Resurrection Power: Christ and the Saints
Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 45:47
0 ratings
· 4 viewsFiles
Notes
Transcript
Gracious and loving God,
As we gather in your presence today, we come with hearts full of anticipation and gratitude. We thank you for the privilege of being able to gather together as your people to worship you and to delve into the riches of your Word.
Lord, as we embark on this journey of exploring the profound truth of Christ's resurrection, we ask for your guidance and illumination. Open our hearts and minds to receive your word with humility and receptivity. May the Holy Spirit, our divine teacher, be our guide as we seek to understand the significance of Christ's victory over death.
Help us, Lord, to set aside any distractions so that we may fully engage with your word and be transformed by its power. May the truth of Christ's resurrection resonate deeply within us, inspiring us to live lives that reflect the hope and joy of this morning.
As we open our hearts to your presence, Lord, we pray that you would draw us closer to yourself. Renew our faith, strengthen our resolve, and deepen our love for you and for one another.
We commit this time of worship and study into your hands, trusting that you will speak to us and lead us into a deeper relationship with you. May all that we say and do bring glory and honor to your holy name.
We offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord and Savior. Amen.
Today, we gather to celebrate the most profound event in human history—the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a story that transcends time, culture, and creed. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, we find the very essence of our faith, the cornerstone of our hope, and the source of our eternal joy.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is that central moment in human history that serves as the foundational doctrine of Christianity.
After having truly assumed human nature and submitted to an agonizing and shameful public death, the eternal Son of God was truly raised from the dead in his glorified physical body, no longer subject to decay and death.
His resurrection validates his identity as the divine Son of God, demonstrates his irrevocable victory over death and the grave, and secures both the present salvation and future physical resurrection of believers
During the era of the New Testament, the resurrection of the dead was a familiar concept among the Jewish people, who anticipated its occurrence at the culmination of all things.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Martha, for instance, interpreted Jesus' statement about her brother Lazarus "rising again" in this context, expressing her belief in his resurrection on the last day (John 11:23-24).
When Jesus declared himself to be "the resurrection and the life," the impact of his words intensified as Martha witnessed Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, emerging from the tomb (John 11:38–44).
Similarly, after the resurrection of Jesus, the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah's rising gained clarity.
For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
Jesus' revelation to his disciples on the road to Emmaus emphasized that his death and resurrection were central themes of the Old Testament.
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Moreover, Jesus himself foretold his resurrection multiple times (Matt 12:38–40; Mark 8:31; 9:34; 10:34; Luke 9:22), and even though the disciples initially struggled to grasp it, they were reminded of His words when they found the empty tomb.
He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee,
saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
When the disciples encountered the resurrected Christ, they verified his bodily existence by touching him (John 20:24–29
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The New Testament emphasizes the profound and enduring implications of Christ's resurrection.
1. It validates his divinity:
Listen to how Peter put it in his sermon on this subject in Acts 2:22–36
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—
23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.
25 For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
2. Moreover, Christ’s resurrection symbolizes victory over death and secures salvation (1 Cor 15:54–55; Rev 1:17–18; Rom 4:25; 10:9–10; Heb 7:23–25; 1 Pet 1:3).
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
We have victory over death if we place our truth in Christ.
3. Christ's resurrection foreshadows the resurrection of believers, who, having been united with him, will share in his glory (1 Cor 15:20; Col 2:12; 2 Cor 4:14; Col 3:1–4; 1 John 3:2).
But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
The resurrection of Christ holds a central place in Christian theology: everything is built upon this foundational event.
Without the reality of the resurrection our salvation is nothing but a sham, the proclamation of the gospel is utterly pointless, and Christians are to be pitied (1 Cor 15:14–19
14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.
15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.
16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.
17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!
18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
But, as Paul reassures us, Christ has indeed been raised from the dead (1 Cor 15:20)
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
and his union with believers ensures our own future physical resurrection 1 Thess 4:13–18
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Church family and friends, as we reflect on the resurrection of Christ and the promise of our own resurrection, let us live each day in the power of this truth.
Let us walk in faith, knowing that death has been defeated, and eternal life awaits those who not only profess Christ as Lord but posses Christ as Lord.
May the reality of the resurrection permeate every aspect of our lives, filling us with hope, joy, and unwavering confidence in the victory we have in Jesus Christ.
Let us Pray
Lord, we acknowledge our need for you. We recognize our brokenness, our sinfulness, and our longing for something greater than ourselves. In the light of Christ's victory over death, we see the hope of redemption and restoration.
We pray, O God, that you would open our hearts to receive this gift of grace. May the reality of Christ's resurrection penetrate deep into our souls, stirring within us a desire to turn from our old ways and follow him wholeheartedly.
Help us, Lord, to respond to Christ's invitation with faith and courage. Give us the strength to let go of anything that hinders us from fully surrendering to your will. May we embrace the new life that is offered to us through Christ's death and resurrection.
Lord Jesus, we invite you into our lives. Come and dwell within us, transforming us from the inside out. Lead us on the path of discipleship, that we may walk in your ways and bear witness to your love and truth in the world.
May this moment be a turning point for many, as they respond to your call and begin a new journey of faith with you, Lord Jesus.
And it is YOUR precious and lovely Name we pray....AMEN