Easter 1996 - This Changes Everything!

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.                      (1Peter 1:3-5 NIV)

I. Jesus’ resurrection gives us Hope

   A.   The resurrection defeats the Power of Death.

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1Cor.15:16-20)

      1.   The power of death is separation:

          a.    body from spirit;

          b.   loved one's from each other;

          c.    all of us from God.

      2.   The wages of sin is death.

      3.   Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross. His resurrection proves it!

   B.   By the resurrection we are Made Right with God.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Rom.4:25)

      1.   Justification means to be made right.

      2.   Jesus who was without sin, suffered the penalty of sin (God's wrath and death).

      3.   When God raised him from the dead, he shows that the penalty had been paid in full.

      4.   So, we can be certain that Jesus' sacrifice has the power to make us right with God!

II.   Jesus’ resurrection gives us New Life

   A.   Through the resurrection we get New Birth

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1Pet.1:3)

      1.   New Birth?

          a.    A fresh start.

          b.   A new parentage

   B.   Through the resurrection we get a New Status

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (Eph.2:4-6)

      1.   We were spiritually dead in sin and made spiritually alive by God through grace.

      2.   Now we are raised with Christ and spiritually speaking seated with him at God's right hand.

      3.   The future -- our future -- begins NOW!

III. Jesus’ resurrection guarantees Our resurrection.

   A.   Jesus’ resurrection Blazes the Trail for our own.

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (1Cor.15:20-23)

      1.   Jesus came out on the other side of death to show us what happens when we follow him.

      2.   Jesus' resurrection is only the beginning

   B.   All who have the Spirit will be raised too!

And 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. (Rom.8:11)

      1.   All who believe that Jesus is the way, and have made Jesus the Lord of their lives have the Spirit at work in them -- living in them.

      2.   That same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, won't let death have the final say over us either!

      3.   So, we live as people who do not fear death. We have a glorious future. We even have a foretaste of it right here and now!

The Bottom Line:

Jesus broke the Power of Death, gives us Hope, New Life, and promises us a glorious Future.

NOTES:

Q&A 45How does Christs resurrection benefit us?

First, by his resurrection he has overcome death, so that he might make us share in the righteousness he won for us by his death.Second, by his power we to are already now resurrected to new life.Third, Christs resurrection is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection.

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.