150-Resting in the Resurrection of Jesus#
150-Resting in the Resurrection of Jesus
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
The content of Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1-10 from the New Testament. The theme we are sharing today is: Enjoying Rest in the Resurrection of Jesus. Have you found the Bible? Good, let's take a look at the content of Ephesians chapter 2. Let's read the Bible together, Ephesians chapter 2.
2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Amen!
Okay, let's start with a prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for Your grace. Today we gather here to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we were dead in our transgressions and sins, it was You who made us alive. Without Your salvation on the cross, we would still be in death, still in sin. Jesus, we thank You for all that You accomplished for us on the cross.
Today, Your children come together to thank and praise You, and we also receive from Your word. Help us to understand all that Jesus has done for us on the cross. We completely surrender the time ahead to You. We are willing to look up to You and worship You. Holy Spirit, lead each brother and sister personally. Guide our hearts. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen! Hallelujah!
Now let's look at our text today: Resting in the Resurrection of Christ.
That's right, many people always like to celebrate Jesus' suffering, and then what? They cry and weep, saying how tragic Jesus' death was. Some even say that during Easter, we shouldn't sing joyful songs, but should sing sad songs. Do you know why God raised Jesus from the dead? Hmm? You are right.
Some say He died for our sins, and His resurrection is to justify us. When I communicate with someone, I ask, why did God raise Jesus from the dead? They gave me a very unique answer; they said Jesus died unjustly, so God had to let Him live again, otherwise, how tragic would His death be? Brothers and sisters, is it because Jesus died unjustly that God let Him live again? Jesus indeed had no sin, right?
He did not commit any sin, but He did die. It was not because of an unjust death that He was resurrected; it was for us that God raised Him, Amen! The word resurrection itself is a very powerful word. Do brothers and sisters know what "resurrection" means? That's right, it means to live again. It is the second time, right? Resurrection means the second time. To come back to life a second time.
Well, resurrection, what is the premise of resurrection? That's right, if there is no death, is there a need to talk about resurrection? That's right, if there is no death, then there is no need to talk about resurrection. Originally, He was alive, then died, and then came back to life. Isn't that called resurrection? Thank the Lord!
So the word resurrection is a powerful word; it is not a human ability. For example, if a person commits a crime and dies, can they come back to life? This is us. You know, in the face of what disease is a person powerless? Death. If a person is sick and dies in the end.
May I ask who would have any method left? So at that time, the doctor would say we have done our best. He has no way left. The greatest limit of man is that while you are still alive, he will do his best to save you, but once a person dies, he will no longer try. But today in Christ, death is not the end. Amen! Because resurrection is upon us. Hallelujah! This resurrection is entirely God's work. So today we see a slogan in front of us: "Jesus is risen."
Brothers and sisters, Jesus' resurrection completely distinguishes us from other religions. All the leaders of other religions have died and have not come back to life. Only Jesus Christ died and then came back to life. Amen! So where is the difference between us and other religions? We do not believe in a dead Lord.
What do we believe in? A living Lord, who is still alive today! Amen!
Because we cannot say, oh, Jesus once resurrected. In fact, Jesus is not the only one who has been resurrected, right? Were there people resurrected in the Old Testament? Yes. But did that person eventually die again? Were there people resurrected in the New Testament? Did they die again? But Jesus is different; He resurrected and has been alive until today. Hallelujah!
Today He is still alive; this is the Jesus we believe in! So we do not believe in a spiritual existence. Do we also believe in heroes like Lei Feng? Where is he alive? People say, oh, he lives in our hearts. But Jesus does not live in our hearts like that.
Some say, but Jesus really died, so His spirit lives forever in our hearts. Some people may believe in Jesus like this. But that is not true. Jesus is really alive, truly alive. Amen! Including today, He is still doing great things. He lives in your hearts today in the way of the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters, this is different.
In the way of the Holy Spirit, isn't the Holy Spirit also God? Our God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, lives in my heart and proves that the one who died and rose again, as written in the Bible, is indeed real and reliable. Amen! This is why so many people's lives have been transformed, their diseases healed, and even some have been resurrected from the dead. The reason is actually very simple: because the Holy Spirit is still at work today. So when we mention resurrection, we must first understand one thing: death. When did death begin? If there is no death, we should not talk about resurrection today.
So we share the first point: The wages of sin is death.
Death entered the world because of sin, so death came upon mankind. For God, death was not His original intention. Amen! Lazarus had been dead for four days in the grave, and many Jews were crying for Lazarus. Did Jesus also cry? But Jesus' crying was different from that of the crowd.
What was the reason for Jesus' tears?
