Resurrection
Resurrection
The principle of life out of death is the central principle of the Word of God. That our Lord is life, and that He alone has the power of bringing life out of death is the basis of the Christian faith and of our personal salvation.
When the Lord was going to judge the earth with the deluge, Noah believed that God could sustain life in the midst of death, and entered the ark, the symbol of that power, in order that he might be carried from the damned creation to the new creation.
When Abraham was a hundred years old, he came to close grips with the God who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence the things that do not exist. He looked not at his own body, neither at the deadness of Sarah's womb, "but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that what God had promised he was able also to perform" (Rom. 4:19-21).
Our God, by this same principle of life out of death, brought forth the sinless Savior from the womb of the sinful Mary. It is interesting to note that a Roman Catholic Pope pointed this out long before the existence of the modern heresies of Mary's impeccability and quasi- divinity. Pope Innocent III (A.D. 1199) said, "Mary was produced in sin, but she brought forth without sin."
At Easter time we celebrate the central illustration of this divine fact, as we remember that God declared Jesus Christ to be His Son, with God's own authority and power by His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4).
Our own salvation is in the belief that God can implant divine life into the midst of the death of our fallen Adamic nature, making us partakers of the divine nature. It is our triumph that we believe that God is able to give resurrection life for us to live at the present time, knowing Him in the power of His resurrection (Phil. 3:10).
It is the political hope of this world that the Lord Himself shall come to bring peace to a world of men of ill will. Only His life can bring peace and justice to the nations of the world today.
When the last judgment has been completed the Lord will speak the word that will end the existence of our universe, rolling it up like a scroll. He will then speak the word that will form the new heavens and earth in which His resurrection righteousness will exist forever.
1. Considering the Old Testament is pointing to a messiah, would the apostles have known to look for the resurrection as the security of their faith?
2. How was Christ raised from the dead? What are a couple bible verses that talk about the power that raised Christ from the dead?
3. Why did the savior need to be 100% man and 100% God? How does this reconcile us to God?
4. How are we called to live out the resurrection in our daily lives?
