Length: 7 Minutes
Before we answer some more questions about resurrection, it’s important for us to know that, while there’s nothing wrong with having our questions answered on how it looks when resurrection is manifested, it’s not a preoccupation with manifesting these things that actually produces it. It’s a preoccupation with what Jesus provided at the cross that does the trick.
God is the one that manifests resurrection, and He does so in the correct and proper way. We are merely believing that Jesus provided these things. And while we’re hearing and believing, miracles happen (Galatians 3:5). It’s our belief in Jesus that allows the Holy Spirit to manifest these things; not because we work out all the details in our head on how we’re going to manifest it.
A great example for this is Peter walking on water. Do we think that Peter had been learning how to walk on water? Did he take a class on how to step on waves? Had he been practicing this for a while, which gave him the ability to do so? No, the only thing that Peter had been practicing was to keep his mind on Jesus. Peter merely believed that what Jesus was manifesting, he could also. His only job was to believe, and the walking on water was manifested completely by the Spirit.
We know that it was merely his belief in Jesus that manifested this, because when he began to sink, Jesus did not ask him, “Why did you stop walking on water?” as if that was Peter’s job. He only asked him, “Why did you doubt?” showing us that the only thing Peter was doing to produce this miracle was believing. And that was also the only thing Jesus was expecting of him , which is why he merely asked, “Why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).
Peter didn’t need to work out all the details in his mind on how he was going to step over each wave, or how he was going to keep his foot planted on the surface of the water. The Holy Spirit saw to that. Peter just needed to believe the work of Jesus, and do so steadily.
So there’s nothing wrong with answering questions on how it looks when the Holy Spirit manifests resurrection, but it’s not a preoccupation with manifesting it that produces it. It’s a preoccupation with Jesus and what He provided that produces it.
Let’s get into our first question.
What if a person died a long time ago?
Jesus provided resurrection for the dead. No one is excluded from that promise if we believe. It doesn’t matter the state that their body is in, at all. Whether your concern is how long ago they died or because they were cremated at the time, you’ve got the power inside of you that formed a man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). God has no problem fixing up human bodies. Not to mention that every believer’s body will be raised when Jesus comes back anyway (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Sooner or later, the body of every believer will be raised, no matter how long ago they died or if they were cremated. It’s going to happen anyway. But why wait? Jesus died for us two thousand years ago. We’re not waiting for anything.
Ezekiel 37:7-8 (NKJV) So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over…
If someone is raised from the dead, would they still be sick?
Firstly, let me clarify that we may refer to certain manifestations as “healing, resurrection, youth, etc.” but it’s actually all the same thing. It’s all just the “life” of God being given to decay in people’s bodies (Romans 8:11). God even calls the healing of Sarah’s womb, and the youth given to Abraham, “life from the dead” (Romans 4:17). It’s all the same stuff!
So, the life that raises people from the dead, is the same life that heals their body from whatever ailment or oldness that caused them to pass to begin with. Their body is being healed as they are raised. Lazarus was someone who died of sickness, and it’s safe to assume that he was raised without that fatal sickness that caused him to pass in the first place. Of course, when you raise someone from the dead, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are receiving a glorified body either. They can be raised from the dead but still have a mortal body that has imperfections.
Ultimately, we need to know that it’s God’s will to raise people, and God knows the right way to do it. He’s the one manifesting it, not us. We’re just believing it. It’s not as if we are wielding the resurrection of the dead by ourselves. It is God working it through us. He knows how to do these things the right way. This is not His first rodeo. He knows the correct way to manifest it, and it will be done for the person’s benefit, health, and comfort.
If I pray for a person who has died, do I need to be present with them?
Not at all. The power of God isn’t limited by distance. If you feel led to go where the person is, that’s fine, but there is no need to feel that the power of God is limited because you’re not present with the person.
Jesus didn’t lay hands on Lazarus. He was dead four days in a tomb (John 11) and Jesus just said the word. A Centurion once came to Jesus desiring his servant to be healed, and Jesus said the word right from where He was, and the servant was healed (Matthew 8:8–13). So, God’s power can travel just fine.
On a practical level, if you’re concerned about how someone gets out of a buried coffin, for instance, here are some examples.
In the case of Lazarus, there were people there to roll the stone away and let Lazarus out of his grave, but after Jesus was raised, many believers also came out of their graves just fine; and not because there was someone present to let all these people out (Matthew 27:53).
Peter was stuck in prison, and because people were praying for him (who weren’t present), an angel came to him and took his chains off, let him out of the locked door, and opened up the outer gate for him to release him. And moments later, Peter just showed up at the house where they were praying for him (Acts 12:7–17).
God has no problem raising the dead and getting them out safely. As I said before, this is not His first rodeo. So don’t be surprised if the people you’re praying for come knocking at your door too.
All in all, I may have given you a couple examples of people being supernaturally released from a holding place, but we don’t actually need any of this precedent to have been set by men of God before us. We already have the precedent of Jesus Christ, our forerunner, having been raised and released from His grave. Jesus is the example of our inheritance. We are joint heirs with Him. If He received it, we can receive it. And that is the bottom line. That is the nail pulled out of the coffin (so to speak).
We do not need any other man or woman of God to have received something, for us to know we can access it. The only person that needs to have received before us is Jesus. And if He entered this resurrection and life, it’s ours to possess as well.
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