Resurrection Power
Acts 2:24 — “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”
Jesus never sinned. As a holy and perfect sacrifice, Christ was not caused to see corruption in the grave (Acts 2:27, 31). Our text tells us it was not possible for death to hold Him. Since the sacrifice was effective and accepted, the only possible course of action was for Christ to be raised from the dead. Romans 4:25 tells us that our justification (secured at Calvary) was the direct cause of the resurrection.
What does this mean for us? Since the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us, we are to experience this same resurrection power (Rom 8:11). Ephesians 1:19-20 tells us that we can know and experience the same power that raised Christ from the dead. The question is how.
We learn from Romans 6:5 that in order for us to be in the likeness of His resurrection, we must remain planted in the likeness of His death. Colossians 2:12 tells us how this works: by simple faith in the operation— the effectual working power—of God. I Corinthians 1:18 tells us that the power of God to believers is the Message of the Cross. Therefore, it is by simple faith that we take up our cross. It is by simple dependence on Christ and Him crucified that we remain in the likeness of His death. We “die” to ourselves by relying on His finished work for all things, rather than relying on ourselves.
Here is the point and also the promise: If we stay in the faith, we are guaranteed resurrection power. If we will but remain in the faith of Christ crucified, strongholds will have to be broken. All of sin, death, hell, and the grave must loose the believer, just as it was not possible for death to hold Christ. Jesus Himself sums up this promise in saying, “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). Stay in the faith!
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