You’re proof of the risen Christ

By The NewsDay | Nov. 26, 2016 | 4 Min read

CHRISTIANITY subscribes incontestably to the incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth born of virgin Mary. He was crucified, died, buried and rose from the dead. The risen Christ was physically seen by many. He ascended on high and sat on the right hand of the Father.

DEVOTION: Erasmus Makarimayi

Jesus of Nazareth, born of virgin Mary, he was crucified, died, buried and rose from the dead

The empty tomb of Joseph of Arimathæa in which Jesus was buried is a strong case that He rose. However, credence of His resurrection and ascension into glory is you, more than the empty sepulcher. If you’re a born again believer you answer affirmatively that Jesus Christ is alive. The empty tomb doesn’t make one a born again believer, but Christ in you is enough truth that He rose from the dead. The life you now live is the life of the risen Christ.

Many have fallen into error by dwelling on incomplete gospel of Jesus of Nazareth. The Gospel of Christ is His death, burial, resurrection and ascension commonly referred to as the preaching of the cross. The Christ you received as Lord and Saviour is not the incarnation Jesus, but the resurrected Christ. You’re a product of resurrection not incarnation. That’s why Christianity is a translation from death to life. Many have confused themselves and gone to visit the empty tomb and thought holiness will be imparted to them. If you’re not born again you can even stay all your life in Joseph Arimathæa’s tomb and go to hell. Doesn’t it ever ring in your mind why Jesus of Nazareth, the Prophet, with all His influence never bought a grave ahead of time in preparation for His death? This was to prevent us from worshipping the tomb. He, therefore, used someone’s tomb.

We respect the biblical plan of God to have the Messiah born in Bethlehem. We respect His choice of Mary as the womb to carry our Saviour. However, we don’t worship Mary but God. Apostle Paul sets it clear for us in 2 Corinthians 5:16, which reads, “Wherefore, henceforth, know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” Let me stress by repeating. We have received the resurrected Christ not Jesus the incarnation of God. This risen Christ consciousness will heavily impact on your enjoyment of the finished works of Jesus Christ freeing you from religiosity and legalism. The grace of God becomes more realisable. Please read carefully, lest you put wrong words into my mouth. I am not saying there’re two different Jesuses. The Bible records Him as the second and also the last Adam for the purpose substitutionary sacrifice. Believing that Jesus came in the flesh is actually a prerequisite for salvation for the benefit of knowing that He took away our sins.

Christianity is of spiritual essence. The risen Christ becomes our focus. Resurrection reality manifests as you receive the resurrected Christ into your heart and life starts. Things around you benefit as they’re imparted with life. Jesus taught in John 4:21-24, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” With due respect to the nation of Israel and respect to God, who chose it that way, we don’t become holy and righteous by visiting Jerusalem. We’re the righteousness and holiness of God in Christ.

We live in the physical and material world, where the natural default is that tangible things are more real than those that cannot be physically grasped. Beloved, we worship God, who cannot be touched by physical hands, but who does things that can be touched by physical hands. From the upper room experience, we see the beginning of the proof of the risen Christ. Acts 2:41 records, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptised: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Since then, the Gospel of Christ has been spreading and multitudes getting saved or born again. This is the proof that indeed Jesus Christ is resurrected. If you’re not yet saved please join in, Jesus is indeed risen from the dead. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.

You’re going somewhere.