Because He knew that when His Father created man, it was not meant to be this way; God did not create man to die, but to live. Amen! You see, at the beginning, after God created everything, He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to let them live, right? This is God's intention.
Moreover, He wanted them to live in God's way forever. Unfortunately, something appeared. After God created man, His original intention was for man to be forever young, forever healthy, and forever blessed. Amen! And how was God's provision? Would we say that because we only have two children, we can just build a small house and live in it?
Look at how generous God was. At that time, there were only two people in the world, right? How great was the inheritance God gave? That's right, the whole earth; God said, this earth is given to you, so let you two live in it. Isn't He a generous God? That's right, brothers and sisters, so from this, we can imagine that our God is generous and willing to bless us abundantly.
So when we mention resurrection, we know that our bodies will also die, right? After death, will we be resurrected? When we are resurrected, do we know what kind of living conditions God will give you? No more living in high-rise buildings, no more worrying about living in eighty or one hundred square meters.
Do you know what God will give you? Many planets for you to travel back and forth. This is what you will be like after resurrection. Amen! God did not say that in the future, everyone will live on this planet and build higher buildings. Will such a thing happen? Brothers and sisters, since God was able to create a planet for this couple, how could His countless children in the future be squeezed into such a place? The new heaven and new earth in the future will be infinitely large. Amen!
So when we truly leave this body and live in that world, we will have no constraints at all, Hallelujah! So God's original intention is that He hopes people will be forever young, forever healthy, and forever live in His provision. Hallelujah!
So, did the Garden of Eden have everything to eat, use, and play with? Is this world beautiful? In fact, have we really walked through this world in our lifetime? No, right? Think about it; this is the world God originally wanted to create for Adam, which is actually much more beautiful than now. It is truly unpolluted and green. That is how it is, brothers and sisters.
For Adam and Eve, God gave them this earth to live in, so God's original intention was to let them live forever. This is our God. Let's take a look at God's provision in Genesis chapter 2, verses 16-17:
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Brothers and sisters, today we ponder this question: Are there many fruits in the world? We only say we have apples, pears, and peaches here. Do you know what fruits are in Africa? Do you know what fruits are in the Philippines? Do you know what fruits are in South America? But look at how God said at that time: You may freely eat of every tree's fruit. No problem, this is all freely given to you, Amen!
Brothers and sisters, God is such a generous God, saying that you can eat the fruits of every tree freely. The meaning of freely eating contains God's blessing, do you know? What blessing? It shows God's generosity.
You see, after this world was cursed, after people sinned, now do you dare to eat fruits freely? Many experts will tell you that you can't eat too many apricots; it will hurt something. Pears, you can't eat too many; it will hurt something. Dates, you can't eat too many; it will hurt something.
Isn't there a curse appearing? But at that time, was there? At that time, your digestive system was quite developed; even if you ate a basket of pears, a basket of peaches, or a basket of whatever in one day, there would be no problem at all, because God had no curse in it, all was blessing, Amen! So it is conceivable that when we are resurrected in the future, all kinds of delicacies will be yours. Hallelujah! This is the greatest hope for Christians, brothers and sisters.
Are you restricted in this world?
But in the future, you will not be restricted. You can eat freely and go wherever you want. But you see, at the beginning, when God created man, it was like this. You can eat freely of the fruits of every tree, but what can you not eat? Just that fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.
Well, brothers and sisters, many people are very entangled with this issue, and some even say I cannot believe in your God; your God is too detestable. You say everything is good; why put that tree in the garden? Why let Adam deliberately sin because of that tree? In fact, is it God's intention to make man sin? Then why did God put that tree inside?
When humanity rebels against God, God's heart is very sad, Amen! God cannot say, oh, you finally ate it; now I have a chance to deal with you. This is not God's intention, right? In fact, when Adam ate, God's heart was very sad. He did not want Adam to take this path, but he ultimately chose to walk this path.
Then someone might ask, since our God is omniscient, why didn't He stop Adam when he was about to eat? Thank the Lord, it is very simple; someone just answered. Because God respects our choices. God does not want to create a bunch of puppets. Brothers and sisters, do you know what we like to create the most today? Why do we want to create robots instead of having more children? You all know you can't control them.
This child grows up and may not listen to him, but how about creating robots? You can make them do whatever you want. If you create a hundred, aren't they all the same? You just have to control them. So the human heart is so evil; the things they create, they hope to control.
But God is different; God hopes that the things He creates have the same nature as Him and the same freedom as Him. Amen! So when God created you, He gave you complete freedom. Amen! What is freedom? When we talk about freedom, there must be the right to choose. Hallelujah!
