Title Participating in the Power of Resurrection
Participating in the Power of Resurrection
Philippians 3:10-11
2012.4.8 Easter Sunday
Our faith can be sound and strong only when it is built on the Word rather than on experience. Nevertheless, Christianity is sometimes called the religion of experience. It means that experience is so important in our life of faith. However, this experience does not mean only some mystery or miracle. Of course, it also includes experiencing mysteries and miracles. However, the experience referred to here refers to experiencing the Lord personally, experiencing the Lord's work.
The weak side of our faith today is this experience. There are many believers who come to church and worship, but do not experience God. There are certainly many Christians who live without feeling that the Lord is with them in their lives. Such believers have no certainty and lead a vague faith life. How about you?
In today's text we can find the answer to this question. Paul is saying that he wants to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and sharing in his sufferings. What does it mean to share in Christ and the power of his resurrection? And what does it mean to share in suffering again? When we realize this word, new changes can occur in our religious life. On this blessed day when the Lord was resurrected, I pray that you will receive the blessing of participating in the sacrament meeting in the body and blood of the Lord, and participating in the power of resurrection.
Paul's earnest wish
In today's text, Paul speaks of his earnest desire. “I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the sharing in his sufferings, being conformed to his death, so that I may somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Here, “the power of the resurrection of Christ” refers to the power of Christ who has been resurrected and works in the life of the believer. Paul longed to experience concretely in his personal life, not only through mere knowledge, but also through the resurrection and eternal life of Christ. This is not only Paul's wish, but also ours. But how is this possible? How can we participate in the power of the Lord's resurrection, that is, to allow the risen Lord to work in our lives?
union with Christ
Paul explained this problem with the principle that the believer is united to Christ. “Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into his death, because we died with Christ through the glory of the Father. so that, just as he was raised from the dead, so we too may walk in newness of life.
Anyone who believes in Jesus is united to Christ. And the one who is united to Christ is considered to have died on the cross with Christ as the old man, subject to the wrath and judgment of God. And you are born again as a new person with Christ. In this way, he became a new creature. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Those who believe in Christ and are united with Christ in this way have become a new person, so they should live a life like a new person. “In the same way, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
new man's life
Now, we, who have been saved by being united with Christ through faith, must put away the deeds of the old man and live a new life. But what will the new person's life be like? It is, in a word, to kill the self and forsake the sinful life of the old man. And in faith, we live a life of obedience only to the Word.
When we keep our faith and live according to the Word, we will face hardships. This is a very important point. A lot of people step back here. We give up or compromise our faith to avoid suffering. So, although suffering is avoided, we will not be able to experience the power of resurrection. Herein lies the problem of modern Christians today. How about you? There is no victory without suffering. Without sharing in the sufferings of Christ, we cannot experience the power of resurrection.
Simon Cyrene
Simon, from a region called Cyrene, was watching Jesus carry the cross and go to Golgotha. However, because Jesus was tried and whipped all night, he was exhausted and could not carry the cross properly. As Jesus carrying the cross kept falling, the Roman soldiers arrested Simon of Cyrene, who was watching, and made him carry the cross with him. “At the same time, a man from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by Simon from the country, and they compelled him to go with him, and to carry the cross of Jesus” (Mark 15:21).
At first, you may have thought that this person had been unlucky. However, the cross he carried without knowing the English language saved this man and his family and made him a precious servant of the early church. In Romans, Paul said: “Greetings Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, whose mother is my mother” (Romans 16:13).
Simon of Cyrene did not know the English language at first and carried the cross. But later, he learned that the one who carried the cross with him was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He realized what a great honor the cross he was carrying without knowing the English language. And his whole family was saved and became faithful ministers of the early church. The power of Christ's resurrection came upon him and his family. The case of Simon Cyrene is a good example of how suffering for the Lord and sharing in the suffering of the Lord makes you partaker in the power of resurrection.
Sharing in the sufferings of Christ and in the power of resurrection are two sides of the same coin. This is an inseparable one. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will inevitably experience suffering, and we will experience the power of the Lord's resurrection right there. Then the way to experience the power of the risen Lord working in my life became clear. Under no circumstances should you compromise and keep your faith. We must live by the word. You must give up your ego and die. Then you will suffer. When we do not avoid that suffering and face it willingly, we experience the coming of the risen Lord and sustaining us.
Today, on this Blessed Easter, I hope that you will become a saint who lives in obedience to the Word with faith in the Lord, and experiences the power of resurrection by willingly accepting any hardships that may arise as a result.