The Power of the Resurrection

Ephesians 1:20

We looked previously at the power of God (verse 19), knowing what our salvation and calling are (verse 18), and knowing Him personally and intimately (verse 17). In this verse we look at what God, through His great power, has done, and what that means for us.

Ephesians 1:20 says, “which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.” Let’s focus on the first part of this verse first.

We know from the previous verse that Paul is referring to God’s power as “which He worked.” God worked His power in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. God was the one who raised Christ from the dead. He laid the sins of the world on Him for our sakes and He turned His face away from Him (because of His holiness), but He also raised Christ from the dead. He did it through His power. The devil was defeated. In truth, the devil was defeated before the foundations of the world, but now it was stamped as an inescapable truth.

This display of power is often overlooked. We typically focus on the death of Christ, which is incredible and should be mused over continuously, but we seem to fail to ponder the importance of the resurrection. Christ died for our sins. He took them to the grave. That sacrifice gave us hope. But the resurrection showed us that God is greater than our sin. Christ did not just take our sins to the grave, He left them there and returned. He overcame death.

Romans 4:24-25 says, “but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.” This verse shows us that Christ was the sacrificial lamb to carry our sins to the grave, and due to this sacrifice, we became declared “not guilty.” This justification then is why God raised Jesus from the dead. Not because of us, but because of Him. John Piper says “…since the achievement of the cross was so complete and the work of our justification so decisive, God raised Jesus from the dead to validate our forgiveness and to vindicate his Son’s righteousness and to celebrate the work of justification.”[i] God raising Jesus from the dead was further proof that Jesus defeated sin, was more holy than sin is wicked, and would continue to reign with God in heaven.

We serve a living Saviour. When we get to heaven we will get to thank Him face to face for the hope that He provided. He died for us, and we were called to live and reign with Him in heaven because of the grace and love that He gives that is eternally unmerited. He is our Mediator, making requests to God for us (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34). But less you think that God is reluctantly granting Jesus’ requests, remember, it was God who raised Jesus from the dead. It was God who, before the foundations were laid, chose to send His Son to die for us.

Jesus is now sitting at God’s right hand. He is seated where a king ought to be. He reigns over the earth, over our defeated sins, and over Satan because He is more powerful. If the devil was able to he would have kept Him in the grave, but he was not. God is the ultimate authority. There is no one more powerful then He. Even during the darkest day on earth His power remained unmatched.

[i] Piper, John (1991, March 31). Six Gifts of the Resurrection. Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/six-gifts-of-the-resurrection

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