With the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Christianity was born. It challenged the religions of the Ancient world and still does today.

Other religions had been around for many years, when Jesus entered the scene. Zoroaster offered a process of fire cleansing to purify the human soul. Buddah, whose ideal was oblivion, personality and identity loss, followed about 500 B.C. Mohammed came at about 550 years after Jesus. His heaven was a harem and nowadays Mormonism offers “spiritual marriages.”

Christianity came as heaven’s champion, declaring victory over sin and death and proclaiming everlasting life! John 10: 28 reads, “I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” No other religion could ever declare victory over sin and death or offer everlasting life. Only Jesus could boldly declare in John 11:25: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live…and shall never die.” In John 10:17-18 Jesus says: “…I lay down my life, only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” Halleluja.  What a mighty God we serve! 

In Revelation 1:18 He says: “I am the living One. I was dead and behold I am alive for ever and ever. And I hold the keys of death and hell.” Wow! No one has ever had a similar experience. No one has ever challenged death and taken hell captive. Jesus stands unique in heaven and on earth. He is heaven’s champion!

When Jesus was resurrected, new, eternal life pulsed in Him. Acts 2:32-33 we read that God raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to the right hand of the Father, where He received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 28:18 He declares: “All authority and power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”  Wow!

Just as God breathed the breath of life into Adam, so Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He became the world’s Saviour and heaven’s High Priest. It was His right now to pour out the Holy Spirit on every hungry heart that was ready to receive Him and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

No other religion has ever suggested resurrection or everlasting life, or man being incarnated by God! If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you are God incarnated. John 14:23 reads, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

In John 17 Jesus prays for His children. Verse 21 reads, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” Verse 22: “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.” Verse 23: “I in them and you in me.”

If we have Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit, we have heaven’s authority and we can live victorious lives! Praise the Lord!

Prayer:

Precious Jesus, thank you for laying down and taking up your life for me. I am hungry for all You have for me. Please pour out Your Holy Spirit on me afresh and fill me with Your presence and your glory. Amen.