The Resurrection of Jesus Christ - Various Scriptures
INTRODUCTION:
This morning as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead I want to re-visit a message that I preached seven years ago. At that time, I said that the doctrine of the resurrection had been downplayed to the point of almost being forgotten. Seven years later it is no better, we believe the resurrection took place, but do we know why it took place, do we know what it means to us who believe. Instead of the trying to prove the resurrection or showing the fallacy of the arguments against its actuality and historicity, I would rather teach you the truth of the doctrine of the resurrection that is equal and just as important as the truth of the cross and the death of Christ, because without the resurrection our faith is in vain. We must understand the resurrection as the authors of the New Testament wrote about it and its importance to our faith. The death of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are the two necessary components of God’s wonderful plan of salvation. One cannot exist without the other. Had Jesus Christ not died, there would nothing to base the mighty realities of the resurrection on. Had He not been raised from the dead, then His death would have been meaningless—no Savior, no living example of the purpose of His death, victory over sin and death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is like no other event in history and the fact that it took place brings in a whole new aspect of God’s working with His creation that was not known in the Old Testament, but only foreshadowed and prophesied about. This morning in which we celebrate that He is risen from the dead I want to give you seven reasons for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the foundation of the doctrine of the resurrection. Before we begin let’s pray and ask God to prepare our hearts and open our hearts to His Word and the truth of the resurrection of His Son.
--PRAY--
--CHRIST IS RISEN—
(HE IS RISEN INDEED)
SCRIPTURE:
Earlier this morning we heard the account of Christ’s resurrection read from the book of Matthew. In this message, we will be looking at various Scriptures, but to set the tone for this message I want to read the first 20 verses of Paul’s great discourse on the resurrection from 1 Corinthians 15. Please stand for the reading of God’s Word and follow along in 1 Corinthians 15.
I Corinthians 15:1-20,
“Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:1–20, NASB95)[1]
SEVEN REASONS FOR THE RESURRECTION (1 Corinthians 15:1-20)
In this chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul makes His defense for the resurrection and He begins by reminding the Corinthians the Gospel that He preached to them that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. And after His resurrection He appeared to many people, to Peter, to the twelve, to more than five hundred at one time and at the time that Paul wrote this letter most of the 500 were still living, and finally Christ appeared to Paul. Paul says this is the Gospel that you believed and by which you were saved from death, why are you now believing those that are saying there is no resurrection. If that were true then Jesus was not raised either and if He is not raised we have believed in vain, and we are to be the most pitied of men. But then in verse 20 Paul made his great declaration: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead…” (1 Corinthians 15:20a, NASB95)[2] Paul understood the importance of the resurrection and would defend it and preach the truth of it his whole life. This morning I want to examine seven reasons given by the apostles for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS (Acts 2:24)
Reason number 1: Jesus Christ rose from the dead because of who He is. In Acts 2 when Peter stands up to preach on the Day of Pentecost when the disciples had received the Holy Spirit and that large crowd of people had gathered he said this concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ in verse 24 of Acts 2, “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” (Acts 2:24, NASB95)[3] Nothing in all of creation should seem more abnormal to us than the God-Man Jesus Christ entering the realms of death; He is the very One who is life, He described Himself as life and apart from Him there is no life. The only answer the Bible gives for this seeming paradox is that in infinite love He died for others, became our Substitute, took our penalty, suffered our punishment, the Just for the unjust that He might bring the unjust to God.
As we seek to understand the death of God the Son we must understand something about human death. The late theologian Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote, “Death does not end the consciousness of the human soul and spirit. Death did not end the consciousness of Christ’s human soul and spirit, nor did it affect His Deity. Physical death is an experience of the body and only resurrection will restore its life again. Christ entered completely into the state of physical death and from it came forth by an actual resurrection.”[4] When satisfaction had been reached on behalf of those for whom Christ died, there was no more reason for the deathless One, the One who was life, to remain in the realms of death. For this reason, Peter says that it was impossible for death to hold Him in its power. It is because of who He is that He rose from the dead.
2. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO FULFILL THE DAVIDIC COVENANT (Acts 2:29-31)
The second reason for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is also found in that first message by Peter in Acts 2. Peter said in Acts 2:29-31, “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.” (Acts 2:29–31, NASB95)[5] Peter says that Jesus rose from the dead to fulfill the Davidic Covenant. In 2 Samuel 7 God made a covenant with David that his throne would be an everlasting throne, that there would be an everlasting King and an everlasting kingdom.
When Jesus began His public ministry He and His disciples offered this kingdom to the nation of Israel, this kingdom was rejected by the nation when they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. In the sovereign providence of God this happened so that redemption might be achieved through the death of Jesus Christ. Among the various reasons that we will examine this morning for Christ’s resurrection this one concerning the nation of Israel, He rose from the dead because of God’s covenant with David that the Messiah would sit on the throne of David forever. If Christ had not risen from the dead then God would not have been able to keep His covenant with David.
3. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO BECOME THE SOURCE OF RESURRECTION LIFE (Colossians 3:1-4)
Reason number 3: Jesus Christ rose from the dead to become the source of resurrection life. The life that is imparted to the Christian at salvation is the life of Christ in resurrection. This is shown throughout the New Testament as the Christian already being raised from the dead. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:1-4, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1–4, NASB95)[6] The believer is blessed with all the values of co-crucifixion, co-death, co-burial, and co-resurrection with Christ. These great realities are completely his or hers just as they were Christ’s since He suffered and triumphed over them as the substitute for the one who believes. God views us as already raised and seated with His Son in the heavenly realms—as if it is already a done deal. Listen to Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:6, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:6, NIV84)[7] Written in the past tense as if it has already taken place because we have the resurrection life of Christ in us as soon as we believe and because it is in us we will be raised, it is a fact that cannot be changed.
4. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO BE THE SOURCE OF RESURRECTION POWER (Ephesians 1:18-21)
Reason number 4: Jesus Christ rose from the dead to be the source of resurrection power, again Paul describes this for us in Ephesians 1:18-21 where in a prayer for the Ephesians he writes, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18–21, NASB95)[8] Paul speaks of the strength of God’s might, the great power that He used to raise Christ from the dead and to seat at His right hand in the heavenly places and in that context, he says that this same great power, the strength of God’s might, is for us who believe. This incomparably great power of the resurrection is engaged on behalf of the believer; this power may be directed in various channels, but it is in the portion of all who believe to fulfill the purposes of God in and through our lives. For this reason, Christ rose from the dead to be the source of resurrection power to the saints of God. Do you understand that as a believer in Jesus Christ you have the same power used to raise Christ from the dead available to you to fulfill God’s will in your life?
5. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO BE HEAD OVER ALL THINGS FOR THE CHURCH (Ephesians 1:22-23)
The fifth reason Jesus Christ rose from the dead was to be head over all thing for the church. In that same prayer that we were just looking at in Ephesians 1 where we learned that Jesus Christ rose from the dead to be the source of resurrection power, Paul finishes up that prayer with these words, “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22–23, NASB95)[9] When the resurrected Son of God is combined with the all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and have been raised and seated with Him—combined into one entity the result is what is known as the Church. The Church is totally different from any other existing group whether it be angels or men, this is a new creation which was unknown in the Old Testament, but was revealed after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and establishes the supreme purpose of God in this age. The creation of the Church could only result and can only stand on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. For this reason, He was raised and given authority above all else so that He might be Head of the church and the sustainer of it. Without His resurrection, there would be no Church because it would have no Head.
6. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD ON ACCOUNT OF JUSTIFICATION (Romans 4:25)
Reason number 6: Jesus rose from the dead on account of justification. Paul wrote in Romans 4:25, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Romans 4:25, NASB95)[10] This is the only verse that records for us that Christ was raised because of our justification. Paul teaches in Romans 3 and 5 that we are justified through the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ and not only through His resurrection. However, there would be no justification without His death and shed blood, also there would be no justification without His resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was necessary for justification to be realized. God’s holy nature required that His wrath be fully satisfied concerning the guilt of sin, and it could only be satisfied through the penalty for sin which is death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was God showing us that He was fully satisfied and man could be justified through the risen and living Savior.
