Three Core Themes of the Bible
The Bible revolves around three great themes: Resurrection, the Holy Spirit, and the Church. These are truths that are beyond human understanding and can only be revealed by the Holy Spirit.
The Creation of Man: Incomplete
When God created man, He created him as perfect in form but incomplete in nature. Man was placed before the tree of life (representing God’s life) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with the freedom to choose. Adam needed to receive God’s life in order to be complete, but he chose wrongly by eating the forbidden fruit. As a result, man lost the “likeness” of God (his inner nature), and only had an “image” on the outside.
Throughout the Old Testament, although there were great figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, they still did not achieve God’s original purpose in creation. Humans still fell short of His glory.
Jesus: The Only Perfected Man
It was not until Christ came to earth that God found the man He had been waiting for. Jesus was the model man, perfect in character. However, while on earth, His power was limited by time and space. To complete God’s purpose, He needed to undergo resurrection.
Resurrection: Beyond Limits
The resurrection of Jesus had enormous significance:
Assuring God’s Representative: The resurrection was God’s declaration that Jesus was His Son, no longer bound by death or any other limitation. He lived forever.
The Resurrection of Jesus is no longer limited by time and space. He can appear and disappear, no longer depending on “coming” or “going”. The resurrection has broken the greatest barrier of mankind, death, showing the infinite power of God.
The power of resurrection is the greatest power: The resurrection has conquered death, the ultimate limit of all living things. This power is the greatest power, capable of transforming and overcoming everything.
The Holy Spirit: Communion of the Resurrection
So what is the Holy Spirit? Acts 2:33 shows that after Jesus was exalted and received the Holy Spirit from God the Father, He poured out this Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit carries within Him the power and the very resurrection of Jesus.
When a person touches the Holy Spirit, he touches the resurrected Lord.
The most important work of the Holy Spirit today is to communicate the resurrected Christ to people, a God who is not limited by time and space.
Ephesians 1:21 affirms that the resurrected Christ has been exalted far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name. This power, the power of resurrection, is in the Holy Spirit.
The Church: Where the Power of Resurrection Works
The church is the Body of Christ, where God demonstrates and works His mighty power.
Ephesians 1:19-20 points out that the same “mighty power of His power” that worked in Christ to raise Him from the dead now works in the church.
The church, filled with the resurrected Christ, becomes the repository and manifestation of His resurrection power.
Jesus is only the Head, but the Church is His Body, with the same character and power.
The power of the Church is not less than the power that subdued all things under Christ. This is why the Church can solve every problem and overcome every temptation.
The Church did not exist before Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It was created by the Holy Spirit, who formed us into the one Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
Practice: Living in the Power of the Resurrection
Every Christian has tasted the power of the resurrection through personal salvation. However, this power is much greater: it sustains us in the work of God, helps us suffer for Him, carries the cross, and is sanctified.
Today, when we know about the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit, and the Church, we will see that every personal and corporate problem can be solved. When two people touch the resurrection power of Christ and stand firm on the resurrection ground, what they bind will be bound and what they loose will be loosed (Matthew 18:18-20).
The gates of Hades cannot prevail against the Church, because the Church represents resurrection, and Hades represents death.
Receiving the revelation of this truth and living it will save us much time and energy, bringing a glorious testimony to the Church on earth. May the Lord open our eyes to see the fullness of the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit, and the Church.