Resurrection : Prayer Faith, Living and Experience made New!!
Some of you might remember the Latin words we studied on Good Friday. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi and Lex Experiendi.
We saw on Friday that these four laws of Christian Theology are fulfilled on the cross. How are they relevant to the Resurrection Sunday? That is the theme we will explore this morning. I have titled the sermon “Resurrection : Prayer Faith, Living and Experience made New!!”
1. Lex Orandi: The law of prayer. On the Cross, we saw that Jesus fulfilled the law of prayer in three ways
a. Intercession: By interceding for those who crucified him. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
b. Surrender: Surrendering to God’s will . “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
c. Instant answer to prayer: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
In resurrection Jesus continues to fulfil the law of prayer in all these three ways and more.
a. He continues to intercede for us. 1 John 2:1 says “If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Resurrection lifts him up to a much more influential position. “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us”. Romans 8:34. He is interceding for us sitting at the right hand of God. On the cross, Jesus interceded for us from a position of suffering. After resurrection he is interceding for us from a position of power and authority. Ephesians 1:20–23 confirms this “He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” That is the power of resurrection. Philippians 2:9–11 further confirms this. “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name…” Because Jesus intercedes from this position of power, Hebrews 7:25 says “Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.”. His intercession is even more powerful after the resurrection, to save us completely. It is the highest guarantee we can get for our salvation. His intercession is eternal, as the author of Hebrews says, He “always lives” to make intercession for us. We don’t need to depend on High priests who have an expiry date. Jesus’ intercession is eternal. Jesus continues to fulfil the law of prayer through intercession from the position of power and authority.
b. On the cross, Jesus prayed the payer of surrender. At the resurrection, this prayer gets transformed into a loud praise of “He is/ has risen” Matthew 28:6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:6. The prayer becomes an occasion for us give thanks as we see in 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Because of the resurrection we pray to a living God. We don’t pray as those who hope vaguely — we pray to the living God, who has overcome the grave. Our praise and worship is no longer framed by death, but by victory, joy, and presence. Because Christ is risen, our prayers rise with power. Every “Lord, have mercy” becomes “He is risen, indeed!”
c. On the cross, Jesus answered the prayer of the dying thief instantly. At the resurrection God answered Jesus’ prayer of surrender , not with words but with an empty tomb. In the garden of gethsemane, Jesus prayed that the Father’s will be done , about the bitter cup . To those who did not have an insight into God’s eternal plans it appears that God answered that prayer not by taking away the cup, but through the cross. But the cross was not the complete answer. The complete answer to Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane came when God raised Him up at the resurrection. On Cross we saw Jesus instantly answers an explicitly spoken prayer of the dying thief. After resurrection we see many instances where God answers even unspoken prayers. He answers the unspoken prayers of Mary Magdalene in front of the tomb, transforming her sorrow into joy (John 20:11-18). He answers the unspoken prayers of Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus. They were confused and longing for meaning, they were seeking in unspoken prayer. The resurrected Jesus answers their prayers by appearing before them, walking with them, opening their eyes to the scripture and breaking bread with them. (Luke 24:13–35). After the crucifixion, the disciples were hiding in fear, confusion and doubt. Their hearts were filled with the unspoken prayers for peace, safety, purpose and meaning. Jesus appears to them and answers their unspoken prayers in John 20:19-22. Jesus allays their fears by pronouncing peace upon them. He gives them purpose by sending them out just as the Father had sent him to the world. He strengthens them by asking them to receive the Holy Spirit. The resurrected Christ is answering their unspoken prayers. Look at Peter. After his denial, his heart must have been longing for reconciliation. His unspoken prayer for reconciliation is answered by the resurrected Christ when Jesus askes him three times “Do you love me?” and calls him to lead the church every time . (John 21:15-19). The resurrection does not just prove God’s power but it gives us the confidence that even our unspoken prayers are answered by our God.
In summary At the Resurrection, prayer is no longer a cry into darkness — it becomes communion with the Risen Lord. The law of prayer (lex orandi) is fulfilled because the One to whom we prayed now lives, speaks, and responds. Prayer becomes resurrection-shaped: full of hope, presence, and power.
