Living in the Power of the Resurrection | What It Means to Be Raised With Christ

Living in the Power of the Resurrection

What does it really mean that Christ is risen?

For many believers, Easter becomes a beautiful moment that quickly fades into ordinary life. But Scripture teaches something far more radical: the resurrection of Jesus was not just an event in history—it is a present reality transforming our lives today.

In this episode of The Bible Made Real Podcast, Kathy Abraham explores what it truly means to live in the power of the resurrection and how our union with Christ changes everything—from our identity to our daily struggles.

Through powerful Scripture, practical examples, and deep theological insight, this episode reveals how the resurrection is not just a future hope but a living power at work within us right now.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

• What the resurrection of Christ actually means for your daily life
• How believers participate in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection
• The biblical meaning of union with Christ
• Why suffering and trials still exist after Easter
• How the Holy Spirit empowers resurrection life within us
• The connection between resurrection power and the Great Commission
• Why resurrection life often looks quiet, faithful, and hidden
• The future hope of the final resurrection and eternal life

Key Scriptures Discussed

• Galatians 2:20 — “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
• Romans 6:4 — Raised to walk in newness of life
• Colossians 3:1 — Seek the things above where Christ is seated
• Romans 8:11 — The Spirit who raised Jesus lives in you
• Psalm 126:5–6 — Those who sow in tears will reap in joy
• Matthew 28:18–20 — The Great Commission
• 1 Peter 1:3–4 — A living hope through the resurrection
• 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 — The future resurrection
• Revelation 21 — God will make all things new

Key Takeaways

Resurrection is Our Present Reality

Through baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit, believers participate in Christ’s death and resurrection.

Union With Christ Changes Everything

Just as Christ died and rose again, believers now share in His life, His inheritance, and His glory.

Resurrection Power Works in Everyday Faithfulness

Resurrection life often appears in quiet acts of obedience—
forgiving, trusting God in hardship, praying when faith feels difficult.

Salvation Is More Than Forgiveness

The early Church taught that salvation is participation in God’s life—what the Fathers called theosis, becoming transformed by grace into the likeness of Christ.

Our Hope Extends Beyond This Life

The resurrection of Jesus guarantees the future resurrection of believers and the restoration of all creation.

Reflection Questions

1. What does it personally mean for you to be raised with Christ today?
2. Where in your life might God be inviting you to trust His resurrection power?
3. How might resurrection life show up in quiet faithfulness this week?

Listener Challenge

This week, ask yourself each day:

“What would it look like to live today as someone already raised with Christ?”

Look for resurrection power in small acts of faith, obedience, and love.

Resources & Links

Subscribe to The Bible Made Real Podcast so you never miss an episode.

If this episode encouraged you, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts—it helps more people discover the life-changing power of Scripture.

Welcome to The Bible Made Real.

Be sure to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss upcoming episodes.

