“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.”
Romans 6: 8-10 (NIV).
Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ whom God raised from the dead to bring us justification. Jesus, a righteous man, bore the sins of all humans when He died. Isaiah 53:5 says that Jesus was “bruised for our guilt and iniquities.” (AMPC) On the cross, Jesus died two deaths. He died spiritually first when our sins were laid on Him. He was cut off, separated from the Father and He cried out “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me” (Mark 15:34, KJV). When that happened, it became possible for Jesus to die physically. Then He went to hell in the spirit, in our place. (Colossians 2:15). Jesus publicly defeated Satan and the demons of darkness and came out of death and hell in victory.
During Easter, Christians ponder on the Lord Jesus Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, thanking God for the glorious resurrection of Christ that ushered in Christianity and brought us eternal life. The new creation life we now live, we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us.
PRAYER
Dear Father, I thank you that I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in my body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (see Galatians 2:20).
WISDOM NUGGET
“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory” 1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV).