The Power of the Resurrection

The Power of the Resurrection- view from empty grave looking out onto 3 empty crosses bathed in sunrise, burial cloth folded neatly on stone bench

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies..” John 11:25 NIV. What a beautiful promise to celebrate on Easter Sunday, and our reminder why Jesus came to this earth. Our world may hold many uncertainties right now, but we can be at peace knowing our eternal future is secure through the mighty power of the resurrection.

Even though we use this special weekend to meditate on Jesus’s death and resurrection, it doesn’t end there. The power of the resurrection is alive in us every day and our source of hope!
Jesus conquered death and rose victorious. As believers, we are raised with Him to a new life- being shaped into His likeness.

What is Resurrection Power?

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT.

Paul was praying for the Ephesian Christians, and it is a prayer we can still pray for today- for ourselves and others. The Greek word here for power referred to a miraculous power or marvelous works. It is the root word for our English words dynamite and dynamo.

This was no ordinary power. It not only raised Jesus from the dead, but is available to us every day.

Paul continues:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV.

Did you just shout a big “Amen” too? That is one powerful truth!

How often do we think about this power, and how can it change our everyday lives?

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Here’s how God’s beautiful master plan unfolded-

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV.

As Jesus took His last breath and died for our sins, He proclaimed, “It is finished!”, He was making a statement the Jews would have recognized.

Each year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with a sacrifice for the sins of the people. When he emerged, he would declare to the waiting crowd, “it is finished” in Hebrew.

Except that the priest meant it was finished “for now.” They repeated this sacrifice year after year.

When Jesus proclaimed “it was finished”- it was forever; once for all. Our sin created a debt we owed to God but could never pay back by our own merit. He paid our debt in full.

By faith in His sacrifice, we become one with Christ. Our old sinful and rebellious nature was crucified on the cross with Him, and because He was raised, we are too.

Living in the Power of the Resurrection

He has given us new life in the here and now by breaking sin’s power over us. We have a new nature-our old self is dead and we are now alive in Christ. The process of becoming more like Christ begins immediately when we put our trust in Him. Amen and Hallelujah!

Oh, but then sometimes spiritual amnesia sets in. The everyday problems, irritants, and failures pop up. We go our own way. Think our own thoughts. Work through our problems our way. We can lose the fire and excitement of Resurrection power once Easter is behind us.

But He has us covered here too.

We may forget, but He does not. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to remind us of the resurrection power we have inside.

Newness of Life

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV.

When Jesus rose from the grave, we rose with Him into a new life. He gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and transform our lives.

We don’t live under sin’s power anymore, and it does not control our lives.

Do we still sin? Of course, but since we are “alive in Christ”, He renders our tendency to sin powerless. It does not have the last word. Sin is not our master, Jesus is. Our focus is on living for Him.

We see our old perspectives, attitudes, and desires for what they are.

We have the (dynamic!) power to resist temptation. The Spirit convicts us of sin so that we can run to Him for forgiveness. We are not in this struggle alone.

The Power of the Resurrection- rough brown cross with light brown puffy heart at center with rays of light shining from it.

Pin me for later!

The Resurrection Changes Everything 

We’ve seen how the resurrection changes us- our sins are forgiven, and we can live a new life by the Holy Spirit. He is making us new from the inside. But there is more.

A Living Hope

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 NIV.

Don’t you love how Peter breaks out in praise when he considers his salvation? I want to have his “Easter mindset” each day! I never want to forget how great God’s mercy is towards me.

We are born again with a living hope because the promise of eternal life with our Savior is true. Our hope is “living” because is can never fade away. It is being held and reserved in heaven for us. No other earthly inheritance compares.

Peter couldn’t describe what our heavenly inheritance will actually look like; mere words cannot capture its beauty and majesty. We get glimpses of heaven here and there in Scripture, but we cannot accurately describe living in the glory of God.

But his words can bring us joy, confidence, and hope while we are here on earth. That is the living part of our hope we can claim now.

Resurrected with Christ 

The Power of the Resurrection- blue sky with white clouds, pink flowering branches on left

Isn’t that an amazing perspective? I was dead in my sins, now I’m alive and forgiven. I was blind, but now He gives me a clear vision of my life in Him. Do others see that His joy, love, and hope that are  alive in me? Do they see me resurrected from my old life?

By grace, Jesus died my death. In faith, I acknowledge it was my death that He died, and I trust in His sacrifice. We meet at the cross and He unites us for eternity. Nothing can separate us.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 NIV

What a comforting promise to hold onto. It is impossible to be separated from His love. His death is proof of his unconditional love. We are secure; there is no reason to fear.

Can others see this fearlessness in me?

These are important questions to ask this Easter. Easter is all about magnificent change. Jesus has shown us He is stronger than death and gives us a hope that is stronger than any challenge in our lives. His love is indescribable in its scope and He focuses it on us.

Walking in the Newness of Life

This is my prayer this day after Easter Sunday. That my stunning resurrected testimony would be apparent to those around me. I want to lay my intentions aside and ask Him to live through me by the power of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to lose the wonder and awe of my life’s transformation that He secured for me.

He preserved His Word so “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31 NIV.

He wants us to claim this new life with enthusiasm, hope, joy and commitment. Stand firm in your faith, even when life is hard. He is forever by your side. Focus on the glory to come: when we close our eyes to this world, we open them to see Jesus face to face. Hallelujah! Christ has Risen! He is Risen indeed!

Easter Blessings!

AnnMarie

All Scripture is taken from the NIV unless specified otherwise.

anxiety/worry- 2 small pots with tiny green shoots decorated with white hearts

Photo Credit: Deposit Photos

4 thoughts on “The Power of the Resurrection”

  1. Thank you Ma’am AnnMarie.❤️ It is so amazing when we learn deeper how facts or things in the OT and NT links together .

    Happy Resurrection Day!😊❤️🙏🙏
    May the power of His resurrection be upon us all who believe and trust in His Name🙏❤️

  2. This was great, Ann. I have never heard that the high priest said “it is finished” on the Day of Atonement! Wow.

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