Resurrection of Christ - Some Theological Implications
1. The resurrection of Christ was prophesied in
the OT.
a. Psa. 16:9-10
- Peter in Acts 2:22-36
his first message after founding the Church at
Pentecost and he speaks of the resurrection.
- Paul in Acts 13:26-37 message in the synagogue in
b. Psa. 118:22-24 is quoted by Peter in Acts 4:8-12
- Jesus Christ as the stone that was rejected by the builders (
c. Psa
- both of the contexts deal with victory over
death
2.
Jesus Christ
himself during his ministry claimed that he would be raised form the dead
several times.
- Matt. 16:21; 17:9 , 22-23;
20:18-19; 26:32 the nite of betrayal; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; Lk 9:22; John 2:18-22
B.L. Once
again His veracity is on the line,
had it not become a reality as He said, it would have negated everything that
He taught, My words will not pass away!
3. The immediate impact of the Resurrection
a.
As you
study the historical account you discover a tremendous change in the disciples.
- After the cross they were despondent, frightened, they all
scattered.
- After the resurrection they were joyous, fearless,
demonstrated courage under great pressure.
The resurrection was the catalyst.
John 2:18-22
b.
As we
noted the first message Peter gave after Pentecost was on the subject of
resurrection. Acts 2:22-36
c. Have a radical
change the day of worship from the 7th day under the Levitical code to the 1st
day of the week, speaks of new
beginning, new relationship. 1 Cor 16:2
d. He must be alive to be the head of the Church so the very
existence of the Church depended on the resurrection of Christ.
4.
The Significance and application of the Resurrection
a.
Declared
that Jesus Christ is God's Son.
-
The resurrection did not make Him the Son of God; He already existed as
the Son of God;
-
What the resurrection actually did was to declare to all of mankind,
that He was who He
said He was!
-
It marked Him out as The Son of God, it
validated His claim to be deity.
b.
The
resurrection of Jesus Christ indicated the completion and acceptance of His
ministry of Justification. Rom
-
resurrection is the visible proof to mankind that His work on the cross
satisfied the +R/J of God/F.
Application: Man who
is -R separated from God by his sins meets God who is +R at the Cross.
When one
believes in Christ,
God imputes His perfect righteousness to that one, Rom
Because
His +R is imputed to us at the point of salvation on the basis of faith God
then sees each believer as a new creation in Christ - declares them justified.
5. The Ramifications
of the Resurrection to believer in f2.
a.
The power
available for Christian living is related to the resurrection of Christ.
We
cannot live for God by our own strength.
It
is only as His resurrection power works in us that we can do His will and
glorify His name (Rom. 6:4; Eph.
b.
It is the
basis of our confidence in the future.
Because
we have a living hope in a living Savior we are able to live
confidently. 1 Peter 1:3-5
c. It assures us of our own, future
resurrection.
Because
Jesus died and rose again, we shall one day be raised to be like Him (1 Thes.
If
we do away with His resurrection, we have no hope.
d.
Christ's
resurrection is called "firstfruits." That is He is the first to be raised with a
body of incorruption 1 Cor 15:20-23.
-
first fruit is
used in the sense of a preliminary installment of what will be both an
example and a guarantee of more to come. That is us and our resurrection!
Application: His resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection
at the Rapture.
2 Cor
6. Without the
resurrection of Jesus Christ there would be no mediatorship which is an
important ministry of Christ to the believer in time.
a.
A mediator
must be alive to be a mediator.
b.
To
satisfy God He must be equal with God, and
He is! True deity!
c. To be able to aid
mankind as a mediator must also be man in order to take man's place and be judged
and die in our place on the Cross. Heb. 7:25; 1 Tim 2:5
d. He was qualified
by virtue of His work
on the cross in bearing our sin to
propitiate the Father's holiness and to reconcile to God those of us who
believe. 1 John 2:1-2;
- it is His work on the cross in
bearing our penalty that the barrier between God and man is removed when we
believe that He died for us personally!
e.
In our
life as a believer He is qualified also to be our defense attorney, our
advocate 1 John 2:1; Heb
7. The resurrection
of Jesus Christ authenticated His entire ministry. 1 Cor
-
kenoj = empty; the gospel
minus the resurrection is empty
- a failure to orient
and apply the truth of the resurrection
will result in misery and lack of
confidence in time, not using one of DOA's.
8.
Without the resurrection there would be no Priesthood of Christ.
- Psa. 110:4 (prophecy) "priest
forever" Heb 7:28; 5:5-10;
Application:
Since Jesus Christ is a High Priest and because we are in union with
Him, being in Christ
we are also a priest and therefore have the privilege of worship,
giving, prayer as a part of our priesthood.
1 Pet
2:5-9 believers are called "living stones" being built up as a
spiritual house for a holy priesthood. As such we are a people of God's
possession.
9.
Without the Resurrection of Christ there could not be a fulfillment of
the Davidic Covenant which is the paragraph of the Abrahamic
covenant which says that David will have a son who will reign forever, which
speaks of Christ. Psa.
89:28-37; 2 Sam
7:16
Application: Jesus Christ will reign over this kingdom
during the millennium and we as Church age believers will rule and reign with
Him.
Whenever God's people gather on the first day of the week
they are bearing witness that
Jesus is indeed alive!