This is a favorite book of so
many who are Christians, Romans, beginning with verse 1, chapter
1, through the fourth verse, the subject again, the resurrection
of Christ. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God, which
he had promised to for by his prophets in the Holy Scripture,
concerning his son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh. and declared to be the
Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by
the resurrection from the dead. Now, please let me read verse
3 and verse 4 again. Look at them as we see the humanity
and the deity of our Lord concerning His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. and declared the Son of God with
power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. Now, I want to work my way to
the resurrection of Christ after this manner. I begin with this
introduction. we generally concede that there
are various parts that make up the purpose of God in the saving
of his elect. As for example, we distinguish
that done before the world or that done in eternity. such things
as election, co-ordination, and adoption unto sonship. And then
that done in the course of time. Redemption, regeneration, calling,
conversion, sanctification, and such like. These two aspects
of the saving purpose of God are brought together by the incarnation
of the eternal Son of God, when He took unto Himself flesh, yea,
even the likeness of sinful flesh, and thereby took both a special
and a necessary kinship unto the many children that God had
given unto Him. Likewise, we can see that the
Holy Christ of God was in, or was and is, subject to two states,
or some call them condition, in order to bring the elect to
their final glory. Those two conditions are set
forth clearly by Paul in Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 through verse
11. He humbled himself to death.
He was highly exalted. The prophet Isaiah speaks of
the same thing in chapter 53, verse 10 through 12. Add to that
the fact that these two states of our Lord were typified in
the life and the experience of Jonah, rather of Joseph, in the
book of Genesis, as he was cast down into the dungeon and then
exalted and made second among all of those in the land. Now
these two states are, if I may separate them for our edification,
the state or time of our Lord's humiliation when our Lord humbled
Himself. This included Him being born
of a woman. He took upon Him the form of
a servant. He was subject to our sinless
infirmities. He was reproached again and again
by sinners. And He was condemned both by
the Jew and by Pilate the Roman. He was condemned under the death
of the cross. And when He was dead, He was
buried in a tomb and a seal was put upon the mouth of that tomb. Secondly, there followed the
state of our Lord's exaltation unto glory when He was received
into heaven again. He was exalted. He was given
a name above every name. He was given a sovereignty over
all things. He was made Lord and Christ,
as Peter explains it, that in His name every knee should bow
and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God
the Father. As we can see, the resurrection
of Christ was the great connecting, or pivotal point, between the
state of humiliation and the state of exaltation. In the grave, his humiliation
came to an end. He would be there, appointed
by God, three days and three nights in the grave. just like
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. The Lord Jesus Christ need not
and did not see corruption. Yea, he could not and must not
be swallowed up by death and by the grave. He had humbled
himself even under the death of the cross, and his resurrection
both ended his humiliation and commenced his exaltation to the
right hand of God. For after a period of some forty
days, He ascended again into His heavenly glory, that He might
perform the second part of His saving work toward the elect,
and that included pouring out the Holy Spirit of God upon the
church, Acts chapter 2 and verse 33. That included His making
intercession for us, Romans 8 and verse 34, and His becoming and
being an advocate for us when we sin, 1 John chapter 2 and
verse 1. Thus, the resurrection of the
Lord was necessary and was the necessary forerunner for the
ascension and the exaltation of our Lord again into glory. Reading from Louis Burckhoff,
in his book simply entitled Systematic Theology, Burkhoff wrote this,
and I quote, the ascension may be called, rather the ascension,
yes, may be called the necessary complement and completion of
the resurrection. that Christ's transition to the
higher, exalted life of glory began in the resurrection and
was perfected in the ascension and exaltation of Christ." Now,
in studying the resurrection of Christ, there would be many
places that we might choose to launch our feeble vessels to
sail upon this vast ocean of truth. Many techs there are that
are at our disposal. For the resurrection of Christ
is a main and outstanding doctrine of the Scripture, being declared
multiple times in the Word of God, and it is declared also
in the Old Testament in such passages as Psalm 16, verse 8
through verse 11. We see that passage that in the
