What Easter Teaches Us About God

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which we celebrate at Easter, is central to the Christian faith. In fact, the full scope of Christian theology is put on display in Christ's resurrection. Just think of the attributes of God that are clearly seen in the resurrection of Christ:

Think of the omnipotence of God. The Bible tells us that Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God (1 Cor. 6:14). The reflexive opinion of many people when they hear that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, was raised from the dead is, "That's impossible!" They would be correct if the physical universe dictates what's possible and impossible, but it doesn't. The creation is not Lord; the Creator is Lord. If the sovereign Lord of all creation brought the universe into existence by His powerful word and continues to uphold the universe by His powerful word, don't you think it would be a small thing for Him to raise Jesus from the dead?

Think of the justice of God. God would have been just to condemn Adam and Eve to hell the moment they sinned. God would have been just to condemn each one of us to hell the moment we sinned. Thank God that that's not what He does! But how can God forgive sinners while maintaining His justice? The answer is Jesus. When Jesus died, He died in our place. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3). "He made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ died and rose again "so that [God] might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26). Truly, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our account, "righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Psalm 85:10). Only God could have thought of such an amazing plan!

Think of the love of God. Everything that happened to Jesus beginning with His incarnation was because of God's love for the world, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). The love of God is especially magnified when we realize how much we don't deserve it: "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). We are called to love our enemies because God loves His enemies, and that is how the Bible describes us, in our sinful nature. Charles Wesley expressed it so well in his famous hymn: "Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me!"