The Resurrection Today

"If you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, the resurrecting God of the Bible dwells in you today."

No resurrection? No hope. No resurrection? No life. No resurrection? No power. No resurrection? No Savior.

As we stand in awe of the life of Jesus, it points us to His death and resurrection. When we hear “it is finished” (John 19:30), we know the resurrection is right around the corner. Each time we set our minds on Jesus, our spiritual eyes are fixed on the ascended and risen Savior.

No resurrection? No faith, no relationship with God, no evangelism, no fellowship, and no growth.

“But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:20)! In this, we rejoice! The Father’s purpose wasn’t thwarted by death. The Son’s position wasn’t threatened at the cross. The Spirit’s power wasn’t throttled when Jesus died that cursed death on the cross. Jesus rose!

The Resurrection Today

What does the resurrection mean for believers today? It means that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in every soul who trusts in Him (1 Corinthians 15:20, Romans 8:11). It means that life is radically altered because Jesus is the Son of God who laid His life down so He could take it up again (John 10:18). He is the Son whose Father raised Him from the dead (Galatians 1:1). If you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, the resurrecting God of the Bible dwells in you today.

Colossians 3 shows us five aspects of the resurrection that can empower our lives today:

1. We have been raised with Christ (3:1–4). This unites us to Him for eternity. We have assurance in the work that Christ has done. No longer must we run on the hamster wheel of self-reliance and self-righteousness. We can rest in Him.

2. We will be raised from the dead (3:4). We are hidden with Christ, and we have the promise that when He returns, we will appear with Him in glory. If we died with Christ, we will also rise with Him because death no longer has dominion over Him (Romans 6:8–9). We can hope in Him.

3. We can seek and savor the things of God (3:1–2). Apart from Christ, there are none who seek after God (Psalm 14). Without the Holy Spirit making us alive, we are not even able to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Since we’ve been raised with Christ, our spiritual eyes can see and our spiritual ears can hear. We can taste and see that the Lord is good. We can savor Him.

4. We can kill sin (3:5–11). Sin wrecks our lives. Just a sampling of what the Bible considers sin will make the holiest of us feel wretched: “you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (v. 8). Christ’s resurrection power in us helps us put sin to death. We can fight through Him.

5. We can put on godliness (3:12-14). Grace transforms us. In Christ, we can do the impossible. By the grace that came to us through the risen Christ, we can bear the fruit of the Spirit and put on godliness, especially “love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (v. 14). We will become like Him.

We need the message of the resurrection more than once a year. We need it in every moment. Live each day, hour, minute, and second by faith in the glorious risen Christ!