book of Acts, both Peter in Acts 2, 25 through 31, and also Paul in Acts 13, 35 through verse
37, use and apply the passage from the 16th Psalm as being
applicatory and speaking of the resurrection of Christ. Also in Isaiah 53, in the end,
many there see a declaration of the resurrection of the great
and faithful servant of Jehovah. Not only so, but the typology
also is very clear. How about the type, the picture? See it now. Isaac laying on an
altar before his father who has a knife and his hand is raised. And yet, Isaac is not put to
death, but is raised up in a figure, Hebrews 11 and verse 19. Here we have a picture of the
father putting the beloved son in the place of dead, then raised
as a figure or a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course,
we've already mentioned that one of the clearer types is that
of Jonah, who was in the belly of the sea monster the same length
of time that our Lord was in the bowels of the earth are in
the grave. We must remember that our Lord
Jesus Christ many times foretold predicted, declared that he would
be put to death in Jerusalem and that he would rise again
on the third day, such as John 2 and verse 19. Our Lord said,
destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. John, the Gospel of John author,
makes it very clear that Jesus spoke not of the Jewish temple,
but of the temple of His physical body. In plain language, setting
aside the figurative, He makes that He would be put to death,
that He would be raised up again on or after three days. On other occasions, He spoke
in plain words. the Lord did, foretelling the
manner of his death. It would be crucifixion. Matthew
26 and verse 2. The time of his death would occur
at the time of the Jewish Passover. Luke 24 and 7. The Son of Man
must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified
and the third day rise again. And true to his prediction, the
Lord was put to death in Jerusalem. He was crucified on a Roman cross,
that between two thieves. He was buried with some dignity
by two disciples after the Jewish manner of burial, John 19, 38
through 42. Joseph and Nicodemus perform the rites of burial,
anointing the Lord's body, wrapping His body in linen burial clothes,
anointing and covering it with precious spices. Then laid our
Lord in a tomb, which was near to the place where He had been
crucified. John 19 and 41 tells us it was
a new sepulcher. That is, it was a new grave.
It was a new tomb or burying place, a cave. wherein never
had a body laid before." And the scripture said, there they
lay the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, burying Him in a grave. Now, we must remember, some of
those that were crucified, their bodies were left on the cross
days after their death, left to the elements and to the bar
mitzvah and such like. Also remember, the Jews made
a request which was granted unto them by Pilate, You can find it in Matthew 27,
62 through verse 66. They requested that there be
set a seal on the tomb of the Lord and that guards or watchmen
watch and guard it for three days. Pilate granted them to
humor the religious hypocrites among the Jews. They plead their
case on the ground that Jesus, whom they call a deceiver, said
that after his death he would rise again in three days. and they expressed the fear of
a conspiracy among his disciples. that they might come secretly
and by night and hasten away the Lord's body and claim that
He was risen from the dead as a false means of passing off
Jesus of Nazareth as the Jewish Messiah unto the common Jewish
people. And the Jews were determined
not to let that happen. This week I was reading in Spurgeon's
commentary on the book of Matthew, and he points out that the Jews
knew that Jesus was dead, and this was a major accomplishment
on their part. Now He is laid away in a tomb,
and that tomb is sealed, it is watched, and it is guarded. and their chief concern was to
keep the Lord Jesus Christ in the grave or in the tomb. The purpose, as Gil said, quote,
triumph over him as an imposter, unquote. They were only interested
in the three days and the three nights. After that, they cared
not what happened or what became. They were determined to keep
the Lord in the grave, make sure that He stayed there among the
dead. And if more than three days,
then they could justify putting Him to death and discredit Him
as an imposter. But I think there is another
factor that may have influenced these Jews in asking for this
seal and watch. And again, Spurgeon mentions
it in his commentary on the book of Romans, that though they knew
that Christ was dead and was buried, Virgin said, and I quote,
but they still stood in dread of his power, unquote. For consider how many great things
he had done among them that they could not deny, even raising
up the dead. healing all manner of sickness
and disease, how He handled the Scripture and confounded them,
claimed equality with the Father, how His following was growing,
and how some Jews were taking Him to be the Messiah promised
of old. So Spurgeon wrote, they implore
Pilate that all be done that could be done to keep the Lord
