Christmas and Easter are typically viewed as the two most important days of the year for Christians because they celebrate key truths of the Christian faith. When we celebrate Jesus’s birth at Christmas, we are reminded of the truth we have explored over the past few weeks in a sermon series at Faith Church and related blog posts: “He Gets Us.” The eternal Son of God became like us when he took on human flesh, and thus understands what it is like to be human. This means he is both able to sympathize with our weaknesses and also save us from our sins.
Reflecting on this idea that “he gets us” in these weeks leading up to Easter has made me realize that Easter teaches us something similar – that we will get him! I say this because the resurrection of Jesus teaches us that we too will be raised from the dead and will ultimately become like Jesus.
Becoming Like Jesus in His Resurrection
The Apostle Paul discusses the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. In addition to stating that the resurrection of Jesus is the truth upon which the Christian faith rises or falls (1 Corinthians 15:12-19), he also notes that Jesus is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). He goes on to say, “ For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). These words mean that Jesus’s resurrection is the first of many, promising that all those who believe in Jesus will also be raised from the dead. Therefore, we do not just celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter, but that we will be raised from the dead as well. Because we will experience what he has experienced, we can say that “we will get him”!
Becoming Like Jesus at His Return
Not only will we “get him” because we will be raised from the dead like Jesus, we will also “get him” as our resurrection bodies will be like his. Paul’s discussion of the resurrection body in 1 Corinthians notes that we will be raised “incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 15:52-54; also see 1 Corinthians 15:35-46). He also notes that not all will be raised from the dead to this incorruptible body because some will be alive at the time of Christ’s return. Those who are alive, however, will experience the same reality, as Paul says, “We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51). Those living and those who have died will experience the same sort of change at Christ’s return. The nature of this is alluded to in 1 Corinthians 15:49, where Paul says that “just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” Jesus is this man of heaven, so we will be transformed to bear his image at his return. Paul makes a similar point in Philippians 3:21 when he notes that Jesus “will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself.” Not only is this resurrected body different from our current bodies in that it is not perishable or corruptible, it is also like the resurrected body of Jesus! This idea that we will become like Jesus when he returns also appears in 1 John 3:2: “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is.” Thus, whether we are living or dead at Christ’s return, we will “get him” on that day.
Becoming Like Jesus as We Wait
Jesus came to “get us” so that we might “get him,” as Romans 8:29 notes that “those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” While we will only fully become conformed to his image when we are transformed at his return, we also should also become more like Jesus as we wait for that day. 2 Corinthians 3:18 describes us as “being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,” pointing to the fact that this is a gradual process and one at work in our lives now. Similarly, Paul writes in Colossians 3:10 that we “are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator” (Colossians 3:10). This happens as the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead works in our hearts and lives right now (Romans 8:11). Paul told us to imitate Christ (Ephesians 5:2) and did this himself, encouraging people to follow his example only because he was following the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1) – and thus becoming more like Christ. When we humbly serve others instead of ourselves (John 13:12-17; Philippians 2:1-11), we become more like Jesus. When we suffer for doing good without insulting others (1 Peter 2:21-25), we become more like Jesus. When we forgive others, we become more like Jesus (Colossians 3:13). Thus, not only will we “get him” at our resurrection/his return, but we also are “getting him” more and more each day as he works in us.
He Gets Us and We Will Get Him
We believe that Jesus has come and will come again. When Jesus came the first time (Christmas), he came to “get us” by becoming like us. When he returns, we will “get him” in that we will become like him. And now, as we live in the time in between, let us become more like Him through the power of the one who raised him from the dead and will transform us to become like him for all eternity. Jesus did not become like us simply so that we could “get him” in terms of being with him for all eternity in bodies like his. Rather, he became like us so we could become more like him each day as we draw near to him until the day we will be with him and fully like him.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also email to be added to the list that receives weekly emails with our blog posts.
