He Is Risen! So Are You!
You likely shared in the traditional Easter greeting a few times this past week.
“He is risen.”
“He’s risen indeed!”
The Bible indicates that Christians add another greeting.
“He is risen.”
“I’m risen, too!”
Resurrected with Christ
The Apostle Paul says it plainly.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above” (Colossians 3:1).
In Ephesians, Paul goes even further in applying Christ’s resurrection to the Christian. He prays that we might know:
“His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him the dead” (Ephesians 1:19-20).
The same power that resurrected Christ is in every Christian.
And in Romans 6:4-ll, Paul develops this co-resurrection theology even further:
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 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. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Tapping into Our RPMs
Of course, any honest Christians has to ask:
“If I’m raised with Christ, if I have the same power implanted in me that raised Christ, then why don’t I live like I’m dead to sin?”
The answer is simple, yet profound. Instead of living victoriously in Christ, we live defeated lives because we try to live in our own power.
Paul tried the same futile approach before he became a Christian—placing his confidence in his own strength (Philippians 3:1-6). That’s why as a believer his focus was laser-like.
“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).
Paul understood what we must understand—we have to tap into Christ’s resurrection power. We have to avail ourselves of and apply the strength that’s already in us.
We don’t do that alone. In Ephesians 3, Paul prays that we “may have power together with all the saints” to know Christ’s love, to be filled with God’s fullness, and to experience the immeasurable power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:17-21).
We need “RPMs.” No, not Revolutions Per Minute, but:
Resurrection
Power
Multipliers.
Which explains why I call my ministry “RPM Ministries.”
As we commune with Christ and connect with Christians we tap into Christ’s resurrection power. As we cling to Christ the Vine, His power flows into our lives so that we can produce fruit to His glory.
Applying Our Identity in Christ
One of the most powerful ways we can “tap into Christ’s resurrection power” is through knowing, memorizing, meditating upon, and applying the truth of our new identity in Christ. We are co-crucified with Christ and we are co-resurrected with Christ. We are more than conquerors in Christ. We are saints with a new nature and sons and daughters with new power.
With that in mind, here are two resources about our life in Christ.
First, a free five-page resource: Who I Am In Christ. Excerpted from my first book, Soul Physicians, this document has over 150 verses about your new identity in Christ.
Second, a free three-page resource: Who I Am To Christ. Also from Soul Physicians, this document has over 100 verses about your new relationship to Christ.
Applying these truths to your life will help you to personalize the reality that:
“He is risen!”
“I’m risen, too!”
Join the Conversation
What spiritual disciplines assist you to tap into Christ’s resurrection power?
