Here are 8 compelling reasons why the resurrection is of great significance.
The resurrection of Jesus does matter. The Bible says that if Christ was not raised from the dead, then our faith is useless. In other words, the entirety of the Christian faith is anchored on the resurrection of Christ. . God became flesh. But, without the resurrection, all of that would not have served its purpose. He came to die and be resurrected, fulfilling the Father’s desire to reconcile mankind with God. The cross is where the sacrifice of atonement took place. But, if Jesus had died and stayed in the grave, there would be no Christian faith.
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that if Christ did not rise from the dead, their faith is useless. 1 Corinthians 15.14
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead, but he did not raise him. If, in fact, the dead are, uh, not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, listen to this. Your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost, if only for this life. We have hope in Christ. We are, of all people, most to be pitied. Now, that is a very strong statement to say that if Christ was not raised from the dead, then our faith is futile. All the preaching we’re doing is useless, and we are false witnesses against God.
But the wonderful thing is that Christ was raised from the dead.
Throughout history, many have attempted to disprove the resurrection, labelling it a myth or a hoax. They have presented various arguments to support their belief, all without success. Some affirm He was not crucified, someone else replaced Him. But we can be in no two minds about it because the entire Christian faith is firmly rooted in the undeniable truth of Christ’s resurrection. The believer cannot brook any compromise in this regard. Some will try to persuade you that it does not matter, after all, we can all agree that He lived such a wonderful life. But His wonderful life is not what saves. He can save because He rose from the dead. As we explore why the resurrection matters, we will look at 8 non-exhaustive but vital reasons.
Reason 1 – proof of His divinity
First, the resurrection matters because it is proof of the divinity of Christ, and demonstrates His truthfulness. Before His crucifixion, He repeatedly told His disciples that He would be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day, but they did not understand Him. As we navigate our way through the minefield of religious ideas and propositions, it’s critical that we, as believers, hold on to the fundamental truths. Christ was born, and Christ died. Christ rose again, He ascended into heaven, and He will return.
Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus called as an apostle and singled out for God’s good news, which he promised long ago through his prophets in the holy scriptures concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our, uh, Lord, who was a descendant of David, according to the flesh. And who has been declared to be the powerful son of God by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness. He has been described to be declared to be the powerful son of God by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness.
Romans1.1–4
We must understand that Christ’s sonship to the Father is an expression of His divinity. When the individuals of His era sought His death, their anger stemmed from His claim that God was His Father, implying that He saw Himself as God’s equal. It is stated that He was affirmed as the mighty Son of God through the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness. The resurrection attests to His sonship and to His divinity. While we can delve into His sinless life, His declaration of divine sonship, and the multitude of miraculous deeds he performed, or even reflect on the Messianic prophecies He fulfilled, these aspects all converge in the profound truth of His death and subsequent resurrection. This triumphant rise from the dead affirms His divinity.
For the people of His day, the idea that someone would die and come back to life three days later was unprecedented. Many had tried to debunk His miracles unsuccessfully, but when faced with the concept of resurrection, skeptics had to craft an explanation. They proposed that the disciples must have secretly taken Hs body away. If they could have, they would have produced His body, but they couldn’t. And I’m sure they tried because the disciples were openly and publicly preaching that Christ was risen from the dead.
On Pentecost, Peter spoke to a diverse crowd about Jesus’s resurrection. He and John later told the Sanhedrin, “You crucified Him, but God resurrected Him,” leaving the leaders unable to respond. Today, those who are trying to debunk the resurrection can do nothing about it because He really is risen from the dead. So the first point of this message is that the resurrection of Jesus is proof of His divinity.
Reason 2 – forgiveness of sin and justification
The second reason why the resurrection matters is that, through His resurrection, we receive forgiveness for our sins and are justified. Our sins are wiped away.” We are declared righteous. It’s an awesome thing. In my book, Reborn, I discuss ten things that every believer should know and our new identity in Christ. I share a story about a man named Jason who was on trial and found guilty by the court. However, Jason’s father stepped forward and offered to take the punishment in his place, paying the penalty and assuming the guilt. As a result, Jason was declared not guilty and set free. That’s what Jesus did for us. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Jesus was put on the cross because of our sins, was buried, but later He was raised up so that we could be justified and declared not guilty. Despite the evidence and witnesses against us, Jesus paid the price for our sins, and we are declared not guilty.
Reason 3 – foreshadows our resurrection
The third reason why the resurrection matters is that it foreshadows our own resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection serves as a prelude to our own physical resurrection, something that we often overlook. Many believers suppose that we will die and go to heaven, where we will spend eternity sitting on clouds. Nonetheless, the Bible discusses the resurrection of the body, and Jesus makes this promise to us. He affirms in John 6.40 “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”. There will be a physical resurrection of believers and the resurrection of Jesus foreshadows and confirms it. The apostle Paul refers to this in 1 Corinthians 15. No wonder the resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you, a, uh, mystery. We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed in a moment, in the blink of an eye at, ah, the last trumpet. For the trumpet was sound. And the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality.
When this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place. Death has been swallowed up in victory. The resurrection of Jesus after three days sets the stage for our own physical resurrection on the last day. John, chapter 6, verse 40: This assurance is echoed by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter where we discover that the resurrection is a pivotal element of our Christian faith.
Paul states that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Instead, we will all be transformed in an instant, at the sound of the last trumpet, when the dead are raised imperishable and we are redeemed. This transformation is our victory over death, not simply our ascent to heaven, but the donning of incorruptibility through a resurrection. This is the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise that He will raise us up on the last day, and Paul confirms that this same event will be heralded by the sounding of a trumpet. Through the resurrection, the effects of death on our bodies will be utterly undone.
Reason 4 – our identification with Christ and dominion over darkness
Because of the resurrection of Christ, we are now identified with Him and are raised with Him in spirit. This resurrection is not physical, but spiritual, we are raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. As a result of His resurrection and our identification with Him, we have received dominion and freedom from sin, and power over the forces of darkness. Now, that is something to celebrate. “Without the resurrection of Christ, the authority he gave to His disciples would not have been effective. If Christ had remained dead, it would have meant that the devil was able to keep Him in the grave. This would have allowed the devil to have power over us, and we would not be able to resist him as we do today. The resurrection of Christ is what made it possible for us to hold the devil back and keep him away from us.”
If you’re a Christian and you’re harassed by evil spirits, you need to rebel against that and say, Satan, take your hands off me. Take your hands off my life. Ephesians 1 says He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by ‘raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. ‘
Furthermore, ‘He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens so that in the coming ages, he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus‘. Because of the resurrection, we enjoy the kindness of God. “We have been lifted up with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places, which is far above all rulers, authorities, powers, principalities, and dominions. Through His resurrection, we have been set free from the dominion of darkness, the dominion of the devil, the dominion of sin, and the dominion of wickedness. He has made us free men and women. This is truly wonderful!
Reason 5 – New life
The fifth reason why the resurrection matters is that when Jesus came out of that grave, He gave us new life. According to the Epistle to the Colossians, prior to encountering Jesus, we were under the dominion of the devil, following the prince of the power of the air. Subsequently, we are enjoined to walk in newness of life.
Colossians 3 says this,
If you have been raised with the messiah, seek what is above, where the messiah is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the messiah in God. When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
And then it says, put to death, in other words, kill, do away with, immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed; get rid of those things. They don’t belong to your new life.
The life of God is in us and consequently, our manner of living must change to honour Him. We’re empowered to walk in holiness, to live in a manner pleasing to God. We’re empowered to serve God and to do the will of God because Jesus came out of the grave. We demonstrate the life of God in the earth.
Reason 6 – Access to God
The 6th reason why it matters that Jesus rose from the dead is that it grants us access to God. When someone commits their life to Jesus, they gain the ability to commune with God, listen to Him, hear His voice and talk to Him. This opens up access to heaven and to the Father. The domain of God becomes our domain and our natural habitat. The Bible says we are to come boldly to the living God, the Father, the one who called everything into existence. We are no longer foreigners and strangers, but we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. We have been adopted.
Because he came out of that grave, every promise of redemption was fulfilled. The resurrection is not a secondary affair. It is at the heart of the Christian message. Without it, the apostle Paul says, our faith would be futile; our preaching would be useless.
Reason 7 – we inherit eternal promises
Jesus spoke to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and gave specific promises to those who overcome. We have been brought not only into newness of life but into a life of service to the living God, into access to the Father. But even more so, we are promised eternal rewards. He spoke to the church of Ephesus. He promised they would eat of the tree of life. He spoke to the church in Smyrna. He promised them the crown of life. To others, He promised a new name, a white stone, and awesome things that God has prepared for those who stay faithful and steadfast till the end.
Reason 8 – partakers of God’s eternal plan
Because of the resurrection, we become partakers of God’s eternal plan to redeem His creation. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. And those of us who walk with the Lord will be a part of these glorious happenings. In Revelation 22, Jesus says, ‘Look, I’m coming quickly, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to what he has done. I am the alpha and the omega, the first, um, and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. The city outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lie. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to attest these things to you. For the churches, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star. Both the Spirit, and the bride say come. Anyone who hears should say come. And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.
These are powerful words from the Lord, Revelation 21 speaks of the holy city coming down from heaven arrayed with God’s glory. Because of the resurrection, we have been inserted into the eternal purpose of God, to be part not only of the new creation but of his redemption of all things.
Conclusion
The consequence of the resurrection of Christ is a total reshaping of our existence. We were raised with Christ, died to our old selves, and were made alive in the Spirit, receiving access to the Father, the divine realm becoming our home. We are exhorted in Colossians 3 to set our sights on heavenly things and embody this new life through right living, discarding the remains of our old selves, and embracing a visible transformation that bears witness to the life-changing power of the resurrection.