RECEIVING THE BEST OUT OF RESURRECTION
Every human being has two types of life available to them: a life before Christ or a life after the death of the LORD. We can call this B.C. (before Christ) or A.D. (after Christ’s death). We all start with the B.C. life. Everyone is born with this life. This is the life of man. Man’s life cannot reach God, but God in His mercy stoops down to go to man.
- Our life after Christ’s death (A.D.)
The Bible says, “Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,
6 who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. Psalms 113: 5-9.
Who is like our God, who is so great and mighty, yet His love for us makes Him stoop so low to reach us, the dusty human beings, with His love. He pursues us tenderly with His sacrificial love and conquers us with His matchless love. This is quite different from our B.C. life. Before we met the LORD, we were all POWs (Prisoners of War) of the devil. But the LORD, rich in mercy, rescued us from the hand of the devil by dying for us and purchased us with His Blood.
- The value of resurrection
Jesus made a profound statement when He was about to die – “It is finished” – John 19:30. The word ‘finished’ means paid in full. The enmity between man and God is finished. Every attempt by man to reach God through different sacrifices has ended. The blood of Jesus has paid in full the penalty of our sins, transgressions, and iniquities. When we believe in Jesus, we become new creatures with eternal life. The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the greatest miracle! We are brand new without any record of sin because we believe what Jesus did on the Cross for us. We cannot be harassed by the devil again; Jesus has paid all we owe.
- Desire to want to know Him
We used to be blind and dead to spiritual things. But after the resurrection, the veil on the eyes of our hearts is removed. The eyes of our hearts are opened to know Him. We strongly desire to know God more daily. Our desire is based on gratitude for the grace and mercy of God that we receive. Paul said in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death.” In verses 5-6, of this chapter, Paul’s life before conversion was recorded. Paul reflected on what he considered prestigious before encountering the resurrected Jesus— his parentage, ancestry, zeal, and self-righteousness. But something miraculous happened to him after he met the LORD, which was recorded in verses 8-9,
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,”
There is a sharp, distinct turn in his thoughts from what he thought to be important before to what he has now come to know. The Greek word ‘know’ in verse 10 describes knowledge based on a relationship. It is a relationship between the person knowing and the object known. In this respect, what is known is of value or importance to the one who knows, hence establishing the relationship. You cannot develop the desire to know someone you do not value. Until we have the revelational knowledge of the great love and mercy of the LORD through His sacrificial love on the Cross, we will be just religious. We will be worshipping an unknown God. But because of His love and mercy, we and Jesus have a joyful relationship because of the revelational knowledge through the Spirit.
- Jesus our Intercessor
After the resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and was seated at the right hand of God. He became both our King and High Priest. As our King, He reigns in our lives, and as our High Priest, He continually intercedes for us. The Bible says, Hebrews 7:23-26
“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
Imagine, for a second, the exalted LORD praying for you continually. Our prayer life will no longer be filled with fear but joy and faith in our High Priest praying for us.
- Cleansing of conscience to serve the LORD
Our faith in the blood of Jesus, shed for us on the Cross, cleanses our conscience from sinful deeds and prepares us to serve the living God. the Bible says, “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, c so that we may serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:14.
Think about the spiritual promotion. The resurrection of Jesus qualified you and me to be members of the staff of the Kingdom of God. Our consciences cannot hold us back again. You are an ambassador of Christ. So let us work and make the LORD proud by allowing the truth of resurrection to permeate our lives, deepen our faith in Him, and strengthen our unwavering commitment to follow Him no matter what.f