The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was proof that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His precious blood and the redemptive work for fallen humanity was finished on earth. But what does the resurrection of Jesus mean for humanity? What does it mean to be baptized in His death and His resurrection? What does the resurrection life in Christ mean?
Jesus was the Firstborn of the new creation and the Firstborn from the dead
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; kwaye, khangela, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death (ISityhilelo 1:17-18)
Jesus was the Firstborn of the new creation, Who walked after the Spirit in obedience to the Father and preached and established His Kingdom on earth.
When His time arrived, Jesus gave His life for fallen humanity, the sinners).
Because of the disobedience, offenses, and iniquities of fallen man, Jesus was scourged and crucified and carried the sins of the world, which the Father laid upon Him, whereby Jesus entered hades legally (Funda kwakhona: What is the true meaning of the cross? (Owu. uIsaya 53, UMateyu 27, Phawula 15, ULuka 23, UYohane 19).
Nangona kunjalo, death was not strong enough to keep Jesus in his kingdom (the kingdom of death).
Jesus conquered death and after three days Jesus rose as Victor and Firstborn from the dead with the keys of hell and death (Owu. IZenzo 3:15; 13:28-31; 26:23, AmaRoma 1:1-4, 6:9; 8:29, Kwabase-Efese 1:20, KwabaseKolose 1:12-18, 2 uTimoti 2:8, Hebhere 11:19; 12:22-24; 13:20, 1 UPetros 1:21 (Funda kwakhona: What did Jesus do in hell?))
Jesus had become the Substitute for fallen man, so that in Him the new creation could be created.
The precious blood of Jesus, which was shed on the whipping post and the cross, made atonement for the sins of humanity and restored the (iwile) state and the (iwile) position of humanity and reconciled man back to God, so that man could have a relationship with God and live as sons of God (oku kusebenza kuzo zombini iinkunzi nemazi) on earth.
In baptism, the old man dies in Christ and the new man is raised in Christ from the dead
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit: By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him (1 UPetros 3:18-22)
Wonke umntu, who hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and has come in the flesh and believes in His redemptive work; His death on the cross (for our sins) and His resurrection from the dead (for our justification), and repent and be baptized, whereby the person identifies himself with the death and resurrection of Christ, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, shall be saved.
The baptism is the grave for the old man and means death to the flesh. The old man dies in Christ and the new man is raised in Christ from the dead (Funda kwakhona: What is the true meaning of baptism?).
But it doesn’t stop there. This is only the beginning of your new life and the race of faith that contains many hardships, trials, tribulations, resistance of people, hindrances, and obstacles, and your faith, uthando, patience, and longsuffering will be tested.
The new man is quickened by the Spirit and walks in newness of life in the resurrection life
Ngoko ke sangcwatywa naye ngokubhaptizelwa ekufeni: njengokuba uKristu wavuswayo kwabafileyo ngalo uzuko loYise, Ngokunjalo nathi sifanele sihambe sinobomi obutsha (AmaRoma 6:4)
Kodwa uThixo, osisityebi ngenceba, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Naxa sasifile ezonweni, usidlise ubomi ndawonye noKristu, (by grace ye are saved;) Wasivusa kunye, wasihlalisa naye kwezasemazulwini iindawo, sikuKristu Yesu (Kwabase-Efese 2:46)
If you believe and are baptized in water and receive the Holy Spirit, you have become a new creation; unyana kaThixo (oku kusebenza kuzo zombini iinkunzi nemazi) and you shall walk in newness in life in the resurrection life.
Every son of God is baptized in Christ and justified in Christ and clothed with Christ, whereby there is neither Jew nor Greek, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, male nor female, but Christ is all and in all (Owu. AmaRoma 4:25-25, kwabaseGalati 3:25-28, KwabaseKolose 3:11)
Your spirit was under the dominion of death, but now has been quickened by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The devil and death no longer have dominion over you, because your flesh, in which sin and death reigns, has died in Christ.
You are no longer a sinner, a son of the devil. You are no longer a slave of sin and death and therefore you shall no longer serve sin and live under condemnation, since your flesh has been buried in Christ in baptism.
Because your flesh has died in Christ and no longer lives, the law of sin and death no longer has dominion over you and you shall no longer walk after the flesh in sin.
The law of the Spirit of life reigns in the new man
Through the resurrection of your spirit from the dead, the law of the Spirit of life reigns in you, and because of that, you shall walk after the Spirit in righteousness (Owu. AmaRoma 8:1-4).
You are justified and have become a saint in Christ. Therefore you shall no longer live as a sinner, as a slave of sin and a victim of the devil and death.
Your nature has changed. You have become a partaker of the Divine nature, whereby you shall no longer be controlled by the will, iinkanuko, and desires of the (sinful) flesh and do the works of the (sinful) inyama, but you shall be controlled by the will of the Holy Spirit, which is the will of Jesus Christ, which is the will of the Father.
It’s no longer you that lives, but Christ lives in you, whereby you shall no longer seek yourself and do your own will and serve the Lord for selfish reasons and your gain, but you shall seek the will of God, which is revealed by the Word and the Holy Spirit and preach and establish His Kingdom on earth.
If you walk in the resurrection life in Christ, you shall walk with God and do what the Word says and you shall keep the commandments of Jesus and walk in righteousness in the will of God.
In the power of the Holy Spirit, you shall put off the old man and put on the new man and resist sin and have dominion over sin instead of sin having dominion over you.
