Why the Resurrection? Day Six/Reason Six

To Defeat and Overcome Death

Death is the perfect enemy of mankind. It has a 100% success rate, killing all whom it targets (with the exceptions of two men for whom God intervened—namely, Enoch and Elijah). No one is safe from its power; it works on its own schedule; it often works unexpectedly. Death is a champion. Like a warrior in battle, such as Goliath, death has a guaranteed victory over all whom it faces, and it is willing and able to face anyone and everyone. Death was even willing to take on God’s Chosen One—the Messiah.

Jesus’ death and resurrection, however, was both predetermined and calculated; it was not a mistake or merely ‘Plan B’. Death did not take Christ by surprise, nor was death ever in control. The writer of Acts, in recording the Apostle Peter’s first sermon, makes this clear to us when he says, “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). Jesus laid down His own life and, as He made clear to His opponents, He had the power to take His life again from death’s icy grip (John 10:17-18).

Jesus looked death straight in the face, unflinchingly submitted to it, and then defeated it. “Having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,” Jesus was given absolute jurisdiction over death and its power (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus won the victory over death and strangled it of its great power over mankind. Thus the apostle can say, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

Death was like the serpent himself. Mankind was fearful of death, having no hope, knowing that death would take each and every one of them. Death struck like a yellow jacket. Its sting was bitter, taking the precious gift of life from people. Death owned this sting because of mankind’s sinfulness. Sin, having complete sway over mankind, brought them just condemnation under the law. Thus death was rightfully taking peoples’ lives away. They were all judged and found worthy of death by the righteous standard of the law of God.

Yet, because Christ, the firstborn from the dead, has been resurrected unto the fullness of eternal life, taking the just penalty of God’s wrath upon Himself, He has robbed death of its sting and victory. Death no longer has its power and sway. It no longer has the ability to rob the children of God of their hope. Christ, coming under subjection to the Law, has redeemed us from the curse of the Law (cf. Galatians 3:13, 4:4-7).

We can therefore exclaim, “thanks be to God!” The victory is now ours, through Christ Jesus. We no longer have to fear death. We have a mediator beyond the grave who has promised to prepare a place for all those who follow Him to the end (cf. John 14:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2). Jesus is the victor over death. Death now submits to the wishes of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate champion; death has been defeated!

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Why the Resurrection? Day Five/Reason Five

To Reverse the Curse (so Christ would be the firstborn)

Jesus is to have the supremacy in all things. Because He is the creator of all, He is given the birth-rite over all creation. “He is… the firstborn of all creation…. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:15, 18). This is a particularly interesting phrase. He is the heir of God, receiving all the blessings of the firstborn son, and He also receives the reward because “He is… the firstborn from the dead.” As the writer of Hebrews says, Jesus has been “appointed heir of all things” (Hebrew 1:2).

Both Paul and the writer of the Hebrews make clear that Jesus, because He is the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2), is supreme over all of creation, as God rightfully is. Yet on account of the resurrection, Jesus is “declared the Son of God with power” (Romans 1:4), to be God’s beloved Son (cf. Hebrews 1:5). Through His work upon the cross Christ has redeemed His creation and has become the heir twice over. He has every right over His creation now both because He created it and because He redeemed it for His own possession.

Through the resurrection, Christ has taken over the role of Adam. As humanity fills the earth in the image of Adam and under his rule as the son of God, so those who are in Christ are to fill the earth in the image of Christ (the redeemed and sanctified image of Adam, who was the image of God) and to subject all to His rule. Through the resurrection, Jesus takes Adam’s role as the lord over creation.

Christ can only do this, however, because Adam fell. There had to be a second human, a second father of all creation to rule. Through Adam came sin and death (Romans 5:12-14). Man was made the enemy of God through Adam—both through being credited with his sinfulness and through receiving it as his children. As all those who receive the blood of Adam receive the condemnation for his sin, so all those who receive the atonement in Christ’s blood receive His righteousness and His reward—eternal life (Romans 5:12-17). Jesus has reversed the curse of Adam. Adam brought death through his disobedience; Christ brought life through His obedience (Romans 5:18-19).

By being the firstborn from the dead, Jesus has become the heir of the promises of God, His Father, and has been given everything that was Adam’s before the fall. All who are in Adam receive the condemnation of Adam. Likewise, all who are in Christ receive the same perfected life that is His. “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 15:21-22).

It had to be this way. God the Son had to empty Himself of His eternal glory with the Father (cf. John 17:5, Philippians 2:7-8) in order that He might become a human. The curse came through a human and so it had to be extinguished through a human. Jesus had to be obedient in the place of Adam and He had to make atonement for Adam’s transgression (and the transgressions of those who are to be redeemed). Only by doing this could the sin that was credited and infused through Adam be made obsolete and the righteousness of obedience be credited and infused. Since the offspring are His, Jesus is now the firstborn and the “Head” of the church (Colossians 1:18).

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Why the Resurrection? Day Four/Reason Four

To Prove God’s Satisfaction in Christ’s Propitiation

Because Christ died, Christians are promised that their sins have all been atoned for. Paul tells us, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

God has justified us and so since He no longer condemns us, no one can. Why is it that God does not condemn us? Because Jesus Christ died and has risen from the dead; He is our perfect mediator before the Father. The Father has accepted Christ’s atonement upon the cross, and so believers have confidence that He has bore God’s wrath that was due us. Yet, can we be certain that the Father was pleased in the Son’s sacrifice?

First, let me establish a clear Biblical truth: God is holy. He is perfect—without sin—and all that He does it good and right. He is above and beyond all things, and so He is Lord of all, having supreme right over His creation. God cannot compromise His holiness, or any of His other attributes. Thus, God cannot tolerate sin in His presence or in His creation—for He is the ruler and owner of His creation.

However, mankind is sinful. Every human is sinful because we are all the descendents of Adam (cf. Romans 3:23, 5:12-14). You owe your DNA to Adam, and so when he sinned, it affected all of his descendents, including you. This sin is a profound distrust in God which leads to every sort of evil deed.

God, who is holy, and therefore must deal justly with sin, giving to the offenders the punishment deserved, cannot just forgive sinners at a whim. Rather, sin must be paid for. A sufficient atonement must be made for sin—either by the offensive party or by a mediator. Sinners who trust Christ are “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness” (Romans 3:24-25).

Because God has demonstrated His justice in the horrific suffering of Christ and has thus poured out His grace upon all those who belong to Christ, we can be absolutely certain that Christ’s atoning work was the sufficient atonement for our sins. Jesus drank the full cup of God’s wrath on behalf of all who trust in Him. Christ Himself said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). His work was completed upon the cross in God’s complete forsaking and punishment of Him, because Christ was viewed by the Father as the offender—He was credited with our sin.

Under the Old Covenant, High Priests offered sacrifices yearly as a temporary atonement for sins. “But when Christ [as contrasted with the earthly high priests] appeared as a high priest of the good things to come… through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11, 12). Christ’s sufferings were sufficient to effectually obtain God’s grace for His people. He has redeemed them—purchased them from the power of sin and the wrath of God for their sins, eternally. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

God demonstrated that Christ’s death was sufficient to satisfy His wrath by raising Christ from the dead. If Christ had remained in the grave, there would be no guarantee that Christ had fully atoned for sins and that Christ had fully drunk every last drop from the cup of God’s wrath. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:3-4). At this time, Christ was shown to be victorious, it was shown that Christ, as both the Son of Man and the Son of God, was worthy of the title of God’s Son and the Lord of lords, and that Christ had indeed purchased for God a people by atoning for their sins (cf. Revelation 5:9-10).

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Why the Resurrection? Day Three/Reason Three

So that He Will Be Lord of All

Jesus’ ascension is not just one in name, but it is also one in power and authority. He has not just taken a position and become a figurehead. As Jesus explained to His disciples after the resurrection and before His ascension, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). When Jesus says “all authority” He literally means all authority. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27 emphasis mine).

