Living Proof of the Resurrection
But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.
Romans 8:11
The Proof is In Jesus
One of the dreaded conditions that people face in life is the disease of ignorance. I render it a disease due to the fact that folks can die from not knowing or simply ignoring the symptoms of their lack of knowledge. For that reason, the Apostle Paul and one we would call an ambassador for Jesus Christ, wanted the Church to be informed about their faith. He would constantly use the expression, “I don’t want you to be ignorant” and “these things are written for your instruction.”
Here we are recognizing the most important claim of Christianity and yet people don’t know what it means nor do they know how to apply it. For that reason, many are quite satisfied holding the Ceremony of Easter instead of living in the reality of what happened at Easter. Yes, many are very happy to talk about how Jesus was raised from the dead by the Power of God, but they make little or no application of that same power that should be operating in their life.
If God is God, then there should be no problem that God raised His Son from the dead. Let’s just be clear about that. As a matter of fact, Jesus Himself said, “I have Power to lay down My Life and I have Power to take it up again.” He had that Power because of Who He was. If God is God, and Jesus was God, “He had the Power of Life.” This not only gives proof to the claim that not only is Jesus God, but the Power He has is greater than the power of death. The claim that Jesus makes is that yes, He would die, but He would also be raised from death to prove two things. First, He proved that He died for a reason. That reason was to provide a ransom from sin. Second, He proved that His Power of Resurrection is greater than death’s power.
Jesus presented proof that He had conquered both our sin and the power of death by His Resurrection from the tomb. Jesus proved that sin was no longer the lord and master of the lives of people who believed, but He was now their Lord and Master. Jesus proved that the power of death was temporary. Jesus proved that the power of sin could be overcome. Jesus proved that God’s Love was real and could be granted unto man. Jesus made good on the Promise to Abraham that “through Abraham’s Seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed.” Jesus proved He was God by walking out of the tomb. Jesus proved that He was God by proclaiming “All Power is given unto Me in Heaven and in Earth.” He proved that there is eternal life. He proved that Heaven is real. He proved that believing in Him is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Here is the point, Jesus presented Proof of His Resurrection. Jesus showed Himself to His disciples and presented evidence that He was risen. Where is your proof that the Resurrection Power is working in your life? Joining in a celebration of Easter is a good thing, but it is not proof. I need proof that you know Jesus. No, I can’t take your word for it because this verse says nothing about your word. This verse in Romans 8:11 states there ought to be proof in your life. Here is what it says. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you. Now, if you have the proof, there will be two things that will indicate it. First, you will no longer live under sin’s bondage. Second, you will demonstrate that Power of God by living a resurrected life.
Proof of a Resurrected Life
On that first celebration of the Resurrection, the Disciples rejoiced to know that Jesus was alive. They met with Him; they ate with Him, and He taught them many things from the Scripture that proved those things would happen. The response of some was great joy, while others said, “their hearts burned within them while He taught them.” Here we are centuries later, but Christ is not on the earth; He is in Heaven interceding for the Saints. Here is another point: we need proof of the Resurrection of Jesus. People are not convinced by simply holding a holiday and calling it Resurrection Sunday. People are crying out for “living proof.”
There are three (3) living proofs of the Resurrection in the life of a believer. It has been demonstrated since the Resurrection of Christ and it still applies in the life of the believer today. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you. If the Resurrection Power of the Spirit is in You (the Same Spirit), then you should have the power to get up, the power to stay up, and the power to keep going. That’s it. You don’t need to attempt to do extraordinary things to prove you have power because it is not your power anyway. All you need to do is GET UP, STAY UP, and KEEP GOING.
The Resurrection Power to GET UP is demonstrated by God working in us to raise us from sin. He that raised Jesus from the dead shall also raise the believer from the life of sin. If the truth be told, I didn’t quit sin. I did not shake off the sin habit and start living right. The Resurrection Power of God Almighty raised me from sin. The Apostle Paul should know. His life of sin led him to persecute the Church of God until God met him on the Damascus Road. Paul was knocked from his beast but raised as a believer in Christ Jesus.
Think about how this can be accomplished. He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you. It is through the Power of Christ that we are raised up. Get up from the addiction. Get up from the sins of the flesh: drunkenness, immorality, pride, and greed. Get up! Quit playing in the dirt and thinking that you can stand righteous before a Holy God. Get Up.
Not only does the Resurrection Power give us the ability to Get Up; the Power of Christ gives us strength to Stay Up. Even after you are saved you will face some battles that will threaten you and attempt to knock you back down. First, you have an adversary called Satan. Yes, that is the same one that fought Jesus. But if we have the Power of Jesus living in us, we will conquer Satan. We’re told in 1 John 4:4, You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. God’s Power is in us to keep us up. We stay up not as a result of our ability but of God’s Resurrection Power.
Each time I think of the greater power that is in us, I’m reminded of the old cartoon “Popeye the Sailor.” His adversary would always try to overpower him, but Popeye would get to his supply of spinach and overpower his enemy. You and I have the Eternal Power of God’s Spirit. We have access every day because the Resurrection Power of Jesus is alive in us.
Not only is the Power of the Resurrection displayed in the Power to Get Up and the Power to Stay Up; it is manifested in the Power to Keep Going. We have the Power to Keep Going. Don’t stop doing the will of God just because you had one or two good days; Keep Going. Don’t stop witnessing for Christ just because a few folk don’t agree with your doctrine; Keep Going. You can Keep Going through the hard times. You can Keep Going through the Corona-virus, through the Poverty virus, through the call you everything but a child of God virus. You can Keep Going. Here is the reason. Not only do you have Resurrection Power, you have the Resurrection Himself walking beside you. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He is the Waymaker. Jesus is the Friend above all friends. Jesus is the Lord of Lords. Jesus is my Resurrection. You and I can keep going until we are home with Him.