You can connect with Kathy on Instagram @kathyabidinglight and learn more at kathyabraham.com. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Bible-made real podcast, where scripture transforms your everyday life. I'm your host, Kathy Abraham, and I'm here to help you fall in love with Scripture like never before. Not in a confusing or overwhelming way, but in a simple, accessible, everyday life kind of way. If you've ever felt intimidated by the Bible, unsure where to start, or wondered how God's word actually connects to your everyday life and your struggles, this podcast is for you. Each week, we break down scripture in a way that brings clarity, depth, and transformation. We talk about anxiety, purpose, identity, spiritual habits, relationships, and what it means to walk closely with Jesus in your everyday life. Expect biblical truth, real life wisdom, and practical steps that you can use right away. If you're ready to grow spiritually, think biblically, and let the word of God shape every part of your life, hit follow and join me for this journey. Welcome to the Bible Made Real. Truly He is risen. What a blessed and joyous feast of the resurrection! I hope you all entered fully into this holy season. The fasting, the prayers, the long services, and now the feasting, the light, the joy, the victory. And as we step into this new phase of the church's life and our own spiritual lives, I want us to pause together and reflect on something very real and very personal. What does it actually mean to carry resurrection power into our everyday lives? We didn't just observe Lent. We actually walked through it and we lived it. We journeyed through the eight Sunday Gospels. We stood at the cross during Holy Week. We watched the suffering of Christ, his sacrifice, his crucifixion, his death, his burial in the silence of the tomb. And now we stand in the blazing light of the risen and living Lord. What power, what glory, what victory. I don't want this joy to end. I don't want this union to dissolve and dissipate. And I don't want to shrink down and neutralize the power of the hidden Lord that we just knew and experienced so deeply. So today I want to talk about something close to my heart. What does it really mean to live in resurrection authority and to be fully alive, fully raised, and fully united with Christ in my life and my day-to-day walk with God? So let's go there together. When my kids were little, we used to recreate the resurrection scene. We made a little tomb from a paper bowl and we put a rock on the outside of it with some sticks and leaves. And inside the bowl or the tomb, we would glue many marshmallows together in a shape of a cross to represent Christ shrouded with his tunic inside the tomb. It was a lot of fun. I would read them the story of the resurrection, and we'd go through the motions together. And they remove the rock from the tomb and it would reveal itself empty, just as the scripture says. And sometimes we treat Easter like that, like a beautiful story from the past. Christ rose, the tomb is empty, death is defeated, amen. And then we go back to our ordinary life as if nothing had changed. But the church and the apostles teach us something far more radical. In Galatians 2.20, one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture, Saint Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And again, in Romans 6.4, he says, We were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life. And then this breathtaking line in Colossians 3 1. If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. See, Christ is raised from the dead and raised us with him. He is now sitting at the right hand of the Father, and all humanity in Christ is seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Did you catch the theme of these promises? It doesn't say that you will be raised someday. It says that you were raised. It's done. Christ was raised from the dead, and he raised you with him. If that isn't enough victory to rejoice in, I don't know what is. And this really is the mystery of the center of our entire faith. Through Christ, through baptism, and through the Holy Spirit, his death becomes our death. His burial becomes our burial, and his resurrection becomes our resurrection. This is the divine exchange.