I often like to use an example to tell brothers and sisters, for example, if you are not married yet, suppose your father is the king of this world, and your father says that you can marry any woman in the world to be your wife, is this promise good? Good. But there is only one woman, just that one woman in the whole world. If your father says this, how will you feel? A liar, because you walk around the world and see only that one. How can you call that freedom of choice?
If God only had one tree in the garden, the tree of life. Then God says, "Adam, you can freely eat from all the trees," and he looks around and sees only that one tree. May I ask, is this all the fruits of all the trees? Is this called freedom? No. So when it comes to freedom, God gave us the right to choose. So in the garden, there are fruits from various trees, and there is also a fruit from one tree, called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Right? Is the tree of life beneficial to us?
Did God prohibit man from eating the fruit of the tree of life? No. Then God gave one tree, this tree is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Will eating this tree have bad consequences? That's right; this is man's choice. In fact, this is the main line of the Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, God has never forced people to accept Him. He has always given people the right to choose, Amen!
He tells people that you can freely eat the fruits of other trees, which is good for you. Then you cannot eat the fruit of this tree, for in the day that you eat of it, you will die. In fact, God places life and death, blessings and curses before us today, letting us choose for ourselves. This is God's respect for us. Amen! It can also be called our free will.
So God does not want us to be thoughtless people; He hopes that our love for Him and our obedience to Him comes entirely from our willingness. Amen! Today we always say how good God is, but if a person is unwilling to follow God, God cannot do anything in his life. Hallelujah!
If God's blessings are abundant, if a person is unwilling to believe, he will not receive them. So this is our God! He respects each person's choice. So at that time, what did God tell Adam to choose? If you do not eat (from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), you can live and enjoy this blessing; if you eat, you will surely die.
So to this day, during the time of Jesus, what did God say to us? If you believe in Jesus, you will have eternal life. If you do not believe, the end is still death. Right? It is still the same choice. If you say Adam is so detestable, why did he eat the fruit of that tree? Then today you have to ask yourself, do you want to accept Jesus? Amen!
It is time to choose. If you think Adam is foolish, then do not do foolish things like Adam anymore, because today not accepting Jesus is death, and accepting Jesus is life. Hallelujah! So death began when Adam made the wrong choice, resulting in sin and death coming upon all men. So the Bible tells us very clearly. Because Adam sinned, death came upon all mankind. So God knew that man would sin and knew we would sin.
Many people hate that tree. They say, why did God put that tree there? In fact, they are complaining about God. Today, when we talk about it, is it the tree's problem? It is not about the tree. Think about it, the devil, whom we call Satan. Was there a tree when Satan fell? No. So brothers and sisters, it is not about the tree. Today, even if there is no tree, there are other things; when lust enters a person's heart, people are still unwilling to listen to God's words. So it is not about the tree; what is it about? It is about the human heart. Hallelujah!
Is there a tree today? There is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil, right? But are people willing to accept Jesus? Are they willing to believe in God's blessings? Or are they still unbelieving? Aren't there still many who do not believe? So it is not about the tree. So many people still say, why did God put that tree there? In fact, it is still complaining about God, right? Why did God put that tree there?
In fact, when the problem arises, we must first look at ourselves, right? It is actually my fault, not, oh, why did you do this? In fact, today, families, nations, and countries often go to war because they see the mistakes of others. So you see, once a person eats the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the first one to complain is God. Isn't it? You made that woman for me, and she made me eat, and then the contradiction arises.
Brothers and sisters, it is not about the tree; it is about the human heart. We must understand that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is placed there to help people understand that you are free. Hallelujah!
When heaven and hell are placed before you, it actually tells you that you have freedom. Amen! You can choose to enter heaven, and you can also choose to enter hell. This is your own freedom, so today we never force others to believe in Jesus. Hallelujah!
We just tell them that I wish for you to enter heaven and wish for you to receive His blessings through Jesus. If someone says I do not want to believe, that is fine; you have to choose another path because not accepting Jesus is destined to go down another path. So God placed that tree there to see if people are willing to listen to Him.
Of course, Adam failed miserably. Because the devil tempted man, man sinned. As a result, he chose to sin, and death came upon mankind. Let us emphasize again that death is absolutely not God's intention. Including today, is aging God's will? No. In your imagination, what age do you think God is in heaven?
In the past, many people would think, oh, how long should His beard be? How old should He be? Are we misled by TV dramas? Generally, when we see deities appear, what do they look like? They are usually old men or very old. In fact, we are misled by things in this world. You know, our God is young. Because aging is a curse, disease is a curse. Wrinkles? It is also a curse.
