By: Brian Chilton, M.Div., Ph.D. | April 20, 2025
Have you thought about the global impact of the resurrection? The pastor of our church sends out daily devotionals through email. On Good Friday, he mentioned that Good Friday has always been a sticking point for him. Although Good Friday is one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar, many operate as business as normal. The same applies to Easter Sunday. Sports events are still scheduled on this holiest day of the year. For many, it does appear that it’s just a normal day.
However, nothing further could be the case. The resurrection of Jesus changes every sphere of life. In fact, it was theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg who observed that “The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things. First, it is an unusual event. And second, if you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live.”[1]
The apostle Paul said, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11, NASB).[2] Considering both the thoughts of Paul and Pannenberg, one can safely deduce that the event of the first Easter Sunday has a profound global impact on every facet of life.
Bellator Christi is an apologetic and theological ministry. Last Friday, the site offered apologetic reasons to accept the resurrection of Jesus. For this piece, the theological and philosophical components of the resurrection will be considered.
The Resurrection Globally Impacts Our Ethics
First, the global impact of the resurrection is found in our ethics. Paul spoke of the indwelling Spirit of God abiding within the life of the believer. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit came about after the resurrection event. Nonetheless, the resurrection also affects how we view humanity in general. Sure, the Holy Spirit brings about spiritual fruit in the believer’s life. However, the resurrection reveals something deeper about humanity. That is, people are created as eternal beings.
The Bible states that all people—believers or not—will be resurrected. Some will take part in the believer’s resurrection (the first resurrection) that occurs when Christ returns (Lk. 14:14; Rev. 20:4-6). Others who reject Jesus will take part in the unbeliever’s resurrection (the second resurrection) before standing trial before the Great White Throne (Jn. 5:29; Rev. 20:5). Everyone is an eternal person. The biggest difference is the eternal location where the eternal person will reside.
This insight should change the way we treat other people. Regardless of a person’s race, language, or nationality, each person is an eternal being, created by a Maximally Great God (or an Anselmian God).[3] The resurrection verifies the eternal nature of humanity. As Christ was risen, so all of us will be risen.
C. S. Lewis understood the ethical impact of the resurrection quite well. He said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal … [It] is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”[4] Our ethical standards should improve when we realize we are dealing with immortal beings in our everyday lives. This is true because of the resurrection.
The Resurrection Globally Impacts Our End (i.e., Purpose)
Second, the global impact of the resurrection is found in our end. When we speak of end, we are not speaking necessarily about how our lives end, although that is part of the meaning. Rather, end, in this context, speaks of the purpose that we find in life. So many people only live to survive rather than living to thrive. They become restless, anxious, and listless. Lost souls wander about like ships without sails, planes without rudders, or wandering journeymen with no destination.
The resurrection should offer purpose to one’s life. First, recognizing that there is a life beyond this one warrants hope and purpose, understanding that this life may be a training ground for the one to come. What we do in life has an eternal impact. Paul states that “we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10, NASB).[5]
The understanding of our eternal purpose should invigorate us to do good works for the Lord. Salvation comes only through the work of Christ and his glorious defeat of death on the first Easter Sunday. Even still, God’s salvation should inspire and impact people to do good through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The Resurrection Globally Impacts Our Eternity
Finally, the global impact of the resurrection is found in our eternity. Going back to the words of Paul in Romans 8:11, “He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11, NASB). Here is where the rubber meets the road. Easter is not just some historical oddity. It is not something that is celebrated once a year and quickly forgotten. No! Jesus’s resurrection is the firstfruits of what all of us will experience.
The resurrection was not a long drawn out affair. Rather, in a split second, the Spirit of God transformed the the ravaged, mangled, beaten, brutalized body of Jesus into an energized, living, glorified, empowered, eternal body that would never experience death, shame, or disease ever again. Eternal light replaced the mortal darkness of the tomb that day. Life lives and death died that day.
Likewise, the resurrection coming to us will be in the same manner. Our resurrection will accompany the immediate return of Christ, whenever that occurs. Jesus describes the instantaneous glorification as one that comes about with great speed. For instance, he said, “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:27, CSB).[6] In that moment, everything changes for all eternity.
Conclusion
I have said it for a long time. Christmas is important, but Easter is the holiest day of the year. Christmas has become greatly commercialized and became the national holiday of the year for most modern citizens of the Western world. However, since the earliest days of the church, Easter Sunday has been acknowledged as the most important day of the year because without the resurrection, Christianity would have long been forgotten in the annals of history. Yet the resurrection changed a rag-tag group of Jewish disciples into a global force. Why? Because the resurrection of Jesus had a global impact on their lives and on the world. The resurrection of Jesus not only empowered the early disciples, but it also radically touches every aspect of the present-day world and its future destiny.
About the Author
Brian G. Chilton, M.Div., Ph.D.
Brian G. Chilton is the founder of Bellator Christi Ministries and the co-host of the Bellator Christi Podcast. Dr. Chilton earned a Ph.D. in the Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University (with high distinction), a M.Div. in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his B.S. in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, and completed Unit 1 of Clinical Pastoral Education at Wake Forest University’s School of Medicine. Dr. Chilton is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society.
In his spare time, he enjoys reading, working out in his home gym, and watching football. Brian has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years, works as a clinical hospice chaplain, is an Adjunct Professor of Apologetics at Carolina College of Biblical Studies (https://www.CCBS.edu), Carolina University (https://carolinau.edu), and Liberty University (https://liberty.edu). He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Acquisitions for Illative House Press (https://illativehousepress.com).
Notes
[1] Wolfhart Pannenberg quote, PreachingToday.com, https://preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2007/march/4031907.htm.
[2] Scripture marked NASB comes from the New American Standard Bible (La Habra, CA: Lockman Foundation, 2020).
[3] Ronnie P. Campbell, Jr. and David Baggett, A Personal God and a Good World: The Coherence of the Christian Moral Vision (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2024), 7-10.
[4] C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (New York: HarperOne, 2017), Kindle.
[5] Early in my ministry, I came across a person who did not like this teaching. The individual held out hope that nothing done in life would be remembered in eternity. However, the teaching of Scripture is quite clear. While our sins are cast as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), Scripture speaks of the reality of a judgment seat of Christ. What we do in this life matters to God. Later, I came to understand why the person in question did not want to believe in this principle. The person was later caught in some criminal activities.
[6] Scriptures marked CSB come from the Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman, 2020).
