Archived Articles by Father Rob Smith

Living in the Resurrection

We are so familiar with certain doctrines of the Church that it is very easy for us to believe a doctrine without thinking through what the doctrine actually means to us. For instance, take the doctrine of the Resurrection. We believe that the same Jesus Christ who died on Good Friday and was buried actually rose from the dead on the first Easter. We believe that he rose both spiritually and physically, that it was the real wounds in once crucified hands and feet that he presented to His disciples for examination. We certainly believe that one result of this is that we, too, shall live after death. Like the dying thief, we rejoice to hear the words, "today you shall be with me in Paradise."

But there is another dimension of the resurrection that we experience but don't often think about. As Christians, we have the tremendous privilege of actually living in the resurrection now! In Romans 8:11 the Bible says, "if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." There are two levels of meaning in that remarkable text. The first level certainly is that we shall live again after this life is over.

The second meaning is that the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies now. As the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:16, "Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day." There is tremendous power available to us for every day living and that power is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. Again the Bible says in Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." When Paul wrote that verse he meant "all" things. The immediate application is very important. The preceding verse says, "I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." What that means is that no matter how difficult our circumstances might be, the power of God that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is available to give us strength to meet the challenges that are before us.

In Ephesians 3:16 Paul prays that God "would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man." That is not meant to be theoretical but practical and experiential. There are five major power words in the New Testament: power, energy or working, might in the sense of rule (even rule over ourselves), strength, and authority. God's power through the Holy Spirit is available for us now, in the very real circumstances of our life. If you want strength, endurance, and grace to meet any situation, humbly ask God and He will delight to pour that resurrection power into your life. That is one of many reasons why Christ Jesus died for you and rose again.~ Father Rob +

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