The
Resurrection
By Rick Joyner
We
have studied how it was the hope of the Resurrection and the Glory He was to
receive which enabled Jesus to endure the cross. It has also been the truth of
the Resurrection that empowered all of the martyrs of every age, and it is as
we behold the glory set before us that we are able to take up our crosses and
"die daily."
We must also consider, if the ultimate fear by which
the enemy has kept mankind in bondage is the fear of death, and the truth of
the resurrection breaks this bondage, why is the world in such darkness and
bondage? It is because the church has been almost mute on this greatest of
truths since the first century.
The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon, once made a remarkable statement that very few Christians believe in the Resurrection. When I read this, I thought it must have been a misprint, but I felt the Spirit witness to me that it was true. It is not believing in our minds which results in righteousness, but believing in our hearts (see Romans 10:10).
It is not by just believing in the doctrine of the
resurrection that we are set free, but when we believe in our hearts so it
changes the way that we live and view this present world. If we truly
believed in the resurrection in our hearts, most of our lives would be very
different than they are now. We would not be so consumed with the things that
are passing away and would give ourselves wholly to that which is eternal.
The greatest freedom we can ever know on this earth is
not to be bound by fear. The
way we are freed from fear is by dying to this world through the cross of
Jesus. What can you do to a dead man? A dead man does not fear, does not
take into account wrongs suffered, etc. If we are dead to this world, there is
nothing that the world can do to us, and we will therefore be the freest people
on earth. This does not mean that we do not manage properly whatever this life
has entrusted to us, but we do it in faith as unto the Lord, not in fear. Such
fearlessness is an irresistible witness of the resurrection. Why don't we
proclaim and display this more? Because faith is not yet in our hearts.
In Acts 1:2 we see that the office of the apostle was
given to be a witness of His resurrection. In Acts 4:33 we read that power was
given to witness of His Resurrection. In Romans 1:4 we are told that Jesus "…was declared the Son of God with
power by the resurrection from the dead...." The message of the
resurrection is central to true faith, and is, with the cross, the central
message of Christianity. The message of the cross is of no real effect without
the message of the resurrection, as Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:13-14
But if there is
no resurrection of the dead,
not even Christ has
been raised;
and if Christ has not been raised,
then our preaching is
vain, your faith also is vain.
After reading Spurgeon's statement about how there
were not many Christians who believed in the resurrection, I searched my
library for the messages on the resurrection written by the great saints of
history. I was astonished at what I found—those whose writings included many
volumes, would sometimes have only a couple of pages devoted to this most
powerful truth. None seemed to give it more than lip service, or the obligatory
Easter sermon. Could this be why so much of the church has lost its power? I
think so. In Acts 4:1-2 we see why this great truth has fallen into such
neglect:
And as they were
speaking to the people,
the priests and the
captain of the temple guard,
and the Sadducees,
came upon them,
being greatly
disturbed because they were teaching the people
and proclaiming in
Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
In Acts 23:6
Paul declared before the same council that he was "...on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!" It was preaching the
resurrection that incited the persecution against the church. This is the one
message that the enemy cannot stand because it threatens the very root of his
power over men—the fear of death. However, we will never be an apostolic
church until this central theme of the apostolic gospel is recovered, and we
resolve to stand boldly for the truth of the resurrection. If we believe, we will
certainly rise again. If we believe, our lives will demonstrate our faith.