There are none of these things in heaven. Have you read it in the Bible? Without blemish, without wrinkles, and so on. So ladies, especially those who love beauty, should go to heaven, haha, that is eternal! Hallelujah! No wrinkles, no blemishes, meaning there will be no spots or acne; this is what heaven will look like in the future. Amen! That's great, so just thinking about it makes you want to go. Haha. I can't tell you too much. Okay, let's look at the scripture and read Romans chapter 6, verses 22-23 together.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This passage is wonderful. Just now we said that Adam had such good resources at the beginning, but he wasted them and made the wrong choice. Well, we have all become sinners; we are born as sinners. So what should we do after becoming sinners?
Now that you have been set free from sin, why can you be set free from sin? Because it is very simple. Jesus bore your sins on the cross, so you have been set free from sin. When we were in school, we all saw the story of Jesus on the cross. In fact, Jesus had no sin; He died on the cross for your sins. When He shed His blood, it made your sins forgiven and saved you from sin. Hallelujah!
So here it says, now that you have been set free from sin. It is all in the perfect tense. You have already come out, right? So we initially said in our greetings that we are righteous in Christ. Why do we say we are righteous? Because you have been set free from sin. In the past, you were bound by sin; your name was sinner, but now, because you believe in Jesus, you have been set free from sin, and now you are righteous.
After being set free from sin, what do you become? A slave of God.
You might think, wow, can we change the term? You say being set free from sin to become a child of God would be great. Why does it say to become a slave of God? What are the characteristics of a slave? The first characteristic of a slave is obedience. What else? Think about what characteristics a slave has. Have you seen many ancient dramas? In a household with servants, especially the emperor's servant, what characteristics does that servant have? First, he must completely listen to his master. Amen! Second, even he himself belongs to the master. Can he run away? Can he say, I don't want to work anymore?
Like today at work, if I don't want to work for my boss, I just won't. A slave cannot do that. If you dare to run away, you will be caught and beaten to death. So his life and all his possessions belong to the master. Amen! So if this servant is someone the master loves very much, can he be bullied by other servants? Bullying this servant is equivalent to bullying the master, right?
So we have a saying in China, what is it called? You are too smart; I won't repeat it. A servant is still different from a dog. A servant is much stronger than a dog. So what does this mean? If this servant is bullied by other servants, the master will step in because this servant belongs to him, and no one can infringe upon him. Amen!
Why am I telling you all this? If you apply all this to yourself, you will understand. We belong to Jesus Christ; everything we have belongs to Jesus. At the same time, we live in Jesus Christ, and what we enjoy is entirely supplied by Jesus. But what does Jesus supply? Grace and truth. Hallelujah!
Jesus supplies life. What we receive is everything supplied by the master, and we also know that as slaves of Jesus Christ, there is one characteristic: when we are threatened or bullied, the master will help you. Hallelujah!
Moreover, no one can take you away or seize you. Because your master does not agree. Hallelujah! So this gives us a guarantee. So in Jesus Christ, can the devil just take you away and throw you into hell? He cannot do that; he does not have that authority. Hallelujah!
So here it uses a term called you have been set free from sin and have become a slave of God. This means that in this lifetime, you cannot think of escaping from Jesus' hands. I believe you will not escape either. Haha, you will never find such a loving master again. Because in Him, there is no evil at all. Amen!
He loves His servants so much, and to what extent? Willing to lay down His life for His servants. May I ask how many such masters are there in the world? Thank the Lord, you have encountered one. That is our Jesus Christ. Amen! In the Old Testament law, there was a rule that said, for example, under what circumstances can a person become a servant? For example, if I borrowed money from someone and couldn't pay it back, I would have to sell myself to him and work to pay off the debt, right?
Then? I would start paying off the debt in that master's house... Then if that master treated me very well, after I paid off my debt, or if the master forgave my debt and said, you can leave me and go free, at that time, that servant would say, master, I do not want to leave you. So at that time, in the Old Testament law of Israel, there was a rule that if this servant did not want to leave his master, they would put his ear against the doorpost and pierce a hole in it, which we now call an ear piercing. Yes, it is just that kind of thing, and then he would belong to that master for life.
Brothers and sisters, do you know under what circumstances a servant would say, master, do not let me leave you? Because this master is too good. Only under such circumstances, right? If this master beats and kicks the servant every day, he would want to leave him as soon as possible. But Jesus is such a master; He is too good to us.
So a person who truly understands the grace of Jesus Christ does not want to leave Jesus. He is willing to follow this master for life, Hallelujah! So we are soaked in His grace, staying in His provision. Because being a slave of the Lord Jesus is truly beautiful! Hallelujah.
