Dear Ones:
“That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection…” (Philippians 3:10)
It is one thing to know ABOUT the power of His resurrection. It is quite another to KNOW that power in the life, where we live. We are apt to think that we do not need such power in the ordinary things of life but consider how Jesus lived. He lived a life of complete dependence upon His Father in all the details of daily life. (John 8:28, John 5:19, 30) Christ is our pattern and our example. We need the power of His resurrection life working in us by the Spirit to meet each need, great or small, every day.
The Puritan Thomas Manton once said, “The Spirit of God rides most triumphantly in his own chariot.” That chariot is His word. The Scriptures are the ordinary means by which God speaks to us but unless the Spirit quickens them to us they bring us no good.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…” (Romans 1:16) Here is our first glimpse of what it means to live by His power.
We will never experience the Power of His life unless we believe His word and the Spirit makes it real to us. We know that God is true, He cannot lie, and we can rest the entire weight of our existence upon Him according to His word.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) The Cross is central in the message of the Gospel. It is where God made the ultimate sacrifice when He gave His Son to atone for sin, the sin of the whole world. It is the place where Christ dealt with all our enemies and all that would keep us from Him. It is only according to the truth of the Cross and what has been accomplished there that the power of God can be known.
“But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24) The whole issue of the power of the resurrection is realized in the person of Christ. We are not called to know power as an entity in and of itself. We are called into a profound relationship with Christ who IS our power. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12) “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength.” (Isaiah 40:29)
The Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was: …“that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith…” (Ephesians 3:16-17)
Power is a Person and that Person is Christ by His Spirit. To know Him is to know the power of His resurrection in your life.
Dear Lord, grant us a true vision of the resurrection. May we know the power of that resurrection. Enable us to grasp how that translates into a life lived in this power every day. May we be good receivers, good believers, faithful to trust Thee for Thy fullness today, for this is our heritage. Thou has died that we should live by Thy power for Thy glory.
EXPECTANT FAITH 