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Monday, April 21,
2008
Resurrection
Now
John 11:23-26 Jesus saith
unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. (24) Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. (25) Jesus
said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: (26) And whosoever liveth and
believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (KJV)
Today it is a common
knowledge that someday we will die and then be resurrected into the heavenly
realm, or I should say that is the desire of every believer. However if you
notice the wording in verse 25 you will see our Lord makes the statement
that I am the resurrection as well as the life, not I will be or have been,
but I am, right now. Not only does He refer to Himself as the resurrection
but also the life; in fact by simply believing in Him we will never have to
die.
Ephesians 2:4-7 But God, who
is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye
are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew
the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ
Jesus. (KJV)
Thayer’s definition for
quicken:
2227 zoopoieo-
1) to produce alive, to begat
or to bear living young
2) to cause to live, to make
alive, to give life
a) by
spiritual power to arouse and invigorate
b) to restore
to life
If you notice in verse 6, the
word hath is used, something that has already taken place and continues to.
We were all dead in our sins; our old fallen nature kept us separated from
the things of God so that we were not able to partake of the new life in
Christ. Now that you are a partaker of this new life by being born again
into the realm of the Spirit, Christ is resurrected in you and allows you
to be a partaker of His heavenly kingdom. You are now resurrected from a
spiritual death, a separation from God, and have access to the throne of
God through the name of Jesus Christ so that you can sit and hear the
message of Christ on a daily basis. These are the true riches of an
exceeding grace that is available now, not just some day in the sweet bye
and bye.
Colossians 2:12-13 Buried
with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith
of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (13) And you,
being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (KJV)
It’s a spiritual baptism that
allows you to be spiritually risen with God from your dead end life in the
flesh. Have you ever heard the term baptized by fire? Well, those that truly
know the Lord have been baptized, identified as partakers of Christ by dying
to self, allowing Him to resurrect and lead them on the path of life. In
the Old Testament the children of Israel were considered to be baptized
unto Moses as well, because the life they were now living was one that was
following the commandments of God as He instructed Moses on how they should
live. We too are identified with Christ, because we choose to be led by His
spirit and not our old fallen nature which is influenced by the lusts of
the flesh, thus giving us access to the heavenly realm.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified
with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (KJV)
You know in order for there to
be a resurrection there first has to be a death. Although many claim they
want to go to heaven, few are willing to die to get there; which
spiritually is something that should be taking place right now. Crucifixion
was and still is a most excruciating way to die and one that truly does
keep the body in subjection. The Lord is asking His people to take up their
own cross on a daily basis and die to self so that they can walk in newness
of life being led by the Spirit and not the lower nature. So who is leading
and guiding you this day; and are you headed in the right direction, taking
a seat in the heavenly realm so that you can hear the message of Christ and
carry out His personal plan of salvation He intended for you to walk in?
The life we now live should be a life of faith of the Son of God; what He
has done on our behalf as well as what He would like to continue to do in
and through you. Now the real question is, ‘will you let Him’?
Romans 6:3-7 Know ye not,
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into
his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of
his resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. (KJV)
Remember what happened after
our Lord was crucified? There was a resurrection that brought forth a new
man. Those of us that allow our old nature to be crucified and buried will
also experience the likeness of His resurrection by walking in newness of
life and not according to the old dead sinful nature. It is only those that
truly die to sin who are freed from its deadly grasp and are set free to
walk in the Spirit and no longer fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Romans 6:8-11 Now if we be
dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing
that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more
dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in
that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our
Lord. (KJV)
Verse 8 begins with the word
now, a now faith in Jesus Christ that the life we now live in the flesh is
one that will be by the faith of Him. We should be dead to sin so that we
can now resurrect ourselves alive spiritually unto God through the one
mediator between God and man, that being Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 11:39-44 Jesus said,
Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto
him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. (40) Jesus
saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou
shouldest see the glory of God? (41) Then they took away the stone from the
place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said,
Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. (42) And I knew that thou
hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that
they may believe that thou hast sent me. (43) And when he thus had spoken,
he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. (44) And he that was dead
came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound
about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. (KJV)
If you look at the spiritual
implications of what took place with Lazarus you can see the similarities
of how it parallels our own rebirth into the realm of the Spirit. We too at
one time were bound up in sin and our life did stink as well, being dead
spiritually and separated from our Lord. Once the stone, or should I say
the stony heart was taken away a new life was brought forth by the word of
the Lord and resurrected. We were all bound up with sin and unbelief, but
now we are loosed and set free to serve our Lord in Spirit and in truth. Is
everyday a new day with you; has the Son risen in you to enlighten you to
the new life in Christ or are you still spiritually bound in some dark
realm? Arise and shine and Christ shall give you life again.
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