Once you become a slave of Jesus Christ, you will have the fruit of holiness. Brothers and sisters, today many people will tell you that you must strive for holiness, you must spend your life striving for holiness, you must constantly strive for holiness. In fact, this is still in the perfect tense. Amen! You already have the fruit of holiness.
I specifically checked the original Greek meaning of this phrase: When you become a slave of God, you enter into holiness. Do brothers and sisters know what this means? Originally, we were in sin, right? We were the same as the world, but once you accept Jesus, you enter into holiness because God is holy.
It is God who brings you into His holiness, not your effort to become holy. May I ask, can a person strive to become holy? No, for example, can a sinner strive and strive to enter heaven? It cannot be done; the problem of sin must be resolved. So how do we become holy today?
When you accept Jesus, you become a slave of God, and then you enter into holiness. What is the result? Eternal life. Hallelujah! Eternal life is not heaven; we emphasize again that eternal life does not mean heaven; heaven is heaven, and eternal life is eternal life. What does eternal life mean? It means the blessing of abundant life. Amen!
So eternal life refers to a blessing, a rich blessing, abundant grace. Amen! So today we have also read this. It contains rich grace, which is the gift He has given us in Christ Jesus; you can understand it as eternal life. So what kind of person can receive eternal life? A person who enters heaven. Amen!
If you have not even entered heaven, should we talk about eternal life? No. Brothers and sisters, eternal life is the blessing of abundant life. This is what Jesus tells us in John chapter 10, saying, "I have come that they may have life." What is the next part? And have it more abundantly.
Jesus Christ came to let those who believe in Him enter heaven and to receive His abundant life, which is eternal life. Hallelujah! Because the latter part says, why must we go through Jesus? Why must we be set free from sin and become slaves of God? Because the wages of sin is death.
Isn't this the result that every person in the world should receive? It should be death coming upon us, but the latter part says, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Isn't that only? Only Jesus Christ is the way, brothers and sisters, so only the gift of God. Well, the word gift in Greek is charisma; are you familiar with this word? What do we say during Christmas? Merry Christmas; this word - gift.
Only God's grace is freely given to you without requiring you to pay a price; you only need to believe to receive it, Amen! If you believe in God's grace, believe in this gift from God, then in our Lord Jesus Christ, it is eternal life. Amen! Today, believing in Jesus is not just about entering heaven. What else do you have after believing in Jesus?
Eternal life, what does it mean? In every matter of your life, God is willing to help you. In every environment you encounter, God is willing to help you. In every person you meet, Jesus is willing to help you establish relationships. This is what we call the gift of God; you can understand it as God's grace, which allows you to enjoy His abundant supply in Jesus Christ. So, Jesus Christ came to the world as a man, but in His flesh, He had no sin, and He did not commit any sin. He lived a sinless life in the world. Amen!
So why are we willing to become disciples of Jesus, willing to become slaves of God? Because Jesus is truly beautiful. You see, did He ever curse anyone while He was in the world? Did He? No, remember, He did not. Because Jesus' words are too powerful; He says a word, and it will be accomplished, right?
Jesus never cursed anyone. Do you know what the consequences of cursing are? If He really cursed someone, who would be cursed would be doomed. Right? So when Jesus walked on earth, He only blessed people. Do you see, brothers and sisters, this is the Lord we believe in now. He performed all kinds of miracles on earth. He cleansed lepers, made the blind see, made the lame walk, made the deaf hear, and raised the dead. Amen!
And He also comforted the wounded souls; this is exactly what our Lord does. So if you accept Jesus, He is also willing to help you in this way, being a Lord who often shows mercy and grace. He died on the cross, a tragic death on the cross.
Brothers and sisters, why do I use the term tragic death? Because before He was nailed to the cross, He was beaten to a pulp by the mad Roman soldiers. There was not a single good place on Him. Why did He suffer such pain? The Bible also says, By His wounds, we are healed.
So this is the Lord Jesus Christ we believe in. Because He completely did it for our benefit. So today we need to learn what Jesus Christ has done for us. Why did He have to die? Because only by His death could the price of our sins be paid. If a person commits a crime, to avoid punishment, there must be an innocent person to replace him, right? Jesus Christ is the only one without sin in this world.
So Jesus died on the cross for the sins of all humanity. When He shed His precious blood, His innocent blood forgave our sins. Hallelujah! So this is why He had to die. But His death is not the final conclusion. Because if that were the case, we could all die; we could also die for others, but that is not the case.
