Introduction – Of course, we
worship every Lord’s Day commemorating the work of the power of the
resurrection. But once a year, we
gather and declare the power which declared Christ to be the Son of God with an
exclamation point. Our meditation on
this Day should bolster our joy in God’s providence, His plan for the world,
and strengthen our ongoing work of sanctification.
Where Evil is for Good (Acts 2:22-24)
– One of the first things to note about the resurrection of Christ is that it
proves that there is nothing too wicked or evil that God cannot use for
good. Christ’s crucifixion, the most
heinous event ever upon this earth, gives us a vivid illustration that ‘all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose’ (Rom 8:28).
Providence from of Old – There is
another way to see that all that was happening in Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection, was always in the plan of God.
The New Testament is not the invention of new ideas about
resurrection. It is the fulfillment of
glorious promises made in the Old Testament.
Seed of the
Woman/Seed of Abraham – Ever since the Fall, God was gradually
revealing to His people what His plans always were. There has been enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed
of the serpent since then. Abraham, a
descendant of Seth, is promised that the whole world will be blessed through
his seed. When Abraham’s faith is
tested by a command to sacrifice his son, Abraham’s faith is shown to be
resurrection faith (Heb 11:17-19)
The Hope of Job
(Job 19:23-27) – Job, one of the oldest books of the Old Testament, clearly
testifies of this resurrection hope.
And notice in Job, it is already clear that this hope is not in a
gnostic sense of the immortality of the soul, but rather in a bodily
resurrection.
Salvation Song
of Isaiah (Is 26:19) – At the end of this song, Isaiah
describes a physical resurrection, probably as an illustration of the promised
spiritual rebirth of the nation of Israel in the New Covenant. Notice how natural the idea of a bodily
resurrection is for the Hebrew mind.
The Hope of
Daniel (Dan 12:1b-3) – Here is a detailed description
of the general resurrection. This is
the resurrection that Jesus describes (John 5:28-29), and that Paul is
describing in 1 Cor 15.
Our Resurrection Hope (1 Cor 15:20-28) –
The resurrection of Christ secures the resurrection of His people. God’s providence works in a particularly
efficacious way with those who are in Christ.
The Firstfruits
– Christ, being the firstfruits of the resurrection, is proof of a great
harvest to come. And it comes in that
order – “Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His
coming.” Christ’s resurrection was a
resurrection of victory, and so will ours.
Efficacious
Atonement, Not Universalism – “All” is qualified twice in verse
22. All who are in Adam would, of
course, be the whole human race. But
not each and every person is in Christ.
This is why Jesus said “…you do not believe, because you are not of
my sheep” (John 10:26). And so,
those who are in Christ, all of those, will be made alive.
Reigning Now,
Coming Then – Christ is reigning at the right hand of God
the Father now. He is not resting
there, He is actively spreading His rule (Psalm 110:1-2), making people willing
servants as their High Priest (vv. 3-4).
This is Paul’s language in 1 Cor 15:25-27. And so the general resurrection will occur after He has completed
His work at the right hand of the Father.
There He sits, discipling the nations through the work of His church
(Matt 28:18-20). This is important to
see ‘by faith’ in days of spiritual declension. Just as Judas’s betrayal served the purposes of God, so the
disobedience of the church today will not hinder the work of God.
Resurrection Implications for Today
– Christ was raised from the dead. We
will be raised from the dead if we are in Christ. You are only ‘in Christ’ if you have been crucified with Christ
(Gal 2:20). Have you participated in
His death that you might know that you will participate in His glorious
resurrection?
If so, your
body will one day be made like His, just as He promised. No more sin, no more death, no more
sorrow. As you eagerly wait for such a
promise, let it spur you on to worship Him, to love and good works, with great
expectation – “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly
wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by
which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” (Phil
2:20-21). If that power can subdue the
world, it certainly can subdue your greatest struggles with sin.