Resurrection Life

Jesus Christ was appointed by God to procure the unthinkable for Mankind. From the beginning, God planned to bring us into a life characterized by his power, his authority and of pure partnership with him. “Resurrection Life” is one way the Scriptures describe this life. To begin to understand Resurrection Life, we must realize that God produced this life through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

In The First Place

 Jesus Christ appointed his apostles to deliver a message to the world: the Gospel (or Glad Tidings) of the grace that is through Christ. The Gospel is recorded simply in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

But I make known to you, brethren, the glad tidings which I announced to you, which also ye received, in which also ye stand, 2  by which also ye are saved, (if ye hold fast the word which I announced to you as the glad tidings,) unless indeed ye have believed in vain. 3  For I delivered to you, in the first place, what also I had received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; 4  and that he was buried; and that he was raised the third day, according to the scriptures. (1Corinthians 15:1-4 Darby)

According to this scripture, the Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These three events produced Resurrection Life! Each event builds on the previous. Jesus Christ’s resurrection could only come about because he died. The word “resurrection” means raised from among the dead or raised from death. A resurrection must be preceded by death. Jesus Christ died, then he was buried and after the third day he was raised out from among the dead. Having an understanding of this sequence of events is crucial to understanding Resurrection Life.

Like the progression of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s arrangement for us is progressive. Once we receive one truth, he advances us into another. For someone to receive Resurrection Life, they first must believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried and was raised out from among the dead. This is the gateway to Resurrection Life.

This progression is understood through the Book of Romans. Chapters 3-5 of Romans shows us how to enter Resurrection Life (see also Romans 3:21-26, 4:23-25). Chapters 6-8 show us how to walk in the Resurrection Life (especially 6:3-11 where the Apostle Paul explains our personal association with the three events of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection). Once we believe in the events of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God progresses us to believe that we died with Christ. This is explained through the subject of our baptism into Christ Jesus.

 

What Does Baptism Mean? 

The basic meaning of baptism is to be immersed into something and come out with the qualities of what you were immersed into. Two ways “baptism” was used in biblical culture were dyeing clothes and pickling. For example, immersing clothes into a dye, such as a white tunic into blue dye, was referred to as baptizing the tunic. The tunic emerged with the qualities of the blue dye. “To baptize” also referred to the final step in pickling when the cooked cucumbers were immersed into a pickling solution for days. When the process was complete, the cucumbers were called pickles. They smelled and tasted like the pickling solution into which they were baptized. Similarly, we were baptized into Christ Jesus.

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:3 AV)

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4 ESV)

Accepting that we died with Christ and were buried with him naturally progresses into our acceptance of being raised from death with him. This is where we experience newness of life. In this context, newness of life is freedom from the burdens of sin. Accepting that Christ’s death freed us from these burdens allows us to live in newness of life, Resurrection Life.

No Longer Slaves to Sin

For if we have grown into fellowship with Him by sharing a death like His, surely we shall share a resurrection life like His, 6  for we know that our former self (identified with sin) was crucified with Him, to make our body that is liable to sin inactive, so that we might not a moment longer continue to be slaves to sin. 7  For when a man is dead, he is freed from the claims of sin. (Romans 6:5-7 Williams)

These verses repeat the point that we are likened to, and share in, Jesus Christ’s death. It gets even better: “we died with Christ so that sin would be inactive in us, that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” In other words, before we died with Christ, we were slaves of sin. Sin governed us. It directed our lives in selfishness. In this context, Romans 5:10 states, “We have been reconciled (reconnected) to God by the death of his Son.” Putting this together reveals a powerful truth: Jesus Christ died to resolve the sin problem, (separation from God). His death reconciled us to God so that we would no longer be slaves to separation from God. Now we have been liberated into Resurrection Life - partnership with God.

How to Walk in Resurrection Life

Continuing in this context, we come to the first directive in the Book of Romans. It tells us how to walk in our Resurrection Life.

