The Resurrection and Us

Earlier in the week I blogged about Eugene Peterson's Living The Resurrection. It didn't really help me understand or relate to the resurrection. It's funny how things can come together - God-incidences, I suppose, but I was doing some reading for TASTE * and the set reading happened to include a section from Bruce Milne's Know The Truth on the Work of Christ.

It was heartwarming to read just why the resurrection matters, and then later, how it should affect us in responding to (or you could say, living) the resurrection.

The resurrection matters because it:
- fulfills Christ's priestly work. 'In the resurrection God the Father in effect pronounced his divine 'Amen' on the priestly work of his Son. He openly declared it effective; real atonement has been attained... Further, in the risen Christ we see our flesh-and-blood humanity preserved and affirmed before God on the further side of condemnation, wrath and all the assaults of evil. Here is humankind beyond the reach of judgement.'

- manifests his kingly work. 'His resurrection proclaims his victory over all three (sin, death and the powers of darkness)... The risen Jesus is the evidence of God's victory in him over all challenges to his lordship and rule and therefore demonstrates the establishment of the kingdom of God.'

- embodies the promise of his future reign. 'The risen Jesus is the 'first-fruits' of the coming harvest of the dead at his return in glory.'

The resurrection means the following for the Christian: joy, peace, worship, hope, and victory. In view of Christ's resurrection, we know that we reign with him, are seated with him, and our life is hidden in Christ. Therefore, we set our minds on the things that are above, living to please him, as we know the joy of the Lord, the peace that comes from knowing we are under no condemnation, worshipping the one who has been revealed as the Son of God, looking forward to his return, and celebrating in the victory he has won for us.

What does the resurrection mean? Everything for the Christian!


* TASTE stands for Training at St Elizabeth's, and is a monthly meeting of people eager to learn the tools of word ministry, preaching, doctrine, training papers and discussing leading the people of God.