Living Hope
(Phil Wickham)
Baptized into the Empty Grave
LYRICS (Click to minimize)
How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness
Your loving kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living Hope
Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful savior, I’m yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living Hope
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living Hope
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the roaring lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the roaring lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, yours is the victory!
Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There’s salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living Hope
Jesus Christ, my living Hope
Oh God, You are my living Hope
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriter: Phil Wickham
© 2017 Phil Wickham Music, Simply Global Songs, Sing My Songs, Bethel Music Publishing
CCLI Song #7106807 | CCLI License #632898
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:3-11 (ESV)
We have stood at the steps to Calvary. We have relived the shame of our sinful selves crying for Christ’s death. We have watched God’s own Son die in the most shameful way the world could ever think of. We wept, despite not knowing what we were doing.
Yet, praise the Father and His Holy Son; the story does not end with our shame! Even if we deserve a lifetime and more of shame, guilt, and punishment, these do not have the final word! The very cross that Christ bore for our sins became the instrument with which he defeated our sins!
Even though we were part of the crowds that cried for Jesus’ death, He still gives us a chance to look at the story from His own perspective. Our salvation is more than just cognitive acknowledgement or empty words; our salvation is our unity with Christ in His death and resurrection! In our repentance and baptism, we are partaking in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Despite our sin of calling for His death, we are given the chance to die with Him, and to be raised again with Him, that death and sin would be defeated!
Dear brother, dear sister, the message of the empty grave is not merely history. Truly, the historical Christ arose from a physical grave, but the grave is not meaningful only two thousand years ago, but today as well! Christ the Lord is risen today; hallelujah, hallelujah!
To be a Christian is to be united with Christ Himself. Even though we were His enemies, He gives us this glorious chance! Where we used to be dead in sin, we are now dead to sin. Where we used to be dead to Christ, we are now alive in Him!
Whether you encountered the gospel at an early age or well into maturity, you may have wondered about the point of baptism. There are a myriad of profound implications, for sure, but one stands out: baptism is a physical manifestation of our dying to sin and being raised again in Christ! After all, if Christ was bodily resurrected, it is only right that we respond bodily! We are submerged into the grave, and raised alive. We are submerged with all our sins, and raised with all of Christ’s righteousness. We are submerged with our enmity with God, and raised into the communion of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit!
Our Lord is living today! We live boldly, alive in Christ, only because Christ is living today. May the hope of Christ be a real presence in your life today and to eternity!