God's Resurrection Power预览

The Story of God's Restoration and Redemption

Easter is a great time of celebration, renewed faith, and the promises of new life that come with spring. There’s great rejoicing as we reflect on the life, death, burial, and great resurrection of Jesus that we celebrate at Easter.

Have you ever thought about why Jesus had to die for us, though? The simple answer is that we live in a broken world, and Jesus came to restore our relationship with God. Jesus came so that we can have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10).

As we look toward the cross, do we really understand why Jesus had to die? Understanding the why behind His death makes the power of His resurrection all that much more significant in our hearts.

In Genesis 3, sin entered the world, creating a chasm between God and man. Romans says, “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23) and “We all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Once sin entered the world, it brought death—spiritual death, physical death, and eternal death—all people were eternally separated from God.

During this time of separation, God’s people waited thousands of years for the Messiah—the One whom God was sending to save them. Before Jesus Christ’s coming (throughout the Old Testament), God commanded the Jewish people to make sacrifices to Him. This temporarily brought them into right standing with God by cleansing them of their sins and making them (ceremonially) clean. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in Genesis 3, sin entered the world, and so did God’s pattern of redeeming and restoring His people.

In Genesis 3:21, God made garments out of skin for Adam and Eve to wear. This sacrifice was a forerunner of the sacrificial system that demands God’s people bring an animal “without spot or blemish” (Leviticus 22:21). It was set up to be a heartfelt sacrifice; it wasn’t just that they brought any animal; they were to bring the best of their animals, their firstborn, their first fruits, the best of the best. All of this pointed toward the only true sacrificial life, the for-all-time sacrifice made by Jesus Christ—God’s only Son. Jesus was fully man and fully God. As man, He died in our place. As God, He died as our sinless substitute. God gave us His best in order to reconcile us to Himself.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. -1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT

The sacrificial system that God set in place was a temporary solution to an eternal problem.

Animal sacrifices somewhat stood as a placeholder; however, the sacrifice needed to be repeated regularly to follow the pattern God set up for His people to confess, repent, and be restored.

For God’s people to be fully restored back to God—to be in relationship with Him—more was needed. No previous sacrifice had given mankind the promises and blessings that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection provides.

In Jesus’ sacrifice, believers are fully restored back to God, promised eternal life with Him, and also given access to His Holy Spirit. Our sin no longer separates us from God because Jesus’ blood (see Hebrews 9:22) covers all past, present, and future sins for the believer. As believers with the Spirit of the Living God within us, we are being made holy and righteous, completely restored and redeemed in Christ. We will still sin, but by the grace of God, we are not eternally separated from Him.

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.” -John 10:28

The power of the resurrection provides the victory needed over sin and death, and that same power indwells believers—the power of the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we can overcome the obstacles, challenges, and trials of this world. Death could not hold Jesus. He broke every chain of bondage and slavery when He died. The grave had no place for Him because death is no more. Hallelujah!

Let’s take a moment to reflect and pray through this powerful truth of the cross. Are there things going on in your life that seem irredeemable, broken, too far gone, or too damaged to even think restoration is possible?

God is powerful enough to restore mankind back to Himself, and He is powerful enough to restore the brokenness within you! Over the next few days, we’ll address specific topics and areas where you may experience brokenness and how the power of Jesus’ resurrection overcomes them!

Father, You are God Almighty. You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth. You care for the birds of the air and the flowers of the fields. You care that much more for Your children. So much so, that You sent Your Son to serve as the perfect, blemish-less Lamb so that we could be made right in Your eyes. Then You raised Him from the dead. You defeated sin and death, once and for all. There is nothing that You cannot do. Help me to surrender my brokenness, fears, and insecurities over to You. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, help me stand in knowledge and understanding of Your resurrection power, trusting that there is absolutely nothing You cannot do! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Declare this truth over yourself as you pray and meditate on God’s Word: God is mighty enough to raise Jesus from the dead and powerful enough to restore the brokenness and pain within me.

“The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity