The Resurrection: November 2008
Table of Contents
Our Shout of Victory
The Lord Himself shall come,
And shout a quickening word;
Thousands shall answer from the
tomb:
“Forever with the Lord!”
Then, as we upward fly,
That resurrection-word
Shall be our shout of victory:
“Forever with the Lord!”
There with unwearied gaze
Our eyes on Him we’ll rest,
And satisfy with endless praise
A heart supremely blest.
“Knowing as we are known!”
How shall we love that word;
How oft repeat before the throne:
“Forever with the Lord!”
That resurrection word,
That shout of victory —
Once more: “Forever with the Lord!”
Amen, so let it be!
Little Flock Hymnbook, #323
The Whole Counsel of God
Resurrection
The saints have nothing in the world; they are crucified to it. To them resurrection is the beginning, and, withal, the substance and end of their hope and life. The first day of the week, in which Jesus rose from the dead, is the living witness to them, in joyful service, of the rest that remains to them, and a day of remembrance of that through which it was purchased. This rest they have now in spirit, and go forth from that to toil yet awhile in the world in which they are living. It is not to them creation and earthly rest, but redemption, resurrection and the hope of heavenly rest. Therefore it is enjoyed, not on the day of God’s rest in creation, but in the day of the resurrection of Jesus, the beginning of blessing and glory as head of the church, “the firstborn from the dead,” in which He rested, as to the work of redemption. Thus in this double type the whole millennial rest is taken in, heavenly or resurrection, and earthly or rest for the flesh.
J. N. Darby
Dead and Risen With Christ
The Christian’s life is exhibited in two things — death unto that which is here, and heavenly-mindedness. “If ye be dead with Christ,” writes the Apostle, “from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances?” The expression “rudiments of the world” goes a vast way. I am to be dead not only to sin, but to all the religiousness of human nature. A Jew has this religiousness, and it was cultivated of God, but it brought not forth good fruit; it produced nothing but “wild grapes.”
Liberty and Power
Now if we do not see that we are risen, we shall be cultivating human nature for God. He Himself has tried this already, and He says that not anything could have been done more than He has done (Isa. 5). But man would still be striving to cultivate the religiousness of human nature and introduce sinners into heaven otherwise than by death. We are dead and risen again, and it is simply heavenly.
In this is the real power of our living above sin. It assumes death; it goes upon the principle that we are “dead to sin” (Rom. 6). We get a blessed liberty in seeing and accounting ourselves dead. We have a new life. Christ has taken His place where death and resurrection have put Him. And there I am, where Christ is. It is altogether another life. And this life has its own world, and its own sphere of affections. “They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:5).
New Motives
Resurrection life is manifested in walking through this world as abstracted, withdrawn from, unmoved by, the motives of the world. A Christian has new motives. All the motives in the world never touch the new nature. Do you think it could be thinking about friendship with the world? Could it be seeking riches or honor or power? The motives which actuate men have no influence upon it. Perplexity comes in by our having a motive which is not drawn from heaven. Whenever I see myself or another in perplexity, I may be quite sure some other motive is at work.
There is always a tendency to decline from this singleness of eye. When we first receive the knowledge of life in Christ, we are absorbed; we readily admit all else to be “dung” and “dross” (Phil. 3). But when decline comes in, we get old motives into action again. Little by little, we are not absorbed, and then a hundred things begin to be motives —things of which I took no notice, which did not act before. People say, “What harm is there in it?” When I begin to inquire, “What harm is there in this or in that?” there is the tendency to decline. There may be no harm in the thing, but the thought about it shows that I am not absorbed with that which is heavenly. “Thou hast left thy first love.” It is not in great sins but here that decline in the saints is manifested.
The Sense of Grace
When the sense of grace is diminished, we decline in practice. Our motives must be in God. Sometimes effort is made to press conduct, works and practice, because (it is said) full grace was preached before; now that there is decline in practice, you must preach practice.
That which is the rather to be pressed is grace — the first grace. It is grace, not legalism, which will restore the soul. Where the sense of grace is diminished, the conscience may be at the same time uncommonly active; then it condemns the pressing of grace, and legalism is the result. When conscience has been put in action through the claims of grace, that is not legalism, and there will be holy practice in detail.
We may fall into either of two faults — that of (because fruits have not been produced) preaching fruits, or that of getting at ease when certain things come to have influence over us again, through thinking that what we approved of before was legalism.
We shall not get back by dwelling on detail. Christ is the great motive for everything, and we must get up into the knowledge of resurrection in Christ to remedy detail. Here there is a wonderful truth and wonderful liberty.
Tone and Spirit
Another very important point is the tone and spirit of our walk. Confidence in God and gentleness of spirit is that which becomes the saint. For this we must be at home with God. The effect of thus walking in Christ, setting the Lord ever before us, is always to make us walk with reverence, lowliness, adoration, quietness, ease and happiness. If I go where I am unaccustomed to be — if I get, for instance, into a great house —I may have much kindness shown me there, but when I get out again, I feel at ease; I am glad to be out. Had I been brought up in that house, I should feel otherwise. The soul is not only happy in God for itself, but it will bring the tone of that house out with it; because of its joy in God, anxieties disappear, and it will move through the ten thousand things that would trouble and prove anxieties to another, without being a bit troubled. No matter what it may be, we bring quietness of spirit into all circumstances while abiding in God.
Dwelling There
If a man be risen with Christ, if he be dwelling there, it will show itself thus. We shall not be afraid of the changes around. We shall live not in dull apathy and listlessness, but in the exercise of lively affections and energies toward the Lord. One great evidence of my dwelling in Christ is quietness. I have my portion elsewhere, and I go on. Another sign is confidence in obeying.
This connects itself with fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ — fellowship not only in joy, but in the thoughts of the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is our power of entering with the affections into the things of God. “The Father loveth the Son” — what a place this puts me in, to be thus cognizant of the Father’s feelings toward His beloved Son.
In our proper place, we get our mind filled and associated with things that leave this world as a little thing — an atom — in the vastness of the glory which was before the world was.
J. N. Darby
The Sphere of Christian Blessing
The saints are the witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection, but our souls do not dwell enough on the stupendous import of the act which introduced a total change in the position and character of God’s people. It is true that man always needed the forgiveness of sins, and as sinners it was always necessary that they should be born again to enter the kingdom of God. However, before the resurrection, forgiveness of sins was not entered into as a present and assured blessing. The earth and blessing on it, length of days, and abundance of riches, with the favor of God, were what bounded the vision of the saints. An Abraham might not actually get so much of the promised inheritance as to set his foot on, and a David might suffer persecution under the government of God, though he were God’s chosen king, but the revelation given to them respectively of the seed, in whom all the nations would be blessed and by whom the land would be possessed, and of the final judgment of the wicked and deliverance of the righteous satisfied their minds so that they went on contentedly with God and what they had. Thus also was it with others who embraced the promises as having seen them afar off, but who died in faith, not having received them. The Spirit of God in Hebrews 11 gives His own value to the faith that thus simply waited on God, and so connects it with unseen and heavenly blessings. But we are not to suppose that these saints had a portion in heaven definitely before their minds, for such was not revealed to them. They were taught to look for the time when there would be no obstacle to God’s blessing His people here on earth and when the traces of sin would be removed from it.
The Complete Change
There is a decided and complete change in this respect when resurrection is accomplished. Not only is heaven presented as the proper sphere of the blessings of the saints now, but earth is definitely refused, and the world separated from, as unfit for them in their true character. More than this, the character and extent of the blessings which are revealed are now found in that which the Lord Jesus enjoys as the risen and ascended Son of Man. We may perhaps take verses 42-43 of Luke 23 as illustrating this. What the thief actually received from the Lord was a figure of the blessing of the saints now in contrast to what he proposed in verse 42 which will be that of the Jew in the future day. “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom” (vs. 42), was all that the Scriptures would then have led one to expect, and so this man, who was subject then to the teaching of the Spirit, was led into the revealed mind of God. But, “Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (vs. 43) is perfectly new. Literally it refers to the state of his soul, his condition of existence, immediately after death, but in figure it sets forth the kind of blessing the church has in contrast to the other. The resurrection is everything to the woman at the sepulchre, and Luke 24 brings this out.
