Resurrection Power: Made Alive in Christ

It is a great feeling when we as humans have power. The power to complete any task we set our minds to do. We create, design, imagine and then use our hands to take what is in our minds and make it real. But there are all types of power. The power a CEO has in a company. The power the government has in making laws that shape culture. There is political, social, financial, intellectual, and ecclesiastical power in the world today. There is power used for good, and power used for bad.

The follower of Jesus has within them power. This power that is within every believer does not come from them, but from the one who loves them enough to send Jesus to live the perfect life they could not live and die the death they deserved for sin. The power that Jesus rose from the dead three days later is the power that lives within every Christian.

Resurrection power is experiencing the power of the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.[1] There are three different Greek words that may be translated as power.

• Exousia: authority or right. Matthew 28:18
• Dunamis: The Holy Spirit’s power for witnessing. Acts 1:8
• Kratos: might, or strength. Ephesians 1:19-20; 6:10

Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus described to them this power he wanted them to experience that comes from the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. This is a power that was unusual but power that defies Satan. Paul in Ephesians six commanded them to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.[2] Jesus told the disciples that he would leave, but a helper would come and be with them forever.[3]

The perspective we have in our life shapes the way we think and live. Whether that is thinking and pondering about the things of the Lord or just thinking about what you are going to have for breakfast.
Paul told the church in Philippi:

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [4]

Paul wanted to experience this power, but to do that, he would need to live a life imitating Christ and to share in his sufferings and shame. Jesus was clear to the disciples that the world would hate them, because they hated Jesus first. Paul told the church in Corinth that it was not wise and persuasive words that they heard the message and preaching, but a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.[5]

A follower of Jesus lives following Jesus' example: obeying the truths of Scripture, worshipping in Spirit and truth, and living in step with the Spirit. They will see the fruit of the spirit in their life.[6] Their selfish desires do not matter because they desire what God desires. They’ve tasted that the Lord is good, and they desire more. Paul told the church in Ephesus that they have been made alive in Christ. The follower of Jesus is made alive when they confess Jesus as Lord and repent of their sins. Their life is changed. Their desires are changed. They are a new creation, and the Holy Spirit living within them gives them the same power Jesus had.

Christian, today pray that you may live in light of this power, and pray that God would strengthen you to live imitating Christ.

[1] R. T. Kendall, Understanding Theology, Volume One (Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus, 1996), 336.
[2] Eph. 6:10 (All quotations taken from the ESV)
[3] Jn. 14:16
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 3:6–11.
[5] 1 Cor. 2:4
[6] Gal. 5:23-24