Quotation (Matthew 28: 1, 6)

Now after the Sabbaths, as it began to down on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 'He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying

The Resurrection - The Finished Redemption

It was a great joy going through last weekend, as we commemorated what is traditionally called Easter. For us who have great revelation of the Easter, it becomes our God given responsibility to help others to come to that understanding.
So first of all, what we just gone through, with its attended ceremonies and rituals, is not the actual events, but just a memorial, a commemoration, which is a sign or token to us that this actually took place. It's just as we celebrate our birth day or independence day.
So this celebration or commemoration is pointing us to something with eternal results and consequences.
The Resurrection therefore commemorates the Finished (work of) Redemption just as the Sabbath commemorates the Finished (work of) Creation. The Sabbath according to Jesus was made for mankind (Matth 12: 8) and so also the Redemption was made for mankind. In other words, the Sabbath was a divine provision for man's needs of restoration, and the Resurrection is also a divine provision for man's needs of restoration. Interestingly, Jesus Christ declared Himself to be Lord of both the Sabbath and Resurrection (Mark 2:27, John 11: 25 -26).
The implication and significance are that you and I may go through all these celebrations and rituals, but if we don't submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ Jesus and receive by faith His finished redemption, which restores and justifies us in Him, we have missed the purpose and the goal for the season. Paul by revelation declared, 'For all mankind have sinned (against God) and fall short of the glory of God, but they are justified (declared righteous) freely by God's grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom 3: 23 -24). So Jesus the righteous lamb of God was delivered up to death on the cross for our sins against God and He was raised from the dead to life again when we were justified or declared not guilty by God (Rom 4: 25).
So the Resurrection Sunday, which is the first day of the week is a new beginning for a restored life and person, and also is a perpetual sign, token and memorial to tell you and I that Christ's work of redemption for us has divine approval and we for whom He suffered, are completely and eternally been declared free and righteous. He has obtained eternal salvation for us, so we can now trust Him by faith and live a holy life for Him and stop working for our own salvation through various religions and beliefs. You can now rest on Christ and Christ alone. Hallelujah.
So dear friend, if you have not come to Christ Jesus this way, it's time now to come for your redemption through faith in His Lordship and if you have done yours already, it's time now to dedicate yourself under His Lordship.

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of them who have fallen asleep (1 Corinthians 15: 13, 20)

The Resurrection - A Type Of Firstfruits

Scriptures tell us that the Lord God saved and sanctified the people of Israel in Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb, and redeemed their firstlings (firstborns) from death (Exo 12: 12 -14, 29 -30). Thus the people of Israel were to sanctify or sacrifice to the Lord their firstlings - both man and animal and also the crops sown on their fields. The firstlings of their crops or harvests was termed firstfruits (Lev 23: 10 -14). But why this strange demands from God? And what is its prophetic significance?
As the Passover lamb prophetically portrayed Jesus' death on the cross, so also the firstfruits offering foretold His resurrection. By divine revelation, the Apostle to the Gentile nations, Paul, likened Christ's death to the Passover lamb, and His resurrection to the Firstfruits sheaf offering. And as the firstfruits witnesses to and guarantees the later harvests, so the resurrection of Jesus witnesses to the coming resurrection and guarantees the resurrection unto life for those who belong to Him. Paul confirms it this way, 'But each one in his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ's at His coming (1 Cor 15: 24, 1 Thess 4: 13 -17).
I want to point it to you that, it was not just Paul had it by revelation, but actually the Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised it to all who have believed in Him (John 11: 25 -26), and went on to authenticate it by raising Lazarus from death (John 11: 43 -45).
For this cause all the early Christians knew that there is a resurrection unto life for all who have come to Christ and therefore made it their goal and strived to attain it. Paul himself said, he pressed on towards that goal and the writer of Hebrews affirmed that people went through troubles and accepted difficulties for Christ's sake because they were hoping for a better resurrection (Phil 3: 10 -14, Heb 11: 35).
Dear friend, what is your goal for being a Christian? What do you hope to attain to in Christ? A better resurrection or a bad resurrection? Mind you Jesus categorically said, there is a resurrection unto life and a resurrection unto condemnation (John 5: 28 -29). And the early Christians, whose faith we admire and hope to imitate, made the resurrection unto life their goal and strived to attain it, so you and I can't do otherwise. And note this: the resurrection of Jesus is eternal sign and a perpetual memorial that there is a resurrection unto life coming. So make it your ultimate goal, and give it your ultimate best to attain to it. The ball is in your court, for Christ has risen from the dead for eternal sign for you.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on Earth. Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 18 - 19)

