L.G.S.
1. Jesus died for our sins | “Look up”
Jesus didn’t suffer and die for anything He did. Jesus suffered and died for everything we did against God and every sin we have committed.
Zech 12:10 And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
John 19:36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
1 Cor 15:45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Jesus, the last Adam, did not only die for Christians, he died for the sins of all people and to also redeem all of creation. Jesus death has prevented greater trouble and calamity than we have already seen.
Jesus death balanced the scales of divine justice. People who commit crimes produce an imbalance in society that can only be rectified by justice and dealing with criminals, both in punishment and reform.
Sin creates an imbalance, pain and impending trouble. Like a bad diet imbalances the body. He took the punishment that all of us deserved.
As a child, everyday I woke up, I found myself in a warm bed, in a nice house. I could get up, go into the kitchen and get some food out of the refrigerator. I could turn the tap and receive cold, clear water. I could turn another tap and draw hot water for a bath.
As a child, I was oblivious to the sacrifices that my father and mother made for me to able to live a carefree life. As I child, I thought that my father went to work everyday because it was something he liked to do, and had fun doing it.
Here's my point: Many people walk around drawing breaths, thinking thoughts, making money, living mostly sickness and disease free, enjoying life, overcoming difficulties, but, like naive children, never stop to consider that it's the mercy and grace of God that keeps them.
People are unaware that because of Jesus sacrifice, there is, especially in Christian nations, a measure of peace in life that we would not have, if Jesus had not died for the sins of all humanity.
2. He was buried | “Give up”
Jesus burial was proof of his death. Being buried signaled the giving up of His life. When people die, they have to give up everything…even if they didn’t want to. You’ve never seen a U-Haul truck in the funeral possession carrying of the stuff of the deceased.
Either you “Give Up” your old selfish life voluntarily, or it will be taken away involuntarily and all kinds of ways.
He burial also symbolized the end of our old lives and the permanent removal of our sins. Once someone or something is buried, it is gone. All activity ceases. All power is gone.
1 Cor. 15:21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Jesus burial represented the breaking of the power of sin, and satan.
Have you have a car or something that simply could no longer be repaired? A sinful nature cannot be repaired, it has to be reborn. That car is beyond repair, it has to be replaced. It's totaled!
3. He rose from the dead | “Stand up”
1 Cor. 15:12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
Jesus resurrection validated and activated every promise and every benefit of salvation. His resurrection also broke the power of death, the deception of Satan and the reign of sin over humanity. Because of Jesus' resurrection, no one has to live in sin, dwell in defeat, or spend eternity without God in Hell. We receive a spiritual resurrection when we are born again.
Resurrection” is from the biblical Greek word: “Anastasis” which is a combination of two words meaning: up and to cause to stand.
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