Jesus died and was resurrected so that He would be sovereign and supreme over all. Paul tells us, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:9). Through His death upon the cross and His resurrection, Christ has reclaimed His dominion of what is rightfully His: all creation. He has purchased it with His blood.

The resurrection is proof of God giving all things into the hands of Christ. It is also the time at and occasion upon which the formal transaction occurred.

“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…. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear [on the day of Pentecost]…. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:24, 32-33, 36).

Christ is thus the judge and only mediator for all mankind. No one can receive eternal life except through Him (cf. John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5), and He is the divine judge of the world (cf. John 5:22-24).

Christ now rules over the kingdom of God until He has abolished all that is in opposition to His rule. “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). Though as of yet Christ has not returned and the kingdom has not come in full physical manifestation and power, it is “set in stone” that Christ will completely conquer all of His enemies, and that “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). He is Lord and Sovereign, proven by the resurrection, and He will fully establish His kingdom.

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Why the Resurrection? Day Two/Reason Two

To Ascend to the Seat of Power and Glory

Jesus, so that He might reconcile God and mankind, had to leave His place of honor with the Father and the glory that He and the Father shared before the world was even created (John 17:5). Since He is the immortal Son of God, He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” By doing this, Christ was able to be humbled and obedient “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Without becoming a human being, Jesus could not die. As the eternal “Word” of God, Jesus is immortal in His glorified state. Thus “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He needed to become human so that He could die and so that He could reverse the curse of Adam (we will discuss this point later). Only by emptying Himself and leaving His heavenly throne could Jesus possibly fulfill His earthly role. He had to descend; otherwise He could not be the mediator between God and mankind (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5-6).

Being God, however, Jesus could not remain in a permanent state of humiliation. He could not remain in the grave after He died upon the cross. With His role as a servant completed, He had to rise from the grave and return to His former state of glory. Jesus Himself said while speaking to the Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:4-5). He could not remain on earth. He had to return to the Father. This is why He tells Mary at the tomb, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’” (John 20:17). It was time for Jesus to be restored to the seat of honor at the Father’s right hand.

For forty days after the resurrection Jesus taught the disciples “the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). After this He was lifted up from their presence and He returned to the Father, so that His followers might receive the Holy Spirit.

For His obedient work, and because He was resurrected and alive, never to die again, “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). He was given the greatest honor possible.

“When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:3-4). Jesus had finished His earthly mission and so returned to the place of glory. Jesus Christ ascended. He could not ascend if He remained in the grave. “Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:9-10).

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Why the Resurrection? Day One

I feel this post will prove beneficial for all who read it. Therefor, this is the day by day format for those of you who would rather have short devotionals than the whole pie in one sitting (or to break it up yourself).

Oftentimes after Easter Sunday our minds return to the daily-grind of secular life. One day a year (maybe for a period up to one week) we pay great homage to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing this great truth and remembering the empty tomb. After this we return to what we so joyfully term “everyday life” and to the doldrums of existence. We so quickly forget that Christ came to give us abundant, eternal life, in knowing Him and the Father (John 10:10; 17:3).

Life is not meant to be lived in the drudgery of many days. Rather, we are to live life in light of the resurrection of Christ every day—every moment! We are to cling to the cross and know Christ in His sufferings (cf. Philippians 3:10). Yet to know Him in His sufferings is so much more than just to participate in His sufferings, the sufferings which God graciously gives us to perfect our faith, much as Christ was matured and shown perfect through His sufferings (cf. Philippians 1:29, 1 Peter 1:6-9, Hebrews 4:15, 5:8-10).

To cling to the cross is much more than just to live counting our own righteousness as rubbish and being credited with the righteousness of Christ (cf. Philippians 3:7-9), though this is an extremely weighty matter. To cling to the cross and to suffer with Christ, despising our own filthy righteousness and accepting His is to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10), so that we will be “conformed to His death; in order that [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11).

It is impossible to experience the power of the resurrection without dying to ourselves and clinging to the cross—as I have just explained above. Without knowing and experiencing the power of the resurrection of Christ, we will be confined to a life that is merely drudgery and listlessness. To live an abundant life, one that is filled with joy in knowing and serving God, we must continually be mindful of the resurrection.

We cannot experience the remembrance and power of the resurrection one day a year and expect to live a victorious Christian life. We must always return our hearts to the resurrected Lord, lest we lose hope and forget why we would ever even desire to live the Christian life—which is by no means a simple stroll in the park. Only by contemplating the resurrection will we be able to walk with boldness before this wicked and perverse world. We can only overcome the world through our faith if we will continually return to the empty tomb and stand in wonder that the Man who bore the complete wrath of God, the Man rejected by all and murdered upon the cross, Jesus Christ the righteous, lives eternally, never to experience death again.

In what follows, I will consider nine biblical truths of why God resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead. These truths, when properly understood by our minds and our hearts, will give us hope and boldness to face this evil world, our own sin, and the trials that beset us. While we will be hated for Christ’s sake, yet knowing these truths and Christ Himself will give us confidence that the final victory is Christ’s, and ours’ in Christ. May this help us to always have the resurrection in our hearts and upon our minds. The resurrection is a powerful thing!

As Proof that He is the Son of God

Jesus made some very radical claims during His ministry. Many of these claims, such as His prerogative to forgive sins (cf. Mark 2:5-12), His claim to act just as He has seen God the Father act (John 5:17-18), and His declaration to be one with the Father (John 10:30), are blasphemous for one who is merely a human being to speak. Christ often referred to Himself as the heavenly “Son of Man” and even referred to Himself as the “Son” of God. The authority He had was His as the Son of God.

Yet Jesus’ claims needed the authentication of the resurrection. In John 2, after Jesus has cleansed the Temple and the people ask Him who or what has given Him authority to act as He has, Jesus tells the Jewish people, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Though they thought He was speaking of the Temple edifice in Jerusalem (John 2:20, cf. Mark 15:29-30), Jesus was speaking concerning His body (John 2:21-22). He was telling them that if they wanted a sign, all they needed to do is kill Him, and He would show them that His authority was from God, for He is the Son of God.

The people made good on their end of the bargain and crucified Christ. Then He was laid in the tomb. If Jesus were to fail and not to come out of the tomb at the foretold time, He would be a liar. If He had not come forth, then He would have been wrong about the sign that He was giving them. Jesus would have been a liar and nobody should have even thought for a moment that He was the Son of God, for everyone knows that God cannot lie.

But it happened. On the third day, Jesus arose from the tomb. The people had been given their sign; though many of them rejected it, others accepted it (cf. Acts 2:41). This confirmed that all He said was true. Jesus was alive and never to die again. He “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Romans 1:4). God would not resurrect just anyone—especially not a blasphemer! Thus the resurrection gave proof that Jesus of Nazareth truly is the Christ, the Son of God, and all authority is His.

It was proven that Christ’s authority for performing miracles and making such claims was His right as the Son of God. The Father furnished the proof that Jesus was truly His beloved Son, with whom He is well pleased (Mark 1:11). The resurrection demonstrates to both adversaries and allies of Christ that Jesus’ authority comes from the Father.

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Why the Resurrection?

Oftentimes after Easter Sunday our minds return to the daily-grind of secular life. One day a year (maybe for a period up to one week) we pay great homage to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing this great truth and remembering the empty tomb. After this we return to what we so joyfully term “everyday life” and to the doldrums of existence. We so quickly forget that Christ came to give us abundant, eternal life, in knowing Him and the Father (John 10:10; 17:3).

Life is not meant to be lived in the drudgery of many days. Rather, we are to live life in light of the resurrection of Christ every day—every moment! We are to cling to the cross and know Christ in His sufferings (cf. Philippians 3:10). Yet to know Him in His sufferings is so much more than just to participate in His sufferings, the sufferings which God graciously gives us to perfect our faith, much as Christ was matured and shown perfect through His sufferings (cf. Philippians 1:29, 1 Peter 1:6-9, Hebrews 4:15, 5:8-10).

