Resurrected Life Now

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”

Romans 8:11

There are those moments in history that forever change the direction of the human story. One such moment took place on July 20, 1969. On that day, Neil Armstrong took the first steps on the moon and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong’s “small step” was a “giant leap” of human ingenuity. The dawn of the space age not only marked a milestone in human achievement, but it also reshaped culture, politics and how humanity saw itself.

The Biblical story also has some notable milestones that forever changed the course of human history. Perhaps the most noteworthy is what happened on the first Easter. The significance of Jesus being brought back to life was not just good news for Jesus, but had huge implications for the broader human story — it was “a giant leap for humanity.” This is because Jesus’ resurrection was just the beginning of what God intended to do for everyone. Paul uses the agricultural term “first fruits” to describe this (1 Corinthians 15:20). This is good news, of course. Because of the resurrection, we believe that one day, God will make “all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

But that’s in the future. What about now? How does what happened 2,000 years ago on that first Easter morning affect daily life now?

Well, it’s important to note that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave so long ago now indwells us. The Christian life is “life in the Spirit.” And life in the Spirit is fundamentally a resurrected life. We share in the resurrected life of Christ, not just in the future, but in the present. This is why Paul speaks about Christians already being raised. In Ephesians, Paul says that we have been “raised up with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:6)

This means that whatever challenge we are facing, whether it’s a broken relationship, persecution or physical ailment, we have the Spirit of resurrection in us. This should comfort and empower us. As Christians, we are a resurrected people and this is not just a future reality, but in the present one as well.

With this in mind, let us boldly begin today with the Easter affirmation: Alleluia! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!