The Power of Living

I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Philippians 3:10-12

When we are united with Christ by trusting in Him, we experience the power that raised Him from the dead. That same mighty power will help us live morally renewed and regenerated lives. But before we can walk in the newness of life, we must also die to sin. Just as the resurrection gives us Christ's power to live for Him, His crucifixion marks the death of our old sinful nature. We can't know the victory of the resurrection without personally applying the crucifixion. James says, "Faith without works is dead." This is not speaking of works in the outward sense, that we need to earn God's grace or earn our ticket to heaven. This is simply talking about the application of the new covenant; the application of the cross in our lives. Faith that we have for what Christ has already done will ensure His power working in us and through us on a daily basis. The power to change our nature, and to become more like Christ is not in us, the power resides with Him who chose us. The sooner we realize how powerless we are as mere frail human beings, the sooner we will be filled with His power from above.

God bless you,

JH