Life After Death and Life Before Death – The Double Whammy

HAPPY EASTER

Today we celebrate life in all its fullness. This is the day that Jesus rose from the grave and therefore first and foremost we celebrate his life. But because, as Paul constantly reiterates, we are ‘in Christ’, we also celebrate the new life we have experienced through his cross and resurrection.

Christians have been mocked throughout history for worshipping a crucified messiah. As the Romans used to say, a crucified messiah is no messiah at all. But we don’t just worship a crucified messiah; we worship a crucified and risen messiah. The resurrection is at the very centre of the Christian faith. Here’s how Paul states it in 1 Corinthians 15:

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith… But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

On Good Friday we remember that Christ died for us (as our representative). That means we also died on that horrendous day. In Christ’s crucifixion the old humanity that was covered in sin and shame said its last farewell. However, today on Easter day, we celebrate that he also rose as our representative. As Paul says, ‘in Christ as will be made alive’. His resurrection (the firstfruit) acts as a guarantee of our own resurrection when he returns. He walked through the door of death into resurrection life so that we too might one day walk through that door.

But the resurrection is more than just life after death: it’s also life before death. Here’s what Paul says in Romans 8:

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

That means resurrection life begins early: it’s already coursing through our veins as we remain open to the Spirit’s work in our lives. It’s as if the Spirit gives us a foretaste of what is to come. Or as Paul says to the church in Ephesus:

Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

We might not have our own resurrection bodies yet, but we have resurrection life, and that is more than enough cause for celebration!