John 2:22: When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
We see the Lord Jesus who spoke to His enemies about rising from the dead. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is foundational to Biblical Christianity. I have read an unpublished book that I hope to publish soon. It is called That Very Foundation. Cults today deny the bodily resurrection of Christ. Some alleged Christians says someone can be a Christian and not believe the bodily resurrection. Such is completely foreign to biblical Christianity, and it is spiritual irrational, and it is a manifestation of spiritual insanity. The Lord Jesus Christ predicted His death, passion and resurrection. The Old Testament spoke of the resurrection, and His blessed and glorious resurrection was in Old Testament prophecy. We need to understand that if we compromise the bodily resurrection of Christ we have ship wrecked the Christian faith and brought shame to His blessed name. No true Christian will ever deny His bodily resurrection. We see people who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. That is, these prominent false prophets and teachers deny it, and lead many astray who tickle their ears and draw their hearts yonder away from Christ and His truth. What Christ spoke was from God. The Father sent the Son into the world, and the Son fulfilled His mission of preaching and dieing for His beloved people. He rose again for our justification. The word of Christ spoke of the reality of His resurrection. We see that the resurrection of Christ is seen in the New Testament Scriptures. Let us explore what the New Testament says about it. Keep in mind that the Words of Christ are God’s Words. But the Words of Christ in the New Testament Gospels are not superior to the Old and New Testament. No, no! The Old and New Testaments are the Word of God just as much as the Words of Christ Himself. We must remember that when we approach the New Testament we approach God-Breathed words spoken by holy men by His Holy Spirit. In passing, let me say, when the Scripture says that “Now all this was spoken by the Lord through the prophet”—it is saying, of course, that God has spoken and inspired His Word, but more then this, the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit. Who else is the Lord that can divinely empower His elect to pen Scripture? Who else is the Lord who is a divine Person of the Godhead who inspires Scripture? In this we see the deity and personality of the Spirit. It is mostly overlooked but when we look carefully we can see these wonderful and glorious truths. We see in the Westminster Larger Catechism, it speaks plainly about the Word of God:
Q. 3. What is the Word of God?
A. The holy Scriptures of the Old and
New Testament are the Word of God,[5]
the only rule of faith and obedience.[6]
Q. 4. How doth it appear that the Scriptures are of
the Word of God?
A. The Scriptures manifest themselves
to be the Word of God, by their majesty[7]
and purity;[8] by
the consent of all the parts,[9]
and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God;[10] by
their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up
believers unto salvation:[11]
but the Spirit of God bearing witness by and with the Scriptures in the heart
of man, is alone able fully to persuade it that they are the very word of God.[12]
Now let’s turn to the Scriptures that speak about His
glorious resurrection; these words are the words of Christ and the words of
God. And when we see the books outside
of the Gospels, we see it is the word of God.
We may still call it the Word of Christ.
We would not be wrong to say that.
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the Holy Spirit who would reveal to His
own truths that they were not able to bear when He spoke to them. The Spirit came from the Father and through
His Beloved Son. Both the Father and the
Son approve of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is by, because and of the Holy
Spirit. He is the Third Person of the
Trinity. Now to the resurrection:
We are to seize upon
the Word of Christ, and seek it understanding.
In this case, it was about the resurrection of the dead: Mark 9: 9As they were coming down
from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had
seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10They
seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the
dead meant.
The Lord Jesus
Christ predicted His death. He spoke the
word in John 2, and His word is always reliable, sure, clear and
sufficient: Matthew 16:21, From that time Jesus
began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many
things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.
Like in John 2,
the Lord Jesus spoke of what would happen: Matthew 17: 22And
while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
"The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 23and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third
day." And they were deeply grieved.
Again we see
the words of Christ speaking about His suffering and resurrection: Matthew 20: 18"Behold,
we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief
priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19and
will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on
the third day He will be raised up."
The Lord spoke
of what He would do after His resurrection: Matthew 26:32, "But after I have
been raised, I will go ahead of
you to Galilee."
