The Lord Jesus is the Living One – He became dead, but now He is living! He actually lives forever and ever, and He holds the keys of death and of Hades (see Rev. 1:18). Death could not hold Him – He was vomited out by death, and Hades could not retain Him!
After accomplishing so much in His crucifixion, death, and burial, now Christ is in resurrection as the living One! In resurrection Christ as the living One can live in us to make us His living church.
He swallows up all the death in the church life, and as the Living One He walks among the local churches as the golden lampstands to adjust, trim, shepherd, cherish and nourish, so that we may shine out God!
Hallelujah for Christ in resurrection as the living One!
Death could not hold Christ – He is now in resurrection!
The Lord Jesus was crucified, He died, and He was buried, but death could not hold Him! Christ is not only life but the resurrection life (see John 11:25). God loosed the pangs of death and Christ could not be held in death (Acts 2:24).
When Christ came out of Hades, He didn’t sneak out or escape out – He walked triumphantly out of Hades with the keys of death and Hades in His hand!
Death is like the trash collector, the dust pan, and Hades is like the rubbish bin, the dump. Death as the policeman and Hades as the jail where prisoners are held could not retain Christ – He walked out of Hades with the key of the policeman and of the jail in His hand!
Yes, Christ died, but He was raised up by God and He resurrected to be the living One. As the living One Christ can dispense His divine life into us, those dead in sins and offenses (Rom. 3:25), and make us the living members of His Body!
We are the living church of the living Christ
Today we as the many believers in Christ are the living church of the living Christ! In the church life, we need to stay away from any kind of death or deadness and rise up to be the living church!
Christ’s church needs to be living all the time, since Christ is living and He is in all the members of the church.
As we enjoy Christ as the living One, we become His living testimony and His living church. But if we don’t enjoy Christ, we are not living and we are not His testimony.
But Hallelujah, our Lord Jesus is living forever and ever, and He is today in the church ready to dispense His fresh and new life into us that we may be full of life and overcome any death!
Christ has the keys of death and of Hades
On the one hand Christ entered into death and took a tour of death and Hades, preaching the gospel and proclaiming His victory over Satan, but on the other hand Hades could retain the Lord only for three days.
In Christ there’s no death, and Hades cannot stop Him or keep Him. He walked out of death and He took the keys of death and of Hades with Him.
In the church life today death and Hades should have no power over us – Christ has the keys of death and Hades in His hand!
In ourselves, we are powerless when it comes to dealing with death. But when we allow the Lord to have the full ground in us, when we give Him the free way in our being, and when we give Him the opportunity to operate in us, death and Hades are under His control.
Our simple cooperation in a continual way will eliminate any kind of death from the church life!
Our Christ is victorious over death, Satan, Hades, and the grave – He overcame them all, and now all these things which are very troublesome to us are under His control.
We simply need to be organically connected to Christ as the living One in resurrection, allowing Him to dispense Himself into us and operate in us, and death will have no power over us!
He has the keys of death and of Hades, and by being one with Him we also become living and death cannot touch us!
Lord, we praise You for Your resurrection! You are now the living One, the One who was dead and now lives forever and ever. Lord, death cannot stop you and Hades cannot retain You. You now have the keys of death and of Hades, and You are the forever and ever living One! Thank You for making us the living church of the living Christ! We want to just allow You to operate in us as the living One! Lord, have a free way in us. Eliminate any death, Lord, and fill the church life with Your life!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from, The Conclusion of the New Testament (msgs. 364, 407, by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of the Minor Prophets, week 8 (entitled, The Greater Jonah).
- Hymns on this topic:
# Oh, may I know this resurrection life, / In every kind of death its pow’r outpoured, / In my experience ever realize / This life is nought but Christ my living Lord.
# His kingdom cannot fail; / He rules o’er earth and heav’n; / The keys of death and hell / Are to our Jesus giv’n.
# With longing all my heart is filled, / That like Him I may be, / As on the wondrous thought I dwell / That Christ liveth in me.
amen
I appreciate that Christ walked out of death with the keys of death and of Hades. He became dead, but now He lives forever and ever. He is not only life, but He is resurrection life. When we open to this One and give Him the ground in our heart, He can swallow up all the death in our being in order to make us His living church.
Amen! For us human being it is incomprehensible what it really means to "walk out of death", but Christ as God in man entered into death and walked out of it with the keys of death and Hades!
Now whoever believes into Him receives this Living One into their heart and any death in him is swallowed up! Lord, more of our ground we give You now!
… and when we meet, we are the living church of the living God! Hallelujah! In the church life we enjoy this Living One! So wonderful!
amen!