Easter Sunday is so amazing that it reminds me of something I once heard Tony Campolo say. “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’!”
It was the greatest Sunday in history. For on that day, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by our Father. Satan thought he had won, but God did a judo move on him. He used Satan’s greatest strength, death, against him, to restore life to every human being who would believe in Jesus!
However, that is only half the story. The other half is equally amazing. Yet, few will hear it in their churches on Easter. You see, not only was Jesus resurrected from the dead, so were you! But it was not the former you, the sinner. It was a brand new you who had never existed before!
God recreated a new you that is so different; you are a gazillion times better than the person you were when you showed up on planet earth! Because you were in Christ when he was raised from the dead, so was the new you. God has made this very clear by writing these Scriptures for us. Notice they have already happened.
“For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6 NLT
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” Colossians 3:1
This is why He calls His sons and daughters, new creations in 2 Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Do you see it? The old “you” is gone forever! The new and improved “you” is here right now! As a result, here is what He says about you.
“You are my beloved child. I love you as much as I love my Son, Jesus! What is true about Him is now true about you. In fact, I wrote about this through one of Jesus’s friends, John, in his first letter. ‘In this world, we are like Jesus.’ 1 John 4:17c. That means because of your union with Christ, you are righteous, holy, blameless, and complete. This is why I not only love you. I like you! So, do not let your past, performance, or peers define you. I alone define you!”
This Easter, while you are rejoicing that Jesus was raised from the dead, make sure you rejoice that the new you has also been raised from the dead. And, one day, we will get our new resurrection body, too!
