving us resurrection power against our enemy, the devil. The Spirit gives life to our natural bodies if we believe without doubting. Naturally, like the disciples, it’s hard to believe. But supernaturally, the more we walk by the Spirit, we can grow in faith.

And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus… Ephesians 2:6 AMP

Our faith in God is by the Spirit. So when we commune with God seeking to be totally submitted to Him, His resurrection power begins to rise in us. To truly be seated with God in resurrection power we have to die to ourselves and live in Christ. That means to desire God’s presence and reject any thought, craving or action that is not in union with Him. This is also how we live in God’s grace– trusting in Him and not in ourselves.

Our Hope of Resurrection

We know that since Jesus rose from the dead, we who follow Jesus will also rise from the dead. If life is over when we die, why live for Jesus? But it’s not over!

For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.  1 Corinthians 15:16-20 GNT

With Jesus, life after death is beyond our earthly comprehension. Heaven is real and will be worth every trial we go through to follow Jesus!

It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;  it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NLT

Just as Jesus received a heavenly body when He was raised from the dead, those who follow Jesus will too! We will be with God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Heaven forever! God’s love permeates the beautiful atmosphere of Heaven and we will live in peace and joy forever. This is why the resurrection is our source of hope!

The Gospel of Resurrection Power

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 NLT

The message of the cross is so important because the sacrifice of Jesus paid the punishment for our sins. But the resurrection of Jesus is equally important. It is so important that the disciples preached about Jesus’ resurrection as part of the Gospel (Good News). Paul wasn’t persecuted because he preached that Jesus died on the cross. He was persecuted because he preached that Jesus rose from the dead and that those who believe in Jesus will also be raised up after their bodies die!

While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, angry because they were teaching the people and announcing in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. Acts 4:1-2 NET

Resurrection Power to Love

It was the Holy Spirit that gave the first Christians boldness to tell others about His death and resurrection. And it was that same Holy Spirit inside them that filled them with God’s life-giving power to love like Jesus.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.  Acts 4:32-34 NIV

Jesus often taught about what God’s love looks like and He showed them by the way He lived. It looks like humility. Those who are prideful and uncaring will regret their selfishness one day. But those who are filled with the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit will walk in His love and compassion for others. They will not regret living a life of humility because one day they will experience the resurrection of the righteous!

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. But when you host an elaborate meal, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:11-14 NET

Live in Resurrection Power

Real life is about knowing Jesus. It’s about living in the Holy Spirit. As we get to know God and yield to Him, we experience the power of His resurrection more and more. Our love relationship with Jesus causes us to want to serve Him by loving others as He leads.

All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life. Philippians 3:10-11 GNT

We may suffer earthly loss because of our devotion to Jesus. But if we declare that He is the resurrected Savior of the world, we too will be raised to life! I want to know Jesus and to experience the power of His resurrection in this life and in the next! I pray that you do too!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16. NIV

If you want to know Jesus as your Savior, I invite you to click here and read more about Him! God bless you!