THE CROSS

by J. BEN WILES

THE POWER OF CHRIST’S

RESURRECTION

church calendar. We commemorate the final week of Christ’s earthly life begin- ning with Palm Sunday’s reminder of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, continu- ing through Good Friday’s focus on the crucifixion, and culminating with Easter Sunday focusing on Christ’s resurrection. It is crucial that the Church constantly revisit these events because the resurrec- tion of Christ sets Christianity apart from every other world religion. Our children and teens need to hear the story told over and over again.

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Before and After Death

Beyond the retelling of the details of the Easter story, it is equally important that the significance of the resurrection

ITH THE EASTER season comes the celebrations that mark one of the holiest times on the

is understood not just as it pertains to life after death, but to life before death as well. We have access to resurrection power every moment of every day of our lives as born-again believers, and we must learn to access that power if we are to ful- fill our God-given mandate as His people. In Philippians 3:10, Paul said it was His aim to know Christ in “the power of his resurrection” (NASB). This sounds wonderful, but what does it mean to us? Consider the full context of this scripture. In previous verses, Paul presented his per- sonal history as a devout Jew. He was “cir- cumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is the Law, found blameless” (vv. 5-6 NASB).

That’s quite a resume! If anyone could make a claim on good works under the Law, Paul was the man. But when it came to his standing before God, Paul chose

to leave all that behind and completely trust in Jesus Christ for his salvation. He didn’t depend one bit on his spiritual resume. On the contrary, “those things” he “counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (v. 7 NASB).

In this context, Paul is confident that because he has left behind all dependence on his own ability to bring about his sal- vation, he will be able to “know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (v. 10 NIV). He is writing this from prison, so he is also aware that he will know Christ in the “fellowship of sharing in his suf- ferings,” ultimately becoming a martyr

16 EVANGEL • APR 2010