The Power of the Resurrection

This morning, instead of a typical Easter reflection, my heart was stirred by these words from Paul's letter to the Philippians 3:7-14 NIV:

[7] "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ---the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. [10] I want to know Christ---yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

[12] "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. [13] Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I love these verses from Paul, and they are often used by the Lord to encourage me forward in my pursuit of Him.  Paul encapsulates so much of the Gospel in these few verses and captures the hunger that relationship with the Lord should inspire.  There is always more to learn and more to experience in the Lord, for there is no end to the increase of His Kingdom (Isa 9:7).

However, the real focus this morning is on Paul's statement concerning his desire to know the power of the resurrection.  We usually quote that part without adding the "participation in His sufferings", since we tend to want to revel in the power without any personal suffering or cost.  I know that is true for me, as well.  However, there is clearly an intimate connection between the knowledge of the power and the participation in the suffering.

Several years ago the movie, "The Passion of the Christ" was released and it presented the suffering of Christ in a most graphic representation.  I wouldn't say that would be what Paul is wiring about, but it certainly provided a much deeper insight into the passion of Jesus, what He suffered for our salvation.  I know having walked through the suffering of my sweetheart as she dealt with cancer, there is definitely a level of participation in her suffering that I can claim.  I also have a much greater empathy towards those that are suffering through cancer and its long term effects.  Short of actual scourging and crucifixion, we will never know the physical suffering of Christ, but we certainly can know the betrayal of trust, the condemnation and persecution that He experienced.  We can understand the suffering He went through for the love of someone else, and all of this is part of the "participation in his sufferings".

The power of the resurrection is something I struggle to grasp, for it is so much beyond my understanding of the way the world works.  In scripture, we are commissioned by Jesus to heal the sick and raise the dead, (Matt 10:8) yet most of us, in the American church, have never experienced the latter of the two.  However, that is not the case with the rest of the world, where raising from the dead is not uncommon.  In the scholarly book, "Miracles; the Credibility of the New Testament Accounts", Author Craig Keener, lists 20+ accounts of multiple people being raised from the dead in the twelfth chapter alone (He provides hundreds of footnotes, per chapter, so this is just a small sample of what he recorded).  Many of those listed are provided by first-hand witnesses.  We might off-handedly dismiss such accounts, but if one of them is true, then we must consider the possibility that this power to raise people from the dead is available, and is similar in some small way to the power of the resurrection.

We seem to have no problem believing that a villain in a movie will always come back to life for one last attack (or maybe they just aren't killed all the way), but we struggle to think that a loving God would answer the heart-felt prayers of His followers and restore life to someone.  I guess those are two completely different things, but they somewhat show the disjointed thinking that we allow to exist.  If God is real, and He what He says about Himself is true, then He does have power over death, and is the source of life.  If He hears prayers and is the source of life and the creator of all, then He should be able to restore life to one of His creations.  If the resurrection of Jesus is true, then He is an example of God's power to raise people from the dead.  If He commissioned us to pray for the sick and heal them, and raise the dead, then we should see people being raised from the dead, and the church world-wide (even in America) does! 

In summary, my encouragement today is to press further into the Lord, knowing that there is more to experience, more to understand, more to participate in His Kingdom, and in relationship with Him.  I do believe in the resurrection and in His power and authority to do what He says He can do.  I believe that healing, deliverance and seeing people raised f`rom the dead are part of our inheritance as His body present on the earth. I believe in the Resurrected Lord, who will come again.

Happy Easter!