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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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