The True Meaning of the Resurrection
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May 01, 2011 |
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 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'" (John 14:6)
Nobody can escape from death on this earth. However, there is only One who died, resurrected, and now is alive. It is Jesus Christ who even leads those who believe in Him to the glory of resurrection and eternal life.
There might be some stories of people who died and revived. It is starkly different from the resurrection explained in Christianity. What, then, is the true meaning of the term 'resurrection'?
First, the meaning of resurrection is true life.
As Romans 6:23 says "for the wages of sin is death", we all were destined to death for we were all sinners. 'Death' in this scripture carries the spiritual meaning as well as the fleshly meaning. It means that we were destined not only to die in flesh and but also to go to the way of destruction, Hell. However, the Lord saved us from the death. He paid the price for the sins of all mankind by taking the cross.
After dying on the cross He came back to life. He became the firstfruits of resurrection. When we accept this Lord as our Savior and believe in Him, we will not face the death caused by sin. We will live forever in the kingdom of heaven.
Of course, even those believers who are saved face the physical death. But even though they face death, the Bible does not say they are dead, but 'asleep'. This is because the Lord gave us true life, which means that we will not die forever, but live for eternity in the Heavenly Kingdom.
It is just as 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." Those who are asleep are those who believed in the Lord during their earthly lives and were dead and buried. At the time of the Lord's second coming, they will resurrect. At this moment, the dead bodies in the grave will be changed into the resurrected body and unite with their spirit as written in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
After this, the bodies of those who are alive will change into spiritual bodies that will never perish. Then, they will be caught up in the air as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
Secondly, the meaning of resurrection is true love.
Jesus took the cross to save mankind who were sinners. He did not just love with words, but He gave us everything with His actions. By resurrecting, He proved that His love was true. Jesus resurrected because He was innocent and He couldn't be bound by the law which says that 'the wages of sin is death.' It means He loved us so much that though He was completely innocent, He took the punishment of death on the behalf of sinners.
We can also feel the great love of God the Father through the resurrection of Jesus. Adam forsook the love of God by committing a sin. As a result he became a man of flesh and according to the spiritual rules he had to die. Furthermore, all his descendants, humanity, all of whom are descended from him, had to face death as sinners as well.
However, God prepared Jesus even before time began to solve this problem of sin. And, when the time came, He sent His one and only Son Jesus to this lowly earth for us sinners and let Jesus be killed on the wooden cross. Even when the people committed sins He loved us so much that He sacrificed His only Son to solve the problem of sin for us.
Then, what is the ultimate purpose of planning this salvation of the cross? It is to gain true children. Namely, God planned all these things to give us the heavenly kingdom and eternal life and to share His love. He clearly showed us His love by sending His one and only Son to this earth and His Son fulfilled the sufferings on the cross and the resurrection. John 15:13 reads, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends." As recorded, Jesus showed this greatest love by taking the cross.
Resurrection also carries the third meaning, true faith.
Jesus believed God would certainly fulfill the providence of the salvation of the cross. And so, He could obey with joy. Namely, He fulfilled the providence of salvation completely by taking the cross.
Of course, He was persecuted and even faced many threats to His life. When He took the cross, He had to be forsaken even by God and become completely alone. But until the last moment when He gave up His Spirit on the cross, He completely trusted God. He believed that He would resurrect and enjoy the glory, together with God, after the sufferings of the cross.
If we wholly trust God like Jesus did, we can also live in faith and not compromise with the world. To wholly trust God is to believe in God who will also give us our resurrection and the Kingdom of Heaven. Those who have this kind of faith do not love this world that will perish and disappear. They cast away sins every day and because they have hope for the eternal heavenly kingdom, they try to become sanctified. Also, in any kind of sufferings, they work faithfully for the kingdom of God until death. Their faithfulness will never change.
Dear brothers and sisters, are you leading a life filled with hope of resurrection? The Lord gave us true life through His resurrection, He demonstrated His true love through crucifixion, and took the cross with true faith of resurrection. I hope that you will march toward New Jerusalem by believing in the Lord of the resurrection and with the hope of resurrection.
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