2 Things Easter Means for Every Christian
East window stained glass, "He is not here for he is risen as he said"; St Swithin's church Ashmanhaugh Norfolk; image from Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
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As a child I loved celebrating Easter. Part of its appeal was a new Sunday outfit, fellowship, and good food. Yet, of course, there is more to Easter than the materialistic acquirement of a new dress or toys, or even the wonderful blessings of a meal with friends.
The story that calls for such celebration is the story of Jesus being vindicated in his righteousness before God the Father when God raised him from the dead (1 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 6:4; 8:11;). This story is one of a battle—the battle—fought and won. Satan thought he had conquered the Son of God, yet death could not hold Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ resurrection means hope for the future.
Because Jesus was born, lived, died, and rose again, his people have salvation from sin and can look forward to their own bodily resurrection and freedom from death and sin (Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15:13-19). Far from being a nice side detail to the gospel, the resurrection is the point at which the gospel is either a wonderful message of salvation from death and evil, or a ridiculous fairytale we should be ashamed to believe.
If Christ didn’t rise from the dead, the apostle Paul says we are still dead in our sins (1 Cor. 15:13-19). Because Christ did rise from the dead and declared to have lived a perfect life before God, those who belong to Jesus can be assured that one day we too will be raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20).
We won’t be ethereal creatures floating on clouds, but we will be full-bodied persons. We will have a glorified body that has substance to it and is completely renewed by the Holy Spirit. We shall have bodies like our risen Lord. (Col. 2:12; 1 Cor. 15:42-44). With these glorified bodies comes new heavens and a new earth free from all sin and evil for God’s people to live in (2 Pet.3:13; 1 Cor. 15:50-57). So on Easter and every Sunday, let us rejoice that the Lord is risen and that in Christ we also will rise from the grave.
Jesus’ resurrection means security for us now.
The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:1-19 that without the resurrection we would all still be in our sins. In that case, we would still be under God’s just judgment without any satisfaction made for our sins. Thankfully, because the resurrection of Jesus did happen—in history, eye-witnessed by many—believers in Christ have a loving relationship with God the Father and comfort from the Holy Spirit, and they are loved and cared for by Jesus Christ.
Believers are the children of God (Rom. 8:16) and are safe in Christ from spiritual harm (John 10:27-29) and every hardship they encounter will be for their final good (Rom. 8:28). Not only is our future secure in Christ since we will have new glorified bodies and be with Jesus, but we can have comfort right now, knowing that God loves us and all our sins are taken care off by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This article was originally published on March 31, 2018.
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