18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. John 2:18-22 (NASB)
Without the resurrection of Christ, Christianity is just another religion based on ancient teachings of Men. It was the reality of Jesus’ bodily resurrection that God used in light of the teachings from Scripture to bring Jesus’ disciples into belief. His resurrection is what God uses in the Gospel to make it real in the hearts of those whom He effectually calls and regenerates. In other words saving faith’s reality is the Risen Christ.
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (NASB)
The Corinthians were saved through the preaching of the Gospel and that included the resurrection of our Lord. They received it and are standing in it and are being saved by it. The word “saved” in v2 translates the Greek verb σῴζεσθε (sōzesthe) the present tense, passive voice, indicative mood of σώζω (sōzō), which means, “save, deliver, restore to health, rescue.” However, the present tense means this action is taking place now and is continuous. The passive voice means that the salvation is taking place to the object of the verb not the object of the verb doing the action. That is very important to grasp. The indicative voice is also telling us that this action is taking place in the present. Therefore that one verb, sōzesthe, is often translated as, “you are being saved.” That means that Paul is telling the Corinthians that they are being made whole or complete, or are being saved concurrently while Paul is writing this passage. The Gospel has saved them (justified them) and is still saving them (sanctifying them) through its power. As we have seen, sanctification is the progressive redemption of a Christian through God’s power in removing them from sin and and its decaying power in their hearts. It is the reality of Christ’s resurrection that engenders hope in them. This hope is supernatural because it is part of genuine saving faith which exists only in the regenerate.