“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death […] Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.” — Philippians 3.10, 17 NIV
When Saul of Tarsus, also known as the apostle Paul, was writing to Jesus communities in the middle of the first century in the light of the resurrection of Jesus and the movement of the Liberating Spirit, he didn’t merely point exclusively to the historical event of Jesus’s resurrection. He routinely speaks of the present reality of God’s empowering Spirit as the “power of his resurrection.” The same Liberating Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is powerfully at work among us (e.g. Romans 8.11; Ephesians 1.18-19 etc.).
This Liberating Spirit has birthed a movement that requires sustaining. Paul describes living in the power of the resurrection as a way of life. The power of the resurrection forms a new kind of family, “brothers and sisters”—who “live as we do” (v.17). The movement is sustained through rhythms and practices like those described in Acts 2.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” — Acts 2.42–47 NIV
Easter People are those formed by the rhythms of resurrection sustaining the movement of the Liberating Spirit. In this series, we’ll explore those rhythms and practices as we press on in hope.