The Divinity of Christ
As the final part of our week long study into the divinity of Christ, I want this morning to consider the reality of the Resurrection. Let us look at what actually happened and also of course at what it actually means for us.....
We must begin then by setting out the boundaries within which we will work. And in order to do that we need to assert quite clearly that the "Resurrection of Christ did not consist in the mere fact that He came to life again, and that body and soul were re-united."
Now why do we say that? We say it because if that were all that happened then Jesus would not have been unique. Nor would we be able to say as Paul does in 1st Corinthians 15, that Christ is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." Why? Because others had been raised from the dead before Jesus? Didn't Lazarus walk free from the grave? Wasn't the little girl brought back from the dead? Now in these cases all that happened was that body and soul were re-united and they came back to life. Life that is as we know it. But what happened in the resurrection of Jesus is utterly and totally different. That is why Jesus is referred to in scripture as being the "firstfruits of the dead". Or as we read it in Colossians, "the firstborn from among the dead" and again in Revelation 1:5, "Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead....".
So what then happened in the resurrection. Firstly let me quote to you from Berkhof's Systematic Theology, "in Him human nature, body and soul, was restored to its pristine strength and perfection and even raised to a higher level while body and soul were re-united in a living organism."
Now let's try and simplify this. We can I think infer from the general scriptural description of what is to happen to us the reality of what was observed in the Risen Jesus. For this we may turn to Corinthians again and consider what Paul writes of resurrection body, "So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body."
Now draw out from that what is stated about the resurrection body, think of the words used: spiritual, imperishable, glory, power. In other words it is incapable of decay, it is filled with heavenly glory and power and spiritual. When we say that it is spiritual, then we do not mean, ghostly and immaterial but rather that it is adapted to the spirit.
With these thoughts in mind we can therefore consider some of the more dramatic events surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. From the Gospels it is of course quite clear that the body of Jesus had undergone a quite remarkable change. Consider the closing verses of Luke's Gospel, the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. Jesus came and walked with them but they didn't recognise him. And at verse 31 we read, "then their eyes were opened and they recognised him and he disappeared from their sight." And later at verse 36, "while they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them,"Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."
Contained here again is this description of a real body of flesh and bones, yet one that is difficult to recognise, can disappear and can just as suddenly appear behind closed doors. And nothing that is said here in anyway contradicts itself once we understand that Christ's body is different. It is a transformed and glorified human body. It is a body endowed with new and eternal qualities suited to the heavenly environment. It is shown to the disciples not only as a proof of the power of God but also to demonstrate very clearly what lies ahead for all believers. For such a body and spirit are promised to us. This change in body and spirit is promised to us by Christ himself the life giving Spirit. For as we read in 1st Corinthians 15:45, "So it is written:"The first man Adam became a living being" the last Adam a life giving spirit".
Now let's apply all of this to ourselves in three simple points.
The first is this, and here again I quote from Berkhof,"The Resurrection of Christ constituted a declaration by the Father that the last enemy had been vanquished, the penalty paid, and the condition on which life was promised, met. The second is that it symbolized what was to happen to the members of Christ's mystical body in their justification, spiritual birth and future blessed resurrection."
Let's back these two statements up by some references to scripture. Romans 6 for example, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through he glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we no that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him." and again Romans 8, "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through Spirit who lives in you."
And the third point is put this way by Berkhof: "It also connected instrumentally with their justification, regeneration and final resurrection." Now this is better understood by looking at the relevant texts. Romans 4:25, "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." Romans 5:10, "For if when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life.!"
I think however it is Peter in his first letter who puts it best of all:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
And that is the joy filled message of Easter. One which we can live and apply every day of our lives and perhaps most importantly give thanks to God for day by day.
Christ is Risen!