The Power of the Resurrection in the New Year

The Church that Shows the Resurrected Jesus

God is the Self Existing One. Before the universe was created, even before heaven was created, God existed alone with His glory. God made His beloved Son the heir, creating the heavens and the earth which would be inherited by Him. God sent His son into the world according to the counsel of His Will that Her had purposed since eternity.

The fact that the Son of God came to the world has a profound significance to mankind. That is because as a result, mankind is able to see God, whom no one can ever see. Jesus is the image of God. Seeing Jesus is seeing God, and knowing Jesus means knowing God.

What did Jesus do when he came to the earth? Jesus is the Son of God, who is equal with God. He became flesh, came to the earth, suffered immensely, and died on the cross. Sinless, He took away our sin and died in our place. That is God’s will. Here lies the reason that He said, “It is finished” before He died on the cross (John 19:30). However, that was not the end of Jesus. He rose again. And mankind can be declared righteous by Him.

Believing in Jesus is relying on Him dying for our sin and being raised up. In the past, Israel thought they could be justified by keeping the Law that God had given to Moses. However, that was just a figure of the true reality. Even though Israel made their bodies holy by keeping the Law, their souls could not be saved. If someone is to be saved, they must have God’s righteousness, and in order to receive God’s righteousness, they must confess that they are sinners.

Many people witnessed Jesus dying, and after He resurrected He showed His body to them. However, after He ascended into heaven no one can see Him. It is like God disappearing from among men. But it is still possible for mankind to meet with God.

Firstly, because Jesus sent (and still sends) the Holy Spirit to those who believe on Him. This is what Jesus promised when He was on earth. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. The Holy Spirit comes upon believers and reminds them of what Jesus did while He was on the earth. So that now that Jesus is in heaven, we are still able to listen to Jesus’ words through the Holy Spirit.

Secondly, because Jesus left His church on earth. The Church is the image of Jesus. Therefore, those who belong to Jesus embrace the church, and those who are willing to die for Jesus are also willing to die for the church. Even though Jesus dwells in heaven, we can also see Him through the church, serving Him.

 

Church with which the Lord abides

The Disciples were proud of being with Jesus. They were excited, looking forward to the day Jesus would establish His kingdom on earth. He walked on the sea, cast out demons, and raised the dead, which made them think that no one could kill Him. However, the Lord was captured by Roman troops, humiliated, and even killed on the cross. Then the disciples, once proud of Jesus, scattered in fear.

But Jesus was raised to life. On the road to Emmaus, two of His disciples came across Jesus. Though they had conversation with Jesus on the way, they could not imagine the one who stood before their eyes was Jesus. In their eyes  and with their hearts filled with the sad thought of Jesus’ recent death, they could not see the resurrected Lord. Undoubtedly they had heard the rumor of Jesus’ resurrection, but they did not believe the rumor because they were gripped by fear.

The disciples, who had once been scattered, gathered once again. They were in a room with the door locked when suddenly, Jesus appeared among them. They were astonished, because Jesus appeared among them even though no one had opened the door. Some of them doubted and thought that they were seeing a ghost. But, the Lord breathed and moved and shared bread with them. What they saw was not a ghost. They had thought of resurrection as a concept or an idea. However, the body of Jesus who appeared to them was a real being.

This is the essence and beginning of Christ’s church. Every person is afraid of death. Mankind is surrounded by fear and worries about whether or not he will die from sickness, starvation, or by an accident. Even the disciples, who had been with Jesus for a long time, could not do anything because they thought that Jesus was dead. However, just as the resurrected Lord appeared among them, He also revealed Himself to the world where people are scared of death. This  is the church.

 

The Church Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peace, and Forgiveness

The risen Lord came to the place where the disciples were gathered and the first thing He did was to bless them, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:21) When Jesus met the sick, He commanded them to be at ease and at peace. That is because without peace in a person’s heart it is easy for one to be sick. Without peace, desperation and failure can easily knock on the door of your heart. However, there is peace in the church of Jesus, because Jesus abides with the church.

There was a woman whose son had died. Frantic, she hurriedly met with a prophet. She thought that the prophet could raise her dead son. The prophet said to the woman, “Are you at peace?” How can a mother who saw her son dying be at peace? However, the woman replied, “I am.” Then the dead son was raised up. We must know how great the power of peace is.

The next thing that the Lord said to the disciples is “Receive the Holy Spirit!” (John 20:22) The church of Jesus must receive the Holy Spirit. God sends the Holy Spirit as a sign for those who receive grace. Those who received the Holy Spirit know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit abides in them. When the Holy Spirit came upon those who were in the upper room, they began speaking in tongues, manifesting the power of the Holy Spirit.

Those who have received grace must also receive the Holy Spirit, and those who received Him must manifest that the Holy Spirit abides in them by being filled with the Holy Spirit. Those who just tasted the Holy Spirit can easily be corrupted. It is very difficult to renew those people once they have been corrupted. Thus, those who have received the Holy Spirit must also strive to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Another reason that we should be filled with the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit makes sin, righteousness, and judgment known to us. We have learned that the real sin is not believing in  Jesus. Those who do not have an understanding of the Holy Spirit regard sin merely as material sins, such as stealing and murder. Those who only remain at this level of understanding concerning sin, think ‘I have not sinned, so I am not a sinner.’ Jesus is meaningless for those who do not realize that they are sinners. They justify themselves, so then why do they need some one else’s righteousness? If anyone does not recognize their need of the righteousness of Jesus, he or she will never recognize their need of Jesus.

Additionally, those who are filled with the Holy Spirit are not easily tempted. Jesus told the disciples to watch and pray so that they will not fall into temptation. Someone who sows hostility between church members and the church, pastor, and even other members has fallen into temptation. The fact that they are sowing discord is evidence that they have fallen into temptation. 1Corinthians 12:13 says, “We were all given the one Spirit to drink.” We can not live without breathing. Those who are alive never stop breathing. Likewise, those who have received grace should be filled with the Holy Spirit, just like breathing.

The last word of the Lord to the disciples is “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:23) The church of Christ has received grace, so those who have received grace should also receive the Holy Spirit, and those who have received the Holy Spirit should forgive others. One disciple asked the Lord, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” And Jesus answered, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven (490 times).” (Matthew 18:21-22) In other words, we must forgive others without limit.

Forgiveness is a commandment given by the Lord. There was no forgiveness in the wilderness church. If you committed a sin, you had to pay for it. But there is forgiveness in the church of Jesus Christ. Just as we have been forgiven for many sins, we must forgive others also. In the Lord’s prayer, it says, “Forgive our sins, as we also forgive those who have sinned against us.” If we are truly forgiven, we should be able to forgive others also.

Jesus is the image of God, and the church is the image of the risen Lord. Just as we can see God by looking unto Jesus, we must be able to see Jesus by looking at the church. Therefore, the church should be full of Jesus’ grace, blood, power, and forgiveness.

Jesus said, “ Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Jesus wants to come into us, just as He came into the room where the disciples were gathered. Coming into the room, He said, “Peace be with you! Receive the Holy Spirit! Forgive!” This is the commandment of the Lord. Those who receive Him must keep His commandment. We must build the church that the Lord desires.