Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)
All Christians, praise God for his great mercy! Though we were dead in our sin (Ephesians 2:1-3), he has made us alive in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7). We have been born again (John 3:3-8). We are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). We have a living hope, a great expectation (Romans 15:13), because of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:1-10).
All this is already ours today. We have been born again. We are a new creation. God has made us alive. Because of his resurrection, through baptism, we can walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). If we have been raised with Christ, we can set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-4) and not on earthly things (Colossians 3:5-8). It is by God’s grace we have been saved (Ephesians 2:8-9) to be his workmanship so we can do good (Ephesians 2:10). Because of Jesus, the Kingdom of God is here now (Luke 17:20-21 and Matthew 12:28), and we are empowered to serve in the Kingdom of God as ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20).
And yet at the same time the Kingdom of God is not fully realized. Because of Jesus’ resurrection we have this living hope, this great expectation, of a certain future. Jesus in rising from the dead was the firstfruit of those who died in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20) and he is the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). His resurrection makes our rising from the dead a certainty. We can live life knowing that an inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:4-5) that waits for us. It will be a wonderful life with a full enjoyment of God’s gifts and a fully restored relationship with God (Revelation 7:9-17). We will be free from sin and its brokenness (1 John 3:1-3), able to live life to its fullness as it was originally meant to be.
But today we are in an “already but not yet” state. Today we live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:1-7 and Hebrews 11:1). We are already a new creation and yet we sin and keep on doing what is wrong (Romans 7:18-19). We are already living an eternal life (John 3:16) but death still exists (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). So we wait for Jesus’ second coming when all God’s promises will be fully realized and everything will be made right. Today we live knowing that Jesus is our resurrection and life (John 11:25-26). It is all about Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:56-58)
PS This post was inspired in part by Timothy Keller’s book, “Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter”.
PPS Check out this Bible Project video on Jesus’ resurrection as recorded by Luke.
heinsite 