The angels announce it (Luke 24:48), almost reproaching the disciples for being so untrue to their peculiar blessing as still to cling to earthly hopes, for they say, “Why seek ye the living [One] among the dead?” He is not to be found in this world at all for us, and to expect to find Him here, or to seek to connect Him with earthly hopes, is to seek the living One among the dead. “He is not here, but is risen: remember how He spake unto you.” He had sought in His love and care for them to prepare their hearts by His words. Their hearts, as usual, were slow to believe, but “they remembered His words.”
The Disciples’ Difficulty
We see the great difficulty which they had in apprehending it at first in verses 10-11, and it appears from verses 13-25 that the two on the way to Emmaus even went back to earthly concerns in a spirit which gave up and denied the truth of all their blessing as connected with Him in His new character and position. But they are immediately set right, and their hearts recalled, when He is known to them as Lord in resurrection, and they at once return to their proper path as connected with this One (vss. 31-34) of whom they are to testify. It should be remarked that though the Lord graciously drew near to and gave them communications of His mind from the Scriptures so as to cause exercise of heart in them, still their heart “burning” within them must not be mistaken for communion with Him, for His presence was at that time unknown to them. They were not intelligently enjoying His company, and true communion there could not be without that enjoyment. They find on returning that the same Lord has thought of others of His doubting people, but those who were not so ready to act in self-will have the truth brought home to them sooner and without their experiences. The eleven and those with them are found gathered together, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed.” He appears among them to strengthen and confirm this faith (vss. 35-43), and He shows them how that He Himself, known as thus risen, is the key to the entire Scriptures (vss. 44-45), making them witnesses of the truth (vs. 48) thus brought out, and connecting them by the gift of the Spirit (vs. 49) with Himself as ascended to glory (vs. 50-51), and truly an object of worship, as well as a subject of joy and praise (vss. 52-53).
Thus the proper blessing of the church is immense. She does not wait till the kingdom will display the truth as to Christ, but even now enters into God’s thoughts about Him by virtue of knowing Him so immediately. Not only so, but also the measure of the glory in which Christ in resurrection is known being far above that of the kingdom, the extent to which divine wisdom in the Word is opened is immensely greater now than then.
F. J. R.
Resurrection Power
How little do we as saints realize that a new power has already entered this world of death! Man has a vague thought of resurrection at a future day. We too may often speak of it as a doctrine, but there is more — the power has been actually manifested here.
The Power of Death
We are well acquainted with another power working all around us — the power of death. It is a power dreaded by man, but familiar to him; it often compels his attention. The flowers and wreaths that are strewn upon the coffin and the grave are tokens of the attention which death receives. It is only knowledge of the new power which can divert our attention, but we are often as really ignorant as the poor affectionate women who went with their spices and ointment to the sepulchre. In Luke 23:55-56, we see them occupied with death — death in no ordinary form, but still with death — they “beheld the sepulchre, and how His body was laid.” Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments, but the rest of the Sabbath day prevents their doing what would have been wholly out of character. God had ordered that the Lord should not be anointed for His burial in the tomb, but in the house at Bethany, where the presence of Lazarus attested the power of resurrection and where the odor of the ointment which Mary poured on Him who is the resurrection and the life filled the house.