in the grave. Now concerning the death, resurrection
of Christ, there are those heretics who deny that the Lord even actually
died. Not only do they deny the resurrection,
but some of them deny that the Lord actually died. One of them
is what we call the swoon theory, that our Lord simply swooned
or went into a coma or became unconscious and then revived
again in the coolness of the tomb. But this is a direct affront
under the scripture. Many declarations there are that
Christ did actually, really, literally, bodily die. Some deny the resurrection and
the Jews had a particular theory. That was that his disciples might
come and steal his body and then by the open tomb claim that he
was resurrected. With that theory in mind, we
should remember that the disciples at that time were disorganized
they were scattered, they were cowering behind closed doors,
for all fled and forsook the Lord in the hour of his time
upon the cross. And beside, also remember, even
the disciples little understood the meaning of the resurrection
of Christ Himself until after the Lord was raised and appeared
unto them and then the Spirit came down. Then let's raise the
question and consider it and thoroughly vet it for a while. What if Jesus had not risen from
the grave and from death? Was it necessary that our Lord
live again? Would it make any difference
in the saving purpose of God? After all, the Lord had died,
he had died bearing the sin of his people, and as he was about
to give up the ghost, Scripture said, he declared, it is finished. So the question can be summed
up like this. Since Jesus died for our sin,
bore them in his body on the tree, actually died as a sin
bearer, would or could sinners still be saved if Jesus was never
resurrected or live again? Had he stayed in the grave, would
his death still be effectual to save sinners? Now before we
respond to that, let's expose those who deny the resurrection
of Christ and upon what grounds they rejected. Louis Burkhoff
called them anti-supernaturalist, unquote. In other words, they
do not believe in the supernatural. They do not believe in supernaturalism,
even with God. They do not believe that miracles
happen. And so they do not believe in
creation. They believe in evolution. They
do not believe that God parted the Red Sea. They believe that
they crossed in the low end in the shallow water. Now, the same
anti-supernaturalists have also put forth what is called the
Vision Theory. You can remember that term. The
vision theory. Now, the vision theory says this. The disciples thought so much
on the possibility of resurrection, they heard Christ speak of the
resurrection so often that at last they actually thought that
they saw Him. And they lay it to the excitable
Mary Magdalene. who came running in from the
garden with the report that she had seen the Lord, and started
it all. And so this spread, they thought
they had seen the Lord. Now another view of such as rest
the scripture to their own destruction, holds that the resurrection was
a legend adopted into Judaism from Babylonian mythology. That the resurrection, they say,
is of pagan origin, that it was picked up by the Jew and made
a part of their belief. So let me say clearly, any who
deny the resurrection, any who deny the literal bodily resurrection
of Christ is an infidel of the lowest sort. For the resurrection
cannot be denied without denying a large part of the Holy Scripture. It cannot be denied without calling
the apostles liars, for they constantly preach the resurrection
as well as the crucifixion of our Lord, and oftentimes in the
same breath and in the same sentence. Whom you crucified, God raised
up. Again, Peter said, you slew him
and hanged him on a tree, but God raised him up. Again and
again, we see that. The apostle strongly preached
that Christ was risen from the dead. And especially did they
preach that among the Jew. But let's go back to that question.
Must Jesus be raised up? And if so, why? He must not only
die, but He must live again. Just as He must not only become
incarnate, but He must go and die upon the cross in the body
that God had prepared for him. Hebrews 10 and verse 5. Now the question can be summed
up thusly. Does it make any difference whether
one believes in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some say, no, that the resurrection
of Christ may be dropped without affecting Christianity. Other
men, such as Barth and Bruner, say that it is only a historical
matter and not an issue of faith or theology. And I say to them,
liars, liars they are, apostates and deceivers. The resurrection
has deep-rooted doctrinal bearings on the saving work of Jesus Christ
because it is a vital part of the saving work. As surely as
He must die, so must He live again. Consider, if you will,
some things. Paul considered the resurrection
of Christ part and partial of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15,
1 through 4, where the apostle rehearses the gospel which he
had received, which he had delivered unto them, which they had embraced
unless they had believed in vain. And that gospel was this. A.
How Christ died for our sin in accordance with the Scripture.
