THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death: if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).
What I’m about to say may come as a surprise to you. That is, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about power. When I say this, I don’t just mean the divine power that raised Jesus from the dead. Of course, that kind of power is absolutely miraculous, and it could come only from God himself.
Christ’s resurrection speaks of another power in addition to that supernatural event. And this power could only come from God as well. I’m talking about a power that causes us to live holy lives…to be free from sin’s dominion…to overcome every habit and lust known to man…to walk in a righteousness that comes from God alone, by faith. To obtain this power is to know Christ in the power of his resurrection.
The apostle Paul speaks of this kind of resurrection power. He had a profound inner longing to know Christ and that hunger came from his own deep cry for holiness. The apostle had a revelation about the resurrection of Christ and this revelation had to do with power. He writes: “Jesus Christ our Lord…was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4).
Paul saw something incredible in the resurrection and while it overwhelmed him with joy, it also answered his lifelong cry for holiness. In short, Paul saw that Jesus had come to earth as a man, with the power of heaven resting upon him. Christ had demonstrated this divine power while on earth: healing the sick, setting captives free, raising the dead, giving eternal life. Jesus had been raised from the dead himself and his resurrection was accompanied by a divine proclamation that he was “the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4).