Resurrection Power
Resurrection Power
The resurrection of Jesus means many things to us as His followers. Foremost, it is a validation that everything Jesus said was true—that He is God with absolute authority (Matthew 28:18). Secondly, it destroyed the power of sin and physical death for all who believe and trust in Him for their salvation (Romans 6:6-11; John 11:25-26). The resurrection also sealed the fates of those who believe and those who will not, the first with eternal redemption, and the latter with eternal damnation (Matthew 25:31-34, 41).
These are Scriptural facts that cannot successfully be refuted…and they are important to every believer.
But what does the resurrection mean to us in our everyday lives here on Earth?
Power for living.
Many of us have forgotten this. We have adopted the power sources of the world around us:
Possessions - We chase after wealth. We amass belongings. We believe that having money or material things gives us power. Power over circumstances. Power over choices. Power by perception. In our minds, we equate this with security.
Position - We spend much effort and time maneuvering to better our lot in this life. Titles. Leadership positions. Memberships. We believe that the more important or exclusive the attainment, the greater the power. In our minds, we equate position with control, and we equate control with security.
Persona - We adopt an image that includes our physical appearance and our projected personality. We covet fame and notoriety. We believe these give us power over people. With many followers, we feel secure.
These power sources are not reliable because they are based on us as individuals. They rely on our ability to possess, achieve, and become. We quickly forget or choose to ignore that accidents, sickness, disease, and circumstances stand a single heartbeat away from destroying these types of power.
Jesus has true power (Colossians 1:17). Power that never fails. Power that works in us. Power that fulfills His plans. It is power that transcends the meager might of mankind with all our positions, personas, and possessions. It is power that is everlasting. It is power to overcome circumstances. It is power that He makes available to each of His disciples.
Even so, not all of us walk in this power. I believe there are three reasons for this:
Our wills negate Jesus’ power. They make us double-minded with one foot on His path and one foot on our own. This is a condition of the heart. There is no power in being half-hearted, only instability.
Sin separates us from Jesus’ power. It does not separate us from His love, for nothing can, but sin is a breaking of our fellowship with Him. It is darkness instead of His light.
The cares of this world choke out Jesus’ power. What we will eat or wear. How we will make money. The upkeep of our possessions. The latest social media trend. For as we fret and worry, we display our unbelief that Jesus will take care of us.
Jesus calls us to love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind (Mark 12:30). When we line up with His will, His power can be unleashed in our lives.
Jesus calls us to forsake our sin (John 8:11c). When we do, He can come close and lead us by His powerful hand.
Jesus calls us to trust Him and walk by faith (Matthew 6:25-26,30). This is so His power can flow through us and over the circumstances around us.
Jesus gives us:
The power to live as a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The power to die to ourselves (Luke 9:23-24).
The power of love in a world of hate (Galatians 5:22-23).
The power of joy despite our circumstances.
The power of peace in the middle of chaos.
The power of patience in an always-on, instant world.
The power of kindness among cruelties.
The power of goodness to evil people.
The power of faithfulness where no loyalty exists.
The power of gentleness under control.
The power of self-control among the self-centered.
The power that makes all things possible (Matthew 19:26).
This Easter as we focus on what Jesus has done and is doing for us, let each of us each choose to know Him better and live in the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10a).
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(Matthew 28:18) And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”
(Romans 6:6-11) We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
(John 11:25-26) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
(Matthew 25:31-34, 41) “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’...Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
(Colossians 1:17) And he [Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
(Mark 12:30) ‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
(John 8:11c) “Go, and from now on sin no more.”
(Matthew 6:25-26,30) “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ... But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
(2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
(Luke 9:23-24) And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”
(Galatians 5:22-23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
(Matthew 19:26) But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
(Philippians 3:10a) That I may know him and the power of his resurrection.
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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