The ones who make the resurrection historical might then do the
same thing with His death and reduce the Lord to no more than
a martyr for a cause. But Paul connects all things
together. Death, he died. Burial, he was
buried. and he rose again the third day. Literally, he stood up again. So Paul makes the resurrection
a part of the gospel. Secondly, we repeat for emphasis,
a denial of the resurrection of Christ is an attack upon the
verbal infallible inspiration of the Holy Scripture. They teach
us of His resurrection. Every gospel has an account of
His resurrection. Peter preached it repeatedly,
not as a vision or as a theory. Paul preached it. Now, if liberals
and modernists will throw out the resurrection, what else will
they throw out concerning the truth of God in the Scripture? But then thirdly, in Romans 1
and verse 4, Paul makes an amazing declaration that Jesus Christ,
Son of the living God, concerning the gospel, was declared the
Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by
the resurrection from the dead. Now note, the resurrection did
not make him the Son of God. He did not become the Son of
God at the resurrection as some are teaching today. His being raised up did not make
Him, or not at that time did He become the Son of God. For God had owned Him as His
Son at His baptism in Matthew 3 and verse 17. again at His
transfiguration in Matthew 17 and verse 5, and even in the
Old Testament Scripture, Psalm 2 and verse 7. Now in our text, in verse 3,
Jesus was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. He was a descendant of King David. one of the most illustrious names,
houses, and kings in Jewish history. For as Paul said in Romans 9
and verse 5, as to the flesh, Christ came through our of Israel. As to the flesh, he was seed
of David after the flesh. John 7.42, 2 Timothy 2 and verse
8. However, being of the seed of
David according to the flesh, as to His relation unto God. He is the Son of God. He is the eternal, divine, uncreated
Son of God. And what Paul says in Romans
1, 4, declared the Son of God with power. And the grand means
of declaring that consisted in his resurrection from the dead. If you read King James, you may
look at the word declared and find that it is in the margin
alternately rendered as determined. This is a very expressive word
in the scripture of the New Testament that the Apostle uses. It is
that word haridzo and say those who are in the know in the Greek
It is from the word horion and refers to a boundary, to mark
out, and it can mean to appoint, specify, decree, hence to declare,
to limit, to ordain. And this word is summed eight
times in the New Testament, and here are some examples of its
use. In Luke 22, 22, the son of man
goeth as it was determined. There's the word. In Acts 11.29,
it is translated as determined. They determined to send relief. In Acts 2.23, determinate counsel. Acts 10.42, which was ordained. Acts 17.26, God had determined
the time and the bounds of their habitation. Acts 17.31, it is
translated, ordained. And over in Hebrews 4 and verse
7, it is translated in King James, limited or limits a certain day. Now we might see how, in a sense,
all the claims of Jesus as divine, as having come from God, as being
equal with God, are on the line as our Lord Jesus lay dead in
the grave and sealed up in that tomb and came day one and day
two and day three with our Lord sealed up in the grave. But God had limited, God had
ordained, God had determined, God had set a bound upon Christ's
time under death and in the grave. For Jesus not only came to equality
with God, but also proclaimed that he would die and that he
would live again, and that after a specific time, and that three
days. Yet it was not possible for him
to be held by death past those three days and nights. So says
Acts chapter 2. Something else. The Lord was
to see no corruption. And He was to see no corruption
at the hands of death or at the hands of the grave. You remember
we sometimes sing an old hymn In that hymn, here are some of
the lines. death could not keep its prey,
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord." But here in Romans
1 and verse 4, some say then that the resurrection proved
Jesus to be the Son of God. Murray seems to have a good argument
that the words in that verse with power or in power are important. That Paul is declaring a particular
event in history that not only was the Lord Jesus Christ raised
from the dead, and He was raised from the dead not in the sense
of Lazarus or the daughter of Jarius, or the widow of Nain's
son, who simply continued in this earthly life one day to
die again. But the Lord was raised up from
the dead and given a mediatorial sovereignty. Peter puts it in
Acts 2.36, not only raised up, but made Lord and Christ. Made Lord and Christ. Of course, he was Lord and he
was Christ before he died. But in his resurrection and ascension
into heaven, he is made Lord and Christ. Paul writes, highly
exalted. Set down on the right hand of
the majesty of God on high. Let me go back and quote from
John Murray, quote, By His resurrection and ascension the Son of God
entered into a new phase of His ministry and sovereignty, the
exercise of the mediatorial lordship which He executes as head over
all things, unquote. Now there are two verses which
seem unique in regard to the resurrection of Christ. One is
Romans 4 and verse 25, that Jesus was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. Think about that. He was delivered
for our offenses, raised again for our justification. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 17, Paul
says an amazing thing. If Christ be not raised, your
faith is vain, you are still in your sins. Take away the resurrection of
Christ. Look at the effect that it had. Let me close with this. When
our surety, the Lord Jesus, our surety, the One who paid our
debt, the One who answered in our behalf, when He came again
from death, it assured that the debt was settled, that Christ
has gained His release from death and our release from sin. Remember when the old high priest
came out of the Jewish tabernacle. They saw Him and they knew that
atonement had been made and that it was complete. So when Jesus
is coming back again from the dead, justification is sure and
sin is defeated. And to close with this, 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 verses 5 through 7, the resurrection of the Lord
is a well-attested fact. His body was not stolen away
in secrecy. He was seen by many after His
resurrection. And Paul names some of them in
1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verses 5 through verse 7. He
was seen of above 500 brethren at once. And after that, he was seen of
James, then of all of the apostles. Last of all, he was seen of me
as one born out of due time. The resurrection of Christ was
well attested to. Many saw, many handled the word
of life after his resurrection. So the resurrection of Christ
not only as a part of Christian theology, but it is a part of
the saving work of our blessed Savior. Thank God for that.