Imputed righteousness of that which is ascribed to us because of Christ’s death as our Substitute; on Good Friday, we looked at how Paul described that for us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 where he wrote, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB95)[11] It is this imputed righteousness that is the divine basis or reason on which we have been justified. It is not based on any righteousness of our own, but solely on Christ’s righteousness which is credited to the believer on the sole basis of his or her union with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ and so the justification, which means a right standing with God, does rest completely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Justification is made possible by the death and shed blood of Jesus Christ but finds its application to the believer in Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Both are essential or there is no justification.
7. JESUS CHRIST ROSE FROM THE DEAD TO BE THE FIRST-FRUITS (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
The seventh and final reason I am giving you this morning that Jesus Christ rose from the dead was to be the first-fruits. In the Old Testament, the first-fruits were the first sheaf of grain harvested and it was waved before the Lord as an offering anticipating or representing the rest of the harvest. Going back to 1 Corinthians 15 where we started this morning I want to read verses 20-23, “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,” (1 Corinthians 15:20–23, NASB95)[12] The risen Lord Jesus Christ is the first-fruits of what is to come. Jesus Christ raised to life in a glorified, resurrection body anticipates or represents in heaven what the rest of believing humanity will be like when we are caught up to heaven to be with the Lord forever. Philippians 3:20-21 tells us, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20–21, NASB95)[13] Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote, “Angels know the estate which will characterize each individual who comprises that unnumbered company which, having received their resurrection bodies, will throng the spacious vaults of heaven. The angels thus know before they appear what each believer will be like, having seen Christ who is to the hosts of heaven a preliminary demonstration of the glorious estate that awaits those who are Christ’s”[14] Christ as our first-fruits assures our resurrection and glorification one day. Without His resurrection we would not have that promise or that guarantee.
CONCLUSION:
This morning we have looked at seven reasons for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; these seven reasons lay the foundation for the doctrine of the resurrection, they point us to what we have been saved to. The cross and the suffering and death of Jesus Christ saves us from the bondage to sin, saves us from the domination of Satan, saves us from condemnation, saves us from the judgment and wrath of God against sin. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead saves us to eternal life, it saves us to the adoption as sons and daughters of God, and it saves us to the bodily resurrection in which we will have glorified bodies like Christ. These seven reasons for the resurrection should cause us to be more fully aware of why Jesus Christ had to rise from the dead and this in turn should cause us to rejoice even more on this day that we commemorate His resurrection knowing what that resurrection means to us who are believers in Christ.
Maybe you are here this morning, but you have never put your faith in Christ for salvation. You know that you are a sinner, you know that you have done things that are wrong, but you did not know how to make them right with God. Let me assure you that it is nothing that you can do, God has already done everything necessary for your forgiveness. He offers you forgiveness for your sin, offers to save you from His judgment and wrath against sin, and wants to give you eternal life, wants to adopt you into His family, and wants to promise to resurrect you someday and give you a glorified body like Jesus Christ and bring you to live with Him forever and the way you receive all this is simple. Just agree with God that you are a sinner, then believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross paying the penalty for your sin, was buried and on the third day rose from the dead. And by believing you will receive all that I listed for you from God, He will send His Spirit to live in you so that you are in Christ. You can do this in the quietness of your own heart right now and thank God for His love and salvation. If you do believe for the first time this morning would you please tell me so I can rejoice with you.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]Chafer, Lewis Sperry, Systematic Theology, Volume V – Christology. Dallas, TX : Dallas Seminary Press, 1948
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]The Holy Bible, New International Version. 1973, 1978 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission.
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[11]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[12]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[13]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[14]Chafer, Lewis Sperry, Systematic Theology, Volume V – Christology. Dallas, TX : Dallas Seminary Press, 1948