The Power of the Resurrection

The power of God is unleashed by the resurrection of Christ, such that the effects of sin and the curse are being reversed and the people of God take dominion over all creation.

Scripture: Rom. 6:1-11; Phil. 3:8-11

Sermon Notes:

1. The power of God is unleashed by the resurrection of Christ, such that the effects of sin and the curse are being reversed and the people of God take dominion over all creation.
2. The World craves power, seeking it in all the wrong places.
3. Apart from God’s sovereign power (the power of the resurrection), we are powerless to face all the powers arrayed against us; we’re doomed to futility and frustration.
4. Progress isn’t based on highly educated individuals improving over time. We improve only when God’s grace gives us the power to change.
5. Our social order is returning to an old slavery, as a dog returns to its vomit. Returning to our old sins, we reenact our sin-sick past (Prov. 26:11; Jude 10).
6. Our hopes and dreams mock us when we labour apart from Christ.
7. The cultural myth we labour under is that people are naturally good. This is a lie. All people are sinners; therefore changing the environment doesn’t make people good.
8. The downfall of every nation in history was primarily the result of internal social dysfunction, the breakdown of the moral character of the nation.
9. Frustration and futility apart from God leads to cynicism and despair. Then young people turn to rioting and arson and other socially destructive forms of behavior.
10. Because of Adam’s fall, sin and death became an aspect of our beings. Apart from Christ we’re doomed to repeat the sins of Adam.
11. The whole creation groans for redemption (Rom. 8). We can’t celebrate Easter properly if we don’t realize this fact of the human condition.
12. As there’s a connection between us and Adam, so there’s a connection between us and Christ. Christ became man, a descendent of Adam (Luke 2:38).
13. Christ is the second Adam (1 Cor. 15). In Christ all are made alive.
14. Paul wants to know Christ: I want to be found in Him. This is of surpassing worth.
15. Paul wants to know the effective power of God, especially at work in the gospel (Rom.1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18).
16. The same power that raised Jesus is at work today and is at work with Christian believers.
17. The power of the resurrection gives us the ability to live and act to the glory of God, independent of the environmental factors facing us.
18. We’re not bound to the same self-destructive habits. Generational sins are cut off. Christ’s victory overpowers sin and Satan.
19. There’s no other faith, worldview, political vision that has this power. Only in Christ do we have power to escape futility and the power of sin over our lives.
20. Power is no good unless it is applied. The gospel has to be applied. We’re not admiring doctrines, we’re applying them. The gospel contradicts and confounds all humanist doctrines and visions.
21. The human quest for power is hopeless.
22. The power of God is unleashed in Christ (1 Cor. 1:18-24). It is impossible to believe in such a power and not believe it will change men and nations, families, churches and institutions.
23. We’ve received a spirit of life and power. All of life is baptized into Christ, so that all are raised in a new condition and state of being. All of life is then infused with His resurrection power.
24. Christ’s power is over all (Eph. 1:19).
25. Every human being will be raised from the grave, because of Jesus Christ.
26. The resurrection testifies to the truth that Jesus reigns as Lord over all, and so we baptize the nations. We’re a child of the resurrection.
27. Christ is risen and we’re free from the power of sin and death.

Application Questions:

1. How can we identify areas of our lives that are still unbaptized (i.e. not made new by Christ’s resurrection power)?
2. How do we attain Christ’s power and victory over sin?
3. What, according to the World, is the fundamental problem with humanity and how do they try to fix it? What is the biblical view?
4. Where does the World look for the power to improve and progress?
5. What happens when we try to labour apart from Christ?
6. List all the things believers attain on account of Christ’s resurrection. Provide Scripture references for each
7. Am I guilty of ‘polishing doctrines’ instead of applying them?

Sermon Notes