A New Power
These dear women are still occupied with the adverse power as they go early in the morning of the first day of the week to the sepulchre. There they find that this new power had been in exercise — the stone is rolled away, and they find not the body of the Lord Jesus. But they are not yet acquainted with it; on the contrary, they “were much perplexed thereabout.” And surely we may ask ourselves whether, in the midst of the perplexity caused by the adverse power working here, we know what it is to have confidence in the God of resurrection. How could the power of death hold the living One? And yet these devoted women were seeking the living One among the dead. They need not have been ignorant, for the angels remind them of the words He had spoken in Galilee, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”
Unbelief
The women remember His words and retrace their steps from the sepulchre to tell the tidings to the eleven and the rest. With what unbelief are they received! “Their words seemed to them as idle tales,” for they were not yet conscious of the power that had already wrought in this scene of death. There is a strange unbelief in man’s heart as to the working of the God of resurrection, and yet, without rising up in thought to the counsels of God secured therein, how fruitful has it already been to us. It has given back Jesus to us, a living, blessed Man, as the disciples had known Him in the days of His flesh — in resurrection life, it is true, but the same Jesus, no more to die. This is portrayed to us in what follows.
Jesus Walking and Talking
Two disciples are going to Emmaus, talking together of all that had happened, when “Jesus . . . drew near, and went with them.” As at the beginning of this Gospel it was said to the shepherds, “Unto you is born this day . . . a Saviour” — and the sign to them was “the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” “Once cradled in a manger, that Thou mightest with us be,” so at the close of the narrative, He whom wicked hands had taken from those sorrowing disciples is given back to them by resurrection power. He walks and talks with the downcast travelers until their hearts burn within them, though as yet they know Him not, for questionings still had hold of their minds. A vision of angels had been seen, who said that He was alive. Had these two believed that report, it would have detained them at Jerusalem in the attitude of expectation. As it is, another motive leads them elsewhere. What tenderness of love that drew near and went with them! He has to call them senseless and unbelieving, and we may take His words home to our own hearts when we fail to comprehend in any way the pathway He has trodden. As in Galilee, so now, He has to speak of the necessity of His sufferings. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” But He tarries on the way before He enters into glory to walk and talk and eat and drink with them after His resurrection. The same Jesus is known to them in the familiar act of breaking bread. What a power has already entered this scene! What fresh companionship with Jesus it gave, though of a new order! What a pledge we have of what is to be enjoyed forever with Himself. May He interpret it to our hearts. T. H. Reynolds
The Attitude of Jesus Regarding Death and Resurrection
John 11 and 12 show how the Lord’s thoughts flowed in different channels than those of man. His ideas, so to speak, of misery and of happiness were very different from man’s natural thoughts.
Chapter 11 opens with a scene of human misery. The dear family at Bethany is visited with sickness, and the voice of health and thanksgiving in their dwelling has to yield to mourning, lamentation and woe. But He who had the largest and tenderest sympathies is the calmest among them, for He carried with Him that knowledge of resurrection which made Him see beyond the chamber of sickness and the grave of death.
When Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, He abode two days longer in the place where He was. But when that sickness ends in death, He begins His journey in the full and bright prospect of resurrection. And this makes His journey steady and undisturbed. As He approaches the scene of sorrow, His action is still the same. He replies again and again to the passion of Martha’s soul from that place where the knowledge of a power that was beyond that of death had, in all serenity, seated Him. And though He still has to move on, there is no haste, for on Mary’s arrival, He is still in the same place where Martha had met Him. In due time He vindicates this stillness of His heart and this apparent tardiness of His journey.
When man was bowed down in sorrow at the thought of death, He was lifted up in the sunshine of resurrection. But the sense of resurrection, though it gave this peculiar current to the thoughts of Jesus, left His heart still tender to the sorrows of others, for His thoughts were not of indifference but elevation. And such is the way of faith always. Jesus weeps with the weeping of Mary and her company. His whole soul was in the sunshine of those deathless regions which lay far away from the tomb of Bethany, but it could visit the valley of tears and weep there with those that wept.
When man was lifted up in the expectation of something good and brilliant in the earth, His soul was full of the holy certainty that death awaits all here, however promising or pleasurable, and that honor and prosperity must be hoped for only in other and higher regions. Chapter 12 shows us this.
