John 20:30-31 THESE ARE WRITTEN THAT YE MIGHT BELIEVE
Resurrection power is the power that catapulted Christianity onto the stage of world history. The resurrection of Christ [Acts 1:22] was the purpose for which the early Christian community came into being. They were to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ wherever the Gospel was preached. The prime function of the Christian community today is to witness to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus to our generation and to the world of lost souls all around us.
The transforming power of the Gospel is not the ethical teachings of Jesus, but the resurrection of Jesus and all the implications that go along with that fact. The resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ opened the way for the unprecedented invasion into our world of the Holy Spirit of God. Joel prophesied it 800 years before it happened. When people received the Holy Spirit, that opened up a personal fellowship with God that is based on the reality of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is truly alive in His resurrected body and is a real touchable Person who represents us at the right hand of the throne of God.
The cross of Christ reveals man’s basic problem – hostility against God. Some of those who were involved in the crucifixion of Christ, heard Peter preach and were called upon to repent and face up to the resurrected Jesus who was Lord and Christ. If they wanted to be saved, they had to demonstrate the reality of their faith and their sincerity by calling on the name of the Lord. Then they were baptized as evidence of the reality of their profession.