He spoke of His
resurrection again: Luke 9:22, saying, "The Son
of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests
and scribes, and be killed and be raised
up on the third day."
The Lord spoke
of the certainty of His resurrection: John 2:19-20, Jesus answered them,
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews
then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"
After He rose
people saw Him, and it was the third time He was seen: John 21:14, This is now the third
time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead.
The Lord Jesus
defeated and conquered death by His resurrection: Acts 2:24, "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to
the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power…”
His people at
that time were witnesses to the reality that Christ rose from the dead: Acts 2:32, "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all
witnesses…”
The
resurrection is called a fact, and God raised the Lord Jesus. The resurrection was a Trinitarian work of
God. Acts 3:15, but put to death the
Prince of life, the one whom God raised
from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
Again we see
that the Father raised Christ from the dead:
Acts 4:10, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel,
that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by this name
this man stands here before you in good health.
The
resurrection was to the glory of the Father: Romans 6:4, Therefore we have been
buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory
of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
The Spirit of
Holiness raised Christ from the dead.
Again it was a Trinitarian work of God.
Romans 8:11, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Christ rose
according to the Scriptures: 1 Corinthians
15:4,
and that He was buried, and that He was raised
on the third day according to the Scriptures,
God raised the
Lord Jesus from the dead and gave Him glory:
1 Peter 1:21, who through Him are
believers in God, who raised Him
from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
The Westminster
Confession states on the resurrection of Christ:
Q. 52. How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?
A. Christ was exalted in his
resurrection, in that, not having seen corruption in death, (of which it was
not possible for him to be held,)[206]
and having the very same body in which he suffered, with the essential
properties thereof,[207]
(but without mortality, and other common infirmities belonging to this life,)
really united to his soul,[208]
he rose again from the dead the third day by his own power;[209]
whereby he declared himself to be the Son of God,[210]
to have satisfied divine justice,[211]
to have vanquished death, and him that had the power of it,[212]
and to be Lord of quick and dead:[213]
all which he did as a public person,[214]
the head of his church,[215]
for their justification,[216]
quickening in grace,[217]
support against enemies,[218]
and to assure them of their resurrection from the dead at the last day.[219]
The resurrection of
Jesus demonstrated that Jesus was the Father’s Son. The resurrection of Jesus is not a legend,
fable or myth. Luke wrote about the
credible proof he found through careful investigation of the facts (Acts
1:3). The book of Acts provides
Christians, the proclamation of the Son of God.
The resurrection occurred; it was real and factual. The resurrected body is the same physical
body, which was born from Mary. The same
physical body grew into manhood, lived a sinless life, performed miracles,
taught from God, proclaimed and declared the gospel of God, perfectly
accomplished the will of the Father, became tortured before His way to the
cross, crucified on the cross, placed into the tomb, and Jesus arose in His
glorified body. This same body of Jesus
ascended into Heaven. He is now seated
at the right hand of God the Father in perfect completion of His work. This body of Jesus will return to earth in
His Second Coming to raise the dead and judge humanity.
My Savior lives and
reigns,
Verified Your
substitution;
Truly risen, really
forgiven;
Solely Thee, triumphant,
Savior Be.
Before His triumphant resurrection, the body of Jesus was
truly a humble body (Phil. 2:5-11).
Before His glorious resurrection, He possessed a humble body. Jesus
possessed an actual natural body. The
body of Jesus was indeed, an earthly, mortal and real human body apart from
sin. Jesus is truly man of truly
man. After His resurrection from the
dead, He now has a triumphant and glorified body. Jesus had a natural body before His
resurrection, but like then and now He possesses a supernatural body. The body’s attributes have been
expanded. Jesus had a mortal body. After His resurrection, He obtained an
immortal and incorruptible body. Jesus
cannot die again, having once a mortal body.
He is incorruptible—Jesus cannot decay as an earthly body is predisposed
to. Jesus’ resurrected body is glorious,
triumphant, supernatural and heavenly. It is still the very and true body of
Jesus Christ. Paul makes the observation
that we no longer know Jesus according to the flesh. Now He is the Lord of glory!