To cling to the cross is much more than just to live counting our own righteousness as rubbish and being credited with the righteousness of Christ (cf. Philippians 3:7-9), though this is an extremely weighty matter. To cling to the cross and to suffer with Christ, despising our own filthy righteousness and accepting His is to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Philippians 3:10), so that we will be “conformed to His death; in order that [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:11).

It is impossible to experience the power of the resurrection without dying to ourselves and clinging to the cross—as I have just explained above. Without knowing and experiencing the power of the resurrection of Christ, we will be confined to a life that is merely drudgery and listlessness. To live an abundant life, one that is filled with joy in knowing and serving God, we must continually be mindful of the resurrection.

We cannot experience the remembrance and power of the resurrection one day a year and expect to live a victorious Christian life. We must always return our hearts to the resurrected Lord, lest we lose hope and forget why we would ever even desire to live the Christian life—which is by no means a simple stroll in the park. Only by contemplating the resurrection will we be able to walk with boldness before this wicked and perverse world. We can only overcome the world through our faith if we will continually return to the empty tomb and stand in wonder that the Man who bore the complete wrath of God, the Man rejected by all and murdered upon the cross, Jesus Christ the righteous, lives eternally, never to experience death again.

In what follows, I will consider nine biblical truths of why God resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead. These truths, when properly understood by our minds and our hearts, will give us hope and boldness to face this evil world, our own sin, and the trials that beset us. While we will be hated for Christ’s sake, yet knowing these truths and Christ Himself will give us confidence that the final victory is Christ’s, and ours’ in Christ. May this help us to always have the resurrection in our hearts and upon our minds. The resurrection is a powerful thing!

As Proof that He is the Son of God

Jesus made some very radical claims during His ministry. Many of these claims, such as His prerogative to forgive sins (cf. Mark 2:5-12), His claim to act just as He has seen God the Father act (John 5:17-18), and His declaration to be one with the Father (John 10:30), are blasphemous for one who is merely a human being to speak. Christ often referred to Himself as the heavenly “Son of Man” and even referred to Himself as the “Son” of God. The authority He had was His as the Son of God.

Yet Jesus’ claims needed the authentication of the resurrection. In John 2, after Jesus has cleansed the Temple and the people ask Him who or what has given Him authority to act as He has, Jesus tells the Jewish people, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Though they thought He was speaking of the Temple edifice in Jerusalem (John 2:20, cf. Mark 15:29-30), Jesus was speaking concerning His body (John 2:21-22). He was telling them that if they wanted a sign, all they needed to do is kill Him, and He would show them that His authority was from God, for He is the Son of God.

The people made good on their end of the bargain and crucified Christ. Then He was laid in the tomb. If Jesus were to fail and not to come out of the tomb at the foretold time, He would be a liar. If He had not come forth, then He would have been wrong about the sign that He was giving them. Jesus would have been a liar and nobody should have even thought for a moment that He was the Son of God, for everyone knows that God cannot lie.

But it happened. On the third day, Jesus arose from the tomb. The people had been given their sign; though many of them rejected it, others accepted it (cf. Acts 2:41). This confirmed that all He said was true. Jesus was alive and never to die again. He “was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness” (Romans 1:4). God would not resurrect just anyone—especially not a blasphemer! Thus the resurrection gave proof that Jesus of Nazareth truly is the Christ, the Son of God, and all authority is His.

It was proven that Christ’s authority for performing miracles and making such claims was His right as the Son of God. The Father furnished the proof that Jesus was truly His beloved Son, with whom He is well pleased (Mark 1:11). The resurrection demonstrates to both adversaries and allies of Christ that Jesus’ authority comes from the Father.

To Ascend to the Seat of Power and Glory

Jesus, so that He might reconcile God and mankind, had to leave His place of honor with the Father and the glory that He and the Father shared before the world was even created (John 17:5). Since He is the immortal Son of God, He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” By doing this, Christ was able to be humbled and obedient “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Without becoming a human being, Jesus could not die. As the eternal “Word” of God, Jesus is immortal in His glorified state. Thus “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). He needed to become human so that He could die and so that He could reverse the curse of Adam (we will discuss this point later). Only by emptying Himself and leaving His heavenly throne could Jesus possibly fulfill His earthly role. He had to descend; otherwise He could not be the mediator between God and mankind (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5-6).

Being God, however, Jesus could not remain in a permanent state of humiliation. He could not remain in the grave after He died upon the cross. With His role as a servant completed, He had to rise from the grave and return to His former state of glory. Jesus Himself said while speaking to the Father, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:4-5). He could not remain on earth. He had to return to the Father. This is why He tells Mary at the tomb, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’” (John 20:17). It was time for Jesus to be restored to the seat of honor at the Father’s right hand.

For forty days after the resurrection Jesus taught the disciples “the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). After this He was lifted up from their presence and He returned to the Father, so that His followers might receive the Holy Spirit.

For His obedient work, and because He was resurrected and alive, never to die again, “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). He was given the greatest honor possible.

“When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:3-4). Jesus had finished His earthly mission and so returned to the place of glory. Jesus Christ ascended. He could not ascend if He remained in the grave. “Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:9-10).

So that He Will Be Lord of All

Jesus’ ascension is not just one in name, but it is also one in power and authority. He has not just taken a position and become a figurehead. As Jesus explained to His disciples after the resurrection and before His ascension, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). When Jesus says “all authority” He literally means all authority. “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27 emphasis mine).

Jesus died and was resurrected so that He would be sovereign and supreme over all. Paul tells us, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:9). Through His death upon the cross and His resurrection, Christ has reclaimed His dominion of what is rightfully His: all creation. He has purchased it with His blood.

The resurrection is proof of God giving all things into the hands of Christ. It is also the time at and occasion upon which the formal transaction occurred.

“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…. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear [on the day of Pentecost]…. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:24, 32-33, 36).

Christ is thus the judge and only mediator for all mankind. No one can receive eternal life except through Him (cf. John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5), and He is the divine judge of the world (cf. John 5:22-24).

Christ now rules over the kingdom of God until He has abolished all that is in opposition to His rule. “For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:24-25). Though as of yet Christ has not returned and the kingdom has not come in full physical manifestation and power, it is “set in stone” that Christ will completely conquer all of His enemies, and that “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). He is Lord and Sovereign, proven by the resurrection, and He will fully establish His kingdom.

To Prove God’s Satisfaction in Christ’s Propitiation

Because Christ died, Christians are promised that their sins have all been atoned for. Paul tells us, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

God has justified us and so since He no longer condemns us, no one can. Why is it that God does not condemn us? Because Jesus Christ died and has risen from the dead; He is our perfect mediator before the Father. The Father has accepted Christ’s atonement upon the cross, and so believers have confidence that He has bore God’s wrath that was due us. Yet, can we be certain that the Father was pleased in the Son’s sacrifice?

First, let me establish a clear Biblical truth: God is holy. He is perfect—without sin—and all that He does it good and right. He is above and beyond all things, and so He is Lord of all, having supreme right over His creation. God cannot compromise His holiness, or any of His other attributes. Thus, God cannot tolerate sin in His presence or in His creation—for He is the ruler and owner of His creation.

However, mankind is sinful. Every human is sinful because we are all the descendents of Adam (cf. Romans 3:23, 5:12-14). You owe your DNA to Adam, and so when he sinned, it affected all of his descendents, including you. This sin is a profound distrust in God which leads to every sort of evil deed.

God, who is holy, and therefore must deal justly with sin, giving to the offenders the punishment deserved, cannot just forgive sinners at a whim. Rather, sin must be paid for. A sufficient atonement must be made for sin—either by the offensive party or by a mediator. Sinners who trust Christ are “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness” (Romans 3:24-25).

Because God has demonstrated His justice in the horrific suffering of Christ and has thus poured out His grace upon all those who belong to Christ, we can be absolutely certain that Christ’s atoning work was the sufficient atonement for our sins. Jesus drank the full cup of God’s wrath on behalf of all who trust in Him. Christ Himself said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). His work was completed upon the cross in God’s complete forsaking and punishment of Him, because Christ was viewed by the Father as the offender—He was credited with our sin.

