The Resurrection Dimension
By Pastor Jack Hayford
When Jesus said, "Because I live, you will live also,"
He was declaring a new dimension of life available to any who will
receive Him and His.
Most believers in Jesus live an inferior quality of life simply
because they have never come to terms with His full offer. Christ
the Lord, the resurrected Son of God, has made available to us both
forgiveness of sins and fullness of life. Forgiveness comes when
we receive the offer of His life.
The Good Friday dimension of life says, "Christ died for my
sins." I believe that, and I receive the payment He made for
my sins. I acknowledge the penalty He suffered as a result of my
wrongdoing. But that does not teach the full measure of provision
which God has made possible through the redeeming work of our Lord.
There is a Resurrection dimension of life also, and it is wrapped
in the words of Romans 1:
...The gospel of God...concerning His Son Jesus Christ our
Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead
(vv. 1, 3-4).
This passage clearly tells us that it was through the power of
the Holy Spirit that Jesus was raised from the dead.
That Man who strode forth from the tomb twenty centuries ago is
still speaking today: "Because I live, you will live
also (John 14:19).
Look closely, now. Those words are not only a promise of an endless
life in the glory of God's presence, they hold a guarantee of a
present life in the glory of God's power. Jesus is telling you and
me we can move out of the limits of mere human resources for living,
into the dimension of the Holy Spirit's resources for our living.
Today, I invite you where Christ invites you: to live in the resurrection
resources of the Spirit-filled life. Romans 8:11 says this is the
present and fulfilling potential that awaits each of us who will
receive Christ's life-power (fullness) as well as His love-power
(forgiveness): "If, then, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, then He who raised Christ Jesus from
the dead will through the Spirit that dwells in you also make your
mortal bodies live" (MLB).
Step to a new plateau! Let's stand together in the full possibilities
of Jesus' life working in us. The Resurrection dimension is no twilight
zone of mysticism, but a real, practical, and powerful dynamic for
life in the here and now.
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Jack
Hayford Ministries
14800 Sherman Way, Van Nuys, CA 91405-2233