from our Bibles again to John
chapter 20. Two years ago, probably almost
to the day, we began a study in the Gospel of John. And if
I would have wanted to, I never could have made us begin John
chapter 20, which gives us an account of the resurrection of
our Lord on the day the world calls Easter Sunday. Now, for
you young people, you visitors, I want to make this crystal clear
to you. Today is not the day of the year
that the Savior arose from the grave. This is not the anniversary
of our Lord's resurrection. And were I randomly selecting,
randomly, following the Spirit's lead, selecting many different
scriptures each Sunday, I would not have chosen this scripture
today. Because I don't want us to identify
with all the ridiculous foolishness that's going on this morning
in the name of religion. However, today or no day of the year,
do I want false religion to rob us of the utter joy the Savior
rose. This is not the day of the year
the Savior arose, but this is the day of the week the Savior
arose. So the church is to celebrate
the resurrection of Christ every Sunday, every time we meet. And
I'll show you this later in the message, Lord willing, we can't
preach the gospel unless we preach the resurrected Christ. So the
title of the message this morning is an Easter message. I want
us to look briefly at the first nine verses of John chapter 20
this morning. I won't make a lot of comments
on the first eight verses. Lord willing, we'll come back
and look at these verses and some other more detail next Sunday.
But I want us to spend the bulk of our time this morning looking
at verse nine. And I want us to answer this
question. Why must Christ rise again from the dead? Verse 9
says, for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise
again from the dead. Well, why must he rise again
from the dead? Let's go back up again and see
what leads us to verse 9 here. Verse 1, John 20. Now the first
day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark under
the sepulcher, and seeth a stone taken away from the sepulcher.
And she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other
disciple whom Jesus loved. And saith unto them, they've
taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where
they've laid him. Now Mary Magdalene, she loved
the Lord so much, how she loved him. She loved him so much because
she'd been forgiven much. The Lord said, to whom much is
forgiven, the same will love much. This is why she loved the
Lord so much. He'd forgiven her much. I'd like to be a Mary Magdalene.
to understand how much I've been forgiven, how my sin's been forgiven
in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to love him much,
to seek him early. You young people, seek the Lord
early. I seek him early. This is what
she did. She came seeking the Lord early.
As soon as it was possible for her to come back to the sepulcher,
she came. The Lord was crucified on a Friday. Joseph of Arimathea
and Nicodemus laid his body in the tomb on Friday. He lay in
the tomb part of Friday. That's the first day. Saturday
was a Sabbath day. Mary couldn't come to the sepulcher
on that day. She had to stay inside, could
take so many steps and pick up sticks and these things. So she
couldn't come to the sepulcher on the Sabbath day. Our Lord
laid in the tomb all that day, Saturday. Sunday, was the first
day that Mary could come back to the sepulcher. Our Lord lay
in the tomb part of that day, that's the third day that he
lay in the tomb. But he arose from the tomb early on Sunday
morning, the first day of the week. He arose before Mary even
got there. She came before the sun was up.
And she saw the tomb was empty. The stone had been rolled away.
And she ran and told the disciples what she'd seen. Verse three,
after she told them this news that she had seen, Peter therefore
went forth and that other disciple and came to the sepulcher. So
they ran both together. And the other disciple did outrun
Peter and came first to the sepulcher. And he stooping down and looking
in, saw the linen clothes line, yet went he not in. Then come
Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulcher, and
seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about
his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. Then went in also that other
disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and
believed. Now this is Peter and John, the
other disciple whom Peter loved. This is the way John refers to
himself. Peter and John ran to the sepulcher together, And it's
commonly understood that John was the youngest of the disciples.
He outlived all of them by many years. And he was younger than
Peter. They ran to the sepulcher together. Being the younger man, John outran
Peter. He got there first. And he got
to the sepulcher. And John, he stooped outside
the sepulcher and looked in. That's John's personality. Now
let's just be cautious here. Let's look before you leap. This
is John's personality. Now when old Peter got there,
Peter never slowed down till he got in that sepulcher. He
just ran, boom, right in. And that's Peter's personality.