But if we died with Christ, we believe that we also shall live together with Him, 9  knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, no longer dies. Death is no longer master over Him. 10  For what death He died, He died to sin once for all; but what life He lives, He lives to God. 11  Likewise (in the same way) you also, consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:8-11 EMTV)

The word “consider” is translated from a mathematical term which means to add up the numbers and draw a logical conclusion. For example, 2 + 2 + 4 draws the logical conclusion of 8. This word “consider” means to draw a logical conclusion based on the points being made. The points made in verses 1-10 are that we died with Christ and are raised to new life with his resurrection. We are directed by God in verse 11 to consider ourselves accordingly. What are we dead to with Christ? Verse 2 states that we are dead to sin. One powerful way to practice being dead to sin is when we fall short of God’s standard, in any way, we can declare: “Christ died for that sin too!” You might add, “The Cross of Christ was NOT in vain. It covered this sin also!” Romans 6:11 also states that we are to logically conclude ourselves alive unto God in Christ. A practice of this is to speak words accordingly: “Nothing shall separate me from God, my Father. I have been reconciled to God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and I am going to live accordingly, hand in hand with my Father!” These are practical examples of how to walk in Resurrection Life.

 

Resurrection Life is Power

...about His (God’s) Son, who on the physical side became a descendant of David, and on the holy spiritual side 4  proved to be God’s Son in power by the resurrection from the dead—I mean, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 1:3-4 Williams)

Jesus Christ’s identity as the Son of God was authenticated “by the resurrection from the dead.” Proof that Jesus was the Son of God with power was NOT by the many miracles he performed. Proof was not due to the hundreds, maybe thousands, of people with whom Jesus spoke God’s Word. The proof that Jesus was the Son of God was not even attributed to how he walked by God’s wisdom. Jesus Christ’s identity as God’s Son is proven by his resurrection from among the dead.

According to the Scriptures, we are called sons of God: a people who have been raised up from among the dead to walk in newness of Resurrection Life. As we learn how to walk in Resurrection Life, we too prove to be sons of God. We must accept that we first died with Christ in order to be raised up to manifest Resurrection Life. Resurrection life can only follow death. The “old you” died with Christ. The “new you” is forever alive with Christ. Accordingly, life upon earth consists of learning what is “dead” and what is “alive” through Christ. The Williams Translation states it this way:

So you too must consider yourselves as having ended your relation to sin but living in unbroken relation to God. (Romans 6:11 Williams)

 

Produced According to His Own Kind

Jesus spoke about what his death and resurrection would produce:

But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified (referring to his death and resurrection). 24  Most assuredly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:23-24 EMTV)

Jesus likened his death and burial to planting a seed. Jesus said he had to die and be planted in the earth in order to bear much fruit. Had he not died, like a seed that is not planted in the ground, he would have remained alone. Without his death, Jesus would have remained only one man with the power of God to carry out God’s will upon earth.

According to Genesis 1:11-12, seed produces according to its own kind. What did Jesus produce by being buried in the ground like a seed and being raised from the dead? The fruit manifested by his death is the Body of Christ. We are of his own kind! We are blessed with all the potential to walk in the fullness of God, all the ability of Christ in us. As we saw above, we are directed in Romans to accept and walk in our baptism into Christ Jesus, in his death and resurrection. This changes things! We are learning to address situations and problems with the authority and power of Christ. You are a “new you”- one who is identified with Christ. He died and was raised from the dead in order to bring forth many according to his own kind. He is the first born from the dead (Colossians.1:18), inferring that there were more to follow.

 

Beholding the Truth

The words of God reach those who desire to know him. If someone desires to know God as their Father, they have to go through the only door to get to him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said himself,

I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  (John 14:6 HCSB)

As you spend time thinking the thoughts of your Resurrection Life, you will grow spiritually. You will experience the power of the Resurrection Life and walk more and more in the fullness of God. God has arranged that his Word of life would produce in us Resurrection Life.

The truth of Resurrection Life is simply this: we are made new in Christ. We have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life. As we continually look at these truths and learn to accept them as reality, we develop in the greatness of the power of the resurrection. Every person has a hollow gap until he is reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Ask the Father to teach, show and enlighten you regarding the Resurrection Life he has given us. God says he will teach us great and hidden things which we do not yet understand. If you desire to know this Resurrection Life he has given us, just ask him. He says to us…

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (Jeremiah 33:3 ESV)