Under the Old Covenant, High Priests offered sacrifices yearly as a temporary atonement for sins. “But when Christ [as contrasted with the earthly high priests] appeared as a high priest of the good things to come… through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11, 12). Christ’s sufferings were sufficient to effectually obtain God’s grace for His people. He has redeemed them—purchased them from the power of sin and the wrath of God for their sins, eternally. “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

God demonstrated that Christ’s death was sufficient to satisfy His wrath by raising Christ from the dead. If Christ had remained in the grave, there would be no guarantee that Christ had fully atoned for sins and that Christ had fully drunk every last drop from the cup of God’s wrath. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:3-4). At this time, Christ was shown to be victorious, it was shown that Christ, as both the Son of Man and the Son of God, was worthy of the title of God’s Son and the Lord of lords, and that Christ had indeed purchased for God a people by atoning for their sins (cf. Revelation 5:9-10).

To Reverse the Curse (so Christ would be the firstborn)

Jesus is to have the supremacy in all things. Because He is the creator of all, He is given the birth-rite over all creation. “He is… the firstborn of all creation…. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:15, 18). This is a particularly interesting phrase. He is the heir of God, receiving all the blessings of the firstborn son, and He also receives the reward because “He is… the firstborn from the dead.” As the writer of Hebrews says, Jesus has been “appointed heir of all things” (Hebrew 1:2).

Both Paul and the writer of the Hebrews make clear that Jesus, because He is the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 1:2), is supreme over all of creation, as God rightfully is. Yet on account of the resurrection, Jesus is “declared the Son of God with power” (Romans 1:4), to be God’s beloved Son (cf. Hebrews 1:5). Through His work upon the cross Christ has redeemed His creation and has become the heir twice over. He has every right over His creation now both because He created it and because He redeemed it for His own possession.

Through the resurrection, Christ has taken over the role of Adam. As humanity fills the earth in the image of Adam and under his rule as the son of God, so those who are in Christ are to fill the earth in the image of Christ (the redeemed and sanctified image of Adam, who was the image of God) and to subject all to His rule. Through the resurrection, Jesus takes Adam’s role as the lord over creation.

Christ can only do this, however, because Adam fell. There had to be a second human, a second father of all creation to rule. Through Adam came sin and death (Romans 5:12-14). Man was made the enemy of God through Adam—both through being credited with his sinfulness and through receiving it as his children. As all those who receive the blood of Adam receive the condemnation for his sin, so all those who receive the atonement in Christ’s blood receive His righteousness and His reward—eternal life (Romans 5:12-17). Jesus has reversed the curse of Adam. Adam brought death through his disobedience; Christ brought life through His obedience (Romans 5:18-19).

By being the firstborn from the dead, Jesus has become the heir of the promises of God, His Father, and has been given everything that was Adam’s before the fall. All who are in Adam receive the condemnation of Adam. Likewise, all who are in Christ receive the same perfected life that is His. “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 15:21-22).

It had to be this way. God the Son had to empty Himself of His eternal glory with the Father (cf. John 17:5, Philippians 2:7-8) in order that He might become a human. The curse came through a human and so it had to be extinguished through a human. Jesus had to be obedient in the place of Adam and He had to make atonement for Adam’s transgression (and the transgressions of those who are to be redeemed). Only by doing this could the sin that was credited and infused through Adam be made obsolete and the righteousness of obedience be credited and infused. Since the offspring are His, Jesus is now the firstborn and the “Head” of the church (Colossians 1:18).

To Defeat and Overcome Death

Death is the perfect enemy of mankind. It has a 100% success rate, killing all whom it targets (with the exceptions of two men for whom God intervened—namely, Enoch and Elijah). No one is safe from its power; it works on its own schedule; it often works unexpectedly. Death is a champion. Like a warrior in battle, such as Goliath, death has a guaranteed victory over all whom it faces, and it is willing and able to face anyone and everyone. Death was even willing to take on God’s Chosen One—the Messiah.

Jesus’ death and resurrection, however, was both predetermined and calculated; it was not a mistake or merely ‘Plan B’. Death did not take Christ by surprise, nor was death ever in control. The writer of Acts, in recording the Apostle Peter’s first sermon, makes this clear to us when he says, “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). Jesus laid down His own life and, as He made clear to His opponents, He had the power to take His life again from death’s icy grip (John 10:17-18).

Jesus looked death straight in the face, unflinchingly submitted to it, and then defeated it. “Having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,” Jesus was given absolute jurisdiction over death and its power (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus won the victory over death and strangled it of its great power over mankind. Thus the apostle can say, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

Death was like the serpent himself. Mankind was fearful of death, having no hope, knowing that death would take each and every one of them. Death struck like a yellow jacket. Its sting was bitter, taking the precious gift of life from people. Death owned this sting because of mankind’s sinfulness. Sin, having complete sway over mankind, brought them just condemnation under the law. Thus death was rightfully taking peoples’ lives away. They were all judged and found worthy of death by the righteous standard of the law of God.

Yet, because Christ, the firstborn from the dead, has been resurrected unto the fullness of eternal life, taking the just penalty of God’s wrath upon Himself, He has robbed death of its sting and victory. Death no longer has its power and sway. It no longer has the ability to rob the children of God of their hope. Christ, coming under subjection to the Law, has redeemed us from the curse of the Law (cf. Galatians 3:13, 4:4-7).

We can therefore exclaim, “thanks be to God!” The victory is now ours, through Christ Jesus. We no longer have to fear death. We have a mediator beyond the grave who has promised to prepare a place for all those who follow Him to the end (cf. John 14:1-3, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2). Jesus is the victor over death. Death now submits to the wishes of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate champion; death has been defeated!

So We Might Be Forgiven

If Christ’s work has not been vindicated by the resurrection, we can have no confidence that God has forgiven us our transgressions. If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then it is impossible for Him to be a High Priest. “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing” (Hebrews 7:23). In other words, a person is no longer able to serve in the ministry of the priesthood when he is dead—as this only makes sense; for the mediator between God and His people must be alive, for God is the God of the living, not the dead (Matthew 22:32). In order for Christ to be the permanent High Priest, the perpetual and only mediator between God and mankind (cf. 1 Timothy 2:5), He must be alive.

Because Christ is eternally alive, and it is impossible for Him to die (cf. Romans 6:9), He is “a priest forever,” as God has sworn He would be even before the Son came into the world (Hebrews 7:21, Psalm 110:4). Only because “He continues forever,” Christ is able to hold His High Priesthood permanently. Because He does hold it permanently, “He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25). As High Priest, Christ is able to continually plead on our behalf with the Great Judge, the Father. Only in this way can He intercede for all who draw near to God by faith in Him.

Christ’s intercessory work guarantees the forgiveness of all who trust in Him. Without Christ it would be impossible to draw near to the Father (cf. Hebrews 4:15-16), for only in Christ are we righteous before God (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus Paul can tell us, “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” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).

If we trusted in a dead high priest, we surely would have no hope, since His mediation would not be permanent, but would be just as that of the priests under the Old Covenant sacrificial system, requiring a sacrifice year after year. Faith in Christ’s sacrifice being a true atonement for sin would be worthless, since He would still be in the grave and unable to be a mediator. But since Christ is alive, He “does not need daily, like [the Old Covenant] high priest, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:26-27). Because Christ was perfect, He need not sacrifice for Himself. Because Christ’s sacrifice was eternal, accepted by the Father, He only had to offer Himself once (cf. Romans 6:10, 1 Peter 3:18).

As Paul says, if Christ is still dead, our hope is only in him for this life, since He does not stand as an eternal mediator. We would continue to be in our sin, since our High Priest is not alive. We would also have no hope for those who have died trusting in Christ, for they have eternally perished in a vain hope. In this case, we should be pitied by all, since we have a false hope and wretched views of mankind. We believe humans to be sinful and in need of a mediator. If Christ is still dead, no such mediator exists. We believe that we have been forgiven on account of Christ’s bearing the penalty for our sins. If Christ is still dead, then our sins remain upon us because God was not satisfied in Christ’s sacrifice as a High Priest. We believe that we shall receive resurrected bodies and live eternally. If our High Priest, the one who is our divine rescuer, is dead, who will save us from the wrath of God? No one, so our hope is in vain.

