The Purpose of Resurrection

In my message last week I mentioned that Hosea was one of the prophets who foretold the suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

“After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight” (Hosea 6:2, NKJV).

The above verse indicates that we are included in the resurrection of Christ. God helping me, I try to answer the following questions:

What is the purpose of being included in the Resurrection of Christ? What are the conditions by which we have the assurance of resurrection? What are the blessings of the Resurrection of Christ?

Assurance of our Resurrection

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4 – 6, emphasis added).

Notice the above verses are in the past-tense indicating what Christ had already done for us! All we need to do is to enter into the promised blessing of sitting “together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” by faith.

The Old Creation and the New Creation

The Resurrection of Christ separates the New and the Old creation.

“And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:45 – 47, emphasis added).

Paul contrasts the first man (Adam) and the second Man (Last Adam). Jesus Christ is the Last Adam or the second Man. He is the Lord from heaven.

As the Last Adam, Christ exhausted the entire evil inheritance that came upon the whole Adamic race, through the sin of rebellion of Adam and Eve. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead 3 days later as the second Man (Last Adam), he became the Head of the new race. This is the purpose of God – through the death and resurrection of Christ to put an end to the Adamic inheritance and sealed it off by His death. By the resurrection of Christ, God opened the way, for those who believed, into a new race which Jesus Christ is the Head.

The Emmanuel Race

The new race which Jesus Christ is the Head is the Emmanuel (Immanuel) Race – or “God with us” race. The way by which every human being enters into the new race in Christ, is by being begotten again (or born again) by the Spirit of God:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3, NKJV, emphasis added).

Jesus Christ becomes the source of life for everyone who believes because of the resurrection of Christ. No resurrection, no life; only the Emmanuel Race has life! Christ is our life!

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:1 – 4, emphasis added).

Notice the wonderful assurance given to us, being the member of the Emmanuel Race – “Your life is hidden with Christ in God”!

Because the Emmanuel Race bears the image of the heavenly Man (Christ) (1 Cor. 15:49) we are being comforted:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).

Resurrection and Justification

“And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6, emphasis added).

As believers in the New Covenant, if we believe with the same kind of faith that Abraham had, then it would be credited to us for righteousness just as it was to Abraham:

“He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convince that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:20 – 25, emphasis added).

Therefore through believing in Christ’s resurrection we are made righteous and received full justification.

There are two aspects of transaction of justification and righteousness:

1. By His death Christ paid the full and final penalty for our sins. So, God’s justice was satisfied by the death of Jesus on our behalf. Jesus became our legal representative!

2. By His resurrection Christ provided acquittal or justification for complete righteousness.

Therefore, we were acquitted of all guilt, justified and reckoned righteous by faith.

The Christian faith therefore depends entirely on the resurrection of Christ!

“And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17)!

We are vindicated because Christ was vindicated

Two human courts had condemned Christ to death – The secular court of Rome and the religious court of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

By the resurrection of Christ God reversed those unjust verdicts and vindicated the righteousness of Christ. When Christ was vindicated we too are vindicated because we are identified with Him in resurrection.

Paul sums it up concerning our righteousness and vindication:

“For He (God) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Entrance to Salvation

Read Romans 10:6 – 10. Paul is saying that the righteousness of faith does not come to us automatically just because of what Christ had already done on our behalf. We have to accept what Christ has done for us by faith! The acceptance of this truth is our salvation.

There are two simple logical practical requirements for entering into salvation:

1. Concerns our heart. Our heart must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. In other words, we must believe in the resurrection of Christ. Those who do not believe in the resurrection do not enjoy acquittal and justification of God. They are still in their sins!

2. Concerns our mouth. Our mouth must confess and acknowledge Christ’s Lordship over all aspects of our own life. That is what we have done when we acknowledge “Jesus is Lord”. There is total surrendering of our will to His will. There is the total unreserved act of commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Resurrection overcomes Death

Apostle John saw a vision of the resurrected and ascended Christ (Rev. 1:10 – 18).

Jesus Christ said to him, “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death” (Rev. 1:18, emphasis added).

Notice that Death is not merely a physical condition. It is not merely the separation of life (spirit) from the body of a person when he dies. Both Death and Hades are evil angels, Satan’s representatives ruling over the kingdom of darkness. The true nature of Death and Hades is revealed in John’s vision concerning the forth horseman:

“So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him” (Rev. 6:8).

It is obvious that Death and Hades are persons. Only a person could sit on a horse, and only another person could follow along with the first one. Death claims a person’s body; Hades claims his soul when he dies.

But Jesus descended into the realm of these evil angels between His death and resurrection. He striped them of their authority and took the keys of Hades and Death from them!

We need to know that Death is already defeated but not yet destroyed:

“For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feat. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 25, 26).

Ultimately, Death and Hades would be destroyed:

“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14).

Isaiah foretold Jesus’ victory over death:

“He will swallow up death forever and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8).

Paul quoted the above:

“Death is swallowed up in victory, O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:54, 55).

Jesus’ victory over death casts light on the words of Jesus Himself:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24, emphasis added).

“Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death” (John 8:51, emphasis added).

Once again “death” must be a person - only a person can be seen! Death is a defeated foe to anyone who believes and keeps the Word (Commands) of Jesus Christ. To “keep His Word” means to “To obey His word without compromise”. I believe the converse is also true; a person who does not keep His Word will see death!

Conclusion

“Death” to the believer is merely a gateway to a new life because of Christ’s Resurrection!