The Sovereign Love of God

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T he S eason from E aster to P entecost

made the resurrection the centerpiece of its worship and com­ munity. As the living Savior he is with us to the end of this age (Matt. 28.20). Even his “going away” (in suffering and death) did not prevent him from coming to us again in his resurrected glory, leading to his gift of the Holy Spirit to all believers (John 14.28). By faith we died with him, have been made alive together with him, are raised with him through baptism, and even have ascended and sit with him in heavenly places (Rom. 6.1-4; Eph. 2.5). Clearly, it is in Jesus’ resurrection that Christus Victor becomes most convincing (Gal. 1.4; Col. 2.15; 1 John 4.40). In the person of Jesus Christ, and through his resurrection, the Age to Come has broken into this present age, with our Lord becoming the firstfruits of those who sleep. Christ is the first fruits of the eschatological harvest of souls destined to live in the fully consummated Age to come (1 Cor. 15.20). Moreover, he is the “firstborn” from among the dead, i.e., the primary one, the preeminent one, and the pattern of all who with him will rise from the dead and inherit eternal life in the new heavens and earth (Col. 1.18; Rev. 1.5-6). By the power of his resurrection, God has birthed us to a living hope, rooted in God’s mercy and an inheritance that will never perish or fade away (1 Pet. 1.3-5). Surely then, it makes sense that the early Church chose Easter as the singular event to welcome new converts into the Church, to restore backsliders and penitents, and to convocate in joyous gatherings of remembrance and wor­ ship. Christ’s resurrection does not merely guarantee the life of the Age to Come for a future time; rather, it provides us with hope, power, and confidence to live a new life today, right here, right now in him. Truly, if anyone is in Christ, s/he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5.17).