What is resurrection life? What does it mean to live resurrected?
Resurrection life is the life of Christ within you. It is the new nature, reconciled with God, filled with empowering grace. Resurrection is the gifts and the fruit of the spirit. It is eternal life and the kingdom of heaven within you and all around you.
To live resurrected means to live redeemed, forgiven, set free from sin. To live without shame, without condemnation, without fear. It means to live with hope, perseverance, faith, and courage.
To better understand the resurrection life, we must understand it in the context of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Through his death and burial, Jesus paid the price for our sins. In doing so He paved the way for us to be made righteous (1 Cor 5:21), to be forgiven (Rom 6:23) and healed (1 Pet 2:24).
It was Jesus’ death and burial that paid for salvation, but it was His resurrection that conquered death and unleashed His power into the world (1 Tim 1:10). It is through His resurrection that we have been made new creations (2 Cor 5:17) and that the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh. (Acts 2:17-21). The resurrection gives us the ability to live by the spirit, not by the flesh.
There are many examples in the Bible of resurrection life. The woman with the issue of blood (Matt 9:20-22), the demonized man in Gadarenes (Matt 8:28-34) and the paralytic who was lowered from the roof (Luke 5:17-26). One of the best examples of resurrection life is Saul became Paul.
Saul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, a zealot who persecuted the early church. He was so focused on serving God that he let hatred blind him to the truth. He was so consumed by the law he served that he could not see the death it was producing in him, causing him to kill and destroy. We all know who has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
Then on his way to arrest more Christians in Damascus, he is blinded by a light and heard the voice of Jesus say “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:4). He was given new instructions and a new name, Paul. From that time on, he no longer persecuted the church, but became the persecuted. He went from spiritual death to life, from a zealous persecutor to a zealous, compassionate lover of people.. He became an apostle and the most influential person in the history of the church besides Jesus.
You may think this is merely a story of a giant in the faith, but I am telling you this is YOUR story. You were once dead in sin, but are now alive in Christ. You once were as righteous as filthy rags, but now are the righteousness of God. You have the kingdom of heaven residing within you. You are a child of God imbued with resurrection power and life.
You have been resurrected and made new, holy, righteous and perfect. You have unique gifts, abilities and anointing. You have every ability to live a full, rewarding life filled with freedom, joy, and peace.
