THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS RESURRECTION!

Today, I am speaking on “THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS RESURRECTION.” 

Every Resurrection Sunday, in churches around the world, Christians re-tell the story of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. On this day, our Messiah, Yahshua (Jesus Christ) rose from the dead having conquered death.

In Luke 24:1-12 the Scriptures say, “But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ²They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. ³So they went in, but they couldn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. ⁵The women were terrified [afraid] and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? [Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive?] ⁶He isn’t here! He has risen from the dead...^”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the key to the Christian faith Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Christian faith would just be “hopeful thinking.”

 1 Corinthians 15:17 says, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”

1 Corinthians 15:14 says, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”

Why is it so? (1) Just as He promised, Jesus rose from the dead. We can be confident, therefore, that He will accomplish all He has promised us in His Word. (2) Jesus’ bodily resurrection shows us that the living Christ is ruler of God’s eternal kingdom, not a false prophet or impostor. (3) We can be certain of our resurrection because He was resurrected. Death is not the end-there is future life. (4) The power that brought Jesus back to life is available to us to bring our spiritually dead self back to life. (5) The Resurrection is the basis for the church’s witness to the world. Jesus Christ is more than just a human leader; He is the Son of God.

When Jesus Christ rose from the grave, He gave His followers a potent hope to end every doubt about His Kingdom.

What then is the significance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ? What does the resurrection of Christ mean? The resurrection of Christ from the dead means that:

1. Our salvation is sure and secure. Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our salvation couldn’t be possible (1 Cor. 15:1-4, 14-20), because a person could not be saved without believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:9).

2. Every claim of Christ is true. Christ is what He claimed to be. All that our Saviour did, all that He said, all the claims He made, will go for nothing if He did not rise from the dead. All the miracles, all His testimonies, all His claims are just but a proof of John 1:1, 14, 18. He is God. He was Deity in the flesh (Jn. 1:1-3; Jn. 1:14).

Jesus Christ came to reveal God the Father and His everlasting love to man.

The claims of Jesus abound in the Scriptures. He said:

• “…. I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1).
• “I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless (Gen. 17:1).
• “I am the God of Bethel…” (Gen. 31:13);
• “I AM WHO I AM...” (Ex. 3:14).
• “I am the LORD: that is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images (Isa. 42:8).
• “I AM HE: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be any after Me” (Isa. 43:10).
• “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no saviour” (Isa. 43:11; Acts 4:12).
• “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isa. 43:25).
• “…I am the first, and I am the last; beside Me there is no God” (Isa. 44:6).
• “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else” (Isa. 45:22).
• “I am He; I am the First, I also am the Last” (Isa. 48:12).
• “I, even I, am He that comforteth you: who art thou that that shouldest be afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass” (Isa. 51:12).
• “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me? (Jer. 32:27; Lk. 1:37).
• “For I am the LORD: I will speak, and the Word that I speak shall come to pass; it shall no more be prolonged….” (Ezek. 12:25).
• “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys” (SOS 2:1).
• “For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8).
• “I am meek and lowly in heart….” (Matt. 11:29).
• “…I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5-6).
• “I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?” (Lk. 12:49).
• “I am come in My Father’s name, and ye receive Me not: and if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Jn. 5:43).
• “I am that bread of life: he that cometh unto Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst” (Jn. 6:35; 6:48).
• “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eats this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51).
• “I am the light of the world. Whosoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12; 9:5).
• “For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again” (Jn. 3:13).
• “You are from below. I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” (Jn. 8:23).
• “I am the gate; whosoever enters through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture” (Jn. 10:9).
• “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me” (Jn. 10:11, 25).
• “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies” (Jn. 11:25).
• “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all me to Myself” (Jn. 12:32).
• “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by [through] Me” (Jn. 14:6).
• “I am the only link between God and man” (1 Tim. 2:5).
• “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener (Jn. 15:1).
• “I am the Alpha and the Omega…. Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
• “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Rev. 1:18).
• “I am He who searches the hearts and the minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds” (Rev. 2:23).
• “It is done. I am the Alpha and the omega, the Beginning and the End. To him that is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Rev. 21:6).
• “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Rev. 22:12).
• “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16).
• “I am the only SOLUTION to all your problems” (Acts 4:12).

