“We have been co-resurrected with him

so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life” (Rom. 6:4, TPT).



This is the third of a series of articles I’m writing on the biblical revelation that Jesus provided complete salvation for those who would receive Him and believe in Him, including the abolition of death from the earth. And that a time will come when believers will experience this truth and walk in it.

This seems outrageous and impossible because it completely defies the logic of this world. It hits right up against the massive wall of our individual experience and of our culture.

So why do I continue to write about it?

It is not because I have escaped the consequences of death myself, and am burying my head in the sand. On the contrary, I have experienced multiple bereavements and more pain than I could ever have imagined. And I feel deeply for others, too.

The reason I continue to write is because I cannot ignore the extraordinary and persistent urging to meditate on, and proclaim, the truth that Jesus has set us free from physical death and decay, as well as from spiritual death.

This urging has been going on for some years, and I’ve become convinced that it is from God, because it does not come from my natural inclinations!

My late, godly mentor, Neville Jayaweera, also had the same conviction, and together we saw some striking instances of regeneration of the body and death being defied, again and again.

Before sharing some of those (in my next article, number 4), I need to add that I don’t believe Jesus defeated death so that we can just continue living in our present bodily form forever. However, if we look at it from the viewpoint of our union with Jesus in His resurrection, we receive more meaningful insight. It’s to do with our transformation or transfiguration into the likeness of Christ.

[By the way, did you know that the word “transformed” in Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” – is translated from the same Greek root word that was translated “transfigured”, in relation to Jesus, in Matthew 17:2?]

When Jesus rose from the dead, He had a body with which to move around the earth, but it was a spiritual body. It was no longer mortal. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus had overcome death and finitude. He appeared and disappeared in front of His disciples. He was no longer constrained by space and time. But, as a new creation being (“the firstborn among many brethren” – Rom. 8:29), He was still able to function on earth and share fellowship, and eat and drink with His disciples. (See Luke 24:30-32).

We are among the brethren who were born after Him. With that in mind, let’s look at this scripture:

“Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life” (Rom. 6:4, TPT).

If we truly believe that we died with Jesus when He died, and rose with Him – and in Him – then do we not share the same properties as Jesus after His resurrection? 

Furthermore, there is another profound verse that challenges us to consider what our true, new-creation nature now embraces:

“If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” (Rom. 8:11).

This scripture makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is operating in our earthly bodies, imparting the Life-Substance of God into us. We can spend years pondering and unpacking the depths of this one scripture!

And something that has been striking me more and more, as I ponder it, is this question: Is it possible for the cells of our bodies to remain “mortal” (ie under entropy and decay) if they are receiving a supply of the Holy Spirit? 

That does not seem logical, at all. Because the law of the Spirit of Life is an infinitely greater power than our finite bodily cells. Our cells surely are obliged to bow to the Greater Power flowing into them, and obliged to come into line with It.

Oh what a wonderful obligation!

And this completely ties in with the truth expressed in Romans 8:2. The Message version of the Bible conveys it beautifully:

“A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.”

I know all this seems “outside the box” because we don’t yet fully see and experience these truths in day-to-day life. 

But if, as you read these words, you feel a tug at your heart – even a little tug – then I encourage you to take these scriptures in prayer to the Lord and ask Him for revelation on them. 

As we pray the Truth of God, and come into agreement with other like-minded believers, together we are creating a bandwidth, so to speak – or a spiritual momentum – which will progressively draw the Unseen into the seen. 

Even if we don’t see the complete fruit of it in our own lifetimes, we are nevertheless helping to prepare the ground for future believers to be able to step more easily into all that Christ has purchased for us.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:9-10). [bold italics mine].

Alleluia!!!

By Ann Shakespeare   29 November 2021