Heidelberg Catechism Week 17

45. Q. How does Christ's resurrection benefit us? A. First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He might make us share in the righteousness He won for us by His death. Second, by His power we too are already now resurrected to a new life. Third, Christ's resurrection is a guarantee of our glorious resurrection.

My reflections on the reading from the book...

The answer to Question 45 gives us three reasons why the resurrection of the Son of God is good news. Here are DeYoung's comments on these three reasons:

1.  Without the resurrection nothing would have been conquered - not sin, not death, not the devil. Jesus' resurrection from the dead testifies not only that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 1:4) but that the offering of life was an acceptable sacrifice to God and that the work of salvation had been accomplished. The resurrection means Christ proved Himself righteous to the Father, so that through faith we now can share in His righteousness.
2. Our hope of new life is not just a future goal; it is a present reality. Dozens of times in the New Testament we see the phrase "in Christ." This little phrase speaks to the glorious union believers have with Christ through faith. We died in His death and we rose again in His resurrection to new life (Romans 6:5-11; Ephesians 2:5).
3. Christ's resurrection was the firstfruits of a resurrection harvest yet to come. "We await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21).