“My God's not dead, He's surely alive.” These are the lyrics of Newsboys' hit song “God's Not Dead (Like a Lion).” The lyrics of this song are absolutely true. Jesus is not dead — He's surely alive. Jesus died on the cross, but He did not stay dead.
The Bible tells us the truth that Jesus rose from the grave (Luke 24:1-53). Jesus died on the cross for our sins and He now lives forevermore as our Savior and Lord.
The Death of Jesus
Jesus died on the cross over two thousand years ago. The Lord died on the cross in order to redeem us from our sins and repair our broken relationship with the Father. Ever since the Fall of Man, mankind has been separated from the Father because of our sins.
It is only through Jesus’ finished work on the cross and His death that we can be redeemed from our sins. The Lord was the sinless sacrifice for our sins. Christ had to die in order to redeem us from our sins.
Even though Jesus died, He did not remain because He arose from the dead three days after His crucifixion. Therefore, Jesus did die but did not remain dead as we do as humans when we die.
Jesus overcame death because death could not keep its hold on Him (Acts 2:24). The Lord conquered the grave and defeated death. Now, He lives forever.
It is often difficult for unbelievers to believe that Jesus is alive because naturally when someone dies, they do not normally come back to life. Nobody in all of history has risen from the grave except for Jesus.
This is because He is God in the flesh. The Gospel of John tells us, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Jesus was able to arise from the dead because He is the second member of the Trinity, which means He is God. Only God Himself could defeat death and arise from the grave. No mere man could do this.
Through the atonement of Jesus’ death, all people can be saved if they place faith in Jesus by believing that He died for their sins, was buried, and rose again (John 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Jesus’ Resurrection
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead proves that the Lord is alive. In the Bible, we are told a great deal of information surrounding Jesus’ resurrection. The resurrection of Christ is recorded in each of the gospels (Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-20; Luke 24:1-53; John 20:1-21:25).
In addition to the gospels, Jesus’ resurrection is also recorded in Acts 1:1-11. Paul was a mass persecutor of the faith, yet he believed in Jesus once he saw the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-6).
Many secular ancient authors also record Jesus’ resurrection, such as Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Mara bar-Serapion, and the Babylonian Talmud.
Each of these authors was anti-Christian and Josephus was a Jew. None of these writers would have a reason to lie about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
The Lord’s resurrection is remarkable because it proves that Jesus has indeed been raised from the dead and He now lives forever. Even though the Lord is not presently walking the earth, He is alive in heaven at the right side of the Father.
In the future, the Lord will return and defeat the antichrist, false prophet, and the devil. Afterward, the Lord will establish His thousand-year reign on earth.
During the thousand-year reign of Christ, Satan will be locked away and he will not be released until the end of the thousand years to test the nations (Revelation 20:1-3).
All people will worship the Lord throughout the thousand-year reign of Christ, and He will rightfully reign as King over the earth (Isaiah 2:2-3).
After the thousand-year reign of Christ’s literal rule on the earth, the Great White Throne Judgment will occur, in which all unbelievers will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire along with the antichrist, false prophet, and the devil (Revelation 20:11-15).
Once the Great White Throne Judgment has ended, God will establish the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1-27). Only believers will live in the New Heaven and New Earth. There will be no more crying, pain, sin, or death (Revelation 21:4).
God will once again walk among His people as He did in the Garden of Eden. Everything will finally be made right, and eternity will be glorious.
If Jesus was not truly alive, none of these things could happen. In fact, if Jesus was not alive, then our faith would be futile. As Paul says,
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:14-19).
Paul tells us the truth that if Jesus indeed had not been raised, then our faith would be false, and it would be for nothing.
The entire faith of Christianity would crumble if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, yet Paul also tells us, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
What Does the Fact Jesus Is Alive Mean?
Jesus is really alive as He was raised from the dead after He died for the sins of the world and He is now alive, reigning at the Father’s right hand in heaven. Just because the Lord is not physically walking the earth today does not mean that He is not alive.
After Jesus had taught His disciples for 40 days, He ascended into heaven (Luke 24:50). A man who was dead could not have ascended into heaven. The Lord Jesus really is alive, and He is looking over us right now.
You can talk to Him whenever you want in prayer and you can hear back from Him through His Word, the Bible. The Lord wants you to come to Him with all of your worries, concerns, and problems.
He wants to be a part of your everyday life. Jesus is not a man who lived and simply passed away. Rather, Jesus is the Son of God and He died for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose again.
He is ruling at the right hand of the Father, and He is constantly interceding on our behalf (Romans 8:34). Jesus is really alive, and He will remain alive forever.
The Lord has existed from all eternity just as the Father and the Holy Spirit have existed from all eternity, and they will all three exist forever. Jesus is alive and He is waiting to hear from you today.
For further reading:
What Happened When Jesus Rose from the Dead?
Why Does it Matter That Jesus Rose from the Dead?
What Is More Important, the Death of Christ or His Resurrection?
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