There is only one situation: the innocent can replace the guilty. Jesus is innocent; He died for us. You can think of it this way: Jesus shed His precious blood for you to bring you out of sin. So when you believe that Jesus died for you, His blood can cleanse you and wash away all your sins. This is the content of 1 John 1:9.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
When we acknowledge that we are sinners, the blood of Jesus can cleanse us from all our sins. Brothers and sisters, this is why when we lead many people to accept Jesus, I always make them say, "I acknowledge that I am a sinner," because we must acknowledge ourselves according to the Bible, Amen! But once you acknowledge that the blood of Jesus has cleansed you from all sins, at that moment, all your sins are cleansed.
So we will share the second point: Christ is risen. Then Jesus only died; our sins were replaced by Him, and we still cannot be justified. When are we justified? When Jesus is resurrected, let's take a look at Romans chapter 4, verse 25, and read it together.
25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Can you understand this sentence? You can replace "we" with "I." He was delivered over to death for my sins. This matter has been accomplished, and then it says for my justification, He was raised. Amen! The resurrection of Jesus is for our justification. So now, has Jesus been resurrected? He has.
So you can boldly acknowledge that you are a righteous person. Isn't this a simple matter? Is it very easy? It is completely based on the Bible, right? Many believers today still do not dare to acknowledge that they are righteous; they would rather say, I am at most a sinner saved by grace. But a sinner saved by grace is still a sinner, right? It is very clear here, isn't it? The resurrection is for our justification.
Since Jesus has already been resurrected, we have already been justified; we have already been called righteous by God. This is a passive verb; what does it mean? Today I want to give you the identity of a righteous person, and you just need to accept it. Isn't it still a matter of belief or disbelief?
Today God said, Jesus Christ died to pay the price for you; Jesus Christ was resurrected to justify you. You say, Lord, I believe. Then you should boldly acknowledge that you are a righteous person. If you say I do not dare to acknowledge that I am a righteous person, God says that you are unwilling to believe in all that my son Jesus has done.
Today our text also says this in verses 4 and 5. Verse 4 says, although in the past we were all children of disobedience, and we walked according to the lusts of our flesh and did what we liked, just like everyone else, but isn't there a turning point? But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, when we were dead in our transgressions, here is a word: we were dead in our transgressions, isn't that something that has already happened?
That is, before you believed in Jesus, you were in transgressions, and in God's eyes, you were dead; it was just a matter of time. So do not say, I am not dead yet; this statement is wrong, brothers and sisters. I remember many times in our church, I have emphasized this issue. Is there anyone in this world who is not dead yet? Two corpses are placed in front of you; you cannot say, well, this one is more dead!
What concept is that? They are both dead. So many times we have invented many strange doctrines, saying, " Oh, you know why you still sin? Because you are not dead yet."
Well, what does it mean to be dead? What degree is considered dead? Was Jesus considered dead? It seems He was not dead yet, right? He came back to life. That is a problem; Jesus' old self is still there. So it is not like that; in God's eyes, when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive, Amen!
It was He who made us alive, so to God, death is death, and life is life. There is no such thing as being more dead or more alive. Today many people say, oh Lord, I believe in You, but I do not believe well. Is there a degree of good or bad belief in believing in the Lord? In God's eyes, you are either righteous or you are a sinner. Is there a distinction between a good righteous person and a bad righteous person? Is there such a problem? Is there a distinction between good and bad righteous people? You are either a righteous person or a sinner. But today, when we accept Jesus, we all become righteous, and we are justified.
We continue to look at verse 5: When we were dead in our transgressions, He made us alive together with Christ. Who made us alive? Always remember that we are passively made alive. You cannot say you are already dead and then say, Lord, I want to work hard to come back to life!
Who is doing it? That's right; it is God doing it. So today many people also ask me, Teacher Ren, you say how does God make me alive today? You say we are all dead, and many have turned to ashes. You say when we are resurrected in the future, will God reassemble us? Is there a need to worry about this? No need.
Brothers and sisters, if you are so worried, you are underestimating God's power. It is not you who work hard to come back to life. You say, Lord, my leg is still over there; hurry up and bring it over! Is there a need to worry about this? No need. Remember, your justification is God calling you righteous; you just need to accept it. Amen!
Then when we die, God makes us resurrect. Since God can create the universe and everything, can He not resurrect you? So many times we worry too much, worrying for God.
In fact, it is a passive verb. The meaning of the passive verb is that when you were dead in your transgressions, He made you alive together with Christ. Do you know what this means? Just as Jesus was resurrected, you will also be resurrected. Hallelujah! Then it says, He also raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly places.
Many people think they are not alive yet, so they work hard to live. As a result, the harder they try, the worse it gets. If you know that God has already accomplished all these things, you are already alive with Christ and seated in the heavenly places. What does sitting in the heavenly places mean? All work has been completed, Amen!
