05/04/2026
“He is risen…”
Greetings good people. Today, throughout the world, Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This event, together with the crucifixion, is one of the greatest of our faith. I have already discussed some of the most important reasons for the crucifixion and death of Christ in my previous post. In this post, I will discuss the benefits of his resurrection. Please note that most of the insights for this post come from today’s sermon given at Gate of Life church by my pastor Jean Noel Gahie. (Please also note that all the scripture references are taken from the New King James version of the Bible).
The first conclusion we can draw from the resurrection is Jesus’ triumph over death. In Revelation 1:18 he says “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forever more. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death”. This means that Jesus triumphed over death. This point is crucial. Up until his resurrection the biggest obstacle ever encountered by any human being was death. No matter the power of persons, sooner or later, they would encounter death. Because Jesus is not dead but still alive, it means that he continues to rule creation and thus our very lives. This means that we serve a living God. The beauty of this victory is that by believing in him, we too can share in the same victory, which is one of the greatest blessings of humanity.
Romans 8:37 tells us “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” This declaration applies even more to Christ because he is the greatest conqueror, the first to conquer death.
The second consequence of the resurrection is our new identity. We can now be children of God.
The third consequence is that God gives us eternal life. In the Old Testament no one had eternal life, but by believing in Christ we now have eternal life as we read in John 6:47 : “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” This eternal life is a grace that no unbeliever has. It is the best life that any person can have, entailing guidance by and eternal communion with Jesus, and life within the context of his church. This eternal life is called the Zoe.
The fourth consequence is that we are justified by the resurrection. We read this in Romans 4:24-25 “but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” The meaning of justification is that we are declared righteous by God. Righteousness means to be seen as morally right in the eyes of God. Of our own this is impossible but only achievable through faith in God. Hence the resurrection enables this justification.
The fifth reason Jesus rose was to confirm our redemption. Hebrews 9:12 “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” This means that Jesus paid for our freedom to the slavery of sin with his own blood.
All of this is simply amazing. We can now understand why the Bible says in 1: 16 “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.” Not only did just grant us the mercy of forgiveness for our sins and escape from the punishment of these sins which was hell, but he also grants us the free grace of being children of God, a new identity, eternal life as well as redemption. We did not deserve this in any way. One of the problems in modern Christianity is how cheaply people consider this grace that Jesus offers. I am the first to admit that I made that mistake in the past. I did not appreciate that it cost him his very life and he had to endure the crucifixion for it. Let us not make that mistake but make the most of it. This precious grace that he has given us must not be wasted in any way. As Peter so well wrote in 2 Peter 3:17-18: “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” God has granted us this grace and called us to grow in it. Let us be wise to do so.