“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11, NKJV).
What I’m about to say may come as a surprise to you. It is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about power. When I say this, I don’t just mean the divine power that raised Jesus from the dead. Of course, that kind of power is absolutely miraculous, and it can only come from God himself.
Christ’s resurrection speaks of an additional power, and this one also only comes from God. It is a power that causes us to live holy lives, to be free from sin’s dominion, to overcome every habit and lust known to man, to walk in a righteousness that comes from God alone by faith. To obtain this power is to know Christ in the power of his resurrection.
The apostle Paul speaks of this kind of resurrection power. He had a profound inner longing to know Christ, and that hunger came from his own deep cry for holiness. He found the answer in “Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name” (Romans 1:3-5).
Paul saw that Jesus had come to earth as a man with the power of heaven resting upon him, power to heal the sick, set captives free, raise the dead and give eternal life. Jesus’ resurrection, accompanied by a divine proclamation that he truly was the Son of God, opened the pathway for all to new, abundant life in him.