You do not need to work hard to live. Lord, I want to live; I want to live. God says, you have already lived; why are you shouting? If you are dead, then shout, right? Many times we find that what is originally very easy in the Bible, we complicate it. In fact, now you are already alive, already seated in the heavenly places.
So today we talk about God making us alive together with Christ, which means when you know that Jesus rose from the dead, we are also resurrected with Christ. What did God do on the cross? The New Testament begins at the cross, not at the birth of Jesus. We emphasize again; on the cross, we gave all our sins to Jesus. Jesus died for you, and Jesus gave you all His holiness, righteousness, and power today. It is such a righteous and holy exchange; all the punishment God placed on Jesus for our sins. Amen! Can you understand this meaning?
In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, he had to take a lamb to the priest, right? He would say, "Priest, I have sinned," and then this person would lay his hands on the head of the lamb and say, "All my sins are placed upon this lamb." Would this lamb have to die? So how about today under the New Testament?
After Jesus was nailed to the cross, you say, Lord Jesus, I believe that all my sins are now upon You, and then Jesus died for you, and you can leave without sin. At that moment, God says, I forgive all your sins. When Jesus rose from the dead, you were justified. Hallelujah!
So was the punishment completed? It was completed. So God tells us in Hebrews chapter 10; after those days, I will no longer remember their sins, because all their sins have been placed upon Jesus. I will no longer remember their sins because your actions, your terrible actions, have been borne by Jesus. So God says, I will bless you. Hallelujah!
Why does God no longer get angry with you? Just because of this willingness. Because all of God's anger was poured out on Jesus. When the anger was poured out on Jesus, today God has placed you in Christ. Do you know what you can have in Christ? All blessings, all blessings of heaven, God will give to you. So when God looks at you today, what does He see? - Jesus. How good is Jesus? How good does God see you? So you must look at yourself through Jesus, and you must also look at the brothers and sisters around you through Jesus.
How beautiful is Jesus? The people around you are just as beautiful. Hallelujah! Because this is how God sees you. So in God's eyes, is Jesus completely beautiful? So God sees you as completely beautiful. If you really do not know how God describes you.
I suggest you read the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament, which describes love. In fact, that is God's love for you. In God's eyes, you are that beautiful. My beloved, the winter rain is over, the flowers are blooming on the ground, I wish my beloved would walk with me; this is Jesus' invitation to you. Hallelujah! What a wonderful love this is; this is how you appear in God's eyes.
Completely beautiful, completely filled with glory. So you should always make a correct definition of yourself, and also, completely healthy. Amen! So, how does God see Christ? How does God see you today? Hallelujah! He pours out His grace upon you, pours out His love upon you. Hallelujah!
So Jesus is risen; you have risen with Jesus. Here, some people may not understand and say, Teacher Ren, that’s not right. According to your statement, we should not get sick on earth. You just said completely healthy. That’s right; what we just said about resurrection is a spiritual resurrection. A spiritual resurrection. Amen!
The first time Jesus resurrected you was a spiritual resurrection. Do not confuse the spirit with the body. Today, has this body resurrected? Why has it not resurrected? You are too wise. Once you say it, you understand. Because if it has not died, how can you say it has resurrected? Only after it dies can it be resurrected, right?
May I ask, if this body dies and is resurrected, will it still get sick? Is it completely beautiful? YES, it is. So now our spirit, in God's eyes, is completely beautiful and without blemish. This is how God sees you. So God does not look at how this body is because this body has not died yet. But God wants to heal this body through the spirit inside you.
Today, is it normal for us Christians to get sick? This is the old one; this body is old, right? It is aging day by day, but one thing, if you get sick, what should you do? Let the resurrected spirit inside you heal it. Hallelujah! Many doubts are resolved.
Many people are entangled in this; how can this be? If that is the case, we should not get sick. Why would we still get sick? It is very normal; this has not died yet. But in the process of dying, it is normal to get sick and have some problems. So do not say, why did that Christian die? Otherwise, they would die of old age or die of sickness or something else. You must have a way to die, right?
So many people feel, why did he die like this? Why did he die so painfully? No matter how he died, as long as his body dies, after resurrection, it will be completely beautiful. Because only through death is there hope for resurrection.
Let’s look at a passage of scripture in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 22-23.
Let’s read together.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at His coming those who belong to Christ.
Does this passage explain it clearly to you? Today we see that in Adam all die. Is our body from Adam? So is this body going to die? Then likewise, according to whom? According to Christ, shall all be made alive.
