Where Is Jesus Christ—the Grave, Heaven or in You?
“Where is Jesus Christ?” It’s a question that you really don’t want to ignore.
You don’t even want to be uncertain about your answer.
If you overlook this question or fail to answer, you might miss both the real meaning of your life today and your hope for eternity in the future.
Since the answer to this question affects both your eternal destiny and your present living, it’s definitely worth considering.
In this post I’ll consider the question—“Where is Jesus Christ?” and ask you to answer for yourself.
Where is Jesus Christ—in the grave?
If Jesus were still in the grave, He must be only a man and His death merely that of a martyr.
Yes, history records the living of Jesus of Nazareth, who was apparently just a poor Jewish man living a despised life from the manger to the cross.
Many of His countrymen only recognized Him as the carpenter, the son of Mary (Mark 6:3). They saw Him as nothing more than a poor Jewish man of lowly birth, with no attracting beauty, or formal education. They were stumbled because of Him.
The religious leaders of His day considered His bold words and deeds to be a threat to their position and a violation of their sacred laws and traditions. So they persecuted Him all the way to the cross. To these men, His end was the grave.
To some readers, this may also be your persuasion. But is Jesus still in the grave?
If this were the case, there would have been no power to change a persecutor like Saul of Tarsus into an apostle like Paul (Acts 9). His dynamic conversion was a living testimony to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In addition, there were martyrs like Stephen in Acts 7:56 who being strengthened by the presence of Jesus at his martyrdom could boldly say,
“…Behold, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God...”
May such a living testimony cause you to consider, “Is Jesus still in the grave?”
Before going to the cross He plainly said,
“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it abides alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
If Jesus was, as He said, “a grain of wheat”—that is, a human seed containing the divine, resurrection life, then His death was not His end, but only the process He passed through to release the divine life concealed in the shell of His humanity.
If you insist that Jesus is still in the grave, I can’t convince you. But I can invite you to do an little experiment. Just try saying,
“Jesus, if you are really the Son of God, that “one grain” that died to bring for forth many grains, give me the life that You died to release. If You’re living and real, make Yourself real to me.”
Where is Jesus Christ—in heaven?
Yet, you might be saying to yourself, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who rose from the dead and walked out of the tomb.
That’s wonderful! If you believe that God has raised Jesus from the dead, and confess Him as your risen Lord, you’re eternally saved.
Romans 10:9 says so:
“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”
You may also say that you believe that Jesus ascended to the heavens…This is also true.
Romans 8:34 confirms this by saying,
“…It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God…”
But is this all?
If Jesus simply went to heaven, then your salvation is mostly a future hope for the blessings of heaven, a heavenly reunion with Jesus, your Savior.
Then what about your life as a believer on this earth today?
Where is Jesus Christ—in you?
No true Christian would ever deny the presence of Jesus Christ, in heaven today. But if you only see His physical presence in heaven, you might just miss His presence in your spirit as the resurrection life and power to live the Christian life today.
Romans 8 also has another verse, verse 10, which clearly says,
“And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.”
You might say, “How can that be possible? How can Jesus Christ be both in heaven and in my spirit?”
Let me ask you a question, “How can electricity be both in the power plant and in your house?” So, what’s my point?
Jesus Christ, was crucified on the cross, was buried, and raised from the dead. Then He ascended to the heavens.
Through His death and resurrection He became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
As such a Spirit He can enter into you. He can be both in heaven, “the heavenly power plant” and “installed” in you, in your human spirit. In such a way, He joins earth and heaven and can continually transmit all that He is into you to be your moment-by-moment supply.
All you need to do is open to His continual transmission by calling on His name. You may want to pray,
“Lord Jesus! O Lord Jesus! Thank you for coming to this earth to live as a despised man, so that You could be nailed to the cross for my sins. Praise you that as that one grain of wheat You fell into the ground and died. Then, in resurrection, you sprouted up from the grave to impart your divine life into me. Hallelujah! God exalted You far above all to His right hand in heaven. Praise you that You’re also the life-giving Spirit. Come into my spirit and live in me. Lord, I thank you that You’re not just the buried Christ, or the ascended Christ, but the indwelling Christ–the Christ who lives in me!”
Resources and Further Reading:
- You may want to watch this video, “Who is Jesus?” to see how He can come inside of you.
- You may also enjoy reading the Mystery of Human Life, Chapter One in the Basic Elements of the Christian Life, Volume One. You can order your own free copy from Bibles for America or download the PDF.
- Here are some hymns and spiritual songs to enrich your enjoyment of this post:
- Photo credit: Joseph Barber
About Tom Smith
Hi. My name is Tom Smith. I'm the writer behind Holding to Truth in Love, and I love the Lord Jesus and His life-giving Word. Please feel free to send me an e-mail through the contact page if you have any questions. I hope you'd take a moment to subscribe to the Holding to Truth blog. Then you'll be sure not to miss a post. Thanks!
I hadn’t thought about it, but the dramatic conversion of Saul is a strong testimony to the resurrection.
That was touching. Can you elaborate further on where is Jesus Christ?
Tich,
Seeing “where” Jesus Christ is needs to be matched by seeing “Who” Jesus Christ is. If we see Him as a myth, He is nowhere. If we see Him as a mere man, He is at best in the grave. If we see Him as God incarnate in the flesh who died for our sins, He is our Redeemer (John 1:1, 14, 29). If we see Him as the ascended Christ, He is our Lord (Phil 2:9-11). If we see Him as the resurrected Christ who became the life-giving Spirit, He is our life, the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us (1 Cor. 15:45; Rom. 8:10). The question of “Where is Jesus Christ?” is not merely a question of facts, but of where He is in relation to our vision and experience. May the Father grant us further seeing of Christ, so that we may also enter into further experience of Christ (Eph 1:17-18; 3:16-19).