The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Easter, or Resurrection Day as many Christians refer to it, marks the culmination of what many call Holy Week. Holy Week celebrates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and goes all the way through His death (Good Friday), burial and resurrection (Easter). All Christians are well aware of the meaning behind the death of Jesus Christ; that His death took away the sins of the world. But, what is the meaning of the Resurrection? To many, the Resurrection of Jesus has several meanings. A Christian website gives the most popular meanings. One, "it witnesses to the immense power of God Himself" and "His ability to raise the dead." Secondly, "the resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same." Lastly, the "Word of God guarantees the believer's resurrection at the coming of Jesus Christ for His Body (the Church)..." I agree with all these meanings. Yet, while true, there is something missing, something unintentionally left out, but is the most important meaning behind the Resurrection. When you read these meanings there is the impression given that the Resurrection has little meaning for a believer on this side of eternity. It is as if we accept Jesus Christ and then we gut it out somehow for the rest of our lives until we die or Jesus returns; whichever comes first. One is left asking, "Does the Resurrection have any meaning to a Christian from the time of salvation until our physical lives end?" Thankfully, the answer is, "Yes." The meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ that is left out is that His Resurrection is salvation itself!

In Romans 5:10, the Bible says, "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." We shall be "saved by His life." The problem that separates mankind from God is not that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The problem is that we are spiritually dead to God and in need of His life. The Gospel is sin, death, forgiveness and life. In Genesis 2:7, we read that, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." The "breath of life" breathed into Adam, which made him a living being, is the Holy Spirit of God. When Adam sinned, God removed His life and Adam died spiritually. He was physically alive, but spiritually dead. All of mankind is born, according to Genesis 5:3, in Adam's "likeness, after his image..." Therefore, God, in His love and desire to restore His life to mankind had to first deal with the sins that resulted from Adam's unbelief. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, was the only man born with a life to give that would satisfy the penalty for sin. Thus, raised from the dead Jesus could offer the life of God lost in Adam as a free gift to all who accept Him by faith. And because of the death of Jesus Christ there is now no sin that can cause the life of God to ever leave us again. It is an eternal life that carries us through this life, past death and into eternity. If you are born again of the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you have the life of God restored to you. He now indwells you and desires to guide you as you learn to rest in His finished work and depend on Him as the only source for unconditional love, total acceptance, meaning and purpose to life. It is the restoration of the life of God through faith in Jesus Christ that saves us from being eternally separated from God. That is the meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and why we celebrate. Happy Easter.