2. Lex Credendi, the law of faith was fulfilled at cross, by confirming our faith in a holy, caring, loving, self-sacrificing nature of God. At the resurrection, the law of faith is further completed, activated and launched in a new way.
a. At the cross, our faith is God’s character a loving God was fulfilled. At the resurrection, our faith is in God’s power over death is fulfilled. Our faith now includes trust in a victorious and living saviour, in addition to a loving one who was willing die for us. Paul describes this beautifully when he writes to the Romans. In his very first introductory words Paul brings out the power of the resurrection. “..and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” ( Romans 1:4).
b. On Good Friday, we saw that the cross is at the core of our faith. Today on resurrection day that faith is further strengthened. Paul said “we preach Christ crucified…( 1 Cor 1:23) and “I resolved to know nothing except Jesus crucified…” (1 Cor 2:2). Add to that what he says about resurrection. “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! “ (1 Co 15:17) . The salvation story does not end with the cross, it is completed in the resurrection. It is good to look at the analogy of a bird on flight. It needs two wings to fly. It cannot fly with one wing. The cross is one wing, the empty tomb is the other wing. Another way to look at it is like this. The crucifixion was the payment for our sins. Resurrection is God’s acknowledgment of that payment, God telling us that the payment is received and the transaction is complete.
c. On good Friday we saw how a holy God abandoned his only begotten son momentarily because of all of our sins that the son was carrying. At resurrection we see the same holy God giving us a completely new life. Cross was the end of sin. Resurrection is the beginning of a new life. That is why Peter proclaims “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,” (1 Peter 1:3–4). Because of the resurrection our hope is a living hope, our hope is in that incorruptible, undefiled inheritance reserved for us in heaven. Resurrection reaffirms our faith in heaven.
In summary, at the Resurrection, Lex Credendi — the law of faith — is fulfilled because faith is no longer belief in a dying hope, but trust in a living Savior. What we believe about God is confirmed and made unshakable: He is faithful, powerful, victorious, and alive.
3. Lex Vivendi, the law of life, was fulfilled at the cross through powerful modelling of the virtues of Christian living namely, love, sacrifice, forgiveness, humility, obedience and care. Resurrection moves those virtues from examples to empowerment. Resurrection empowers us to live those virtues, not by mere will power by resurrection power. On the cross, Jesus showed us the example of how such virtues could be lived out even at the lowest point in one’s life. Through resurrection, Jesus empowers us to do that by being in us. I take Arvi and Aarav for swimming often. Initially I just show them how swimming is done. That is good, and they get an idea. But they are not going to be swimmers by just watching me. They learn swimming by supported practicing. First I let them float with both my hands under them so that they are confident. Then I help them to move through their efforts , strokes with their hands and legs, but also with a push from my side. Slowly I stop pushing and they move by their own strokes. But my arms are still touching their bodies so that they have the confidence that I am with them and I will protect them from drowning. It takes some amount of practice for them to let me pull my hand away and still be able to float and move. Arvi has reached that stage. But she still prefers that I am close by to her when she swims. Do you see the difference between demonstration and empowerment? Resurrection empowers us to live a Christ like life, by Christ living in us. Trying to live Christian life without Christ living in us is foolishness. Jesus himself said so in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Resurrection opens the door for Christ to live in us through the holy spirit, and thus we can say with Paul, as in Philippians 4:13 , “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
In summary at the Resurrection, Lex Vivendi — the law of life — is fulfilled as the risen Christ not only models the way to live, but empowers us to live it. The Resurrection turns imitation into transformation, and commands into capacity. The life Christ lived becomes the life we now can live — through Him
4. Lex Experiendi, the law of experience was fulfilled at the cross, when the cross became a symbol of shared human experience. The Cross validated our own suffering and became the place where God entered into human experience. At resurrection, Jesus invites us into His experience — His power, His victory, His joy, and His eternal life. Paul says “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. (Romans 6:4-5). Paul is desirous of knowing that power that raised Christ from the dead. Philippians 3:10 – “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…”. The resurrected Jesus is inviting us to embrace that power and enjoy the victory with him through a new life.
In summary, on the Cross, Jesus entered into our human experience — He wept, bled, thirsted, and died. The Cross validated our pain, proving that God is not distant from our suffering. But the Resurrection does more: it transforms our experience. Jesus rises not just to overcome death, but to invite us into a new kind of life — one marked by hope, joy, victory, and eternal purpose. Lex Experiendi — the law of experience — is fulfilled at the Resurrection because our deepest experiences are no longer defined by suffering alone, but by resurrection life, Spirit-empowered renewal, and shared glory with Christ.
We have seen the four laws being transformed at the resurrection.
Lex orandi – Now we pray with boldness.
Lex credendi – Now we believe with certainty.
Lex vivendi – Now we live with purpose.
Lex experiendi – Now we suffer with hope.
Because Christ is risen, the whole rhythm of the Christian life is resurrected
So what is the application for us? A profound way of looking at the application is to obey Paul’s advice to the Colossians. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col 3:1-2). So, this resurrection day, let us start focusing on eternity. And not worry about things on earth. Let us invest our time and efforts on things that will matter in eternity. Let the resurrected Christ who lives in us enable us to do that.
