“For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” (Romans 6:4 NLT)
What comes first to your mind when you think of resurrection? As a rule, it seems, we tend to think first of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, then of our resurrected life coming when Christ returns. But Paul speaks, in the context of explaining baptism, that we are lowered into a watery grave, then resurrected to new life in Christ when we’re born again.
In Philippians 3:10-11 Paul addresses his desire to experience intimacy and oneness with Christ, not only in His death, but in His resurrected life, not only after he (Paul) dies physically, but in this life. He explains this more clearly in Galatians 5:24 when he wrote: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.” But how is that even possible?
He goes on to explain in the next verse: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” And as if to anticipate what that could easily become, he adds in verse 26: “Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”
Having received my pastoral training in a holiness tradition, it wasn’t uncommon for us younger guys to marvel at the “holiness” of some of the older pastors. And I’m not being facetious. I remember a retired pastor in his 80’s praying at one of our general assembly meetings and I sensed God’s presence so powerfully I felt that if I opened my eyes, I’d see Jesus standing with us.
Unfortunately, over the years, we seemed to be guided less by the Spirit and more by our own ambition, so, “holiness” became more about “what” we knew, than Who, but Paul is still right. Whatever hope we have of living a “resurrected” life, depends on our intimacy with and dependence upon the Spirit of the living God.
If you’re born again of the Spirit, you have been resurrected from death to yourself, to your old Adamic nature, that was nailed to the Cross with Jesus; and you’ve been filled with His Holy Spirit, enabling you to make decisions and begin to behave in ways that illustrate and give visibility to the life of Christ in you. If that’s not the case, you have to wonder why not?
Pastor John Piper wrote: “Being raised from the dead is never boring. Therefore every Christian has a stunning testimony.” But one of the key ingredients of “a stunning testimony” isn’t perfection in this life, but consistency. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.”
We must, as Paul envisioned for his own life, so pursue, long for, and eagerly anticipate our union with Jesus in heaven, that every dimension and arena of our lives is being conformed by God’s Spirit to the likeness of our Savior.
As I view my own life, I have nothing about which to brag, except Jesus, and I hesitate to be as bold as Paul in suggesting others follow me as I follow Him. But what I can say is, I’m making progress. I’m moving in the right direction. Every day I wrestle with my old nature, but every day I’m seeing Jesus and hearing His voice more clearly. I pray that’s true for you as well as you seek to give visibility to your resurrected life.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 