Christian Theology for People in a Hurry by Daryl Aaron

Author:Daryl Aaron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Theology;REL067000
ISBN: 9781493418428
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

Why the Resurrection Is Centrally Imperative

In truth, Christ’s resurrection is absolutely vital to Christianity and our salvation, and as such, the fact appears in the earliest creeds of the faith, two of them being the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. Paul wrote of it in 1 Corinthians 15, his great chapter on resurrection. He included it in his succinct statement of the gospel itself in verses 1–8 (note especially verse 4). The problem he was addressing was that some were saying, “There is no resurrection of the dead” (v. 12), that is, the resurrection is not an important part of the gospel or of faith in Christ. Paul is unambiguous in his response:

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . . [In that case] you are still in your sins.

vv. 13–14, 17

If Jesus were not brought back from the dead after his sacrifice, there would be no salvation. We would have nothing to believe, nothing to put our faith in.

So why is Jesus’ resurrection so vital? First, his resurrection was essentially the Father’s “stamp of approval” on Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice. The Father accepted his work, and the basis for the plan of salvation was successfully laid. In his great Pentecost sermon, the apostle Peter said, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. [He is] exalted to the right hand of God . . .” (Acts 2:32–33; see also Philippians 2:8–9). The Father exalted his Son for successfully accomplishing what he had been sent to do: to die in our place and pay for our sins. This is why Paul can say, “[Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

Second, his resurrection demonstrates that Christ’s death defeated death:

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality [that is, after resurrection], then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:54–57

A Savior who was conquered by death could not himself conquer death. But Jesus was not conquered by death—just the opposite is true. His resurrection is evidence of this great victory (2 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:14–15).

Third, his resurrection provides spiritual life for believers in him, that is, it results in their regeneration—being born again. “In [God’s] great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Related to this is that Christians have already experienced spiritual resurrection, even as we await physical resurrection (Ephesians 2:5–6).

And it gets even better, because all this means

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