July 2nd, 2018

The Living One

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!”  Rev. 1:18

Jesus lives!  He declares that He was dead but was resurrected and is alive now and forevermore!  We find a similar description in Rev. 2:8, where Jesus announces Himself as the First and Last, who was dead and came to life.  It was a perfect description of the Resurrected Savior, speaking to a local church undergoing great persecution at Smyrna.  The church may have felt poor, crushed under the weight of accusation, and as if it was dying.  Jesus spoke to them as the one who was dead and came back to life.  He reassured the church that He was the Fist and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End!  This name was chosen to bring about comfort and consolation to a people being persecuted for their faith. 

We find another reference to this descriptive name in Rom. 6:8-9: “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.”

That we might have a full understanding of the whole counsel of God’s word, and live according to the full gospel.  So many believers live as if Jesus is dead or dormant.  He is alive, according to the writings and testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  If death no longer has dominion over Him, and we are “in Him”, then death no longer has dominion over us!