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On Tuesday, we identified Jesus' purpose on Earth, as well as how to identify ourselves with His purpose. Remembering that our Lord faced a severe "identity crisis" on that first Easter and the days following His resurrection, we will focus today, in the penultimate section of this 6 part series, on casting the spotlight on two more related subjects...
Identifying ourselves with the Resurrection power...
It would serve us well to introspect as to whether "resurrection power" is playing a pivotal roles in the following areas of our lives... Jesus' resurrection power:
a) Saves... Dear Friend, if you have "identified" your sinful condition but are unable to liberate yourselves from the clutches of sin, the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit is for you to avail and break free from the grasp of sin (See Eph. 2:1-6) by making Jesus your personal Saviour: "The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you." (Rom. 8:11 NLT)
b) Sustains... Our Lord is called the "Saviour" not only because He infuses "life" into our "dead" spirits at the point of regeneration, but also because He empowers us from within to lead a God-pleasing life at all times (throughout the Christian's journey till reaching Heaven)... Even in the most adverse of circumstances: "But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world." (1 John 4:4 NLT; See also Acts 16:25/Phil. 3:10). For instance, overcoming hate while being at the receiving end of injustice is but one manifestation of resurrection power in sustaining a Christian's life.
c) Spurs... Post Easter, the Resurrection power of the Holy Spirit (See Romans 8:11) was now the Disciples to appropriate and advance the Kingdom. If on Easter Sunday, the Resurrection power emptied the grave and brought the Son of God out, fifty days later on the Day of the Pentecost it filled the Disciples, emboldening them mightily: "...they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:31 NLT; See also Acts 2). From that day onwards the same men who fled from the Master on the night of His capture in the Garden of Gethsemane were "capturing men in the net of the Gospel" for the remainder of their lives. Ever wonder from where the Early Church got its highest compliment (albeit unwittingly), "these men have turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6 NLT)? Not from its friends, but from its enemies! Talk of a Republican Presidential candidate giving his Democrat counterpart a Thumbs up or vice-versa.... That's Resurrection power for you, and because, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever..." (Heb. 13:8 NLT), its available even today for us to use. Say Christian, are you boldly witnessing (See Acts 4:31) for your Saviour wherever the Lord in His infinite wisdom has placed you?
d) Salvages... The same Resurrection power which opened the grave of the Saviour on the first Easter will on the day the last Trumpet is blown (See 1 Thess. 4:13-17) open the grave of every "resting" Christian too, for, "Christ...is the first of a great harvest of all who have died." (1 Cor. 15:20 NLT).
Identifying the Completion of Salvation work...
While the sixth epochal utterance on the Cross, "It is finished", on that first Good Friday signified the completion of the atoning work from the Saviour's side, the Resurrection of our Lord on the First Easter signified its acceptance by our Heavenly Father: "And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us." (Romans 4:23-25,5:1 NLT). It is this complete acceptance and appropriation of both the atoning work and resurrection of the Saviour by a sinner in his/her life that justifies him/her before the Judge of the Universe (See Rom. 10:8-9).
Consider this: The High Priest, on the Day of atonement, carrying the sacrificial, atoning blood, "disappears" into the Holy Place of the Temple from the eyes of the viewing public to sprinkle the same on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant (in the Most Holy place), and then to appear before the viewing public with the words "Shalom" so as to proclaim "God's acceptance of the atoning sacrifice". In the same way, Jesus, too, who had "disappeared" into the grave on First Good Friday, reappeared on the First Easter morning to both practically and virtually proclaim "Shalom (read God's acceptance of His sacrifice)" to one and all (See Matt. 28:8-9 CJB; Heb 9:11-12 TLB).
Prayer: Father, we glorify Thee for the Resurrection of the Saviour, whereby we are guaranteed of the fact that His great atoning sacrifice on the first Good Friday has been accepted by Thee. Enable us to share this Good News with others too with joy borne out of gratitude. In Jesus' Name. Amen
There is still more. Not only must we identify ourselves with Jesus' resurrection power, we must also identify ourselves with the "blessed hope" borne of "resurrection". Please join us on Saturday for "Of Easter and Identity Crisis, Part 4: The Blessed Hope"!
Suresh Manoharan
An unworthy servant
J and SM Ministries
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