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Resurrection: The work is done
During the Spring Festival we especially remember the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. This holiday encourages us to reflect on our Savior and the salvation He achieved for us. Sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings failed to reconcile us to God. But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ brought about complete reconciliation once and for all. Jesus carried the sins of each individual to the cross, even if many do not yet recognize or accept this. “Then he (Jesus) said, Behold, I come to do your will. Then he picks up the first so that he can use the second. According to this will we are sanctified once for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ" (Hebrews 10,9-10).
The work is done, the gift is ready. Comparable to the fact that the money is already in the bank, we just have to pick it up: "He himself is the propitiation for our sins, not only for our sins, but also for those of the whole world" (1. John 2,2).
Our faith contributes nothing to the effectiveness of this act, nor does it attempt to obtain this gift. By faith we accept the priceless gift of reconciliation with God granted to us through Jesus Christ. When we think of the resurrection of our Savior, we are filled with the desire to jump for joy—for His resurrection opens up to us the joyful prospect of our own resurrection. So we already live in a new life with Christ today.
A new creation
Our salvation can be described as a new creation. With the Apostle Paul we can confess that the old man died with Christ: «Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come" (2. Corinthians 5,17). We become a new person, spiritually reborn with a new identity.
This is why his crucifixion is so important to us. We hung with him on the cross on which the old, sinful man died with him and we now have a new life with the risen Christ. There is a difference between the old man and the new man. Christ is the image of God and we were created anew in his image. God's love for us is so great that he sent Christ to free us from our stubbornness and selfishness.
We find the wonder of our meaning already in the Psalms: "When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have prepared: what is man that you remember him, and the child of man that you accept him? You have made him a little lower than God; you have crowned him with honor and glory" (Psalm 8,4-6).
Contemplating the celestial bodies - the moon and stars - and contemplating the immensity of the universe and the awe-inspiring power of each star raises the question of why God cares about us at all. Given this overwhelming creation, it seems difficult to imagine that He would pay attention to us and be interested in each of us.
what is the human?
We humans represent a paradox, on the one hand deeply involved in sins, on the other hand guided by a moral demand on ourselves. Science refers to humans as “homo sapiens,” part of the animal kingdom, while the Bible calls us “nephesh,” a term also used for animals. We are made of dust and return to that state in death.
But according to the biblical view, we are much more than just animals: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; and created them male and female" (1. Mose 1,27). As a unique creation of God, made in the image of God, men and women have equal spiritual potential. Social roles should not diminish a person's spiritual worth. Every person deserves love, honor and respect. Genesis ends with the statement that everything created was “very good,” just as God intended.
But reality shows that there is something fundamentally wrong with humanity. What went wrong? The Bible explains that the originally perfect creation was perverted by the Fall: Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, causing humanity to rebel against their Creator and decide to go their own way.
The first sign of their sin was a distorted perception: they suddenly found their nakedness inappropriate: "Then both of their eyes were opened, and they saw that they were naked, and they braided fig leaves together and made themselves aprons" (1. Mose 3,7). They recognized the loss of their intimate relationship with God. They were afraid of meeting God and hid. True life in harmony and love with God ended at that moment - spiritually they were dead: "On the day that you eat from the tree, you must surely die" (1. Mose 2,17).
What remained was a purely physical existence, far removed from the fulfilling life God intended for them. Adam and Eve represent all of humanity in rebellion against their Creator; Sin and death therefore characterize every human society.
plan of salvation
The human problem lies in our own failure and guilt, not in God. It offered an ideal beginning, but we humans forfeited it. Yet God reaches out to us and has a plan for us. Jesus Christ, God as man, represents the perfect image of God and is referred to as “the last Adam”. He became fully human, demonstrated absolute obedience and trust in his heavenly Father, and thus sets an example for us: "The first man, Adam, became a living being, and the last Adam became a spirit that gives life" (1. Corinthians 15,45).
Just as Adam brought death into the world, Jesus opened the way to life. He is the beginning of a new humanity, a new creation in which everyone will be made alive again through him. Through Jesus Christ, God creates the new man over whom sin and death no longer have power. The victory has been won, the temptation has been resisted. Jesus restored the life lost through sin: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even though he dies, he will live" (John 11,25).
Through the faith of Jesus Christ, Paul became a new creation. This spiritual change has an influence on his attitude and behavior: “I am crucified with Christ. I live, but now not I, but Christ lives in me. For what I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2,19-20).
If we are in Christ, then we will also bear the image of God in the resurrection. Our minds cannot yet fully grasp what this will look like. We also don't know exactly what a "spiritual body" looks like; but we know that it will be wonderful. Our gracious and loving God will bless us with exceeding joy, and we will praise Him forever!
The faith of Jesus Christ and his work in our lives help us to overcome our imperfections and to transform ourselves into the being that God wants to see in us: “But we all, with our face uncovered, reflect the glory of the Lord, and we are being transformed in his image from one glory to another of the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2. Corinthians 3,18).
Although we do not yet see God's image in its full glory, we are assured that we will see it one day: "As we have borne the image of the earthly one, so we will also bear the image of the heavenly one" (1. Corinthians 15,49).
Our resurrected bodies will be like those of Jesus Christ: glorious, powerful, spiritual, heavenly, imperishable and immortal. John says: “Dear ones, we are already children of God; but it has not yet become apparent what we will be. We know that when it is revealed, we will be like it; for we will see him as he is" (1. John 3,2).
What do you see when you meet someone? Do you see the image of God, the potential greatness, the design of the image of Christ? Do you see God's beautiful plan at work in giving grace to sinners? Do you rejoice that he redeems mankind that had gone astray? Do you rejoice that he redeems humanity that has gone astray? God's plan is far more wonderful than the stars and far more magnificent than the entire universe. Let us rejoice in the spring festivals, in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank him for his sacrifice for you, which is sufficient for the whole world. In Jesus you have the new life!
by Joseph Tkach
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