Shoot first, ask questions later. That's Peter. And when they looked
in that tomb, they saw evidence that the Lord had arisen in power. The scene that they saw was a
scene of calmness. The grave clothes weren't thrown
all around in a rush. No, they were wrapped together
neatly, laid aside. The Lord wasn't gonna need those
anymore. No believer ever saw the Lord in grave clothes. He
wasn't gonna need them anymore. We saw Lazarus in grave clothes,
didn't we? Didn't see the Lord in grave clothes. He wasn't gonna
need them anymore. And the napkin that had been
wrapped around the face of our Lord was folded neatly in a place
by itself. All this was done in calmness.
Because the Savior arose in power. He arose in power over sin. He wasn't afraid. He wasn't under
the condemnation anymore. He arose in power over sin. And he wasn't in a rush to get
out of that grave. Because if I was in a grave, I'd be wanting
out, wouldn't you? Somebody dug a grave, you fell
down in there or something. If that was me, I'd be wanting to
climb out of that thing. Our Lord wasn't in a rush to get
out. He arose in power over the grave. He wasn't in a hurry. This is all happening according
to his eternal purpose and will. And it was the Lord Jesus who
actually arose. You know, people said, you know,
well, thieves took the body. No, they didn't. If thieves would
have taken the body of our Lord, they'd have been in a hurry.
And they wouldn't have taken the time to unwrap the body,
you know, from the grave clothes. And if they had somehow fallen
off on the ground, they wouldn't have taken the time to, you know,
fold them up neatly. They'd just run. You would have
been able to tell somebody left here in a hurry. Not the case. Thieves didn't take the body.
He arose in power and calmness. And it wasn't someone else who
arose from that tomb. Now the custom was in this day,
you know, you had this tomb, a cave, or maybe they even dug
a cave, you know, back in the rock, and several people would
be buried in there. But it wasn't someone else that
arose from the tomb and the Lord stayed in, no. Remember back
in chapter 19, verse 41? Now the place where he was, in
the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the
garden, a new sepulcher wherein was never man yet laid. There
was nobody else in that tomb, just the Lord. And it was him,
the Lord Jesus himself, who's the one that came out of that
tomb, he arose. Now the disciples, they believed
the Lord. We know they believed. Yet at
this time, it's not completely obvious to the disciples that
the Lord has risen. They wonder, did somebody take
the body? Did they move him? I'm sure many
things went through their mind. But now the scripture says they
believed. Now, what did they believe? Scripture really doesn't
make it clear, does it? Did they believe the body was
gone? Or did they believe what the Lord had told them had happened,
that he had risen? I don't know, it may be both, I don't know.
But there is a difference. in head knowledge and heart faith.
We can understand how the disciples felt at this time, even in a
believer. There's a difference between
what you know and what you know. I'll give you an example. From the time I was old enough
to understand language, in my head, I believed God's grace
is sufficient. I believed it. I read that from
God's word. I believed God's grace is sufficient. Then one day, I found myself
in deep waters. I was in trouble. You and I found
out God's grace is sufficient. Oh, I believe. And I think that's probably what
is going on in the disciples' hearts and minds right now. But
the resurrection of Christ had not fully sunk into them yet.
I know that so, because what verse nine says, for as yet,
They knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. They don't understand that scripture
right now. But I tell you what, later on, they all understood
and believed that scriptures, that scripture. The apostles,
every one of them gave their lives as a martyr for the gospel. And you know what the issue was?
The resurrection of Christ. If He is raised, He's the Messiah. And they would never recant their
claim, He arose. We saw Him, we know this, He
arose. Now why was that so important
to the disciples? So important to the apostles,
they give their life for it. All they had to do was say, He
didn't rise and they let Him live. But they wouldn't recant.
Why was it so important? because he must rise again from
the dead. Well, why must Christ rise again
from the dead? Well, really it's for all the
same reasons that we've been looking at this in the previous
chapters. It's for all the same reasons that Christ must die.
Those are the same reasons he must rise again. The cross of
Christ has absolutely no meaning without the resurrection. The
death of Christ has no saving power without the resurrection.