unknown 4:49

St.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Anthonesius of Alexandria says he became what we are, that he might make us what he is. Easter is not just this victory. It's not just a victory that belongs to Jesus. It becomes our new victorious reality, also. I remember when I was younger, my dad loved Lakers, and every Laker game was always on my house. It was a big deal at my house. And there was this opportunity my dad had. He was a doctor, and one of his patients, who happened to be the manager for the Los Angeles Lakers, one night, that that relationship completely changed because we were given VIP access to a Lakers game. Okay, and not just great seats. We entered through the same doors the players used. We walked the same halls the players walked. We stood in the locker rooms. We had access to the food, the space, the behind-the-scenes world that only players and their families experiences. Here's the thing: we weren't basketball players. We weren't even part of the team. We didn't earn this access. We didn't train for it. But because we were connected to someone with authority, because this guy loved my dad and my dad was a good doctor, and he he and my dad had a good relationship. But because we had access to this authority, we were given access that we didn't deserve. We experienced benefits that were never ours by nature, but were ours by relationship. And that's what union with Christ is like. We didn't earn his life. We don't deserve his standing. We weren't on the team. But because we are united with him, his death becomes our death, his burial becomes our burial, his resurrection becomes our life. And you know what's so cool about resurrection power and this divine exchange is that we walk where he walked. We receive what is his, not by merit, but by grace, favor, and divine love. Because of our union with Christ, we also get to share in his glory. We share both in his suffering and also in his glory. Romans 8, 16 to 17 explains this order so beautifully. It says that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, and if heirs of God, then joint heirs with Christ. And here it is, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. None of this is earned and none of this is deserved. But we entered the union with Christ and now we become children of God. So if we died with Christ and we were raised with Christ, what does that mean? Well, that's resurrection power right there. Resurrection power is the work of the Holy Spirit inside you. The Apostle Paul says, But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8 11. Think about that for a second. The same spirit who stood at the tomb of Christ, the same spirit who raised his lifeless body into glory, lives inside you. This is why the Apostolic Church speaks of salvation not only as forgiveness and remission of sins, but as life, healing, a union, and participation in God's own life. The fathers call this theosis, not becoming God by nature, but being filled with his life by grace, that we become partakers in the divine image of God. As it says in 1 Peter 1:4, and the Apostle Paul also reminds us in 2 Corinthians 3.18 that we are being transformed from the same image from glory to glory. So resurrection is just not a future heaven, it is a divine life already growing in you right now, quietly hidden, but so, so real and so powerful. And this is where resurrection becomes deeply practical. Because many of us secretly think if Christ is risen, then why is my life so hard still? Why is there still grief? Why do I still have trials? Why am I still waiting? Why are there still unanswered prayers? Why are there weaknesses and failure? But look at the risen Jesus. He is glorified and yet he still bears the wounds. Resurrection did not erase a cross, it filled it with glory, and that means something life-changing for us. Your suffering is not meaningless, your hidden season is not wasted, and your obedience in the dark is not unseen. In Christ, even death itself becomes a doorway to life. As said by the psalmist, those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Psalm 126, 5 through 6. So, what does resurrection life actually look like in a daily life? Resurrection life is usually quieter than we expect. It often looks like forgiving when the pain is still real, praying when you feel nothing, getting up again and again when you're exhausted, trusting God with your children, your future, your marriage, your body, your health, your calling. Remaining faithful when no one applauds you or no one even acknowledges you. This is not small work. This is resurrection power in ordinary clothing. Because the greatest miracle is not only a body leaving a tomb, it is the human heart becoming alive in Christ. The transformation of your heart is the greatest resurrection miracle. And don't forget the great commission. After his resurrection and before his ascension, Christ gives the greatest commission to all, to his disciples and to the living church. He tells them in this great commission in Matthew 28, he says, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. This commission is living resurrection power. When we spread the gospel and bring, when we spread the gospel and bring others to Christ, this is resurrection power. When we listen to the Beatitudes of Christ at the Sermon of the Mount in Matthew 5, we do not hide our light under a basket, but we allow our light to shine so that God may be glorified. As Jesus is the light of the world, this is resurrection power. And when Christ tells us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, and to not return evil for evil, but evil for good, that's resurrection power. Giving your neighbor your clothes, your food, your time, your money, your attention, your friendship, that's resurrection power. Resurrection power is a changed and transformed life. Resurrection power is doing the works that Christ did and more also, as he says. That's living full resurrection power. And still, this is only the beginning. We know that the life we live is but a vapor, very temporary in light of eternal life. We now are a living hope of a future resurrection. 1 Peter 1, 3 through 4 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. Did you know that the resurrection of Christ that we just celebrated a few days ago started eternity inside of us? Our future inheritance is incorruptible because Christ trampled down death by death. Death no longer has a final word. God does. This living hope points to something greater inside each of us. The day when Christ returns, the graves will open and creation is healed, and death is finally destroyed once and for all. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16 to 17 assures us the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Jesus desires that we are with him and tells the Father that he wants us to be with him where he is. And John's vision in the book of Revelation, chapter 21, clearly depicts the scene. He says, And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and they and be their God. And John's vision in the book of Revelation, chapter 21, clearly depicts the scene. He says, And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. Friends, our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for this time to be with Christ, seated in the heavenly places, in the presence of the Father and the cloud of witnesses. This hope is resurrection power. And as Paul says, as he's fighting this good fight of faith, he says, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. That desire is resurrection power. Because the life we now live, we no longer live to ourselves. But now we live a life in Christ, in the power of the resurrection. This is our hope. This is our power, an entirely changed and transformed life. So today, in this bright season of resurrection Easter and the new life of spring, hear this deeply. You are not walking toward death. In Christ, you are already walking in resurrection life. You have died with him, you were buried with him, and now you have been raised with him. And the life that you are living today, you have full authority and hope to live in resurrection power because of the living Lord who truly lives inside you. Christ is risen, truly he is risen, and rejoice because he lives in you and you too are alive in him. Thanks for joining me on the Bible Made Real Podcast. If today's episode encouraged you, make sure to hit follow and subscribe so you never miss an episode and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Your feedback helps us to reach more listeners. You can visit KathyAbraham.com to access free Bible study tools and sign up to receive my free weekly devotionals straight into your inbox. You can also follow me on Instagram and TikTok at Kathy Abiding Light for daily encouragement and behind the scenes content and updates. I'll see you in the next episode.