Christ is alive, however. This shows that God was satisfied with His sacrifice. We have assurance because the wrath of God has been satisfied by Christ’s work upon the cross. We know that as long as Christ stands in mediation for us, no one can tell us to depart from the Father’s presence; no one can take our eternal life away, for Christ is the sovereign Lord of eternal life, and He stands on our behalf. Our forgiveness is sure, for the risen Christ is the proof that we are now justified, we are righteous in the sight of God, the judge.

So that We Would Be Born Again to a Reasonable Hope

By His death, Christ secured the promises of the New Covenant for His people. On the night that He was betrayed, Jesus said to His disciples of the wine cup that came to be known as the Communion cup, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27). The covenant of which Christ spoke was that which was prophesied in Jeremiah 31, where God said, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel… I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (vv. 31-34). He also speaks of this New Covenant in Ezekiel 36 by saying, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (vv. 25-27).

The promise of the New Covenant is that God will regenerate the hearts of His people so that they will act in faithfulness toward Him. In other words, God will give them new life—He will cause them to be born again, for one must be born again by the Holy Spirit, or else he/she “cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5-8).

This new life, however, would be of no value if it did not have any genuine and significant benefits. Such, however, is not the case. As Peter tells us, God deserves praise for regenerating our hearts because this regeneration gives us a true hope. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3, emphasis added).

Peter describes this hope as “living” because it is given to us “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Christ is living, and so the hope we have is in the One who is living, and so the hope itself is living—it is genuine, dynamic, and certain. This hope would not be living, however, if Christ were not alive.

But Jesus Christ is alive, and so the hope we have is living. Christ’s death brings us two types of hope: one now and one for the future resurrection.

The first hope is that the power of sin is, and will ultimately be, defeated in us. The Apostle Paul tells us, “If we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin” (Romans 6:5-7).

We have been freed from the condemnation of sin (cf. Romans 8:1-4), since we are justified in Christ. We have also been freed from the power of sin controlling our nature and our will. We are now able to consider ourselves dead to sin and its control over our desires (Romans 6:11-19). We are thus “freed from sin” and now “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). When Christ returns, we will be entirely sanctified at His return, putting a complete end to all sin still in our flesh (cf. Romans 8:29-30).

The second hope is in our inheritance. We have been born again “to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5). Those who have been born again are guaranteed eternal life. Our reward is to know God, now and forever (John 17:3).

Thus, on the basis of Christ’s resurrection, we have the hope of knowing God and of being freed from sin. We will be made complete; for we will be made to be as He is, bearing His image (cf. Romans 8:29-32, 1 Corinthians 15:49, 53-54). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” for raising Christ from the dead, and securing our hope.

As Our Guarantee of the Resurrection of Life

The apostle Paul was certain that Christ had been physically raised from the dead. His language conveys his certainty. Paul Himself saw Christ as he traveled to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9), and a great number of fellow disciples testified that they too had seen the risen Lord (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Paul devoted a great amount of space in 1 Corinthians to securing the Corinthians’ faith, that they too would be resurrected because Christ was raised.

As Paul argues his points of the surety of Jesus’ physical resurrection, he comes to the point where he plainly asserts the fact of Christ’s resurrection: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep”(1 Corinthians 15:20). We as Christians are not to be pitied because we have not hoped in vain because, without a doubt in Paul’s mind, Jesus has been physically raised from the dead, and we will be too.

There is, however, a proper and necessary order to the resurrection: “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 15:22-23). All Christians, including those who have died, will be resurrected at Christ’s return. While this is not yet experienced, Christ has been raised, and He is the “first fruits” from the dead.

As in the Old Covenant, where the Israelites would bring the first fruits of the harvest to God as a sacrifice, so Jesus was the accepted sacrifice to God, and He is the first to be resurrected (cf. Leviticus 23:10-11). As the sheaf of the first fruits of the crop “was not only prior to the main harvest but was also an assurance that the rest of the harvest was coming,” so it is with Christ. “He preceded his people in his bodily resurrection and he is also the guarantee of their resurrection at his second coming.”[1] Because Christ has been resurrected, you are guaranteed to be resurrected “if you hold fast the word which [was] preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:2). If you remain in Christ as a member of His body, the Church, you will take part in the resurrection of life (Revelation 20:4-6). Christ, being both the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23) and the guarantee to all who trust in Him, was the first to be resurrected, as is His right, being of a higher rank. In the same way, all the faithful will be resurrected at His coming.

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that he died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:8-11). Christ has put on immortality, and He shall never die again. Since He is God’s guarantee to us of what we shall be at His coming (cf. Colossians 3:1-4), we can trust God that we shall live eternally with Him. And so just as Christ has died to the power and curse of sin, we too have confidence to kill sin in ourselves that we might live to the glory of God and attain the goal of our faith: eternal life (cf. 1 Peter 1:9).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The guarantee of the resurrection gives us confidence in the face of all trials, and it gives us reason to persevere under any and all circumstances (cf. Romans 5:2-5, James 1:2-4). It also guarantees us that our earthly labors are not done in vain. We shall receive the reward for our labors at Christ’s return (cf. 2 Timothy 2:7-8). Therefore, we can, and should, desire for Christ to return and to establish the fullness of His kingdom.

The resurrection displayed the power of God and the person of Christ. The whole of the Christian faith rests upon Christ being resurrected from the dead. It is the resurrection that gave Paul the confidence to proclaim, and for us to say along with him, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).

The same power that raised Christ from the grave (cf. Romans 1:4), is the same “power of God” to transform lives and save all who believe. The same power that raised Christ is the same power that regenerates us, forgives us, keeps us, and will resurrect us from the grave at Christ’s return. We can thus proclaim the gospel to all, trusting in God to save the hearers: for “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The power of the gospel, “the word of Christ,” is the power to bring about faith in its hearers and to effectually save them. We should thus not be ashamed to proclaim the gospel; “For the promise [of the gospel for the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit] is for… as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself” (Acts 2:39). The gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”

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[1] Frank E. Gaebelein, Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 1 Corinthians 15:20.

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So Funny!

Would You Like to Know Woman Personally?
This is great! I think I'll have to take this advice to heart.
I am now more than ever motivated to write my soon to be best selling books, The Purpose Driven Wife, Your Best Wife Now: Seven Steps to Finding the Perfect Mate, and Don't Waste Your Wife.

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The Assault Upon the Resurrection

Post-modern scholarship has made a full frontal attack upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such "scholars," as they like to call themselves, as John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar and Episcopalian Bishop John Spong, have written books and articles denying the phyisical resurrection of Jesus altogether. Such false teachers, who deny the master whom they claim to serve (cf. 2 Peter 2:1), must have no idea of the portent of this issue, as they treat it with such great levity, and yet some of them try to call themselves Christians.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the crux of Christianity--Christianity stands and falls based upon the resurrection: "if Christ has not been raised," the Apostle Paul states, "then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.... [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 to be pitied" (1 Corinthians 15:14-19). That's correct: if Jesus is still in the grave, or as Crossan and his associates might suggest, has been eaten by dogs, then Christianity is worthless. Every doctrine of the Christian faith rests upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
There has been much written on the historical fact of Jesus' resurrection. Such includes 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus the Messiah, by Robert H. Stein, and The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel. I have also written an article upon it. The Bible is clear that a person cannot be a Christian and believe that Christ has not been raised (cf. Romans 10:9).
Keep on checking back to my weblog, as in the near future I will be publishing upon the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The title of this work will be: Why the Resurrection. Unfortunately the resurrection is far too quickly forgotten after Easter, and it is far too commonly not a part of our everyday lives. I hope this work will serve to help you really understand and appreciate this most crucial truth, and I hope it will help you to live more faithfully soli deo gloria, for the glory of God alone, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

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Dasani Flavored Water

Dasani Flavored Water: It would be good if it wasn't so bad!
I think I'm going to have to write to them and tell them just how bad their flavored water tastes. It's not quite as bad as Pepsi Blue, but there is a reason that was taken off the market. Seriously, this is the second flavor I've tried--and I was optimistic; this one is lemon flavored--and it is awful!

