Hope of the Resurrection: The Living Dead

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

Webster’s definition of resurrection is this: the rising of Christ from the dead; the rising again to life of all the human dead before the final judgment.

Death has finality. It means an abrupt ending of one’s life. A certain step into eternity.

What does the Resurrection mean to you?

Here is a familiar passage from Luke 24:46-49 –

Then [Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endured with power from on high.”

Oswald Chambers sums it up this way:

Our Lord’s Resurrection destiny is to bring “many sons unto glory.” We are never in the relationship to God that the Son of God is in; but we are brought by the Son into the relation of sonship. – My Utmost for His Highest

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become children of the Most High God. We are adopted into the family of God. His love prepared the way for us to be reconciled to Him. I John 3:1-2 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

One day we will have a glorious resurrection body, but we can also now know the joy of His resurrection and walk in the newness of life. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I would know Him in the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10).

Once we have buried the old sin nature and taken on the new man in Christ, we will begin to live in the realm of the supernatural saint. Paul tells us in Romans 6:5, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” The resurrection life consists of total reliance on the nature of the resurrected Christ.

Paul again stresses the importance of Christ’s resurrection in I Corinthians 15:13-14; 16-19, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain… For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”

Lastly, Christ’s resurrection gives us the opportunity of witnessing to others and sharing how the gospel has an eternal impact on souls. Peter exhorts us, saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time… But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” (I Peter 1:3-5; 15)

The final stanza in the hymn Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain, joyfully proclaims Christ as King Immortal. The ancient music and words was composed by John of Damascus in the eighth century. It was later translated from Greek into English by the prolific scholar John Mason Neale in the 1800’s for the modern church.

                                                              

 “Alleluia!” now we cry

To our King immortal,

Who, triumphant, burst the bars

Of the tomb’s dark portal;

“Alleluia” with the Son,

God the Father praising;

“Alleluia!” yet again

To the Spirit raising.

 

 

Deborah is the author of a Christian non-fiction book titled “Mission Possible”. It is written for women who love the Lord Jesus, but their spouse doesn’t share their passion. It will encourage and challenge the reader to embrace God’s promises for their spouse and future together.

http://www.Godmissionpossible.com 

Hope of the Resurrection: The Living Dead