Table of Contents
The Power of the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate confirmation to believers that God’s power can grant them triumph over death. The wonder-working power of God is often represented in the Bible as the power that can bring the dead to life (1 Samuel 2:6; John 5:21; 2 Corinthians 1:9).
This same creative power can grant believers full victory over every sin through faith in God (1 Corinthians 15:57; 1 John 3:6, 9; Genesis 1:1). The Lord can restore us back to His image (Genesis 1:26, 27, 1 John 5:4-5). People cannot do this work by their own power (John 15:5). Thus, the miracle of the resurrection, with all that it implies, can be repeated in the life of Christians (Revelation 3:21).
Believers can become new creatures in Christ and walk with Him in newness of life (2 Corinthians 5:17). “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 also Ephesians 1:19, 20; Colossians 3:1) .
As the resurrection of Christ followed His death (Romans 4:25), so does the ministry of grace and sanctification begin after our spiritual death to sin. “For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:10-11).
Our initial acceptance of Christ’s death for us is justification (Romans 5:18). However, the Christian experience does not end at justification. Rather, it begins a triumphant life of sanctification (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Sanctification, or becoming more like Jesus, is the work of a lifetime (Ephesians 4:13).
All Things Are Possible
No one should be discouraged by the power of sin in their life, for with “God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). Abraham believed that God could bring into existence what He promised and even bring the dead to life (Hebrews 11:17-19). The Christian’s faith in God should be similar to that of Abraham. He fixed his faith in a divine promise that only God could fulfill (Romans 4:17). Likewise, Christians should trust God to give them victory over their weaknesses and bad habits (Romans 8:3-4).
Further, the Lord promised His believers unlimited power. He said, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19). And He pledged that they can experience salvation “to the uttermost” if they yield to Him (Hebrews 7:25). He declared that they will be “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37), and “always triumph” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Victory Over Death
At the second coming of Christ, the Creator “will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21). Thus, the redeemed, beside their transformed characters, will also have immortal bodies like Jesus (1 Cor. 15:51–53). This transformation completes the plan of salvation. Through Christ’s resurrection, the Christian in the New Earth will have full and complete victory over the second death (Revelation 2:11, 20:6).
Finally, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
