Passing from Death unto Life
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)
The resurrection is an intriguing subject because it falls outside the realm of the physics of nature into the realm of the supernatural sphere of God. Science says that dead is dead. There is no scientist or any doctor who can revive a dead body and this is because humans do not have the power of life. But it is not so with God. God gave life, God can take away life, and God can restore life.
Jesus’ resurrection is proof positive that the dead can live, and they can do so in a body. Jesus’ bodily resurrection is the model for all resurrections both of believers and unbelievers. All dead bodies will arise, but when they arise and where they go when they arise is another matter.
John 5:24 is about a resurrection from death to life but it does not speak of the resurrection of the body. This is the resurrection of the spiritually dead. It matters right now, today, whether you have been called from spiritual death into spiritual life. Your status as a spiritually alive born-again believer in Christ or as a spiritually dead unbeliever determines where your body and soul will reside forever in eternity.
Those who hear the words of Christ and believe that God sent Him as a sacrifice for sins—those who desire to repent of their sins and trust Christ alone for salvation—are those who have passed from death unto life. These have been raised into spiritual life and in the resurrection their bodies will be called up to rejoin the soul and spirit in heaven.
If you have passed from death unto life, praise God! If not, trust Christ today. Repentance and faith in Him ensures that when your body dies, it will also be raised into a perfect, glorified body to live with Christ forever.
Pastor V. Mark Smith