Resurrection, It’s not Just for Jesus
Resurrection, It’s not Just for Jesus
Every year around this time all of Christendom celebrates the highest holiday of all. Most call it Easter. Many call it Resurrection Sunday. Those who are Jewish celebrate Passover at this time of year too.
The celebration of Passover is very appropriate because it was at the time of the Passover that Jesus finished the work the Father had given Him and thereby reconciled mankind to God as the Passover foreshadowed.
As religious celebrations go, Resurrection Sunday is the most important. Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ and in communion (or the Eucharist) we remember His death. Easter, however, celebrates His resurrection from the dead and it is His resurrection that proved our justification was justly available. (see Romans 4:25)
Interestingly, most of the times the word resurrection is used in the Bible it is used not of Jesus, but of regular everyday humans like us. When Martha expressed sorrow that Jesus had not come earlier and prevented the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus had this to say: “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25–26 (NASB 2020)
It is our resurrection upon which I would like to focus in this study but let me throw another curveball into the discussion. The resurrection that Martha understood was the resurrection of all who are in Christ at the “last day”, the culmination of history. This resurrection is yet to come for us.
I want to focus on the resurrection we who are Christ’s have already experienced. The resurrection that is available as a free gift to all who choose to place their faith in Jesus Christ as their only hope of being made acceptable to God. This resurrection is alluded to in 2 Corinthians 5:17 which reads, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (NASB 2020) “How does this describe resurrection?”, you ask.
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Romans Chapter Six. In this incredible passage, Paul lays out in perhaps the clearest terms found in all of scripture what happens to those who put their faith in Jesus for righteousness.
Let’s begin this study by looking at Romans 6:1–11 with a few stops along the way.
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
According to verse two, we have died to sin. In March of 2015 my dad slipped through the veil, moving outside of time and into the place Jesus prepared for him. Dad is alive. Nevertheless, at present he is dead to me. I cannot share my victories or sorrows with him, I cannot seek his advice. My current relationship to my dad is the same as our current relationship with sin. We are dead to it. For us, it is as if sin did not exist. Later in this chapter Paul tells us that sin is no longer our master. It cannot be our master because we are dead to it.
But I perhaps digress. Paul goes on in verse three to tell us that when we were immersed (baptized) into Christ we were immersed into His death. Do you see that? We died with Jesus Christ. Galatians 2:20 makes this very clear in saying, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;” (NASB 2020)
In order for those who are dead to have life, resurrection is required. Let’s continue in Romans six at verse four.
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, (NASB 2020)
The Spirit says this in several different ways so that we are sure not to miss it. We were buried with Jesus through immersion into death—because of what Jesus did at the cross, we were crucified, dead, and buried. This happened so that in the same way Jesus was raised, we too could be raised and have a new life—eternal life, His life.
The text states that we were united with Jesus in His death, so it is certain that we will be raised in the same way He was raised.
Now picking up at verse six.
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for the one who has died is freed from sin. (NASB 2020)
Our old man (not our dad, our old self) was (past tense) crucified with Christ. Remember here that God exists in a timeless Kingdom. For us this crucifixion with Christ occurred at the moment we placed our faith in Jesus to make us right with God. For Jesus, this happened at the cross. For God the Father, this happened “everywhen.”
Our old self is that nature we inherited from Adam. That fleshly, earthy, live-by-our-senses mindset that tells us if we work hard enough at it, we can be good and become acceptable to God. That old sinful nature died. It died so that we would no longer be under the control of sin.
We cannot be slaves of sin, we are told, because anyone who has died is freed from sin. Think about it. If I commit a crime but die before I come to trial, all proceedings against me cease. Dead people are free from prosecution. In the same way, we who are in Christ are free from sin and the natural consequence of sin, which is death.
Quickly now, let’s look at verses eight through eleven in Romans six before we move on to another passage.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (NASB 2020)
Jesus died to sin once for all time. Not multiple times, and not just for a while. Once for all time. This is important to notice when considering our forgiveness. The work Jesus finished at the cross resulted in our redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (see Colossians 1:13-14) Jesus pointed out in Matthew 26:28 that “this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (NASB 2020)
Parenthetically, this was during the Feast of the Passover. Here instead of sheep’s blood being put on the doorposts of the house, Jesus was demonstrating that He Himself is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
We have seen that Jesus died to sin once for all time, but He rose from the grave and now lives. Our text (Romans 6:8-11) concludes that we too should consider ourselves dead to sin and we should consider ourselves alive to God in Jesus Christ.
This is amazing news! We have been raised to new life. Here is how it is laid out in Ephesians 2:4–6
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (NASB 2020)
God loved us so much that He graciously made us alive with Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” (NASB 2020) Because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in sin, He made us alive. He raised us up. He seated us with Himself where He lives. This is the way the God who is love loves us.
What are we to make of this? How can we respond? Colossians 3:1–3 offers some help.
1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (NASB 2020)
If it was unclear until now, this passage puts the issue to rest. It states very clearly that we have been raised with Christ. Resurrection is not just for Jesus. Resurrection is for us too. What’s recommended as the best course of action given that we are resurrected beings is that we change our mindset.
Instead of setting our minds on earthly things, we would benefit from setting our minds on heavenly things. 2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us that we are ambassadors. We are no longer of this world. Things of this world are foreign to us. Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” John 15:19 (NASB 2020) We are citizens of another Kingdom. Old fleshly earthy mindsets no longer fit with who we are.
Changing our mindset from that of the world to that of God is the way we are transformed in our attitudes and actions. Paul points this out in Romans 12:2 where he wrote, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (NASB 2020)
Let’s finish by looking at another great passage that talks about our resurrection, Colossians 2:8–14
8 See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ. (NASB 2020)
If anyone preaches to you that God requires you to obey rules, rites, and rituals like being in church every Sunday, or giving enough money, or passing out tracts, or confessing every sin, or if someone points a bony finger your way saying, you’re not doing enough, or you’re doing it wrong, that is the kind of captivity Paul is telling you not to allow anyone to place you in. Every religion on Earth is made up of that nonsense. Christ-life is different. It is a personal and increasingly intimate relationship with God. One in which He loves you unconditionally, and where He works for your good.
Colossians 2:9 says, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10 and in Him you have been made complete” (NASB 2020)
Jesus is the Christ. The Messiah. The Anointed One. He is the only one who can save us. He is the only one who could redeem us from the bondage into which we had sold ourselves. Jesus is the fullness of God in bodily form, but wait there’s more!
In Jesus, YOU have been made complete. YOU do not lack anything required for life and godliness, as Peter said in 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” (NASB 2020)
Colossians 2 goes on in verses 11-14 saying,
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ,
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings,
14 having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (NASB 2020)
We were buried with Him in immersion (immersion into His death and immersion into Himself).
We were raised with Him through faith in the ability and trustworthiness of God to do what He said He would do.
Our faith is in the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. The same Spirit that lives in each of us who are in Christ. Our faith is in God the Father, just like the faith Jesus had when He walked the earth. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the three are One and our faith is in God.
God made us alive together with Jesus. He forgave us ALL our sins—not some, not just the ones before we trusted Him, ALL—even the ones we’ve yet to commit.
Resurrection is what happened to us when we believed.
If up to now you have been trusting in your own efforts to make you acceptable to God, or you have considered yourself to have become so messed up that you have just resigned yourself to whatever fate might await you when life on earth is over, Resurrection is what can happen to you. Simply believe God. He has left the gift of righteousness on your doorstep, just accept it from Him, let Him kill off old you and rise to eternal life.
