Jesus has risen! In this sermon, Greg Boyd unpacks the meaning of the Resurrection and its implications for our lives. He names four facets of the empty tomb so that we might see it from a variety of rich angles, and as a result enter into the power of the Resurrection by the Spirit.
If you missed our Good Friday service and would like to watch/listen, you can find it here.
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Jesus’ resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith and reverberates throughout the New Testament. In this Easter sermon, Greg Boyd brings our attention to four facets about the Resurrection found in 1 Peter.
First, we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The Resurrection confirms everything that Jesus claimed, taught and did. It also confirms the meaning of the cross, as it broke the power of sin and defeated evil powers and death. Without this cornerstone of our faith, there would be no faith at all.
The second facet is that God has given us new birth through the Resurrection. We are born from above. We now have the same spiritual DNA that was running through Jesus. As a result, we have a capacity to love and serve that goes far beyond our natural ability. We can walk in the power to love like the Father loves, reflecting the love of the cross, through the life of the Spirit.
Third, the Resurrection is a birth into a living hope. Hope is distinct from a wish, which is not based on reality. Instead, hope is a confident expectation that is founded upon the reality that God raised Jesus from the dead. Because Jesus actually arose, we have a “living” hope which is alive right here and right now. Thus, we hope that God will empower us to walk in freedom to be who we are made to be.
The final facet is that the Resurrection gives us an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Because we are born from the Father and are children of the Father, we are promised to inherit all the treasures of the heaven when this age finally ends. Because the inheritance is “kept in heaven,” it is imperishable in contrast to the perishing treasures of the world. It is undefiled in contrast to this sin-tainted world. It is unfading, in contrast to all that is deteriorating.
Through these four facets the light of the Resurrection shines upon us, opening our eyes to see the glorious work that the Spirit performed when Christ was raised. The Resurrection is not merely a historical reality, it is a concrete experience that is available to any who would embrace it.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: Resurrection, Salvation
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The MuseCast: April 7
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven…
"Thank you for this ministry! It has transformed my life in some really radical ways. God has broken down so many barriers and exposed so many lies that have taken some serious burdens from my heart. It has given me hope, freedom and purpose I never could have imagined possible."
– Jenny, from Wisconsin
