Tapping onto the Resurrection Power

by: Rev. Joseph Lai

Last week we discussed about the resurrection power that God has put within us. In particular we look upon God’s Word in which He says this power "worketh in" you (Eph 3:20). In another epistle (The Book of Philippians) our Father God also admonishes us to pursue to associate with and interact with this resurrection power of His, just as we would pursue Jesus. We should continue our study on how we can associate and interact with this resurrection power that worketh within us. In today’s modern language, I would say it is about tapping onto the resurrection power.

I count all things but loss … that I may win Christ, …that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection. (Phi 3:8,10)

The objective is Jesus and his resurrection power.

Once again this is the apostle Paul who sought to affiliate with Jesus and His resurrection power on a personal and practical level for his life and his ministry. Sure enough he had experienced the reality of tapping onto this power which he talked about. Because, you see, this is the very same follower of Jesus, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, who testified to us believers to "be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Eph 6:10)

"My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Eph 6:10)

Did God tell us to be strong in our might? No, but to be strong in His might. Well, if He tells us to be strong in the power of His might, then we must have access to that power like He says we have in Eph 3:20 and Eph 1:19-20.

So let us see how to tap onto that power of His might.

I count all things but loss … that I may win Christ, …that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection. (Phi 3:8,10)

In Paul’s pursue of tapping onto the power of God’s might, he paid a price. The price he paid was he counted all things loss. Now what are the "all things" he was referring to? You can look up the context in Phi 3:3-6 to see that they are the things that feed confidence in the flesh. In other words, they are all the things that help to promote the flesh.

Do you want to experience a personal association or a personal interaction with God’s resurrection power upon yourself? The first key is to cast away anything that promotes the flesh. It has to do with putting the flesh under constant discipline.

If we ever want to interact with the resurrection power, we ought to be watching not to allow ourselves to be governed by the nature of our flesh. We need to be watching it to be sneaking up in our actions, in our words, and in our thoughts.

Apparently, the most important area is in the thought life.

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rom 8:5-6)

"They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh." If you allow yourself to be governed by the nature of your flesh, the very first place it will sneak up to administrate is in your mind.

Oh, if we ever examine ourselves and see how often our thoughts so filled with the pattern of worldliness, under the default-operating mode of the flesh.

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rom 8:5-6)

If you allow your flesh to sit in the command center of your mind, if you allow your flesh to run your thought life, it will only lead to death. It leads you to be separated away from God and everything that is in Him. But if you would rise up and allow your spirit (the inward man) to sit in the command center of your mind, it will lead to life and peace.

Yes, you tap into God’s resurrection power by putting off the flesh and walking by the spirit. In fact, Gal 6:8 and its surrounding context teaches the same principle.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Gal 6:8)

What is the "life" that is mentioned in Rom 8:6 and Gal 6:8? It is the life of God, life as God has in Himself. It is the life that which God has put in Jesus for all who are in the body of Jesus (John 5:26). It is the God kind of life. You mean we can tap into the kind of life as God (our Father) has in Himself just by allowing ourselves to be governed by the spirit? Absolutely!

Now we can come back to see more light in Rom 6:4-5

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:4)

For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (Rom 6:5)

(Again, so often Rom 6:5 is regarded as pointing to the future resurrection. But it surely is not. Just consider the overall context of the passage, in particular Rom 6:4. You see Rom 6:4 is about us walking in newness of life now on earth. And so Rom 6:5 is an elaboration about that newness of life we should be seeking to live now on earth.)

The life we should be seeking to live now on earth should have such newness that it carries the likeness of the resurrection of Jesus. Our life should be of such newness because we should be associating and interacting with God’s resurrection power, which was "wrought in Christ to us-ward who believe".

Now, for this same subject, watch how in the same context in Roman 6:13 the Word re-affirms this truth "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God"

You see that same idea of not allowing the flesh to govern.

Therefore, if we should pursue to tap onto the resurrection power to live the resurrected life, the first key is to learn to walk not by the flesh but by the spirit.

At this time, it should be good to examine ourselves. Are we going to pursue to tap onto the resurrection power for the newness of life? Is it going to depend on whether you see Christians around you pursuing it? Or, will you make up your mind that the Holy Spirit has given you His Word to admonish you to pursue, and so you allow the Word to move you to pursue?

Blessed are the doers of the Word, is it not?

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Tapping onto the Resurrection Power

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