Death is often viewed in terms of finality in various societies, cultures, and religions. No wonder burials are regarded as sacred and important events as they mark the end of a person. The thought of resurrection or someone coming back to life is therefore considered strange. Christians, however, believe in the possibility of resurrection, as the Bible provides several instances where it occurred.
God can bring someone back to life as He is Omnipotent and therefore has power over life and death.
The Bible declares in Matthew 19:26: “With men, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” Also, in Luke 18:27: “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Both verses show that with God, dead people can come back to life, so resurrection is possible with Him.
As a result, the concept of resurrection is an essential theme in the Christian faith and the life of Christians. It falls under the miracles in which the power of God is capable of working. The Bible holds several records of God bringing people back to life found in the Old and New Testaments. To the believer, resurrection is much more than a miraculous wonder; it also holds a significant meaning.
What Does The Old Testament Say About Resurrection?
The concept of resurrection in Christianity takes root in God’s ability to bring the dead back to life, as revealed in various stories in the Old Testament. One such is that of Elijah and the widow’s son at Zarephath. The Bible records in 1st Kings 17:27-24 how Elijah visited the town of Zarephath during a time of famine and was fed by a woman who, in turn, enjoyed plenty all through the famine period. The woman offered him a place to stay, and while he was there, her son died. Elijah carried the dead boy to his room, prayed to God, and God brought him back to life.
Another account of the resurrection power of God was captured in 2nd Kings 4:8-37, which talked about the Shumamite woman who regularly gave Elisha a place to stay whenever he walked through Shunem. She first receives a miracle of a son through the prayer of Elisha. However, the miracle son died, pleading with Elisha to bring her son back to life. The prophet of God prayed, laid on the dead boy, and the child returned to life. From this story, we see God’s ability to do impossible things, including raising the dead back to life.
Finally, the resurrection power of God is not limited to the physical body alone; God can bring a spiritually dead person back to life. Ezekiel 37 tells about an amazing encounter that the prophet Ezekiel had with the resurrection power of God. In this chapter, God took Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry bones and told him to prophesy to the bones. He does so, and the bones join together, forming muscles but remain lifeless. It took another prophecy of the breath of life by Ezekiel for the bones to receive life. From this story, we can see the excellency of God’s resurrection power and how it prevails over situations regardless of how hopeless they may seem.
Can God Bring Someone Back To Life?
The entire Bible is a compendium of the numerous wonderful acts of the power of God, which includes bringing dead people back to life. God can bring someone back to life because He is all-powerful, and there is nothing He cannot do. Asides from the various accounts of God’s resurrection power in the Old Testament, Jesus also demonstrated this ability while He was on Earth. In Matthew 9:18-26, the Bible records that a local Synagogue leader, Jairus, had a sick daughter who he requested that Jesus pray for. On their way to the house, they got the news that the girl had died, but Jesus continued the journey. When they got to Jairus’s house, Jesus went in, took his daughter’s hand, and brought her back to life.
There is also the story of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, before he died. Lazarus was sick, and then he died afterward and was buried for four days when Jesus arrived at Bethany. Upon His arrival, He was shown the tomb where Lazarus had been buried, and Jesus wept. He then asked the people to roll away the stone, and then He called forth the dead man who walked out of the tomb wrapped in graveclothes.
Of all the accounts of the resurrection in the Bible, the resurrection of Jesus holds the most importance. According to all the Gospels, Jesus Christ was beaten, bruised, crucified, and buried. However, on the third day after his death, He arose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, leaving the tomb empty and proving his superiority over death and its power. Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of the faith of Christians worldwide today as it reiterates God’s absolute power over death.
What is The Significance of God’s Resurrection Power To Christians?
All the times that God brought someone back to life, there was always a purpose and significance of the miracle. In the stories of Elijah and Elisha, God raised the dead to life to demonstrate His ability to answer prayers. From both stories, we can see that God will surely answer whenever He is called, regardless of the hopelessness of the situation.
In the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones, the miracle of raising the dead was to show Christians how essential the breath of life is to their existence. It also showed that nothing is too hard for God to do and that He is the ultimate source of life and light in our life. In the New Testament, the raising of Lazarus depicted God’s genuine love and concern for His children. God recognizes our worth and our happiness as His children and so will keep sorrow far from us.
Jesus’ resurrection is the most significant of all such miracles as it shows God’s ultimate power over death. Not only does this miracle display the powerlessness of death, but it also assures the believer of God’s ability to give life everlasting. As a result, death is not the end for Christians but the start of a never-ending life with Christ. Also, through Christ’s resurrection, we can enjoy the power of salvation and also work miracles like raising the dead too. In simple words, we as Christians also can bring someone back to life when we pray in the name of Jesus.
Final Thoughts
God is a miracle-working Father, so there is nothing impossible with Him. God can bring someone back to life as He is the one that orchestrated creation in the first place. Amazingly, there are several records of His resurrection power in both the Old and New Testament, all of which have significance to the believer. The most important show of this power, however, is in the resurrection of Jesus, which marked the end of death’s power over us as believers. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, we gain salvation, dominion over sin, and power over death. We also get eternal life and will reign with Him forever.