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'Love' and 'Love': What's the Difference?

If you have ever heard a sermon on the gospel according to John chapter 21, you have probably heard what I am about to talk about. If this is so, please be sure to read on!

Most pastors, and many commentators as well, in their treatment of 21:15-19, highlight the different words used by the evangelist, the beloved disciple, John, the son of Zebedee. In this passage, John uses words that were synonymous in Koine Greek. As F.F. Bruce observes, “stylistically, this interchange between the Lord and his disciple is interesting because of the use of synonyms. Two words for ‘love’ are used (agapao and phileo), words for tending the flock (bosko and poimaino), two for the flock itself (arnia and probatia) and two for ‘know’ (oida and ginosko). This interplay of synonyms is a feature of the writer’s Greek; it can hardly represent a comparable variation of vocabulary in the language which Jesus and Peter probably spoke.”[1]

While most of the synonyms are overlooked, the words translated ‘love’ are often highlighted extensively (making some very colorful sermons that are very tantalizing to the audience). It is often the case that agapao (which is used by Christ the first two times He questions Peter (vv. 15-16)) is said to denote a higher form of love—a kind of unconditional, capstone of the Christian faith type of love. Phileo, (used by Christ the last time He questions Peter (v.17) and all three times by Peter in his response), is seen as more of a natural, personal friendship kind of love.

There was a great distinction drawn in Classical Greek as to the different meanings of words. However, much of this distinction dropped out, or was able to be dropped, in Koine Greek, and words became more synonymous.

Bruce gives us three reasons for why agapao and phileo were used interchangeably here, for stylistic reasons, rather than as a real distinction by the speakers. The first is that these two words were often used interchangeably in the Septuagint. The second is that “agapao in itself does not necessarily imply a loftier love” (cf. 2 Timothy 4:10, where agapao is used of Demas’s love for ‘the present age’). And third, John uses the two verbs interchangeably elsewhere in the Gospel, (“e.g. in the statement that ‘the Father loves the Son’ (agapao in 3:35; phileo in 5:20”).[2]

Another reason that such a distinction is intended is that Jesus and Peter were probably conversing in Aramaic, as that was their natural language. While in some places a distinction in words is more than merely stylistic, i.e. though the same word would have been used in Aramaic, the evangelist is catching the intended meaning of Jesus/the speaker (such as in Matthew 16:18, where the evangelist (Matthew) uses the word play upon petros and petra to show Jesus’ meaning, although the same Aramaic word would have been used by Jesus in both instances), John is substituting synonymous words for what would have been only one word in Aramaic for his own stylistic purposes. If there is a distinction intended in agapao and phileo, we cannot make absolute assertions as to what the evangelist had in mind.

Unfortunately, I have heard people take their perceived meaning of the word agapao too far. The most clear instance of this in my mind is when someone forces their understood lexical meaning into John 3:16 (which uses agapao to describe God’s love for the world). Upon this basis, these people will say that God’s love for the world is the same love that He has for Jesus Christ, the Son, merely because John also uses agapao to speak of the Father’s love for the Son. Such imposition upon the text is unwarranted and close to blasphemous (though I’m sure no blasphemy is intended—it is an accidental error).

We must recognize that God’s love for His creation falls quite short of His love for the eternal Son. God loves God, i.e. the Father loves the Son, with a special love that He does not have for even His elect, the Church, let alone for the rebellious world as well (for example, God does not claim openly of anyone else to be “My beloved Son,” He does not give the same honor to anyone else (cf. John 17:1-2, 5, Philippians 2:9-11), and God must love God more than any other, lest He commit idolatry). God loves the world so much that He would give His Son, but yet His love for the Son is not paralleled in extent in His love for the world. God can show us no greater love than to have the Son die on our behalf (John 15:13). The Son does love us with the same type of love that the Father has loved Him (John 15:9). He loves them because of their obedience (compare John 15:10 and 8:29, 10:17). If they remain obedient, they will remain in His love. Yet their obedience, unlike Christ’s, is not perfect, and so it is inferred that because Christ’s obedience is greater, the love from the Father is to a greater degree (yet do not infer that God’s love for His Church is merely conditioned upon their obedience, for He shows His love in sending Christ to die while we were yet disobedient (Romans 5:8)). So we cannot infer based upon the use of the word ‘agapao’ that the Father’s love for the world is equivalent to His love for the Son.

Now, I am not bashing those pastors and commentators who claim a distinction in these words (for even the commentary I confer most, the Expositor’s, seems to like the differentiation in meaning more than leaving the words synonymous)[3], for many of them are far more educated and more mature in the Christian faith than I am, but I believe they are wrong (and I have F.F. Bruce, D.A. Carson[4], and many other Greek scholars on my side). I believe that all pastors and commentators are going to make mistakes; we are all only human. Yet, I do believe that it is important that we do handle the Word of God accurately and consistently. While a knowledge in Greek is often extremely helpful, we must make sure not to make those who have not had the theological education that we have had feel inferior, or cause them to wonder every time they see the word ‘love,’ what “type” of love is being meant; they must learn that context is the key to determining this, not merely a word study.

[1] F.F. Bruce, The Gospel & Apostles of John, 404.

[2] Ibid., 405.

[3] The words translated "love" have also raised considerable debate. Two different terms are used: agapao is used in Jesus' first two questions and phileo is used in Jesus' third question and in Peter's three replies. Agapao is the same word "love" that appears in John 3:16. It is used of divine love and usually carries the connotation of will or purpose as well as that of affection. Phileo implies affinity, friendship, and fondness. Both words represent a high aspect of love. Since they are used of both God (3:16; 5:20) and men (14:21; 16:27) in this Gospel, they seem to be interchangeable with no great difference in meaning. Morris has a thorough discussion of the synonyms in this passage (NIC, pp. 870-75). He maintains that there is no essential difference in meaning between them. On the other hand, a good case can be made for a difference in Jesus' emphasis. There was less doubt concerning Peter's attachment to Jesus than there was concerning his will to love at all costs; and the change of term in Jesus' third question makes his probing of Peter even deeper. If the latter alternative is adopted, it explains better Peter's distress when questioned a third time, since Jesus would not only be challenging his love but would be implying that it was superficial. NIV brings out the nuance between agapao and phileo by translating agapao "truly love" and phileo "love."-Expositor’s
In my opinion, Peter’s distress is best explained by the fact that Jesus questioned him the third time. Peter knew that Jesus was making reference to Peter’s boastful affirmation that he would not deny Christ even if all others did (John 13:36-38), yet he denied Christ three times (which is why Jesus asked him the question three times). Thus Peter was distressed not because of the words used (which would have probably been the same in Aramaic), but because Jesus was performing painful surgery upon a most delicate wound.

