In the gospels, we witness Jesus performing incredible miracles, one of the most striking being his raising of the dead. The physical resurrection of individuals like Lazarus, the widow’s son, and Jairus’ daughter astonishes us and speaks powerfully about Jesus’ divine authority. However, if we are to truly understand the significance of these miracles, we must look beyond their physical nature and see them as part of a larger spiritual narrative. The real depth of these resurrections is not just about physical life returning to dead bodies but about Jesus preparing the way for a deeper, eternal resurrection of the soul—one that would be fully realized through His death, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Ghost.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).
In 1 John 4:9, the Apostle John underscores the manifestation of God’s love through the sending of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world, ‘that we might live through him.’ This spiritual life begins now, as Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1 and 6, ‘And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins… and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.’ Here, Paul captures both the immediate renewal of the soul and its eternal position in Christ, a resurrection from spiritual death to vibrant life. This new life is about more than mere survival; it represents a transformation empowered by God’s love and grace, healing the sickness of sin and aligning believers with His will. The verse invites a deeper understanding of salvation, showing that it is not only a future promise but a present reality, wherein the love of God continually transforms and revives the believer’s spirit. Furthermore, this transformation is brought to fruition through the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word and believes on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). This verse clearly articulates the concept of the resurrection of the dead, emphasizing that it refers to a raising to life according to the spirit rather than the body itself.
As Jesus declared in John 14:12, believers would do greater works than He did—not merely in miraculous deeds, but in the spiritual empowerment provided by the Holy Spirit. This divine empowerment, bestowed upon believers after Christ’s ascension, equips them to live out this spiritual renewal in every facet of life, enabling them to carry out the greater works Christ spoke of—that is, they would become life-givers as well, imparting the very life and power of the Spirit to others through the transformative work of Christ in them. This is exemplified in the mission given to the Apostle Paul: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith” (Acts 26:18). In this way, Paul’s commission reflects the broader calling for believers to bring about spiritual renewal and transformation through the work of the Holy Spirit.
This may come as a surprise to some, but could it be that the resurrection we often await—a future raising of the body—rests upon a spiritual resurrection that has already begun? Scripture calls this the ‘first resurrection’ (Revelation 20:6), a present reality for those in Christ. As Paul declares in Ephesians 2:6, ‘And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus,’ we are already lifted from spiritual death, seated with Him in the heavenly realms. This is not to deny the future renewal of our bodies but to affirm that it hinges on the eternal life already at work within us. Jesus Himself said, ‘The hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live’ (John 5:25). Without this spiritual awakening, how could our bodies be quickened by the Spirit? For the spiritually dead, any raising would lead only to judgment—the ’second death’ (Revelation 20:14)—but for those alive in Christ, the first resurrection secures an inheritance that the physical will one day fully reflect.
How can we expect our physical bodies to be quickened by the Spirit of God without first experiencing spiritual renewal? Shouldn’t the presence of eternal life within us make our bodies eligible to be raised to life? If a person is spiritually dead, how can they be raised except to face the second death? Revelation 2:11; 20:6,14; 21:8
It deeply troubles me when ministers of the gospel attempt to imitate Jesus by trying to raise the dead physically, using it as a means to showcase their ministerial power and validate themselves before men. Yet Jesus said, “Ye shall do greater things than these,” and they seem to have no understanding of what the New Testament is truly about. While the Spirit of God can raise someone who has experienced physical death, this pales in comparison to the power of raising someone who is spiritually dead. If we limit death to mere physical separation, its significance diminishes. However, death is not just the separation of the body; it is a spiritual condition, representing estrangement from the living God.
Physical Resurrection as a Foreshadowing of Spiritual Resurrection
While Jesus raised the dead physically, these acts were not simply displays of miraculous power. They were signs, symbols, and foretellings of a far greater reality—spiritual resurrection. These miracles pointed to Jesus’ ultimate mission: to conquer spiritual death, remove the jurisdiction of sin, and destroy the power of Satan over humanity. Through His death and resurrection, He opened the way for the Spirit to awaken souls, fulfilling His promise that those who hear His voice shall live.
In the gospels, when Jesus declares, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), He is not merely speaking to a physical truth but to a far-reaching spiritual reality. The raising of the dead was a precursor to what Jesus would accomplish through His death and resurrection. The physical resurrections demonstrated His authority over death but also highlighted a deeper, more eternal promise—the restoration of humanity to God through spiritual rebirth. The work that Jesus did physically on earth was a foreshadowing of the spiritual resurrection that would come with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.
The spiritual death resulting from Adam’s sin (Genesis 3) also brought about physical death, not the other way around. Spiritual death set the stage for the eventual physical death of the body. This can be understood by recognizing that the spirit of man is the “candle of the Lord” (Proverbs 20:27), and if that candle is extinguished, the whole body is in darkness—as the Gospels point out in Matthew 6:22–23: “The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single (ἁπλοῦς – haplous-spiritually healthy), thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil (πονηρός – ponēros, a state of spiritual blindness or moral corruption—moral evil or wickedness—used to describe things or actions that are inherently corrupt, malicious, or harmful), thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” Here, the “eye” symbolizes the condition of the spirit within a person. Just as the eye governs the flow of light into the body, the state of the spirit determines whether the individual is filled with spiritual light or darkness. When the spirit is dead or corrupted—like a candle that has been extinguished—the whole person remains in spiritual darkness. This spiritual condition permeates every part of life, leading to confusion, brokenness, and separation from God. As James 2:26 says, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so the spirit that is made alive alone can give light to the whole body.” This underscores that the spirit, once revived in Christ, is the source of light for the whole person. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Only by bringing the spirit of man back to life through Christ can the body also expect resurrection, as the restoration of the spirit is the precursor to the physical resurrection. The reawakening of the spirit to new life through Christ guarantees that the body, too, will be transformed and quickened in the fullness of time. This is why Jesus Christ declared, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:5, 6).
