Role of Christ’s Resurrection and the Holy Spirit in Salvation

Role of Christ’s Resurrection and the Holy Spirit on Salvation
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Role of Christ’s Resurrection and the Holy Spirit in Salvation
Before Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he has promised his
disciples, that they will live because he lives (John 14:19). Although his disciples did not
understand what he was saying, he meant that he was about to die1. The death and
resurrection of Christ is a demonstration of the great love that he holds for humanity. As
noted in the gospel of John 15:13, there is no other greater love than that for which someone
lays down his own life for the sake of his friends. The death and resurrection of Christ is very
important in the salvation that God promised human kind after the fall at the garden of Eden2.
The death and resurrection represent the foundational step in God’s plan for saving human
kind. Jesus’ sacrifice provides an opportunity for every human being to have their sins
washed away by the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. This way, a person can become
friends with God the father and Jesus the son.
It is worth noting that God is holy. After creation of humankind, man sinned which created a
distance between him and God3. God is kind and he promised that the will restore human
kind to him. Restoration of human kind to God is salvation. God honoured his promise by
sending his own son Jesus. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice that restored human kind to God.
Through death and resurrection, any one who believes in him shall not perish. Instead, they
will have the gift of eternal life. Before Jesus came to the world, people used to offer animal
sacrifices for the atonement of their sins4. This was done through the priests. This meant that
1. Davies, Douglas J. The Mormon culture of salvation. Routledge, 2018.
2. Haney, Austen. "The Role of the Resurrection in Acts." (2017).
3. Kostenberger, Andreas J., and Peter T. O'Brien. "Salvation to the Ends of the Earth."
Salvation to the ends of the Earth (2017).
4. Pache, Rene. The person and work of the Holy Spirit. Pickle Partners Publishing,
2015.

every time a person went against the law of Moses, they would have to offer some sacrifice
as provided for in the law. The death and resurrection of Jesus brought this to an end. He
became the final and ultimate sacrifice through which the sins of human kind are atoned.
Through the blood that he shed on the cross, human beings can have their sins atoned and
become friends with God. His resurrection is important to salvation as it is a testimony that
we believe in a God who is able to overcome the power of death. In other words, it is a
demonstration that through salvation, death has no power. After life on earth, we do not die
completely. Rather, those who believe and are saved will live with God forever.
The holy spirit plays a great role in salvation of humankind. It is worth noting that the
holy spirit plays a fundamental role in the salvation of an individual5. It is the spirit who
convinces an individual to believe in God and his saving power. He causes the person to see
the gospel in a clear way and understand the great power that God has. Those who are
convinced by the holy spirit are rewarded. Their reward is as promised in the scriptures. They
receive the gift of eternal life. In addition, they also attain a new nature. As apostle Paul notes
in his letter to the Romans, he who is in Christ is a new being6. The former self goes and is
replaced by a new nature, the nature of Christ. Therefore, the holy spirit plays a key role in
convincing individuals to become believers.
The holy spirit also plays a significant role in uniting the believer and Christ. After
ensuring this union, the holy spirit further places the believer in the body of Christ, that is, the
church. It is worth noting that salvation is not a one-day process. It is a journey that a believer
walks from the time of believing until they depart from this world. The holy spirit is very
5. Schoot, Henk. "Aquinas, Scripture and the Resurrection of Christ." Jaarboek
Thomas-Instituut te Utrecht 2014, no. 34 (2015): 105-118.
6. Yoder, Perry B. Shalom: The Bible's Word for Salvation, Justice, and Peace. Wipf
and Stock Publishers, 2017.

important in this walk. The holy spirit controls the believer who submits themselves to the
word of God. The holy spirit is not a temporary dweller in the life of a believer. He stays with
the believer permanently enabling him to successfully overcome sin. This does not mean that
the believer cannot sin however. Sometimes, the believer may sin which grieves the holy
spirit. Although, this may happen, the holy spirit will never leave a true believer. The
relationship between the holy spirit and a true believer in analogous to that of protective
father and a child. The holy spirit seals the life of a believer to ensure that they receive eternal
life and other God’s promises. It follows that it is impossible for a person to be saved in the
absence of the holy spirit. The mark of a believer is the presence of the holy spirit. Absence
of the holy spirit in the life of an individual simply means that they are not saved.