Are you sure you are in Christ? When you believe in Jesus, you are in Christ. But we will be made alive in our own order. Isn’t there an order? In a couple of days, the cherry blossoms will bloom. Will cherries all ripen in one day? Is there an order? One cherry ripens, which means the others are about to ripen too. Amen!
Did Jesus resurrect? The others are about to follow. So you are also about to follow. So when Jesus is the firstfruits of resurrection, what will we be like in the future? What was Jesus like after He resurrected? Would He be tired? You see, when Jesus was in the flesh, did He get tired? We just talked about it a few times; Jesus sat by the well of Samaria, thirsty and tired.
After the resurrection, did Jesus have these tired issues? No longer any limitations. So today you will feel tired, you will feel thirsty, you will feel hungry; after resurrection, these problems will not exist. Today, when we carry this flesh, there will be wrinkles on our faces, and there will be some worries at home. But after resurrection, all of these will not exist. Hallelujah!
So after Jesus resurrected, you see, at that time, was He transcendent? Can He eat? Yes, remember, He can. When we fast and pray on Fridays, we read the last chapter of Luke, chapter 24; after Jesus resurrected, the disciples did not dare to believe. Jesus said, come touch me, touch me, see if it is me.
Then He said, do you have anything to eat? Did they give Jesus a piece of broiled fish? Did Jesus eat? He did. This means that after resurrection, you still have taste; you can taste all kinds of delicacies, you can travel across various planets, not just one planet; who knows how many planets there are? In short, you can think about it yourself.
You can think about how after resurrection, you can taste all the fruits that God has prepared for you, eat freely, and enjoy all kinds of delicacies. You will not have diarrhea; that is wonderful. Amen! Because at that time, you will no longer be restricted. So what was Jesus like after resurrection? Are there any geographical restrictions? Instantaneous movement can be realized. So today, you think playing with a phone has strong functions, right? At that time, you will not need a phone; it will be too troublesome. When you want to call someone, you can just think about it, and you can go play on that planet for a while. You will not even need a phone; who knows what kind of communication will be used? In short, it will be very fast.
In fact, it is like this. So our greatest hope as Christians is resurrection. You see, Jesus resurrected; that is what it will be like, and when we resurrect, it will be like Him. Hallelujah! But today, while we are in this world, we need to tell this good news to the world.
Many people have no hope, you know? They live in this world in too much pain; they do not know why they are alive. We live for resurrection. So let us not die prematurely, saying, Lord, I hope to resurrect early; let me die first. Not yet; do not rush. If you die now, you will have to wait. Right? If you die now, you will be waiting for Jesus to come again for the resurrection.
So now, living in this world a little longer is better. After all, it is good, right? You say, but I will get sick. That is okay; Jesus can heal. You say I have many worries; that is okay; Jesus can heal. Hallelujah! Now live joyfully with limitations, and after this body dies, live joyfully without limitations.
So this is our hope. We need to bring this good news to the world, to those who have no hope in this world. You say, oh, I have long felt that living is meaningless because they do not know they still have resurrection. So you need to tell them that today Jesus Christ shed His precious blood, so that your sins are forgiven.
He resurrected, which means you have already been justified before God. Verse 7 tells us: What are we doing in this world today? It is to tell the world, God has shown His exceeding riches of grace to the coming ages! Verse 10 says, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
When you know that life is so beautiful, are you willing to tell your friends? They have no hope and feel they do not know what they are living for. You tell them, you should have this hope. This is what God wants you to do. Amen! So Christians doing good is an acknowledgment of God's grace.
Brothers and sisters, do you know? When you do good to others, you acknowledge God's grace because my God provides me abundantly, exceedingly abundantly, Hallelujah! When you are willing to pray for others, saying it is okay, I will pray for you, my God will surely help you. You are doing good to him because you acknowledge your God; He is a gracious God.
Okay, let’s pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise Your grace. Today, every time we talk about resurrection, we have great hope because this is the greatest hope for us Christians. God, You love us so much. Although we have sinned against You and died in transgressions, You made us alive.
You let Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross for our sins, cleansing all my sins. So today I can live in Christ and enjoy all Your abundant blessings. Lord, You have told us about the resurrection, letting us know that in this life, You will help us, and after this body ends, You will give us even greater hope, and also tell us that in this world, everything we do for You is not in vain because You will reward us doubly.
Thank You for loving us like this. I know that today I am resurrected with Christ and seated in the heavenly places, so Jesus, You have overcome everything. Today, relying on the strength You give us, I can also overcome in all things. I am willing to tell this good news to those around me, so that they may also live with the hope of resurrection and the power of Jesus Christ. May the grace of Jesus Christ always be upon us. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!