He Came Out Of The Grave So We Could Go In To Victory : Bishop Tony Samuels
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. - Matthew 24:1-3
The death and burial of our Lord Jesus were both significant events that helped to fulfill the mission of God. Colossians 3:14-15 says, Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. So through the death and burial, we can see very clearly that much was accomplished. He took every charge that the devil had against us, past, present and future, and nailed it to the cross. Then the Bible says He went to hell and defeated the devil and his forces. He triumphed over them and made a public show of them. Jesus beat the enemy in his own house!
At the cross, Jesus also dealt with the curse, which was the penalty for disobedience to God. He restored what Adam lost in the Garden of Eden, which was the Blessing. Galatians 3:13-14 says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree’: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.’ So many awesome things were accomplished through the death and burial of our Lord…but everything for our future and destiny would not happen unless there was a Resurrection.
Jesus was God the Father’s seed in the earth. A seed is potential, but potential has to be unlocked and released before it can benefit anyone. John 12:24 says, Let me make this clear: A single grain of wheat will never be more than a single grain of wheat unless it drops into the ground and dies. Because then it sprouts and produces a great harvest of wheat—all because one grain died. You see, the Resurrection represents the Harvest that God the Father was expecting to come forth, from planting His son in the earth; without this, everything else would have been in vain.
1Corinthians 14-17 says, And if Christ has not been raised, all of our preaching has been for nothing and your faith is useless. Moreover, if the dead are not raised, that would mean that we are false witnesses who are misrepresenting God. And that would mean that we have preached a lie, stating that God raised him from the dead, if in reality he didn’t. If the dead aren’t raised up, that would mean that Christ has not been raised up either. And if Christ is not alive, you are still lost in your sins and your faith is a fantasy. So much was accomplished, but so much rested on Jesus being resurrected. Even our confession for salvation is connected to the Resurrection. Romans 10:9 says, And what is God’s “living message”? It is the revelation of faith for salvation, which is the message that we preach. For if you publicly declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will experience salvation. Belief in the Resurrection activated our salvation. So on that day, when they went to that tomb, it was imperative that the tomb was empty; it was imperative that Jesus came out of that tomb, because if He didn’t come out, we could never go into all that the Lord has for our lives.
But we know that He came out, and that’s why we are celebrating, and thankful to Him today. Let’s talk about what we can now walk into because He came out of that tomb. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Because He came out, we are now in Christ, and now we have become new creatures. Because He came out, I can now walk in my new identity.
Romans 6:4 says, Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with Him, so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. So we identify with Him in His death, burial, and Resurrection, but because of that Resurrection, we can now leave the old life and live in a fresh, new life. It is a spiritual transaction that affects the reality that we live in.
What’s amazing is, because we live in a world where we sometimes face challenges, we find ourselves IN situations and circumstances that we need to get out of. Because of the Resurrection, God gave us the very thing that He gave Christ to bring Him out of that tomb. Romans 8:11 says, Yes, God raised Jesus to life! And since God’s Spirit of Resurrection lives in you, he will also raise your dying body to life by the same Spirit that breathes life into you! The same Resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead, that brought Him out of that tomb, also now lives on the inside of us! This power was the power that defeated hell’s worst enemy against man, which was death. So because He came out, we can live in victory.
2 Corinthians 2:14, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him. This is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it! We are celebrating our Lord’s Great Victory, and because He rose and came out of that tomb, we can go into all that the Lord has for us!
