And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony ~ Revelation 12:10-11a.
Introduction:
Happy Resurrection Sunday to all friends and brethren round the world. May the power of Christ’s resurrection bring renewed hope, love, peace and God’s endless blessings to you and to your family, in Jesus Name. Amen.
At Easter, we celebrate the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the almightiness of God’s power and the excelling strength of His Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. Yes, this season also commemorates the emptiness of the tomb on the first resurrection morning.
Easter is one event that clearly distinguishes Christianity from all other religious persuasions. While all other religious founders lay dead still in their respective graves, the empty grave of Jesus Christ singularizes Him as the only genuine and timeless hope for the whole world.
The passionate suffering and the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross also detail the extravagant love of God to man. He bled and died on the Cross at Calvary, and was buried. But, on the third day, He arose!
The events of the passion week must have brought with it a great suspense. Even the religious leaders in those days probably forgot what they read in the Holy Writ, and therefore missed the joy of hoping it would end the way it did.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the greatest mockery that death ever suffered. In fact, death and the grave never had it so bad; they both were ‘robbed’ of their highly priced victory. Their power could not hold Jesus captive; He broke loose from their grips, and He arose by the Spirit of glory.
The blood spoke, the grave shook, and Jesus Christ arose from the dead, unhindered. Hence, we can now sing, “O death, where is thy sting. O grave, where is thy victory”. Indeed,Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the joyful outcome of His mission to save mankind.
Meanwhile, the eventual resurrection and decisive victory of Jesus Christ represent the actual soul of our perpetual victory today (Psalm 9:6). I hold the view that Sigmund Freud was reflecting on this perspective, albeit unknowingly, when he said, “one day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful”.
Our Victory Was a Forgone Conclusion
Please keep in mind that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the Cross was not accidental. No, not at all. It was pre-planned and foreordained by God from the foundation of the world that Jesus would be the Lamb of God slain for us (Revelation 13:8; John 1:29).
The death on the Cross was the hidden wisdom of God ordained before the ages to restore the fallen man to glory (1 Corinthians 2:8). Jesus was revealed to us at the fullness of time, and offered on the Cross to take away our sin and all its effects.
Before Jesus yielded up His spirit on the Cross, He boldly, loudly and triumphantly declared, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). These words have two profound spiritual meanings and implications for the believers.
Firstly, with the phrase ‘It is finished!’, I believe Jesus meant that God’s eternal plan, promises and provisions for the redemption of the fallen man have been perfectly and completely accomplished.
Secondly, He meant the complete overthrow and the abolition of the reign and dominion of sin and Satan over man were roundly concluded. All the works of the devil were completely and permanently destroyed by Jesus’ death on the Cross, where He equally abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (1 John 3:8; 2 Timothy 1:10)!
Today, we are truly redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13-14). And, as it stands now, the legal right or the license that the devil had before to oppress and afflict us with sicknesses, diseases, poverty, fear and death has been perfectly and permanently revoked or annulled. Satan has no more power or dominion over us and, therefore, he is no longer a threat to the believers.
Without any ambiguity, so very much was accomplished for us on the first resurrection morning (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus Christ fought the battle, we got the victory! The price of justice and our debt of sin were fully paid. The sentence is fully served. The battle against Satan, sicknesses, diseases and poverty has been fully won. We can now rest in His finished works on the Cross. Alleluia!
Tapping Into His Victory Through the Blood
Yes, victory is sweet. But, more importantly, being victorious in the various battles of life is very crucial to the fulfillment of destiny. Hence, we must stand our grounds, and with the Sword of the Spirit, enforce our victory in Christ Jesus through faith (Luke 1:45; 1 John 5:4).
Life can be extremely difficult for the prey whose back is on the ground. It is extremely dangerous, and it could be painfully catastrophic to choose to live like a prey in the day-to-day conflagrations of life (Isaiah 49:24-26).
When a wild goat falls prey to the jaws of a tiger in their natural habitat, it becomes helpless till death. In the same vein, the destiny of anyone living like a prey to Satan naturally becomes inundated with hopeless situations in life. And, that’s why God made full provisions for our all-round victory by putting all things under our feet (Ephesians 1:19-23).
Right in the middle of the impossibilities of life, we are already more than conquerors because we were grafted into the mighty, eternal, and abundant victory that Christ accomplished on the Cross and by His resurrection.
Our victorious position is not circumstantial; it is relational. We are united by faith to the ever victorious One, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 2:14).
In conclusion, Easter is about New Life in Christ Jesus, and we must take cognizance of that most important fact. By His victory on the Cross and in the grave, Jesus Christ opened wide the way of salvation to all who would believe, receive and follow Him today.
Jesus Christ conquered all death-dealing forces of evil, He arose triumphantly and He is alive forever! And, amazingly, He did all these for our sakes (2 Corinthians 4:14-15). His resurrection made possible our own resurrection from a life of sin, shame and mediocrity, and from the power of death and the grave (Matthew 27:52-53).
The theological truth here is that we have been raised up from spiritual death and all forms of evil entrapment because Jesus has freed us by His resurrection (Romans 6:4; 1 Corinthians 6:14-15; Ephesians 2:4-7). And, this is what actualizes New Life through the Resurrection for all who embrace Jesus Christ as their Lord and believe the gospel today.
Friends and brethren, this Easter season, let’s break forth into real freedom and joy, for Jesus Christ, our Saviour, arose and He is alive, forevermore! May the Ultimate Power of His Resurrection be renewed in you, in Jesus Name. Amen. Happy Easter Sunday!
- Bishop Taiwo Akinola,
Rhema Christian Church,
Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
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