Focus: The Significance Of Christ's Resurrection

Text: 1Cor.15:17

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins."

Paul makes a powerful point in this text. The death of Christ on the cross is made efficacious by the resurrection of Christ. That is to say that we are still in our sins if Christ did not resurrect. The cross is the reason for the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is God's vindication of Christ and His work on the cross. Christ's resurrection means that God approves of all that Christ did for us on the cross.

The resurrection of Christ is more than a fact of history. It is also our ground of belief as Christians. Our faith is rooted in the conviction that Christ died and rose again from the dead three days after. Our commitment and confession are based on that solid foundation. Our faith is not in vain because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

*Resurrection life

Christ is our life. We are saved by His life. Jesus says, "Because I live, you shall live also." We are enlivened by His resurrection. His resurrection life is our daily experience. In Him we live, move, and have our being. 

Resurrection life of Christ is a victorious life.

*Resurrection faith

Paul says our faith is meaningless if Christ didn't rise from the dead. We thank God for the resurrection of Christ. Our faith is not in vain because of it. Our faith is not resting on a dead Savior, but on the risen Lord. Our faith is emboldened by the fact that we serve a living Lord. He died and rose again from the dead. His tomb is empty. An angel announced, "Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him" (Mk.16:6). Hallelujah! 

Our faith is real.

*Resurrection power

Paul yearned for the resurrection power of Christ. In fact, he lived within the environment of Christ's resurrection power. He says, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection…" (Phil.3:10). He says again, "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost…" (1Thes.1:5). In Col.1:29, he talked about the power that worked mightily in him. Paul knew the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. 

The believer in Christ is enlivened, empowered and emboldened by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

*Resurrection hope

Paul says, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1Cor.15:19).

The resurrection of Christ has given us hope for another life beyond this one. It is hope beyond the grave. Death is not final. The empty tomb of Christ is a sure and solid declaration of our eternal reality. Our hope in Christ transcends time. It connects us to God's eternity. We lead our lives, hopeful of a coming new world in which every form of evil is wholly trashed, and righteousness is forever treasured and enthroned. 

We are saved not only by faith but also by hope. It is a living hope, a blissful hope, the blessed hope, and the hope of eternal salvation and eternal life. Christ in us is the hope of glory.

It is the hope of a new life and a brand new world. In 2Thes.2:16, Paul calls it "good hope through grace." In Col.3:4, he says, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." In Christ we have a solid foundation and a sure hope. And don't forget that there is also resurrection joy. Christ's resurrection plants joy in our spirits. Those who have resurrected with Christ are bursting with joy. Paul says, "Rejoice, and again I say, Rejoice." Joy is the reality of our faith. Amen.

Let me close by quoting one writer who said, "The resurrection is the heart of Christianity which makes it pulsate with the life of God. It is the keystone to the arch of truth which holds all the faiths of the Gospel together. It is the foundation of the church - it is the mainspring of Christian activity - it is the lever of power that shall move the world - it is the link that unites all believers."

by Bishop Moses E. Peter