When they heard of Lazarus being raised, many people flocked together from Bethany to Jerusalem and at once hailed Him as the King of Israel. They wanted to go up with Him to the feast of tabernacles and anticipate the age of glory, seating Him in the honors and joys of the kingdom. The Greeks also took their place with Israel in such an hour. Through Philip, as taking hold of the skirt of a Jew (see Zechariah 8), they would see Jesus and worship. But in the midst of all this, Jesus Himself sits solitary. He knows that earth is not the place for all this festivity and keeping of holy day. His spirit muses on death, while their thoughts were full of a kingdom with its attendant honors and pleasures. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.”
Such was the peculiar path of the spirit of Jesus. Resurrection was everything to Him. It was His relief amid the sorrows of life and His object amid the promises and prospects of the world. It gave His soul a calm sunshine when dark and heavy clouds had gathered over Bethany. It moderated and separated His affections when the brilliant glare of a festive day was lighting up the way from thence to Jerusalem. The thought of it sanctified His mind equally amid grief and enjoyment around Him. Resurrection was everything to Him! It made Him a perfect pattern of that fine principle of the Spirit of God: “They that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not” (1 Cor. 7:30).
Oh for a little more of the same mind in us, beloved! Oh for a little more of this elevation above the passing conditions and circumstances of life.
J. G. Bellett, adapted
The Practical Truth of Resurrection
Resurrection is indeed a practical truth — in the way that we are shown how we should walk now, as those alive from the dead. No doubt this truth would answer the thousand and one questions which our deceitful hearts often ask, such as, May I go there? May I do this? For we can say, Would such a place or course of action become those who are “alive from the dead,” dead to sin, and who are therefore to serve in newness of spirit and not in oldness of letter? I do pray that the meditation of this precious truth may have the effect of making us unworldly and more Christ-like. The brightness of His coming cheers us on.
The Bible Student, 3:181
Dealing With Death and Reacting to Resurrection
1 Kings 17:8-24 & 2 Kings 4:8-37
Death and resurrection affect us in different ways. Two contrasting examples of women in the Old Testament whose sons were raised from the dead are worth considering. The first woman was a widow from Zarephath living with her son during a famine when Elijah came to her. In obedience to his command she gave the prophet Elijah her last meal. He in turn rewarded her obedience by sustaining them with food throughout the famine. The second woman was a wealthy woman from Shunem who provided lodging for Elisha. As a reward, the prophet promised her a son. Both these sons later died. The reaction of the two mothers was very different. The measure of faith of each one was revealed though their trials. We may conclude, also, that their reaction was in part a result of the teaching they received from the two respective prophets.
Dealing With Death
The widow of Zarephath lived near Zidon at the time Elijah had asked God to withhold rain as a testimony against the evil in Israel. His message was a call for Israel to return to Jehovah the true God. During the famine, Elijah promised the widow that the meal and the oil would not fail until Jehovah God had sent rain. This was fulfilled, but later the son fell sick and died. Under this trial the woman responded with two questions. The first was, “What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God?” She called in question her relationship with the prophet and showed a lack of confidence in the prophet, after he had miraculously provided for them. The second question was, “Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” In this we see that she was insecure in her own soul. She did not have peace about her sins. She knew about the power of God but nothing of the forgiveness of God. Her comments were negative.
The woman of Shunem perceived that Elisha was a holy man of God and provided a place of lodging for him to stay when he came. This was more than obedience to a command; it was an act of kindness from her heart. When Elisha wanted to reward her, she, being content with her circumstances, declined the offer. But the prophet not wanting to owe anything to her, at the suggestion of Gehazi, promised her a son. Later, when the son died, she took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door and went out. There was no calling in question her relationship with the prophet. On the contrary, she went directly to him. He was the one who had given her the son. Her comment on the way to the prophet was, “It shall be well.” She trusted him, and her claims to him were on the basis of his grace, not her merit. She had peace in her circumstances.
The Reactions to Resurrection
After the son of the widow died, Elijah asks for the lifeless son and “took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.” There He prayed that the Lord would not bring evil upon the widow. The child’s soul came into him again and he brought him down to his mother and said, “See, thy son liveth.” Her response was, “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” She acknowledged that God was near her in the prophet, but there was no acknowledgment of relationship with God through the prophet, nor was there any word of thanks. Those who think they deserve blessing are often unthankful. She seems to have received her son back on the same basis she had him before. There is no progress of faith like Hannah who lent her son to the Lord.