The Greater Works of Spiritual Resurrection The Greater Works: Spiritual Life Through the Gospel
In John 14:12, Jesus delivers a stunning promise: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” At first, this seems almost impossible to grasp. Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb, gave sight to the blind, and stilled the storm—how could His followers possibly exceed such feats? The key lies in understanding that Jesus was not speaking solely of physical miracles but of a far greater work: the spiritual resurrection of souls, made possible through the Holy Spirit after His ascension.
This promise came to life on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended upon the disciples in tongues of fire. Peter, once a fisherman who denied Christ, stood before a crowd in Jerusalem and preached the gospel with such power that “about three thousand souls” were added to the church that day (Acts 2:41). This was no mere physical healing—it was a mass resurrection of hearts, a turning from spiritual death to life in Christ. Where Jesus raised one Lazarus, the disciples, empowered by the Spirit, raised thousands into eternal life through the proclamation of the gospel. This, Jesus declared, was the “greater work”—not because it diminished His miracles, but because it addressed humanity’s deepest need: reconciliation with God.
Consider, too, the transformation of Saul of Tarsus. A persecutor of the church, he was struck blind on the road to Damascus, only to rise as Paul, a vessel of the gospel who would pen much of the New Testament (Acts 9:1–18). His physical blindness was healed, yes, but the greater miracle was the awakening of his spirit—a resurrection from the death of sin to a life that would ignite the early church. These examples reveal that the “greater works” are not about outdoing Jesus in spectacle but about extending His mission through the Spirit’s power, bringing life where death once reigned.
From Old Covenant Signs to New Covenant Reality
To fully grasp this shift from physical to spiritual resurrection, we must consider the context of Jesus’ ministry. When He walked the earth, Israel still operated under the Old Covenant, a system of signs and shadows awaiting fulfillment. The physical resurrections—like the widow’s son raised by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17–24)—were powerful yet temporary. The boy lived again, but he would one day die anew. These miracles were foretastes, pointing to a reality that could only be unveiled after Jesus’ death and resurrection ushered in the New Covenant.
Hebrews 9:8 tells us, “The way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing.” Until Christ, the Testator of the New Covenant, shed His blood, the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit remained sealed. The physical miracles Jesus performed were like rays of light breaking through a veil, illuminating what was to come. When He raised Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35–43), it was a sign of His authority over death—but it also foreshadowed the day when, through the Spirit, countless souls would be raised to eternal life. The Old Covenant offered glimpses; the New Covenant delivered the reality.
Contrast Elijah’s miracle with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:7–29). Elijah restored a body to life, but Jesus, through a single conversation, revived a soul. She left her waterpot—not because her physical thirst was quenched, but because her spirit had tasted living water. Her testimony then sparked a revival in her village, a ripple effect of spiritual life that outshone any temporary restoration. This is the New Covenant promise: not just signs, but transformation, fulfilled at Pentecost when the Spirit empowered believers to become conduits of resurrection.
Awakening to Our Resurrection Life
This brings us to a staggering truth: believers in Christ have already experienced this spiritual resurrection. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:5–6, “Even when we were dead in sins, [God] hath quickened us together with Christ… and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” This is not a future hope deferred to the end of days—it is a present reality. When we are born again, we pass from death to life (John 5:24), our spirits awakened by the same power that raised Jesus from the tomb (Romans 8:11). We are, even now, seated with Him in heavenly places, far above the dominion of sin and death.
Yet how often do we live as if this were true? Many believers fix their eyes on a distant resurrection, awaiting a physical transformation while overlooking the spiritual victory already won. Could it be that we miss the fullness of our resurrection life because we’ve yet to grasp its present power? Imagine the implications: if we are seated with Christ, how should that change the way we face temptation, fear, or suffering? The early church understood this. When Paul confronted the Areopagus in Athens (Acts 17:22–34), he didn’t perform a physical miracle—he preached the risen Christ, and souls like Dionysius and Damaris were raised to faith. This is our calling too—to live as resurrection people, wielding the gospel as a life-giving force.
This misunderstanding isn’t new. Even today, some emphasize physical healings or prosperity as the pinnacle of faith, echoing the crowds who sought Jesus for loaves rather than the Bread of Life (John 6:26–27). But the true miracle is the soul set free from sin’s chains, a victory that endures beyond this frail body. As Hebrews 12:22 declares, “Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem”—not will come, but are come. We enter by faith, as children, already partakers of the first resurrection.
Conclusion: Living as Resurrection People
The physical resurrections of the Gospels—Lazarus stepping from the tomb, the widow’s son restored—were breathtaking previews of Christ’s power. Yet they were but shadows of the greater work He entrusted to us: to raise the spiritually dead through the gospel, empowered by the Holy Ghost. Just as Jesus called Lazarus forth by His voice, we are called to step into the world as agents of resurrection, bearing the life of Christ to those entombed in darkness.
Picture a church fully awake to this reality: death defeated, sin powerless, every believer a beacon of eternal light. This is not a distant dream—it is the victory Christ has already secured. The first resurrection has begun in us, and its power pulses through our lives today. Let us not linger in the tomb of ignorance or fear, but rise to walk in the Spirit, proclaiming with Paul, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). For we are more than conquerors, alive in Him, now and forever.