[4] Carson remarks in his work, Exegetical Fallacies, “One of the most enduring of errors, the root fallacy presupposes that every word actually has a meaning bound up with its shape or its components. In this view, meaning is determined by etymology; that is, by the root or roots of a word…. How often do preachers refer to the verb agapao (agapao, to love), contrast it with phileo (phileo, to love), and deduce that the text is saying something about a special kind of loving, for no other reason than that agapao (agapao) is used? All of this is linguistic nonsense…. [It] is doubtless true that the entire range of agapao (agapao, to love) and the entire range of phileo (phileo, to love) are not exactly the same, nevertheless they enjoy substantial overlap; and where they overlap, appeal to a “root meaning” in order to discern a difference is fallacious. In 2 Samuel 13 (LXX), both agapao (agapao, to love) and the cognate agape (agape, love) can refer to Amnon’s incestuous rape of his half sister Tamar (2 Sam. 13:15, LXX)….[Carson gives some more examples.] The false assumptions surrounding this pair of words are ubiquitous….” (28, 31-32). He resumes his discussion by saying “[In the discussion on root fallacy] we saw that agapao (agapao) does not always refer to a “good” love or a sacrificial love or a divine love, and certainly there is nothing in the root to convey such a meaning. [If you need further examples, buy Carson’s book.] But the question arises whether the well-known exchange between Jesus and Peter reported in John 21:15-17, using the two different verbs, is intended to convey a distinction in meaning, or to provide an example of semantic overlap, of synonymy…. For various reasons, I doubt very much that there is an intended distinction. If I were setting out to prove the point, I would have to discuss the significance of “the third time,” exegete the passage in some detail, review the evidence that John regularly introduces expressions that are either precisely synonymous or roughly so, and so forth. But most of those who insist that there is a distinction to be made in John’s use of the two verbs do so on one of two grounds. First, they argue that translators of the Septuagint and New Testament writers have invested agapao (agapao, to love) and agape (agape, love) with special meaning to provide an adequate expression by which to talk about the love of God; and only this accounts for the words rapid rise to prominence in our literature. But this argument has been overturned by the diachronic study of Robert Joly, who presents convincing evidence that agapao (agapao) was coming into prominence throughout Greek literature from the fourth century B.C. on, and was not restricted to Biblical literature… the evidence is substantial and effectively disqualifies this first ground. The second ground on which many build their argument that agapao (agapao) is to be distinguished from phileo (phileo) in John 21:15-17—and the one that concerns us most directly at the moment—is well illustrated by William Hendriksen’s commentary…. [To learn more, buy Carson’s book, I’m not going to show his whole discussion here, but rather his conclusion.] [It] is rather strange to insist on a semantic distinction between the two words for “to love” in this context, and not on small distinctions between other pairs of words in the same context” (51-53).

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Response to tsunami responses

To those of you who have been waiting for my reply, I apologize for how long it took. However, I have finally replied to the objections to my post on the tsunami and the sovereignty/mercy of God. You can check it out at the link below.
http://www.fallennotforsaken.com/lenny/2005/01/southeast-asia-tsunami-how-can-god-be.php

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There Is Evening, and There Is Mourning

The time comes in everybody’s life to pass away. We face our last days (for many this is a period of old age when it seems the sun has set upon our lives) and we go to the grave. Though this is the way of things, it is not natural—mankind was not meant to die (cf. Genesis 3:19). However, we are all but vapors, here for a few brief moments and then gone (cf. Psalm 90:5-6; 103:15-16; 144:4, James 4:14). Some are taken after seeing only a few brief years while others face decades and may even be granted a century. All of this, of course, is from the Lord. Our years are completely in His hands (cf. Job 14:5, Matthew 6:25-34; 10:28-31). God gives life out of His grace and it is His prerogative to take it away again. “Blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job1:20).

Since death is a reality, how are we to respond, especially as Christians with a hopeless world watching us? Are we to put on a happy face and act as though nothing has happened? Are we to put on sackcloth and ashes and sit in the dust of the ground and weep? What should mourning look like—if we should engage in it at all?

Let us turn first to the Old Testament. We shall start at the very beginning with the first death—that of Abel. The first example of confrontation with the death of another we face is in Genesis 4: the death of Cain. Cain murdered Abel, provoking the Lord to anger against Him. What was Cain’s response to the death of Abel? We have no indication that he wept and mourned over the loss of his closest of kin—his brother. Rather, he thought about himself and how he was going to live, being cast out from the presence of the Lord. Cain’s response was completely self-centered. His response was one from sin. He showed no concern that his brother was dead.

We have another example in this same passage as well. In Genesis 4:25, Eve’s response, though brief and well after the narrative of the death, is far different from Cain’s. Eve responds at the birth of Seth, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him.” While there is no mention that Eve had mourned, she was obviously upset over the fact that her son had been taken away from her—she had actually lost two sons, but only one to death. God had given to her another offspring who would carry on in the promise of Genesis 3:15. Seth had taken the place of Abel, bringing relief to Eve (who, without a doubt, was distraught over the death of her son).

Death reigns throughout the book of Genesis, even into the lives of the main characters: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Abraham’s case, his wife Sarah died at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years, after bearing him only one child (Genesis 23:1). When she died, the Bible explicitly says, “and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.” Abraham had been dwelling in Beersheba, and so when Sarah died, he came to Hebron for the purpose of mourning for her. It does not specify the length of time that he mourned for her, only his response to her death.

After mourning, he went to buy a parcel of land in which to bury her. Abraham purchased the land for the full price, chiefly for the purpose of bearing his dead (Genesis 23:9, 13). Abraham would not accept the land as a gift, but rather purchased the land in the sight of witnesses that he may rightfully claim it as his place of burial for his deceased wife and for his descendents.

We are given a glimpse into the response of another over the death of Sarah—Isaac, her only son. Isaac was clearly upset over the death of his mother and would have mourned her passing. It was after her death that Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. A woman was needed to take the place in the line of Abraham, and that one was the wife of Isaac, Rebekah. When she came to Isaac and became his wife, we are told: “He loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death” (24:67). Isaac was without comfort for the death of his mother until he was given Rebekah to take her place. Thus we see that Isaac mourned the passing of his mother for some time (about three to four years (compare Genesis 17:17; 23:1; 25:20)).

When Abraham died, Isaac and Ishmael came together to bury him. Ishmael had been cast out, but had come for the purpose of burying his father with his half-brother. Together they buried their father in the field he had purchased for the burial of his wife. Abraham had been buried in the land that he had been promised and with the one whom he had loved during his life. Though there is not much detail given, as to who mourned or for how long, we do see that the death of the father did bring the two separated sons together to bury, and without a doubt, to grieve for their father (Esau and Jacob came together to bury their father as well (cf. 35:28-29)).

In chapter 37 of Genesis, we see Jacob mourn again when Joseph is taken by the Midianites into Egypt, for Jacob believed that Joseph had been killed. We read of Jacob’s response:

[Joseph’s brothers] took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” Then [Jacob] examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

Jacob mourned bitterly over the loss of his favorite son. His mourning was long, and he “refused to be comforted.” It is not saying that he refused his children’s attempts at comforting, but that he would not be comforted in his spirit—he did not get over the loss. Jacob was distressed over this loss—so much so that he is unable to let it go even years later (cf. Genesis 42:38).

Not only this, but Jacob also mourned even at the thought of losing Benjamin. He said, “If harm should befall him on the journey [to Egypt] you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow” (42:38). Jacob could not bear to lose his only other son by Rachel, the wife he had loved so dearly. Realizing what a grievous loss it would be to lose both of the sons which Rachel had bore to him, he hyperbolically exclaimed that losing Benjamin would cause him to mourn so much as to “bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”

When Jacob died, after traveling to Egypt and being reunited with his long lost son Joseph, Joseph “fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him” (50:1). Joseph had his father embalmed and he, his brothers, and even the Egyptians “wept for him seventy days” (v. 3). For their beloved father, the father of the man who had saved Egypt, Jacob’s sons gave a necessary amount of time for the grieving process; and the Egyptians grieved along with them. They did not rush themselves in the process of mourning, but allowed themselves enough time to heal.

After the grieving period, they went out as a whole congregation, upon the granting of a special request by Pharaoh, to bury Jacob with his wife Leah and his fathers. When they reached the place for burial, “they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed seven days mourning for his father” (v. 10). Even after seventy days, at the time of final departure with the deceased Jacob, Joseph and those with him mourned and lamented very greatly and very sorrowfully. They did not hold back their tears and grief, but allowed them to flow naturally and in full expression.

When Aaron, Moses’ brother and the High Priest of Israel died, “when all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days” (Numbers 20:29). When Moses died, the whole congregation likewise wept for thirty days (Deuteronomy 34:8). This was the allotted period of time given to them to mourn for Moses before resuming their mission of conquest (v.8).

