As we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, I’ve been thinking about two implications of the resurrection that are seldom considered.
First, because Christ is risen, not only do we have the promise of “going to heaven” but also the affirmation that heaven has come down to us.
The resurrection confirms that the power of sin and death—that keeps us from the presence of the holy God (heaven)—has been destroyed by Jesus at the cross. Therefore, there is nothing that can keep the person of faith from coming before the very presence of God.
But we must not miss the deeper truth that such access to the holy God has opened up precisely because this same God is the one who came to us and made provision to make us worthy to stand before him. The resurrection affirms that, at the cross, God was at work to bring all of creation back to himself. Heaven came down; Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. Like the song I learned as a young boy declares:
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When, at the cross, my Savior made me whole.
My sins were washed away, and my night was turned to day.
Heaven came down, and glory filled my soul
Second, because Christ is risen, not only do we have the assurance that our future in eternity is secure, but also the proclamation that the future has come upon our present.
The Old Testament promises pointed to some future event when the Lord would act decisively to restore his people and all creation to their rightful place with him. No longer would the evils of this world—with all its terrible consequences—hold creation in its clutches. One phrase that described this future event is “the last days.” In the New Testament we get the sense that “the last days” is no longer just a future event but has actually begun in the coming of Jesus the Christ. When Jesus was raised from the dead the evils of this world were now exposed to be powerless before him. The resurrection establishes that the new messianic age that the ancient prophets prophesied about has come in Jesus.
And now, those who would put their trust in the One who ushered in the last days may experience the power of the resurrection in a life of ever-increasing victory over sin. Perfection is yet to come, but the last days have indeed begun in Jesus.
Jesus is risen! Have a blessed resurrection day.
—Keith Y. Jainga