Death-and-resurrection is the package God gave us as the pathway to life; it’s impossible to talk about Easter without mentioning both Good Friday and the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation stone of Christianity (see 1 Cor 15), and yet the resurrection is more than a historical fact on which to base our lives; it is the pathway to living a new life, for we too now are guaranteed resurrection because of Christ’s resurrection (see Rom 6:4, Rom 8:11).
Christ’s resurrection has profound implications for our own lives right now:
‘Because You’re risen, I can rise.
Because You’re living, I’m alive,
Because Your cross is powerful,
Because You rose invincible,
I can get up off the floor.’ (‘Resurrection Day’, Rend Collective)
Since Jesus is alive and death has been defeated, we can know forgiveness of sins and redemption; we can know eternal life which begins now thanks to our reconciliation with God. We know that with God all things are possible (Matt 19:27) and so we can live with hope and the security of a future with Him.
Paul talks about God’s Spirit living in us, giving life to our mortal bodies, bringing us alive to Him (Rom 8:11) and about us reigning in life. (Rom 5:17) This happens as we focus on Jesus Christ (Heb 12:2, Col 3:1-2) and put on the armour of God (Eph 6:10-18), not forsaking fellowship with other believers. (Heb 10:24-25) We don’t simply have a great future after death (see 1 Thess 4), wonderful though this news is, but we know the resurrection life starts now. We too have a resurrection story because of Christ’s resurrection story:
‘One word, one touch, one encounter with the King
And my life has never been the same.
You alone get the glory in my resurrection story.
One cross, three days, then You rolled the stone away,
Called my name, now I’m running out the grave.
You alone get the glory in my resurrection story.’ (‘Resurrection Story’, Phil Wickham)