 3. Eternal life in Christ is real. What is eternal life? “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (Jn. 17:3).

Whosoever believes in Christ will not perish but will have everlasting life. In John 3:14-15 Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

God has given me eternal life, and this life is in His Son (1 Jn 5:10-12).

This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. So, whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have His Son does not have life (Jn. 3:16-19; Jn. 5:25).

Beloved, this present life is nothing compared to the life to come. The length of time we have to live in this world is 120 years maximum (Gen. 6:3). This length of time is probably less than one trillionth of a second when you bring eternity into focus. My question to you is: how come you spend so much time preparing for your place in this transient life that you will stay for only a negligibly short period and you ignore the preparations that you need to make for the place that you will live in forever?

4. God the Father has accepted Jesus Christ’s atoning work on the cross (Rom. 4:24-25). Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father for our justification. Right now, you and I that have accepted the Lord Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour have been declared discharged and acquitted. Hallelujah!

Jesus was handed over to die because of our sins. He was raised from the dead to make us right with God the Father. He was raised from the dead because of our justification.

That Jesus is risen from the dead means that we have been made right with God. In Romans 4:24-25 the Bible says, “Now this wonderful truth - that God declared him [Abraham] to be righteous—wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. 24 It was for us, too, assuring us that God will also declare us to be righteous if we believe in God (the Father), who brought Jesus our Lord back from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised from the dead to make us right with God.”

 In 2 Corinthians 5:21 the Bible says, “That God the Father made Jesus Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).

Throughout the New Testament it is clear that Christ’s death on the cross is what provides atonement. The New Testament is the “New Covenant” of Jesus Christ, sealed by His blood.

5. Judgment awaits everyone including you (Heb. 9:27; Acts 17:30-31; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10).

Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Who will be the judge? It is Jesus Christ that will judge everyone. Acts 17:30-31 says, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: 31 Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Jesus Christ] whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.”

Another translation puts it this way, “God overlooked people’s former ignorance about these things, but now He commands everyone everywhere to turn away from idols and turn to Him. 31 For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead.”

Romans 14:10-12 says, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ…12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

6. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead gives us the confidence that God will someday resurrect every Born-Again believer to heaven. If Christ had not defeated death there would be no hope for you or me. But the fact that Christ did come back to life is the central message and purpose of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:12-14, 20, 51-56; 1 Thess. 4:15-17).

7. Beyond the grave, there is a glorious life for all those that were Born Again while on earth but a terrible life for the wicked – those who refused to accept Jesus Christ as LORD and personal Saviour while they were on earth.

Psalm 9:17 says, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

Death is not the final word. All who are in Christ Jesus will live forever. The end of the natural body is death. But the end of physical death is resurrection. There is an endless life after physical death.

A good example of life beyond the grave is the case of a certain rich man and Lazarus (Lk. 16:19-31).

8. Beyond the grave there is a glorious body to be worn by the children of God (1 Cor. 15:38, 43-44). What will our bodies be like after they are resurrected? If you are disappointed with your body now, you won’t be when you arrive in heaven. Your resurrected bodies will have many supernatural characteristics (1 Cor. 15:38; 1 Cor. 15:39-44).

You may be saying in your heart, “If there is going to be a resurrection of the body, what is it going to be like?” The Bible teaches that it shall be a spiritual body. It shall be a body like unto the glorified body of Christ.

What about the unsaved dead? The unsaved dead will most likely have the same body in the eternal world that they had here in this life. Their bodies will still be subject to pain, to suffering, and to thirst (Lk. 16:23-24).  If you die unsaved, your body which was a partner with your soul in sin here in this life is going to share with you in that place of everlasting torment.

But for those who died in Christ, and who will be raised at the first resurrection (the RAPTURE), there is going to be a new changed body, fitted for the resurrection life.

Our present body is perishable; our future bodies will be imperishable. Here in this world our hair gets grey and our eyes become dim, but in the life to come, there is going to be a permanence in which lovely things will never stop being lovely.  The beauty and the glory you will wear there will never fade because it is permanent and eternal.

