SIMPLE: Returning to the Essence of Easterਨਮੂਨਾ

The Resurrection: Life Beyond Death

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)

The life of a Christian does not end with death. Death, for the one who has placed their faith in Christ, is just another step in the process of truly living: we are born, we grow, we die, and then we live fully. That truth is a great hope! A hope that reminds us that who we are does not expire with our physical death, but that the eternity placed by God in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11) finds its fulfillment with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6).

That hope of life, given to us by grace and which functions beyond physical death, has a point of origin: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is the triumphant act over death itself—the central element of our faith, that which gives meaning and hope to Christianity. Through it, the Christian, “though dead, will live.”

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and with that He not only affirmed that resurrection is the defeat of death (a victory that all who believe in Him will experience [Philippians 3:10–11]), but also that He, being the resurrection itself, is the means by which our realities and conditions are transformed—from death to life (Ephesians 2). It’s almost an echo of His words in John 14:6: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

In this way, Christ is life beyond death. And it is through Him and the power of the resurrection that all of us who have fixed our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) will enjoy the promised eternal life, before which death will no longer have any effect (1 Corinthians 15:55–57). Christ is the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20), the hope that does not disappoint (Romans 5:1–11), the Lord over all things, the image of the triumphant and incorruptible invisible God, and our eternal guarantee of life and salvation.

The life of a Christian does not end with death, because Jesus said: “Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Written by Daniel Josué Calvo Castro (M.Div. Class of 2021)