WHEN JESUS ROSE

The power of these verses is staggering! A man is brutally killed on a wooden cross, is buried in a tomb and comes alive from the dead three days later. Later, people who knew this man well see him, touch him, hear him. They spend many days and nights with him, then watch as he flys into the skies surrounded by angels. Is this a fairy tale? No! It's the truth.

Jesus Christ is that Man. He was delivered into the hands of sinful men who mocked and killed Him. Jesus is the Man Who died the cruel death of crucifixion. He was the Man buried in a tomb guarded by Roman soldiers so that no one could take away His body. Jesus was the Man Who rose from death to live again. Jesus was the Man who proved His resurrection to hundreds of people before returning to heaven by flying into the sky with His angels. Jesus is the Man!

Paul was a strong believer in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He believed it was foundational to God's demonstration of His Grace and our salvation. Paul believed Christ was the first one to rise from the dead and that every Christian had the hope of personal resurrection because of Christ. Paul spoke clearly about it before crowds of people everywhere:

The Evidence

"A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him [Paul]. Some of them asked, 'What is this babbler trying to say?' Others remarked, 'He seems to be advocating foreign gods.' They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection."

Acts 17:18

"For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof to all men by raising him from the dead."

Acts 17:31

"Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, 'My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead."

Acts 23:6

"It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today."

Acts 24:21

"I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen--that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

Acts 26:22-23

Paul wrote about it in his many letters to friends:

"...regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 1:3-4

"We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection...Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Romans 6:4-5, 8-11

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Philippians 3:10-11

"We believe that Jesus died and rose again..."

1 Thessalonians 4:14

Paul's greatest explanation of Christ's resurrection and its impact on Christians is found in his first letter to friends at Corinth:

"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born...But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he 'has put everything under his feet.' Now when it says that 'everything' has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.' Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ingnorant of God--I say this to your shame. But someone may ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?' How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery; We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 15

The Victory

What has been the defeat of mankind since the time of Adam and Eve? Sin and death! Adam sinned and died. People have been sinning and dying ever since. Has that defeated God? Absolutely not! God had a plan for victory even before Adam sinned. Jesus Christ is the sacrificial Lamb who God sent to earth to take away the sins of the world. Jesus died for us. He shed His blood for us. He agonized on the cross because of and for us. He was buried in our place.

If Jesus had died on the cross and remained in the tomb, we could have forgiveness of sins, but that's only part of what God planned. If Jesus remained in the grave, God would not have won the victory. The victory was complete in Christ's resurrection. Jesus beat death. He beat sin. He beat Satan. Jesus WON!

Jesus Christ died for our sins. Jesus rose for our justification.

"The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him [Abraham] alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness--for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification."

Romans 4:23-25

Christians stand before God as free men and women. We stand before Him justified (made righteous). We stand before Him with an eternal future of life and joy. No one else can say this. Christians are alone in this amazing light...the light of Victory. The resurrection is that Victory!

"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory."

Our lives are about to be changed forever. We are about to experience the resurrection of Christ in our own bodies. We are about to see what it is to change from perishable to imperishable ... from mortal to immortal. It may be today. It may tomorrow. It may be next week, or next month, or next year or the next or the next. The fact is we are going to change. We will be victorious. Christ's resurrection is proof of that. Then we can sing with Paul, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 15:56-57

Look at what Christ did for us through His death and resurrection! He gave us victory over death, sin and the law. We are victorious!

I'll be the first to tell you that Christians don't always act victorious. We often get defeated and discouraged. We often wonder why such awful things befall us in life. We often wonder why we're so weak. We are allowing sin and the law to keep a grip on us even though we're spiritually free of their grip. What do we do about that? Apply the principles of Victorious Living. Here's what God taught the Apostle Paul to do about it.

"You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 6:18-23

We are "free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness". We need to be smart about our freedom. We need to understand the working of our victory. We needed God in the beginning and we'll need Him in the end. It's silly to think we can depend on God completely for our salvation and then just throw Him aside and live out the rest of our lives without Him and be successful! We were slaves to sin. Now we are slaves to righteousness. We offered our body and mind to sin before Christ. Now we offer our body and mind to righteousness which leads to holiness. It's a process. We don't get everything overnight. We have to work at it. Being a slave or servant of something or someone means we work, work, work, work. Being a servant of God means we spend a lot of time listening, learning, doing. Look at what Paul told the Corinthians about their victory through Jesus.

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

1 Corinthians 15:58

God does not say living a victorious life will be easy. In fact, He makes it clear we will labor for Him. However, that labor will not be in vain. We have a great reward. It's the reward of pleasing Him Who so Graciously gave us everything! It's the reward of spending eternity with Christ in great joy. That's our victory. Sin, death, the law ... they can't do anything to us now. We are on our way to the great resurrection. Jesus rose and so will we!

"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen."

Taking God's Grace to the World!

Taking God's Grace to the World!

"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © , 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers."

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