Not Raised, But Resurrected
“New life doesn’t rise from improvement—it bursts forth from transformation."
Scripture: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!”— 2 Corinthians 5:17 BSB
A.B. Simpson draws a sharp but often overlooked distinction between what it means to be “raised” versus “resurrected.” His point isn’t just about semantics—it’s about the very foundation of the Gospel. Human philosophies and self-improvement ideologies want to elevate the old self, polishing the flesh and lifting it to a higher moral level. But the Gospel doesn’t decorate the tomb—it empties it.
The cross doesn’t ask the old man to try harder. It pronounces him dead and buried. Resurrection, then, is not a reformation of the old but a birth of the new—a divine act that doesn’t merely raise us up from a low state, but calls forth a new creation altogether, infused with the life of Christ Himself. The message isn’t that we are improved people. The message is that we are new people. Not better flesh, but exchanged life. Not restored humanity, but partakers of divinity.
Simpson’s prayer to “live in the power of Your resurrection” is not a cry for effort but for experience—experience of the already-given reality of being in Christ. His Spirit within us doesn’t resuscitate our broken ways. He lives His life through us. We don’t climb the ladder of holiness; we were placed at the top rung when we died with Him and rose again in Him. The journey begins at resurrection.
Personal Journal Entry in the Voice of the Holy Spirit through Scripture
You are not who you once were. I have made you new. The old has passed away—not reformed, not hidden beneath effort, but gone. Behold, the new has come. You were crucified with Christ; it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you. This life you now live in the body, you live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave Himself for you.
Do you not know that your old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless, that you should no longer be a slave to sin? You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, you also will appear with Him in glory.
Set your mind, then, not on earthly things but on what is above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. For I have raised you and seated you with Him in the heavenly places. You have put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which I prepared beforehand that you should walk in them. So walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. For the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Reckon yourself dead to sin but alive to Me in Christ Jesus. I have given you everything required for life and godliness through your knowledge of Him who called you by His own glory and goodness. You are a partaker of the divine nature. I am your life now—and I live in you.
Scriptures Woven In:
2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:6; Colossians 3:3-4; Colossians 3:1-2; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 4:24; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:2; Romans 6:11; 2 Peter 1:3-4
Prayer of Trust
Father, thank You that I am not the person I once was. I don’t need to try to improve what You already put to death. You have made me new in Christ. I rest in Your resurrection life today—confident that You live in me, speak through me, and love through me. What a joy to know that I don’t have to climb toward You; I began this life already seated with You in the heavenlies. I am not climbing—I am abiding. I trust You to express this divine life in and through me in every interaction, every thought, and every step. Let it be so, not by my effort, but by Your indwelling life. I rejoice in the glorious exchange You’ve made possible.
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Devotional Credit: Days of Heaven on Earth by A.B. Simpson