The Late ELDER F. A. CHICK CHRIST THE FIRST THAT SHOULD RISE FROM THE DEAD (1 Cor. xv. 20; Col. i. 18; Rev. i. 5.)
For some cause, our mind has been very pleasantly dwelling upon the truth presented in these portions of the holy writ of late, and we feel like presenting some of our reflections for the consideration of our readers. Nothing can be more important to be considered by all who believe than the truth of the resurrection of the dear Redeemer, because all our salvation, both here and hereafter, depends upon it. Take away the fact of the resurrection of the crucified body of the Savior from the gospel, and we should have no gospel left to proclaim. Paul abundantly testifies in all that he says in all his epistles that if Christ be not raised, all his preaching was vain, and our faith is vain, and we are yet in our sins; that is, we are not yet justified, and our hope is for this life only, and cannot embrace what is beyond. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
There are three special things which are declared in the word to be involved in the fact of the resurrection of the body of Christ.. We say the body of Christ, because that was what was taken down from the cross, and which was laid in Joseph’s new tomb, and which arose from that tomb, and appeared to many before the time came in which he ascended out of their sight. These three things we wish to briefly call attention to.
First, Paul in Romans i. 4 says that by his resurrection he was declared to be the Son of God with power; that is, his rising from the dead proved him to be all that he had claimed to be during his earthly ministry. He said that he was the Son of God. In his death, to his enemies it seemed that his claim was fully proven to be false, and could he have remained in the grave there could have been no assurance to his disciples that he was what he had claimed to be, but the rising again of Jesus from the dead was full proof that he was all that he had claimed to be. Now this is of the utmost importance to all who believe, because in this sonship of the dear Redeemer lies our sonship also. If he be not the risen Son of God, then we are not sons of God; we cry, Abba, Father, in vain, if Jesus be not risen from the dead. We do not propose to dwell upon this, but have simply desired to remind those who read of this truth.
Second. Paul also testified in Romans iv. 25, that he was raised for our justification. Not only is our sonship involved in his resurrection from the dead, but also our state of justification before God. In all the Scriptures, this truth of justification is presented, and presented as a thing essential in the sinner’s salvation; this we do not need to argue, for surely none among all the people of God question or doubt this, yet it is good to contemplate this truth for our comfort and joy. Job asked the solemn question, How shall a man be just with God? And here in the doctrine of the resurrection of the blessed Lord, we have the answer. The resurrection of the body of Christ proved that his atonement for our sins was complete, for had this work remained unfinished in his death, then he could not have risen again from the dead; his resurrection proves that the divine law was fully satisfied, and that now there could be no more condemnation to them who were embraced in the covenant of redemption. In the death of Christ, and in his resurrection again from the dead, lies our only yet all-sufficient hope of salvation. Christ did indeed die for our sins, according to the Scriptures; in this is our salvation, because in him is our atonement and justification, and our righteousness, and all that we need, but none of these things could ever have been ours had he not risen from the dead.
The third thing that is again and again said in the word to be connected with the resurrection of Christ is our own resurrection from the dead. It is not only true that in his resurrection we come to be sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, by a new and spiritual birth, and are justified freely through his redemption, but also the final and future resurrection of our bodies is involved in it, so that if Christ be not risen, there is no resurrection for us who believe, and if Christ be risen then nothing can hinder the resurrection of our bodies also. This need not be dwelt upon here, surely, because all are familiar with the scriptural testimony which so abundantly bears upon this subject. There have been some reflections in our mind in more special connection with the texts of Scripture referred to in the beginning of this editorial, to which we have felt like calling attention, and first among them is this, that in all these places Christ is declared to be the first to rise from the dead. There is no contradiction here of the statements of the Old and the New Testaments concerning the raising again of the two children by the prophets Elisha and Elijah, or concerning the raising up of the ruler’s daughter, and the widow’s son, and Lazarus, by the word of the Savior himself, for all these were but raised up to a resumption of this natural life, and were still subject to disease, decay and death, together with sin. Paul in Hebrews testifies that women received their dead raised to life again, while others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Better than what? Why, better than that accorded to the children who were restored to their mothers, better than a resurrection back again to this natural life. None had before been raised up, as was the blessed Lord. In the true gospel sense, he was the first to rise from the dead. None had thus risen before him. This is a plain statement, and by it we learn that none of the patriarchs, or prophets, or holy men of old, had yet been raised up from the dead. Two of the Old Testament saints had been translated, that they should not see death: “Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him,” and Paul singles him out as a solitary example of the escape from death. Had this been a common experience of believers, it would not have been said of Enoch more than of the rest. Enoch alone under the patriarchal dispensation and Elijah alone under the prophetic dispensation escaped death. God gave them this faith. But of all the rest who died in faith, it is not said that they were translated so that they should not see death. And of them all, it is true that they have not risen from the dead, else Christ had not been the first to rise.
This is also evident from this additional fact. It is testified by the Holy Spirit by the Apostle Matthew, that among the wonderful signs which accompanied the Savior’s death, such as the rending of the rocks, and the darkening of the sun, and the rending of the veil of the temple, that the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints that slept arose and came out of their graves after his resurrection, and went about the holy city, and appeared unto many. Thus, it is evident that these bodies at least were not yet risen, else they could not have been said to have been raised, and to have come out of their graves after his resurrection. Also, we ought to notice that it is not said that all the bodies of all the saints that slept thus arose, but many. The word “many” just as surely means only a part, as the word few would mean it. Thus, the resurrection of these many bodies proved beyond all contradiction that Jesus was truly the first to arise from the dead. In view of this, it is no wonder that Paul in 2 Timothy ii. 17, 18, utters such condemnation of the heresy of Hymeneus and Philetus, who said that the resurrection was past already, thus overthrowing the faith of some. This was an express denial that Christ was the first to rise from the dead, and if this were denied, then the hope of justification, and of their sonship in Christ was vain; they who had hoped in his resurrection were yet in their sins, and all the experience that they had rejoiced in, was but a figment of the brain. No wonder that Paul uttered such severe condemnation of these men and their heresy.
Still further, if Christ was the first to rise from the dead, then it is manifest that in the sense in which this is spoken, his people did not rise when he arose. Had they have then arisen, it could not have been said that he was first. All who rose with him would have been first, as well as he. In one sense, all his people did indeed rise with him, that is, from under the curse of the law, and into the new covenant relation with God. This is shown elsewhere in the Scriptures, and is not disputed, and we need not to dwell upon this here, but in the sense in which the apostle spoke, his people did not then arise. Their resurrection is also yet in the future. From the example of the Old Testament saints and from the resurrection of the bodies of many that slept after his resurrection, we learn that the resurrection does not take place at the moment of death. And we learn from the statement that he was the first to arise, that his people did not rise at the moment of his resurrection. Therefore, the resurrection, to all the people of God, save only those whose bodies arose when he arose, is in the future, and this the Scriptures in all places say. They always speak of it as being yet future.
Another thought suggests itself here, viz, Jesus himself was in paradise while his body lay in Joseph’s new tomb. He said to the penitent thief, “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” We know from the narrative that their bodies were not in paradise; both were laid away in the earth. The body of Jesus arose on the third, the appointed day. Thus was fulfilled in the death of both Jesus and the penitent thief the decree, then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it. But we see the dust of Jesus rising again from the dead, and as he was the first, so shall this dying “thief,” and all who believe, also rise from the dead, and it appears to us that the testimony of the record shows that this resurrection will not take place with one until it takes place with all, at the last moment, when the last trump shall sound.
It is because of this hope of the resurrection of the body that saints are said to sleep in Jesus. Sleep has with it the hope of an awakening again. Because this is so, the word is used to set forth the hope of a believer that when he dies, he shall rise again from the dead. We would call attention to the fact that before the resurrection of Christ from the dead, the word sleep is used to describe death, and after his resurrection, saints are not only said to be asleep, but also dead. In Job xiv. 12, the dead are said to be asleep. See also Jer. li. 57, Dan. xii. 2, Deut. xxxi. 16, and other places in the Old Testament. Jesus also said of Lazarus that he sleepeth, meaning as he said directly, he is dead. Thus, death was spoken of as being a sleep before the resurrection of Christ, and on the other hand, afterwards, saints are said to be dead, as well as asleep. They are so spoken of eight or nine times in 1 Cor. xv. See also 1 Thess. iv. 16, and other places besides. But whether we use the word sleep, or the word dead; whether we speak of those who sleep in Christ, or of the dead in Christ, this sleep and this death still abides, and none are yet risen from it save those who arose when Jesus arose. For in all places, their resurrection is said to be in the future. Faith in the people of God can say no more nor less than the written word says, and the word of God speaks of the resurrection as being in the future. If we, therefore, say that the resurrection is past with any, save those already spoken of, we come into the same condemnation as did Hymeneus and Philetus. And as it was the body of Christ that arose, so must it be our bodies also, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious and glorified body. How his body of flesh and bones was glorified, and what that change in it means, we cannot know, and so also we cannot know what this change means m our vile body, but it was his real body of flesh and bones that was glorified, and so will it be our body of flesh and bones, now vile, that shall be glorified, being changed into his image. For this, God’s dear people have hoped in every age, and in this hope have they died, triumphing over death, and rejoicing. This glorious hope will not be disappointed.
Redemption will be finally completed. We have not yet attained, but we shall attain. Then shall we be satisfied, when we awake in his likeness. We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. This is our hope, embraces and expects, and for this we wait. This is the adoption, the redemption of our body. The things which we experience here are but the earnest of the inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. As man sinned in the flesh, so must he be redeemed in the flesh; as death passed upon him because of sin, and so the body goes down to the grave and into death, so redemption must embrace the body, else death is not fully conquered, and redemption is not fully complete, but Christ goes before in all; he is the first to rise from the dead, he was the first to enter the full glory. As the bodies of Enoch and Elijah are in that perfect state, changed into the image of the dear Redeemer, and as those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, so shall the bodies of the dead who believe be raised, experiencing the same change as do those who are alive then, and all together be with the Lord, and like him.
“This glorious hope revives our courage by the way, While each in expectation lives and longs to see the day.”
The crowning thought with us as we write these things is that in all things Jesus has the preeminence; in all things he is the leader of his Israel, and they can but rejoice to follow where he goes. Let us be steadfast in the faith, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.
There are three special things which are declared in the word to be involved in the fact of the resurrection of the body of Christ.. We say the body of Christ, because that was what was taken down from the cross, and which was laid in Joseph’s new tomb, and which arose from that tomb, and appeared to many before the time came in which he ascended out of their sight. These three things we wish to briefly call attention to.
First, Paul in Romans i. 4 says that by his resurrection he was declared to be the Son of God with power; that is, his rising from the dead proved him to be all that he had claimed to be during his earthly ministry. He said that he was the Son of God. In his death, to his enemies it seemed that his claim was fully proven to be false, and could he have remained in the grave there could have been no assurance to his disciples that he was what he had claimed to be, but the rising again of Jesus from the dead was full proof that he was all that he had claimed to be. Now this is of the utmost importance to all who believe, because in this sonship of the dear Redeemer lies our sonship also. If he be not the risen Son of God, then we are not sons of God; we cry, Abba, Father, in vain, if Jesus be not risen from the dead. We do not propose to dwell upon this, but have simply desired to remind those who read of this truth.
Second. Paul also testified in Romans iv. 25, that he was raised for our justification. Not only is our sonship involved in his resurrection from the dead, but also our state of justification before God. In all the Scriptures, this truth of justification is presented, and presented as a thing essential in the sinner’s salvation; this we do not need to argue, for surely none among all the people of God question or doubt this, yet it is good to contemplate this truth for our comfort and joy. Job asked the solemn question, How shall a man be just with God? And here in the doctrine of the resurrection of the blessed Lord, we have the answer. The resurrection of the body of Christ proved that his atonement for our sins was complete, for had this work remained unfinished in his death, then he could not have risen again from the dead; his resurrection proves that the divine law was fully satisfied, and that now there could be no more condemnation to them who were embraced in the covenant of redemption. In the death of Christ, and in his resurrection again from the dead, lies our only yet all-sufficient hope of salvation. Christ did indeed die for our sins, according to the Scriptures; in this is our salvation, because in him is our atonement and justification, and our righteousness, and all that we need, but none of these things could ever have been ours had he not risen from the dead.
The third thing that is again and again said in the word to be connected with the resurrection of Christ is our own resurrection from the dead. It is not only true that in his resurrection we come to be sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, by a new and spiritual birth, and are justified freely through his redemption, but also the final and future resurrection of our bodies is involved in it, so that if Christ be not risen, there is no resurrection for us who believe, and if Christ be risen then nothing can hinder the resurrection of our bodies also. This need not be dwelt upon here, surely, because all are familiar with the scriptural testimony which so abundantly bears upon this subject. There have been some reflections in our mind in more special connection with the texts of Scripture referred to in the beginning of this editorial, to which we have felt like calling attention, and first among them is this, that in all these places Christ is declared to be the first to rise from the dead. There is no contradiction here of the statements of the Old and the New Testaments concerning the raising again of the two children by the prophets Elisha and Elijah, or concerning the raising up of the ruler’s daughter, and the widow’s son, and Lazarus, by the word of the Savior himself, for all these were but raised up to a resumption of this natural life, and were still subject to disease, decay and death, together with sin. Paul in Hebrews testifies that women received their dead raised to life again, while others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Better than what? Why, better than that accorded to the children who were restored to their mothers, better than a resurrection back again to this natural life. None had before been raised up, as was the blessed Lord. In the true gospel sense, he was the first to rise from the dead. None had thus risen before him. This is a plain statement, and by it we learn that none of the patriarchs, or prophets, or holy men of old, had yet been raised up from the dead. Two of the Old Testament saints had been translated, that they should not see death: “Enoch walked with God and was not, for God took him,” and Paul singles him out as a solitary example of the escape from death. Had this been a common experience of believers, it would not have been said of Enoch more than of the rest. Enoch alone under the patriarchal dispensation and Elijah alone under the prophetic dispensation escaped death. God gave them this faith. But of all the rest who died in faith, it is not said that they were translated so that they should not see death. And of them all, it is true that they have not risen from the dead, else Christ had not been the first to rise.
This is also evident from this additional fact. It is testified by the Holy Spirit by the Apostle Matthew, that among the wonderful signs which accompanied the Savior’s death, such as the rending of the rocks, and the darkening of the sun, and the rending of the veil of the temple, that the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints that slept arose and came out of their graves after his resurrection, and went about the holy city, and appeared unto many. Thus, it is evident that these bodies at least were not yet risen, else they could not have been said to have been raised, and to have come out of their graves after his resurrection. Also, we ought to notice that it is not said that all the bodies of all the saints that slept thus arose, but many. The word “many” just as surely means only a part, as the word few would mean it. Thus, the resurrection of these many bodies proved beyond all contradiction that Jesus was truly the first to arise from the dead. In view of this, it is no wonder that Paul in 2 Timothy ii. 17, 18, utters such condemnation of the heresy of Hymeneus and Philetus, who said that the resurrection was past already, thus overthrowing the faith of some. This was an express denial that Christ was the first to rise from the dead, and if this were denied, then the hope of justification, and of their sonship in Christ was vain; they who had hoped in his resurrection were yet in their sins, and all the experience that they had rejoiced in, was but a figment of the brain. No wonder that Paul uttered such severe condemnation of these men and their heresy.
Still further, if Christ was the first to rise from the dead, then it is manifest that in the sense in which this is spoken, his people did not rise when he arose. Had they have then arisen, it could not have been said that he was first. All who rose with him would have been first, as well as he. In one sense, all his people did indeed rise with him, that is, from under the curse of the law, and into the new covenant relation with God. This is shown elsewhere in the Scriptures, and is not disputed, and we need not to dwell upon this here, but in the sense in which the apostle spoke, his people did not then arise. Their resurrection is also yet in the future. From the example of the Old Testament saints and from the resurrection of the bodies of many that slept after his resurrection, we learn that the resurrection does not take place at the moment of death. And we learn from the statement that he was the first to arise, that his people did not rise at the moment of his resurrection. Therefore, the resurrection, to all the people of God, save only those whose bodies arose when he arose, is in the future, and this the Scriptures in all places say. They always speak of it as being yet future.
Another thought suggests itself here, viz, Jesus himself was in paradise while his body lay in Joseph’s new tomb. He said to the penitent thief, “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” We know from the narrative that their bodies were not in paradise; both were laid away in the earth. The body of Jesus arose on the third, the appointed day. Thus was fulfilled in the death of both Jesus and the penitent thief the decree, then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it. But we see the dust of Jesus rising again from the dead, and as he was the first, so shall this dying “thief,” and all who believe, also rise from the dead, and it appears to us that the testimony of the record shows that this resurrection will not take place with one until it takes place with all, at the last moment, when the last trump shall sound.
It is because of this hope of the resurrection of the body that saints are said to sleep in Jesus. Sleep has with it the hope of an awakening again. Because this is so, the word is used to set forth the hope of a believer that when he dies, he shall rise again from the dead. We would call attention to the fact that before the resurrection of Christ from the dead, the word sleep is used to describe death, and after his resurrection, saints are not only said to be asleep, but also dead. In Job xiv. 12, the dead are said to be asleep. See also Jer. li. 57, Dan. xii. 2, Deut. xxxi. 16, and other places in the Old Testament. Jesus also said of Lazarus that he sleepeth, meaning as he said directly, he is dead. Thus, death was spoken of as being a sleep before the resurrection of Christ, and on the other hand, afterwards, saints are said to be dead, as well as asleep. They are so spoken of eight or nine times in 1 Cor. xv. See also 1 Thess. iv. 16, and other places besides. But whether we use the word sleep, or the word dead; whether we speak of those who sleep in Christ, or of the dead in Christ, this sleep and this death still abides, and none are yet risen from it save those who arose when Jesus arose. For in all places, their resurrection is said to be in the future. Faith in the people of God can say no more nor less than the written word says, and the word of God speaks of the resurrection as being in the future. If we, therefore, say that the resurrection is past with any, save those already spoken of, we come into the same condemnation as did Hymeneus and Philetus. And as it was the body of Christ that arose, so must it be our bodies also, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious and glorified body. How his body of flesh and bones was glorified, and what that change in it means, we cannot know, and so also we cannot know what this change means m our vile body, but it was his real body of flesh and bones that was glorified, and so will it be our body of flesh and bones, now vile, that shall be glorified, being changed into his image. For this, God’s dear people have hoped in every age, and in this hope have they died, triumphing over death, and rejoicing. This glorious hope will not be disappointed.
Redemption will be finally completed. We have not yet attained, but we shall attain. Then shall we be satisfied, when we awake in his likeness. We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. This is our hope, embraces and expects, and for this we wait. This is the adoption, the redemption of our body. The things which we experience here are but the earnest of the inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession. As man sinned in the flesh, so must he be redeemed in the flesh; as death passed upon him because of sin, and so the body goes down to the grave and into death, so redemption must embrace the body, else death is not fully conquered, and redemption is not fully complete, but Christ goes before in all; he is the first to rise from the dead, he was the first to enter the full glory. As the bodies of Enoch and Elijah are in that perfect state, changed into the image of the dear Redeemer, and as those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, so shall the bodies of the dead who believe be raised, experiencing the same change as do those who are alive then, and all together be with the Lord, and like him.
“This glorious hope revives our courage by the way, While each in expectation lives and longs to see the day.”
The crowning thought with us as we write these things is that in all things Jesus has the preeminence; in all things he is the leader of his Israel, and they can but rejoice to follow where he goes. Let us be steadfast in the faith, rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.
C. Hopewell, N. J. (Editorial in Signs of the Times, July 15, 1902)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. If an answer is needed, we will respond.