The very foundation of
Christianity is the Risen Lord of glory.
The theology presented is not merely an articulation of the truth of the
Risen Christ. Rather, we are to boldly live
knowing our Lord and Savior bodily rose.
The certainty of Jesus’ resurrection is what we must live by. The hope of eternal life is grounded in none
other than Jesus Christ. Denying the
bodily Risen Lord and Savior is rejecting eternal life. Someone cannot be a Christian and deny the
bodily Risen Savior. Embracing doubt and
disbelief is prescript to eternal damnation.
The belief and trust of the bodily Risen Christ, as our Great Incarnate
Savior, is the very opposite of eternal damnation. Christ has purchased and secured us, insured
His exaltation and guaranteed judgment.
As Christ lives, His people shall live with Him for all eternality.
We see that the resurrection of Christ disapproves
reincarnation. Josephus (AD 37-100)
spoke of the resurrection of Christ, and from a secular source he shows that it
was recognized outside of Scripture also.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ, although supported by other Jewish and
Gentile sources, establishes the truthfulness of what Holy Scripture has been
saying all along. The resurrection is
not simply a theologically matter but impacts life itself and history. The mere study of the resurrection of Christ
in a brief matter brings attention to the credibility of belief. The resurrection is not simply a historical
event. The question needs to be asked,
what did Jesus accomplish by rising from the dead? The Incarnate Christ rose bodily that sin and
death will have no power upon His people.
Without the resurrection the cross would have no verification for
forgiveness of sin. The blessed
ramifications of the cross of Jesus for His people would have no
confirmation. The resurrection provides
us with the actuality of sins being forgiven.
The resurrection has given His chosen victory over the grave. The fear of death is excluded when the Risen
Christ in our true belief is included.
Belief devoid of the bodily Risen Savior and Lord is the essence of
hopelessness. But truly regenerated
belief on the bodily Risen Lord and Savior is the essence of real hope unto
eternal life. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57 NKJV).
We know all of this by the word of Scripture. We see that John 2 refers to the Scripture
and the word of Christ. We see that the
word of Christ is Scripture. His Word is materially sufficient; our
ultimate authority; our sole infallible authority; we see it is clear (that is,
the perspicuity of Scripture); we see it is self-interpreting; those who pray
and walk worthy of the gospel will understand it; those who diligently read and
study it; and finally, the necessity of reading Scripture for
sanctification. Let us turn to Scripture
and see the words of God:
The Word of God is
amazing: Mark 10:24,
The disciples were amazed at His words.
But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to
enter the kingdom of God!
The Words of Jesus are
the literal Words of God: Luke 5:1, Now it happened
that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret;
God’s people are characterized
by hear the word and following it: Luke
8:21, But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My
brothers are these who hear the word
of God and do it."
The Word Jesus spoke was
mighty in the sight of God. It
accomplishes by the Spirit mighty things:
Luke 24:19, And He said to them, "What things?"
And they said to Him, "The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a
prophet mighty in deed and word
in the sight of God and all the
people,
God’s people hear His
Word, but reprobates do not hear the Word like the people of God: John 8:47,
"He who is of God hears the
words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God."
The Word of God is
spoken with boldness. As people of God
we need to speak His Word with boldness:
Acts 4:31, And when they had prayed, the place where they
had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak the word of God with boldness.
God’s people need not neglect His Word: Acts 6:2, So the twelve summoned
the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to
neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.
God’s Word spreads, and
it is the all-attracting Word of grace: Acts 6:7,
The word of God kept on spreading; and the number
of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many
of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
We are to hear, proclaim
and seek to hear the Word: Hear it: Acts
11:1, Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles
also had received the word of God.
Proclaim it: Acts
13:5, When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim
the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and
they also had John as their helper. Seek
to hear it: Acts 13:7,
who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man
summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
Equipped people are to
teach the Word of God: Acts 18:11, And he settled there a year and six months,
teaching the word of God among them.
The Word of God cannot
fail: Romans 9:6, But it is not as though the word of God
has failed For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;
The word is the power of
God: 1 Corinthians 1:18, For the word of
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being
saved it is the power of God.