It is refreshing to see the attitude of the Shunamite when Elisha said to her, “Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.” Her priorities were right; she worshipped the Lord first, and then took up her son. She had committed her son to the Lord in laying him on the bed of the prophet. She was resigned to God’s will and would receive him back on the basis of His goodness. This leads to praise and thanksgiving.
May the Lord lead each of us to rise up in faith concerning His perfect ways with us as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me” (Psa. 23:4). D. C. Buchanan
The Character and Power of Resurrection
The resurrection, after all, is the full and perfect deliverance from the whole effect and consequence of sin. At the same time it shows that what God has predestinated us to is an entirely new estate and condition of things altogether. Nothing is more important than that we should clearly apprehend what God is about —whether He is correcting the old thing or setting up an entirely new thing. Now the resurrection shows that God is not bringing about a modification of the scene in which we are, but that He is bringing in a totally new power. The discernment of this has the most important effect upon the way of life, the modes of seeking to do good, and the objects and efforts of Christians. Christ went about doing good, and we are of course to follow His example, but did Christ correct or set things right when down here? No! The very result of the Lord’s coming into the midst of the Jewish nation was that they rejected, hated and crucified the Prince of life and Lord of glory. The Lord Jesus went about doing good, but seemingly in vain. Still none of God’s counsels have failed, but as to the outward result, the Lord said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought” (Isa. 49:4). So far as the outward scene went, in which He labored, there was no kind of restoration, for the more love Christ manifested, the more fully man’s hatred to Him was brought out. “For My love they are My adversaries” (Psa. 109:4).
An Entirely New Scene
The resurrection introduces an entirely new scene, so that Paul says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Now it is a very difficult thing for men to submit their minds to this truth, because it plainly tells man that, in himself as man, he is totally and utterly ruined. It is quite true that naturally man has great and wonderful faculties. But with all this, man morally is utterly ruined and lost. Paul opens out in this chapter what the character and power of resurrection is, the resurrection of the just being the subject of it, although that of the unjust is also glanced at. It is not merely God acting in sovereign power, which can take a dead thing out of the state of death, but by virtue of association with the life of Christ we have participation in Christ’s resurrection. It is not only that we are blessed, but blessed with Christ. If He lives, we also live together with Him. “Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). If He is the righteousness of God, we are made “the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). If He is heir of glory, we are “joint-heirs [together] with Christ” (Rom. 8:17). If He is the Son, we are sons also — “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father” (John 20:17). We are put, through grace, into this wonderful place of sons so that it is a real thing, and having thus been brought by adoption from a state of sin to that of sons, the Holy Spirit is given to us as the power of our enjoyment of it. Such is the marvelous place into which we are brought, even that of everlasting companionship with Christ — “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.”
Man down here on the earth strives in vain for his objective, for wonderful as his natural faculties may be, as soon as his “breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish” (Psa. 146:4). What then becomes of his wondrous faculties? All is gone, for there is no fruit whatever reaped by himself. The man may have directed the world, but what of that, if death comes in and writes nothingness on all his powers? Another may come after him and improve upon what he has done, but it is all gone as regards himself forever, although the man has a moral responsibility in connection with it all.
Immortality
In this chapter (2 Corinthians 5) the Apostle was meeting the minds of those who had cast doubts on the resurrection, but not on immortality. A man will cast doubts on the resurrection, while he will speak of his immortality and magnify himself in it because it is I. It is I that am immortal. But if I am the dead thing God raises from the dead, what then —where am I? Why, my pride is brought down, and God’s power is brought in and exalted. Therefore if I am talking of immortality, I am talking of myself, but if talking of resurrection, I am wholly cast on God.
