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“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

We celebrated Resurrection Sunday only a few short weeks ago. We combed through the Easter story and the good news of the gospel in intricate detail, from the dark moments that led to Jesus’ walk to Calvary to the glorious moments surrounding the revelation of His resurrection.  The truths that permeate Easter are magnificent and astounding. Yet how many of us returned to “normal life” the following Monday morning and allowed the spectacular truths of these events to become clouded by the mundane?  (Raising my hand with you here.)

What is it about the minutia of daily life that so cunningly robs us of the joy of our salvation?  Ephesians 6:12 says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Wow.  That’s a lot to go up against.

Ever heard the saying, “The devil is in the details”?  The seeming insignificance of each word we utter, each step we tread and each decision we make can ultimately culminate in something much more substantial (1 Peter 5:8).  In the midst of the daily routine, we can easily be overwhelmed and enticed into embracing the ways of the world (Isaiah 53:6) rather than abiding in Christ Jesus (John 15:5) as we are called to do.

Colossians 2:6-15 says,

^“6 Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ⁷ having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. ⁸ See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ. ⁹ For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, ¹⁰ and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority; ¹¹ and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision performed without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ,¹² having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, ¹⁴ having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”

In Christ crucified, the world no longer defines us (Galatians 6:14); we no longer walk in darkness (John 8:12); fear is cast out (1 John 4:18); and the grave has no power over us (John 11:25) as we have been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-4).  Praise Jesus.

The song Ain’t No Grave is a celebration of these truths and the power of the perfect love of God to assure (Philippians 1:6) and quiet our souls (Zephaniah 3:17) in the midst of a world often marked with doubt and chaos (John 14:27).  As we sing this triumphant anthem together, may we rejoice in the victory we have over the grave (Revelation 1:18) and the gift of eternal and abundant life (John 3:16, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 15:52) through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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Ain’t No Grave

Shame is a prison as cruel as a grave
Shame is a robber and he's come to take my name
Love is my redeemer, lifting me up from the ground
Love is the power where my freedom song is found
 
There ain't no grave
Gonna hold my body down
There ain't no grave
Gonna hold my body down
When I hear that trumpet sound
I'm gonna rise up outta the ground
There ain't no grave
Gonna hold my body down
 
Fear is a liar with a smooth and velvet tongue
Fear is a tyrant, he's always telling me to run
Love is a resurrection and love is a trumpet sound
Love is my weapon, I'm gonna take my giants down
 
There was a battle, a war between death and life
And there on a tree, the Lamb of God was crucified
And He went on down to hell, He took back every key
He rose up as a lion and He set all captives free