108. Raise up us
1 Corinthians 6:14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
The same God who raised up Jesus the Lord will also raise up us. This is a promise as sure and certain as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We who believe in Jesus are identified with and united to Christ; and we are united with Him in resurrection. Jesus is the only person in history to be resurrected in His body never to die again forever. (Many others have been resuscitated from death but then died again later.) This is the First Resurrection. Believers in Christ have a part of the First Resurrection, and so are blessed.
The bodily resurrection of Jesus not only guarantees to us that we, too, will rise again with Him, but it also guarantees to us everything that Jesus Christ did for us and said to us. In this way Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of our faith and our life. Everything depends on it. Our own resurrection is also the foundation for our lives in that everything depends on it. We shall rise; therefore we shall live. We are raised with Him; thus we live with Him. Jesus is day by day, second by second, giving us life, enriching and growing our life with meaning, joy, hope and peace. He is truly giving a continually abundant life.
God will raise us up by His own power. The life-giving power of God is more powerful than any power than we can imagine. We can’t even imagine the power of a huge nuclear bomb. How could we imagine a million bombs? God’s power is so much more even than that, but His power is not used to kill and destroy, but to give life and build up. This awesome power to raise us up and give us life is employed in our lives every time we hear the Gospel. This awesome power is available to us at all times and especially in time of trouble and need. If He can and He will raise us up, will He not with Christ give us all things needful?