The Power of Death
Resurrection is connected with death (I now speak of believers), but it is the coming in of God’s power to deliver from the power of death —not merely an escape from my sins, but a full and perfect deliverance from all the consequences of my sins, so that even the very dust of my body will be raised in divine glory. In Christ’s death I also get another truth, which is that my resurrection is consequent on Christ’s death and resurrection. I share in it as forgiven, for Christ quickens me, in virtue of having put away my sins. “You, being dead in your sins . . . hath He quickened together with Him [Christ], having forgiven you all trespasses” (Col. 2:13). We are partakers of the life in which Christ is risen, so that I have a life totally discharged from all question of sin, for I cannot have life without having forgiveness, and hence rest and peace.
Incontrovertible Proofs
Christ had an unchangeable life as Son of God, but He died as a man, for there was complete evidence given through many incontrovertible proofs that He was really a dead man and that He was raised from the dead and seen of many witnesses. All the gospel rests on the resurrection of Christ. There is no gospel at all unless there is the resurrection. This is a point of the deepest interest, showing how really Christ entered into the case. So truly was Christ dead in consequence of our sins that if He did not rise from the dead, then all is utterly gone forever. So completely was Christ a dead man for us that if He is not raised from the dead, no man can ever be raised. And if dead people are not raised, then is Christ not raised. Yet we know He could not be held by death — that were impossible. Thus everything that could possibly come between the sinner and God has been entirely removed — the burden of sin on the soul — God’s wrath against sin — Satan’s power — the weakness of man in death. By grace Christ put Himself entirely in our place. Has death any more power over Him? No, for He is risen in the power of an endless life. But still He has been there on account of our sins and has entirely put away the sin that took Him there, having risen without them. What then can there be between God and me which Christ has not entirely put away? Nothing. Seeing then that Christ has so completely acted out this condition before God, death is no longer death to me; it has lost its power and its terror too. Now death to me is simply departing to be with Christ. It is to be “absent from the body . . . present with the Lord”; it is but the getting rid of a mortal body.
God’s eye rested on the blessed One who had glorified Him about man’s sin, so that He takes Him from among the dead up to Himself. Christ has accomplished a righteousness on which God has set His seal, in that He raised Him from the dead. Having quickened us together with Christ, we are made partakers of it. Were there no resurrection, it would be complete abandonment by God: “If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain. . . . Ye are yet in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17).
Results of Resurrection
But now comes a full burst of testimony to this accomplished work: “Now is Christ risen from the dead.” Thus the righteous and beloved One is raised out of this scene into an entirely new one, even that of becoming the firstfruits of them that slept, for if Christ be raised, His saints must be raised, as a Head cannot be raised without a body — it would be monstrous. The resurrection comes in, not by the power of God only, but also by man. “Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:21). It is the Man Christ Jesus coming in power. Every created thing, the whole universe, is to be wholly put under this righteous Man, this now-glorified Man, the second Adam. He only is excepted which did put all things under Him — that is, God the Father.
All power in heaven and earth is given to Christ. All are to be brought under His power. Not only will His saints bow before Him — who do it now with delight, in the power of a new life — but His enemies must bow before Him. Then, when all things are made subject and Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, the mediatorial reign will be at an end, because God will be all in all. However, Christ the man will never cease to be “the firstborn among many brethren.” Subjection is man’s perfection. Therefore Christ’s subjection as man results from His perfection. “Then shall also the Son Himself be subject.” This is most blessed, that forever and forever He will be in our midst — He whose heart is love — He who, as the Man of sorrows here, brought down God’s love to us! He will take His place in our midst as the second Adam, as the Head and Source and Channel of every blessing.
The power then which delivers us from wrath, from sin and from Satan is the resurrection of Christ in virtue of His accomplished righteousness, and thus we are brought into fellowship with Him. Our portion, whether in suffering down here or in glory up there, is all in Christ, as the One risen from the dead. The Lord keep our hearts full of rejoicing, crucifying the flesh, and as being dead to law, sin and the world. We live to God in the same power in which Christ lives. The Lord give us thankful hearts for His unspeakable mercy.
