The last word Jesus spoke on the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30).
On the third day, he rose from the dead; the stone rolled away from the tomb by the dynamite Power of God, and Jesus walked out victoriously. Jesus is our Victor, the triumphant one. Death could not hold Him down. He is the Holy Son of God. Today He is in heaven seated on the right hand of God, making intercession on our behalf. (Romans 8:34).
Paul the Apostle revealed some mystery regarding the plan of God for the reconciliation of the whole world in Christ Jesus, according to the book of Romans, “For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so, all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. “This is My covenant with them When I take away their sins.” Concerning the gospel, they are enemies on your account, but concerning God’s choice, they are beloved on account of the fathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it would be paid back to him? For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” (chapter 11:25-36, NASB).
“Therefore, remember that previously you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who previously were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the hostility, which is the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two one new person, in this way establishing peace; and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So, then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:11-22).
They chastised Him, crucified Him on the cross, He died, they laid Him in the tomb and buried Him. On the third day, the Righteous One rose from the dead; sin could not hold Him as a captive to death; He overcame the sting.
“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of the dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely, He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So, He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people, He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked- But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, and He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. By His knowledge, my righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53: 1-12).
The Power that Lives in Us
Paul prayed for the church that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you: the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding be enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints? what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come? (Ephesians 1:17-23).
Death could not hold the holy one captive. Likewise, it pleased the Lord to graft us into the beloved when we invite Him into our lives, and we become born again. At the new birth He implants in us the Spirit of God, the divine nature of the triune God (Father, Son, and Spirit), to live a godly life in the spirit. Though still in our mortal body, we can receive strength through the Spirit that dwells in us. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20). As the born-again children of God, we are spiritual beings, as the grave could not hold him captive, so we are, and we should conduct ourselves as holy vessels transformed and renewed daily in Him. When He comes back a second time, we shall have his new nature. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3). You don’t belong to sin anymore; the reason we become restless is living the life of sin. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
All Made Possible by the Cross
Now He is the holy one, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 2:9-11).
Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes in Him will by no means be put to shame.” Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but directly have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:4-9).
What Character of Newness are We to Portray?
Now we are children of God, heirs of the kingdom. Spiritual beings are embedded in the clay mortal bodies. “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29).
We are to conduct ourselves as dead to self and alive in the power of Christ, just as the Scripture teaches, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38). The exact nature is in you. They were purchased by blood, transformed, and renewed in Christ. The world’s presence is subject to pollution, and Paul admonished as follows – fortify your bodies, dead to the flesh, alive in the spirit. “Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:5-17).
The Christ-Centered and Victorious Life is God’s Plan for Everyone – The Resurrection Anointing
We have the power against every opposition to our godly living. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19). The anointing of God, which moves in the born again, is similar to the one that entered Saul when anointed King of Israel, and He did exploits. He lost it when he grieved God through rebellion against the commandment of God. (1Samuel 13-15). David was the youngest man in the family, Jesse; the family dealt with him as irrelevant. He received the anointing of God as a future king, which moved Him to do exploits before ascending to the throne and during his reign as King. (1 Samuel 16 – 1 Kings 1). Jesus full of power and the Holy Ghost, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38). This same anointing works clean, stirs up the born again better than drugs, stimulants, and any act contrary to the Word of God. It stirs you up to the things of God and eternal life. The anointing in you places you on another level. You “who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10). The anointing gives you the overcoming grace. “But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox;I have been anointed with fresh oil.” (Psalm 92:10). Saul embittered about David, removed him from his presence, and appointed him commander of a thousand, a position to engages David. (1 Samuel 18:13). The anointing in David increased his protection, victory, favor, and prosperity among the people. No wonder the Bible says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (Psalm 91:1-2). Paul prayed for the church that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you:
the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding be enlightened;
that you may know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (Ephesians 1: 17-23). The child of God has the potential for all Paul prayed about, as we have the seed of God living in us. We develop more of the anointing as we grow in the things of God through total surrender, obedience to His Word, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit,
How to Spark the Anointing in Your Life
It would help if you were born again, the first step to receiving God’s anointing (the Spirit of God). (John 3). Walk with Him through daily reading and meditation on the Word, as the guide or compass, and praying in the Holy Spirit at all times. (John 15; Ephesians 6:18). Attend a Bible-believing church for the fellowship and encouragement of like-minded people. (Hebrews 10:25). Associate yourself with the Lord through the believer’s baptism in your church. (Colossians 2:11-12). Remain excited to share with others about your newfound faith. (Matthew 28:19-20). Live the life of faith in the Word of God. (Hebrews 11:6; Numbers 23:19).
I earnestly pray the victory of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ will quicken our mortal bodies and illuminate our hearts to the vision of heaven for us all, in Jesus’ Name.
Happy Resurrection Morning to All.
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