The Word of truth is to
be in the power of God: 2 Corinthians 6:7, in the word
of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the
right hand and the left,
We are to have the word
of Christ richly dwell in us: Colossians 3:16, Let the word
of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one
another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in
your hearts to God.
The Word of God is not
the word of men: 1 Thessalonians 2:13,
For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word
of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word
of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also
performs its work in you who believe.
Sanctification comes
through and by the Word of God: 1
Timothy 4:5, for it is sanctified by means of the word
of God and prayer.
We are to use sound
words as Christ did: 1 Timothy 6:3, If anyone advocates a
different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness,
No mere men can hold the
Word of God from accomplishing its purposes by the purpose of God and the
Spirit: 2 Timothy 2:9, for which I suffer hardship even to
imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not
imprisoned.
We are to accurately
handle the word of truth: 2 Timothy
2:15, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as
a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word
of truth.
The word is from the
command of God the Son our Incarnate Savior: Titus 1:3, but at the proper time manifested, even His word,
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God
our Savior,
We are to honor the
word: Titus 2:5, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind,
being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will
not be dishonored.
The Word of God is
active and sharper then a two-edged sword:
Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and active and
sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul
and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and
intentions of the heart.
God spoke the word of
God, and it was: Hebrews 11:3, By faith we understand
that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is
seen was not made out of things which are visible.
We are to speak the word
of God to each other: Hebrews 13:7, Remember those who led
you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result
of their conduct, imitate their faith.
The Word of God is
living and enduring: 1 Peter 1:23, for you have been born
again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the
living and enduring word of God.
We are to remain
obedient to the word of God: 1 Peter 3:1, In the same way, you
wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are
disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the
behavior of their wives,
By the word of God the
heavens existed: 2 Peter 3:5,
For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of
God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water
and by water,
We are to keep His
word: 1 John 2:5, but whoever keeps His word, in him
the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in
Him:
May the word of God
abide in you: 1 John 2:14, I have written to you,
fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning I have written to
you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God
abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
The words spoken by the
apostles were God’s words: Jude 1:17-18, But you, beloved, ought
to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you,
"In the last time there will be mockers, (I)following
after their own ungodly lusts."
We are to testify to the
word of God: Revelation 1:2,
who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus
Christ, even to all that he saw.
Martyrdom happened
because of the Word of God: Revelation 6:9, When the Lamb broke
the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been
slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony
which they had maintained;
The words of God are
true: Revelation 19:9, Then he said to me, " Write, '
Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb '"
And he said to me, " These are true words of God."
The words of God are
faithful and true: Revelation 22:6, And he said to me,
" These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God
of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the
things which must soon take place.
Heed the words of this
book; the book of Revelation: Revelation 22:9, But he said to me,
"Do not do that I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the
prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God."
God judges those who add
or take away from His word. His word is
changeless and timeless: Revelation 22
18I testify to everyone who hears the words of the
prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues
which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the
book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and
from the holy city, which are written in this book.
We are to believe the
Scripture as the apostles did, and we are to believe the words of our Lord
Jesus. We see that the belief of His own
people was confirmed and received with fresh embracing of the truth. Although they were slow of heart, they became
sure of belief. “The Scripture and the
word of Christ are put together” as Matthew Henry wrote. The Scripture support each other and
strengthen His own people. The Old
Testament is fulfilled in the New. The
words of Christ were confirmed. Ps. 16:10 says, “For thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” We see that Christ fulfilled this sacred text
of Scripture.
The question I have for today is, do you believe in the
word of truth, the Bible? Do you really
believe His word? Do you memorize His
Word and speak His Word to people? The
Word of God is not only used in reference to what I have said already but also
in rebuking Satan as we see in the temptation of our Lord Jesus. We also see Satan using Scripture but he uses
it perversely and wickedly for his own foolish purposes. We see people who use Scripture and the Word
of God wrongly, but we must speak the word of truth and speak it boldly,
defending His word for His glory.
Amen.
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