J. N. Darby, adapted
No Hope Without Resurrection
A recent article in Newsweek highlighted the fact that young people in the U.S.A. who have serious chronic health conditions (for example, diabetes, asthma and food allergies) sometimes stop taking their medications when they go away from home, usually to university. They want to be like other people who do not have to be concerned about such things and to pursue their lifestyle without having constantly to think about their health. Others may take their medication sporadically, or even forget their medication on certain occasions, such as when playing sports. Still others take huge risks by eating questionable things which they know may cause a fatal allergic reaction.
While we may deplore such irresponsible behavior, we must recognize that this attitude is found in all age groups, although perhaps manifesting itself in different ways. Mature adults may take their health more seriously, yet indulge in a lifestyle that results in crippling debt, with no foreseeable ability to pay it off. Still others may take other risks with their health, such as overeating or drinking to excess. Some may take their health seriously, yet live like the rich man in Luke 12, who gave no thought to anything beyond this life. While such things have always been a problem in society, there is no doubt that it has greatly accelerated in the past twenty or thirty years.
Present Pleasure or Future Gain
What is promoting this thought pattern? I believe we find the answer in the Word of God. This kind of behavior is part of a larger problem—one which has its roots in the rejection of God’s claims, with only this world as its horizon. When the Corinthians were being taught by some that there was no resurrection, Paul told them where such thinking would lead. Among other things, he pointed out to them that if there were no resurrection, then it would be quite in order for us to adopt an attitude of “let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die” (1 Cor. 15:32). It is natural to the heart of man to want immediate gratification of his wishes, and Satan used this to advantage in tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. The neglect and abuse of our bodies may not always result in serious consequences, but again, it is a symptom of a deeper problem and a wrong attitude toward God. When we see the greater meaning of our existence and the fact that we are responsible to God for our conduct, we are able to forego immediate pleasure in favor of future gain.
Perspectives of Resurrection
The truth of resurrection brings two things clearly before us, and both will have an effect on us, whether we are saved or lost. First of all, resurrection brings before us the fact that God has “appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). The resurrection of Christ assures us that God will judge this world and that all must one day stand before God. We cannot do as we wish, for we are God’s creatures, and He created us for His purpose (Rev. 4:11). It is a solemn thought that He holds us responsible for how we have lived our lives and will ultimately require us to give account to Him.
Second, for the believer, resurrection gives us the certainty of our salvation and also brings before us the rectification of all things. Since Christ has risen from the dead, we have the assurance of God’s satisfaction with His work on the cross. We have the assurance, not only of our salvation, but also of our being raised when He comes. Of course, those who are alive at the Lord’s coming will not need to be raised, for Scripture says, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51).
Also, in owning God’s rightful King now, we follow One who is rejected, but who will one day be owned as “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16). When He takes His rightful place, we will be displayed with Him. In resurrection all will be made right, and “if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). In view of such a glorious future, we may well be willing to suffer down here and to put up with bodily ailments and a curtailing of certain things in our lifestyle, for we are building for eternity, not for time.
The Persuasion of Satan
Sad to say, Satan has persuaded many to enjoy “the pleasures of sin for a season” rather than to build for eternity. Among unbelievers, he has gradually worked in men’s hearts to create an amoral society, where there are no recognized absolutes and where life has lost its true meaning. In such an atmosphere, it is not surprising that some are taking risks with their health and refusing to put up with inconveniences in their lives. If the devil can persuade men that there is nothing beyond this world and no lasting meaning to life, then present gratification makes sense. In this way, “evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor. 15:33).
Even among believers, it is easy to fall prey to Satan’s wiles and to live for time instead of eternity. But if Christ is before us and we see clearly what resurrection means, it will give us grace and energy to follow a rejected Christ, while waiting for that day when we shall be displayed with Him. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4).
W. J. Prost
Four Truths
We notice in 1 Corinthians 15:4244 four facts that stand out. We shall be raised in incorruption — no more to die; we shall be raised in glory — no more despised; we shall be raised in power — no more weakness; we shall be raised in spiritual bodies —fitted to enjoy to all eternity the things that God has prepared for those that love Him.
The Bible Student, 3:181