The Resurrection

…if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  

Philippians 3:11 

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 
 
Philippians 1:21 

Christ rose from the dead. This is one of the most well-attested facts of history. Multiple people saw Him alive after His crucifixion in numerous circumstances. Paul makes reference to some of these when he writes,  ‘…and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.’ There are many other recorded incidents. It is not enough, however, that Christ rose from the dead. The ramifications of it are that those whom Christ redeems will also experience resurrection. Before He raised Lazarus from the dead, Christ said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.’ There are numerous other passages in the New Testament which refer to the fact that Christ will raise His redeemed from the dead. Thus, Paul in writing regarding what he was prepared to discount and lose to gain the knowledge of Christ cites that one of the end results of that path is, ‘if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.’ Paul understood, that whatever loss he might suffer in this life he would more than gain by the resurrection from the dead.  

Our Gracious God, and our Heavenly Father, 
we rejoice that You have raised Christ from the dead. 
We praise You that because He lives, 
we shall live also. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning