To my surprise, as though anything isn’t a surprise as a young dad, my young boys are intrigued by death. The whole concept of death elicits a lot of questions from them. To be honest, death should be fascinating in the worst way to everyone. Well, one day they were visiting a neighbor who’s dog died and they asked mom where the dog was. The response was something like, “She may have buried the dog in the ground.” The boys responded, when I die, will I go into the dirt? Little do they know my boys are curious about one of the most important, fundamental questions that has burdened humanity for all time: what happens when I die? Really, the real question is: how do I get life that can never be taken away, that death can’t snuff out?
In Philippians 3 Paul brings up the idea of life that death can’t snuff out. His thoughts funnel to this epic idea. He talks about how he used to think he was acceptable to God based on his resume of spiritual accomplishments. But then he realized he still was an unworthy, unacceptable sinner who needed the resume of Jesus credited to him through faith. Over and over he says he realized the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus, rather than be alone in his unrighteousness. He says he has believed in Jesus for righteousness that he may know Jesus and “the power of his resurrection”.
How do I have life that can never be taken away, that death can’t snuff out? By knowing Jesus through faith, that’s how. In believing in Jesus we receive what the Bible calls eternal life; life that can never be taken away, that death can’t snuff out. Knowing Jesus is knowing the One who said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:24).
Because Jesus is the resurrection and because Jesus actually died and actually rose, we can have life that can never be taken away, that death can’t snuff out. This is the power of his resurrection. The very helpful Westminster Confession of faith says in his resurrection Jesus declared himself to be the Son of God, to have satisfied divine justice, to have vanquished death, to have vanquished Satan, and to be the Lord of the living and the dead. And he did all this for us. The Confession goes on to say Jesus did this for us so that we might be justified before God, have eternal life by grace, and be assured that we will rise from the dead at the last day.
Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, those who trust in Jesus will rise. Already believers have life that their coming death can’t snuff out and can’t take away. Already believers are those who have already experienced resurrection as those who were spiritually dead but have now come alive. And soon enough believers will finally rise to new, glorified life with Christ.