But as long as you go your own way and keep doing the works of the flesh and refuse to submit to God and obey the Word, you are not born again in Christ and have not become the new creation, who walks in the resurrection life in Christ, but you are still the old man, with its sinful nature, who his prideful and rebellious against God and goes his own way and makes his own rules and exalts himself above God and His Word.
The devil comes as an angel of light with his pious lies that always contradict the Word and eventually lead to death. Many Christians still believe his lies above the truth of God.
Despite the revelations and warnings of God, people still believe the words of the devil
Despite the revelations and warnings of God in His Word, people still believe the devil above God. It doesn’t matter, how many times the Word warns people and reveals the true nature and works of the devil and his sons, people won’t listen to the truth of God but rather listen to the words of the devil and believe his lies. Why? Because they still belong to the devil and the world and love the (works of) darkness above the (works of) Light.
I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill Me, because My word hath no place in you.I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father (UYohane 8:37-38)
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me? He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God (UYohane 8:42-27).
Jesus said to the Jews, that they didn’t love Jesus because God wasn’t their Father. They didn’t understand His speech, because they couldn’t hear His words, which came from the Father, Who had sent Him.
They were not of God and God wasn’t their Father, but they were of the devil and had the devil as their father and therefore they listened, believed, and obeyed his words (his lies) and wanted to do the lusts of their father. And this truth still applies today.
Abantu abaninzi, who say they are Christians, don’t believe the Word of God. They don’t listen and obey the words of God, but they listen, believe, and obey the words of the devil that contradict the words of God.
According to the words of Jesus, this proves that they are still the old creation, who have the devil as father and belong to him and have his nature and therefore they believe and obey his words and do his works and serve him (Funda kwakhona: Doctrines of devils are killing the church).
What does the Bible say about someone, who doesn’t walk after the will of the Spirit in righteousness, but walks after the will of the flesh in sin?
They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, Ndithi kuni, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (UYohane 8:33-36)
Ngoko ke, bazalwana, singaba netyala, hayi enyameni, ukuphila ngokwenyama. Kuba, ukuba niphila ngokwenyama, ewe uya kufa: kodwa ukuba niyazibulala ngoMoya, zife iintlondi zomzimba, niya kuphila. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, bangoonyana bakaThixo bona (AmaRoma 8:12-14)
What does the Bible say about someone, who doesn’t walk after the will of the Spirit and in righteousness, but walks after the will of the flesh in sin? Do the person’s works testify that the person belongs to God or the person belongs to the devil?
Jesus says, that everyone, who commits sin is a servant of sin and is not made free from sin. Because if the Son shall make someone free, that person shall be free indeed and shall no longer be bound through the flesh to sin and death.
Wonke umntu, who keeps sinning, walks after the flesh and is still a slave of sin.
A person can say whatever he or she wants and come up with all kinds of excuses for his or her sinful behavior and use Bible verses for their flesh, to approve their sins, but their sinful works and behavior prove, that the person is not born again and has not laid down his life in Christ, but the person is still the old man aka the old creation, who walks after the will and the lusts and desires of the sinful flesh.
Ezo, who are raised in Christ and have walked in the resurrection life, shall inherit eternal life
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature (KwabaseKolose 1:12-15)
Ke nina anikwinyama;, kodwa kuMoya, ukuba okunene uMoya kaThixo umi ngaphakathi kwenu. Ke ukuba umntu akanaye uMoya kaKristu, he is none of his. Kwaye ukuba uKristu ungaphakathi kwenu, umzimba ufile ngenxa yesono; kodwa uMoya ububomi ngenxa yobulungisa. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you (AmaRoma 8:9-11)
Kungokunje uKristu uvukile kwabafileyo, ibe yintlahlela yabaleleyo. Kuba ekubeni kaloku kungomntu ukufa, kukwangomntu ukuvuka kwabafileyo. Kuba, njengokuba kuye uAdam bafa bonke, ngokunjalo nakuKristu baya kudliswa ubomi bonke (1 KwabaseKorinte 15:20-22)
Ezo, who believe and have freely laid down their life on earth and have died in Christ and are risen in Christ have passed from death to life.
Ngokuzalwa ngokutsha kuKristu, they have been delivered from the power of darkness; the power of the devil and death, and have been justified and reconciled with God. They have become alive to God and don’t belong to the death anymore but to the Life.
They have become sons of God in whom the Holy Spirit dwells and they shall walk after the will of the Spirit in obedience to God and His Word.
I am the resurrection, kunye nobomi: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die (UYohane 11:25-26)
And if they stay faithful to Jesus and keep His commandments and walk as sons of God in the resurrection life and finish the race and keep the faith, and fall asleep in Christ, they shall be raised in Christ.
And because they are written in the Lamb’s Book of life, they shall inherit eternal life and enter in through the gates of the new holy city Jerusalem on the new earth (Owu. Mattheuw 24:13, UYohane 14:19-24, ISityhilelo 21).
In contrast to those, who have remained the old creation and have believed the words of the devil above the words of God and walked after the flesh in his will, doing the will, iinkanuko, and desires of the (sinful) inyama, and have borne the fruit of death, esisisono (Funda kwakhona: What is the will of God and what is the will of the devil?).
When they die and are raised from the dead, they shall go to the same destination as their father, to whom they listened to their whole lives and whom they have believed and whose desires they have done and because they are not written in the Book of life, they shall be cast into the lake of fire and enter the second death.
‘Yibani yityuwa yehlabathi’