1 John 3:2-3 puts it this way, “Yes, dear friends, we are already God’s children, and we can’t even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when He comes we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. 3 And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure”.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 48-49 says, “It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which will die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die. 43 Our present bodies disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power. 44 They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies….48 Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam’s, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ’s. 49 Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the Man from heaven. Hallelujah” (NLT).

Our present earthly bodies become weary and exhausted, but in the life to come these limitations [infirmities] will be gone. Our new bodies will not be subject to weakness, sicknesses and diseases; they will never grow weary. The hair will never change its colour, and the eyes will never grow dim. Withered hand will be made whole; blind eyes will see, and the lame will walk! Hallelujah! They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies.

Beloved, now understand that here in this present world our bodies are subject to the laws of nature, but in the life to come, they will be subject to the laws of the spirit world. They will no longer be subject to the law of gravity.

For instance, after His resurrection, Jesus appeared and vanished at will. He walked into houses through the wall. He travelled distances in short periods of time – at the speed of thought.

This is true: our bodies in the eternal world will be perfect, painless, sinless – not limited by space, not barred by locks, not hampered by distance – they will be like the resurrection body of Jesus Christ. We will have a new kind of body fitted for a new kind of life. Right now, we have bodies like Adam, but then we shall have bodies like Christ. Amen!

In Philippians 3:21 the Scriptures say, “Who shall change our vile [worthless, disgusting] body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.”

Jesus will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same mighty power that He will use to conquer everything, everywhere. “Surely, we can repeat with joy the very words of the Psalmist when he said, “I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness” (Ps. 17:15).

9. Satan is forever a defeated foe (Col. 2:13-15). You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God the Father forgave all your sins and made you alive with Christ. He cancelled the record that contained the charges the devil made against you. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross of Christ.

Jesus stormed the gates of hell and disciplined the Government of hell. He disarmed them: the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places. He stripped them (He spoilt them); He shamed them (He made a show of them); and He subdued them (triumphed over them). He took the keys of the Paradise section of hell from Satan. He opened the door and released all the Old Testament saints from Abel to Malachi.

The only battle left for you as a child of God today is “the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12). In this battle (spiritual warfare) against the enemy (Eph. 6:12), you have already worn (Jn. 19:30) and you are more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37); you are an overcomer (1 Jn. 4:4), you are triumphant (2 Cor. 2:14). You have the power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over every power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you (Lk. 10:19; Mk. 16:18).

10. Death has been abolished forever. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead as a guarantee to every Christian that death has no more power over anyone in Christ. Death has been drained of its power. The power of death has been destroyed and the fear of death has vanished. The fear of death subjects so many people today, like the Old Testament saints, to bondage.

People fear death because they are not sure of where they are going to when this life is over. But in Hebrews 2:14-15 the Bible says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

Because God’s children are human beings - made of flesh and blood - Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He destroy the power of the Devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could Jesus Christ deliver those who have lived all their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

Through His death on the cross Christ destroyed him who had the power of death (1 Cor. 15:51-56).

10. The power of God is greater than the power of Satan and this power is at the disposal of every New Creation. The resurrection of Christ from the dead emphasizes and demonstrates the supremacy of the power of God over the power of Satan. We are faced with the fact of an empty tomb. The grave was empty. What were seen were only the linen grave clothes and the handkerchief that had been around His head (Jn. 20:6-7).

Death could not keep Jesus captive in the grave. The entire demons of hell could not keep Him in the grave. Satan himself could not keep Him captive. Why? Because Jesus Christ is all powerful. Jesus Christ was supernaturally raised from the grave by the power of God the Father (Rom. 8:11).

The power that raised Jesus from the grave was not an ordinary power. It is a supernatural power. Jesus defeated death and the grave. He came forth in the resurrection and left the clothes just as they were. John saw and believed (Jn. 20:8). His Saviour is alive. He had been raised from the dead.

We have this power at our disposal because of the Resurrection. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”

Ephesians 1:19-20 says, “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (NKJV).

The exceeding greatness of God’s power is towards us who believe – we have this power because of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor, HOG)                     21.04.2019