13 - Living the Resurrected Life in Christ

The magnificent power of God, which was manifest in the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead, marks the beginning of a transformative work within us. This very power, once demonstrated in the miraculous raising of Jesus, is the same dynamic force that God continuously exercises within us, enabling us to live anew. We are daily invigorated to embrace a life redefined by the divine strength that God provides. The full extent of this power was showcased when Christ, bearing the cumulative burden of sins from the dawn of time to its end, was not forsaken in His moment of utmost desperation. In an act of divine authority, God breathed life into what was lifeless and spoke into existence things that were not. Salvation comes through faith—a faith that, regardless of our burdens, acknowledges Christ's sacrifice and His victory over death, which now breathes life into us.

No matter our circumstances, thoughts, or feelings about ourselves, we are always in a position to be enveloped by God’s grace, mercy, peace, power, and strength. Our enduring faith in Christ’s sacrifice and God’s power to raise Him from the dead becomes our perpetual source of sustenance and fortitude. Christ endured the ultimate sacrifice, so much so that God had to look away. Yet, in His boundless love and with a vision for us as new creations, God resurrected Jesus. Similarly, we have been united with Christ in His death, and our lives are no longer our own; Christ lives within us. This profound truth signifies that our past burdens, sins, and regrets—our former selves—were nailed to the cross alongside Jesus. We have died to our old identities, and through God's omnipotent grace, we have been resurrected alongside Christ.

This new life is not a continuation of a struggle to transform our old selves; it is a life lived through the perfect embodiment of God’s presence within us—our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our existence now pivots on the reality of Christ living in us, not on our former selves. With Christ as our life, we adopt a new perspective, seeing everything through Him rather than through our old selves. Our focus shifts towards Jesus, aligning our lives with His presence within us.

Paul’s testament to being crucified with Christ, where he declares the old self dead, highlights the liberation from our former ego, the falsehoods we believed, and the deceptions wrought by Satan and the world. In dying to ourselves, we have discarded the misleading perceptions of our identity, embracing the truth of our new existence in Christ. This transformation is the essence of God’s work in us—through the indwelling of His Son, we live not as our former selves but as new creations, continuously shaped and driven by the life of Jesus within us.