The Divine Declaration

The death of Jesus paid the penalty for sin. But the resurrection of Jesus is God's declaration that the payment was accepted, that the sacrifice was sufficient, that sin and death have been defeated once and for all.

Without the resurrection, we would have no assurance that the cross accomplished anything.

The resurrection is God's stamp of approval on the work of His Son.

"And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty... And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!"—1 Corinthians 15:14, 17

Paul could not be clearer. Without the resurrection, we are still in our sins.

The resurrection is not an optional add-on to the gospel. It is essential to the gospel. It is the proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be, that His death accomplished what He said it would, and that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father.

But the resurrection is more than a proof. It is also a participation.

Paul tells us that we were raised with Christ, that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now works in us, and that we have been given new life in Him.

" Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."—Romans 6:4

The resurrection is not only past history. It is present reality.

The life that surged through Jesus's resurrected body is the same life that now dwells in every believer.

We have been raised with Christ. We are alive with His life. And we are seated with Him in heavenly places, far above all principality and power.

Hallelujah!