Though many kings and prophets died or were killed without any mention of mourning over their passing, in 2 Chronicles 35 we read of the death of Josiah—the beloved king of Israel who brought about great reform to Judah in his days. Josiah interfered in a battle in which he did not have business interfering. Though he was warned by Pharaoh Neco not to engage him in battle, Josiah refused and went to the battle himself. There in Megiddo Josiah was fatally wounded and he died in Jerusalem. There he was buried and we read, “All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold they are also written in the lamentations” (2 Chronicles 35:20-25).

Turning to the New Testament, there were a number of times when Jesus faced people who were mourning the loss of loved ones. In Luke 7:11-17, the evangelist tells us of a widow who had lost her only son. As she, along with a “sizeable crowd” (v. 11-12), went along mourning to bury her son, Jesus comforted her in this way: “He felt compassion for her, and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ And He came and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, arise!’ The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.” This story is comparable to those of Elijah and Elisha, and their deeds of bringing two widows’ sons back to life (1 Kings 17:17-23, 2 Kings 4:18-37).

Jesus “felt compassion” for the woman who was weeping. He only told her not to weep because He was about to bring her son back to life. He did not rebuke her for being troubled over her son’s death; rather He “felt compassion.” He knew how painful death is to humans, and that mourning is necessary. However, Jesus here also gives us great hope. Jesus shows that He has the power over death and the ability to breathe new life into those who are dead, just as Elijah and Elisha did, by the power of God and for the glory of God.

Another, more famous instance of Jesus’ encounters with death and mourning is in John 11 concerning the death of Lazarus. Jesus deliberately remains away from Lazarus to allow Him to die, even though Jesus could have saved his life (cf. John 11:1-16, 21, 32). While Jesus knew that He was going to bring Lazarus back to life, He did not reprove those who were mourning Lazarus, including Lazarus’s sisters Mary and Martha. Rather, we see that Jesus, when He “saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” (v. 33). Jesus was so moved over the mourning and the death of His friend that, as He approached Lazarus’s tomb, “Jesus wept” (John 13:35). Now, we must admit that Jesus is without sin (for Scripture makes this sufficiently clear (cf. Hebrews 4:15, 1 John 3:5)), and so His reaction to the death of Lazarus and the people’s mourning, four days after Lazarus had died (John 11:39), was the proper reaction.

We must also take into account the book of Acts’ telling of Paul’s leaving the church at Ephesus. After Paul had finished admonishing the church and telling them that he would probably never see them again in this life, “He knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again” (Acts 20:36-38). It can only be inferred that this is the proper response of the Church to the passing of a beloved member. Paul was soon to be dead to the church at Ephesus. It is possible that they never saw him again. Thus they wept “aloud” for Paul. They mourned greatly that they were losing their good friend and brother in the faith.

In light of the witness of Scripture, how are we modern Christians to respond to the death of a loved one? The eyes of the world are on us, watching intently how we react to death.

First, it seems to me that the time off from work for grieving is far too short. One company I saw online gives employees two paid days off from work. Is two days enough time to mourn the loss of a father or mother, a child, or a spouse? It does not seem so from a Biblical standpoint. Should we just accept the evolutionist’s worldviews on death and grieving? I think the only reasonable answer to that is ‘absolutely not’! The world views death as merely a part of life. Death happens to everyone and so it is just natural. Sure it is sad to lose someone, but you have to get over it.

Christians are not to respond in this fashion. Death is not just a natural part of human life. Death is our fault as a result of our sin. Humans were not made to suffer loss, let alone to suffer death. We were meant to live under the rule of God in perfect harmony, experiencing every grace. However, we forfeited that lifestyle through our disbelief and in seeking to become like God. We must show that death is to be taken seriously; it is not to just be accepted as part of life. God does not delight in the death of the wicked, let alone the death of the righteous (in fact, the death of His people is precious in His sight (Psalm 116:15, cf. Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11)). Therefore, we must not delight in it or even take it lightly. If we take it lightly, why should the world be concerned about it? After all, they think it is natural.

We as Christians, since we know the truth, must not blindly accept the ways of the world. We are not to accept their patterns of dealing with life or death. Rather, since different people grieve for different lengths of time and in different ways, we must take the necessary time to grieve—that may be two days, two weeks, one month, or longer. Grieving over loss is part of being human. Some may grieve by crying while others may grieve by putting their face in their hands. We must grieve how it is most beneficial to us. We must properly grieve to be whole. This lack of grieving could be (in fact, I’m sure it is) a major factor in the depression, anxiety, and all the other complications in people’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual lives after experiencing the death of loved ones.

As Christians we must set the standard, not conform to the practices of the world. We must let the mourning process run its course, as this is necessary to be a healthy human being. When the world says, “Get over it,” we must stand and grieve with those who are grieving. Blessed are those who mourn (Matthew 5:4). As Christians, we must mourn with those who mourn, and perhaps learn to do so (Romans 12:15). It is unChristlike to tell someone to “just get over it.” Christ did not say that to those who are mourning; rather, Jesus wept with them (cf. John 13:35). Thus we must comfort those who are mourning and allow ourselves to be comforted when we have lost a loved one. This means being with loved ones, such as friends and family, to grieve the loss (take Isaac and Ishmael and Jacob and Esau, for instance). We must remember, however, that despite our grief and the grieving process, there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Eventually we must return to life, admitting that life goes on even though we have experienced loss.

Let us remember, despite the grief that death brings us, that as Christians we do “not grieve as do the rest who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Christ has died and risen again. In the same way, God will resurrect all those who believe in Christ. Those who die as Christians are guaranteed eternal (both in quality and quantity) life in Christ. Those Christians who have died have merely “fallen asleep in Jesus” (4:14). Paul tells us, to give hope to those who have experienced the loss of loved ones:

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

The dead in Christ are given the special privilege of being the first to meet Christ at His return. We are to “therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

We are to mourn for those whom die; Paul is not saying that we should not. Yet our mourning should be with the hopeful expectation that those who die as Christians are with Christ and will be given resurrected bodies at His return. We do not mourn as though all is lost, as the world does, but rather with confidence that we shall meet them again. We have hope and can exclaim, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our mourning is to be comforted by others with this truth. Our mourning is to have a surpassing joy behind it—the joy of knowing they are with Christ. We have experienced loss; the deceased has experienced gain. We mourn as those who will not see our loved ones for a great period of time, not as those who will never see them again. Only death separates us from them, and Christ has conquered death and the lasting power that it claimed.

Now, for those who die without Christ, our mourning must also be proper. They are lost forever. However, we as Christians still have comfort. We know that God is just and will not deal with them in an unjust manner. We know that our God will do what is right. He has taken them in His timing. He did not owe them anything, but has blessed us with being able to know them for the period of time we did. We should thus reflect upon the times we had with them. This should also give us added boldness and zeal to go forward and preach the gospel to all, that no one else may experience this kind of loss, and in hopes that we may not experience it again.

On Mount Zion the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled: “And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time” (Isaiah 25:7-8). Christ removed the power of death from being over mankind. Though people still die, yet death has been conquered and is no longer to be feared. However, there is a second part of this promise that has yet to be completely fulfilled: “And the Lord God will wipe tears away for all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And in will be said in that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation” (Isaiah25:8-9).

While Christ has fulfilled this prophecy in that He has taken away sin and the reproach of God’s people, bringing in salvation, yet this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled more completely, and to an even more visible degree. The book of Revelation makes clear that there is yet a future and more complete fulfillment of this prophecy:

“[Those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb] will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:13-17)

One day we will cry no longer. There is a day coming when people will not die any longer. This day is yet future. Until then, mourning will continue, and it must continue, for we will continue to face loss. Let us mourn as those who have hope, however, for we belong to Christ, and He belongs to us.

“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine:
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation purchase of God;
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long.” -Franny Crosby, “Blessed Assurance”, 1873.

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