The Resurrection - The Grace Dispensation

I love what I am about to share. It is about the period of time you and I were born into. Bible scholars called it 'the Dispensation of Grace' (Eph 3: 2).
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ began a new era of time in the history of the world, the era of God's grace. Grace is defined by Apostle Paul as 'simply God's love expressed in kindness towards man through Christ Jesus in saving him by regeneration and sanctification of the Spirit (Titus 3: 3 -5). This kindness of God is a gift of salvation which is offered to man free of charge (Eph 2: 8 -9). Mankind therefore needs no work for their redemption and their approach to God. Under this grace God gives freely to the believing sinner righteousness (a right standing with God, for man is accepted by God because of Christ) and eternal life (which is impartation of the life and nature of God). The only legal condition for this salvation is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1: 12 -13, John 3: 16). For salvation is by grace through faith, is a free gift of God, and wholly without works.
So now we can approach God anywhere on this planet and God will respond to us. We can now seek Him and He will make Himself available to us. For this reason the Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples to go to the nations of the world and make disciples for Him. So in this dispensation, Christ is the bottom line, and accepting Him or rejecting Him all carry eternal results with rewards and consequences. But the choice is ours. So this season of Resurrection is a perpetual sign and eternal reminder, that God's grace is still waiting and waiting for as many as will receive Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 1: 3 -4)

The Resurrection - Vindicates Christ's Deity

Jesus of Nazareth was born the Son of God. A term very difficult to explain and understand. To the Jews, the Son of God is the incarnation of God, a word which means 'God appearing in a human form, but in nature, power and existence, He is still God' (John 5: 18, Phil 2: 6). The Jews by the word of prophecy were expecting such an incarnate One. So one of Jesus' missions was to reveal Himself to the Jews and to the whole world that He was the Son of God. And He did it perfectly - by word of speech (John 8: 24, John 13: 19, Matth 26: 63), by works of miracles (John 10: 25, Matth 14: 33) and by His sinless life, as a Lamb without blemish.
However, the problem is that most people of Jesus' day were sceptical, and rejected Him to be the Son of God just as it is in our day. Even though His virgin birth vindicated Him to be true ( Matth 1: 22 -23, Isaiah 7: 13 -14), demons confirmed Him to be true (Matth 8: 29, Mark 3: 11, Luke 4: 11), and His disciples acknowledged it to be true ( Matth 16:16, John 6: 69, Matth 14: 33). Yet He was put to death for declaring Himself the Son of God (Matth 26: 63, John 19: 7, Matth 27: 43).
However, by divine revelation given to Apostle Paul, Jesus of Nazareth is revealed to us as the Son of God with power, not only by His holy life or His virgin birth or His miracles, but also by His resurrection from the dead. Thus, Jesus' resurrection proves His deity as the Son of God.
The implication is that those who accept Him, those who believe in Him are given the right to become the sons and daughters of God, and joint-heirs of Christ.
My point this morning is that there is no greater love or greater grace than this, that it took God Himself to redeem you, by becoming a human being like you, to die to save you with His holy, sinless, unblemished blood to make atonement for you. That is how much, how wide and how high the Living God could go to save you and to bring you to Himself as His redeemed son or daughter. Hallelujah.
Your side of the deal? Just in a humble, simply faith by confession and believing, accept Him and His finished work on your behalf. And rejecting Him? Is not only eternally dangerous, but it leads to the Second Death.
So as you go through the season of the Resurrection of Christ, know what it stands for for you. The Deity became your redemption.
May you accept Him today and dedicate your life to Him forever.
May His resurrection power and grace defend and protect you and bring you to the true God and true Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

Thanks for reading,
@johnsonkoranteng @sirknight #Steemitghana