So first of all, there are several reasons Christ must rise again
from the dead. First of all, because this is
the will of God, and His will shall be done. Why did Christ
die? Because it was the will of the
Father that He die. It was the will of the Father
to save His elect through the death, the burial, and the resurrection
of His Son. It's the will of God. that the
blood of Christ be shed to put away the sin of his people. It
was the will of God that he die, so he died. But if you look back
at John chapter six, it's also the will of God that he rise
again. In John six, verse 38. For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all
which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth
on him, may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at
the last day." Well, if Christ is gonna raise his people up
from the grave, he's gonna have to rise first, isn't he? If Christ
is gonna give his people the new birth, he's gonna have to
rise first. Look in John chapter 10. This
is the will of the Father that Christ rise again. In John 10,
verse 15. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be
one fold and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power
to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment
have I received of my father. The father gave him commandment
both to lay down his life and to take it again, to rise again
from the dead because this is God's will that Christ rise from
the dead. Second, Christ must rise again
from the dead to fulfill all of the word of God. Christ died
to fulfill the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures. That's
why he died. We see that all throughout the
Old Testament sacrifices, Christ died to fulfill the picture of
all those sacrifices. We know Christ rose again to
fulfill all the scriptures too. He rose again to fulfill the
prophecies of the Old Testament scriptures. Genesis 3.15, the
seed of woman will bruise Satan's head. And Satan will bruise his
heel. You know, that's a prophecy of
the crucifixion. I told you when someone was crucified,
it took them a long time, days and days for them to die. And
they would hang on that cross and their bones would get out
of joint and the body would just keep stretching out and stretching
out so that they couldn't breathe. And a person, when they're crucified,
really would suffocate to death. That's how they die, suffocation.
And when they couldn't get a breath, they'd push up on those nails
driven through their feet and they'd push up. to get a breath,
and they slumped back down. Well, every time they did that,
their heel would rub against that cross. And by the time a
person died of crucifixion, their heel was bruised. When they buried
them, their heel was bruised. That's a prophecy of how Christ
would die in the crucifixion. But only his heel was bruised.
His head wasn't crushed. He's gonna crush Satan's head.
Christ was injured, but not defeated. He's gonna rise again. And Satan's
head was crushed by both the death and the resurrection of
Christ. He died to fulfill that prophecy.
Look at Hebrews chapter 11. You know well the story of Abraham
and Isaac. God told Abraham, you take your
son, your only son that you love, you go to a place I'll show you,
and you offer him there as a burnt offering to me. Abraham got the
wood, he got the knife, he got his servants, he got his son,
and walked for three days. For three days, Abraham counted
that boy as dead. And that picture of that ram
being offered in the stead of Isaac, that's a picture of the
substitutionary death of Christ. But that's not the only picture
we find, a picture of Christ we find in that story. It's also
a picture of the resurrection. Hebrews 11, verse 17. By faith
Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. And he that had received
the promise has offered up his only begotten son, of whom it
was said that an Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting
that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead. For whence
also he received him in a figure." He received his son from the
dead in a figure after three days. That's a prophecy of the
resurrection of the Savior. Look at Matthew chapter 12. We're
going to turn to some scriptures this morning, but I want you
to see this now from that your faith and confidence is in Christ
and found in the Word, not what some man says. You know the story
of Jonah. Everybody knows the story of
Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh and preach and he said,
I'm not going to do it. He got on the ship, you know, trying
to run from God. God sent a storm and Jonah finally told him, you
throw me overboard and the storm will stop. You fellows will be
saved. They threw him overboard. God had prepared a great fish
and he came and swallowed up Jonah. Jonah stayed in the belly
of that fish for three days. And then he looked toward heaven,
toward the temple, toward that sacrifice, where they offered
the sacrifices. And Jonah said, salvations of the Lord. And that
fish vomited Jonah up on the ground after three days. Look at Matthew 12, verse 38.
Why did that happen? Then certain of the scribes and
the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from
thee. And he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous
generation seeketh after a sign. There shall no sign be given
to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three
days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son
of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
That whole story of Jonah was given as a picture of the death,
the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. He's going to rise
again after three days. And after three days, Jonah came
out of that watery grave, didn't he? What'd he do? He went to
Nineveh and preached. Many people were saved alive.
Isn't that a picture of our Lord? He died. He was crucified for
the sins of his people. He was buried because he died
for his people. And he rose again for their justification. Many people, countless many people
are saved alive because of his death and burial and resurrection.
Isaiah 53 verse 10 tells us Christ is going to die, but now He's
going to rise again. He shall see His seed. He shall
prolong His days and the pleasure of the Lord is going to prosper
in His hand. It's going to prosper in His living hand because He's
going to rise again. Now look at Psalm chapter 16,
Psalm 16. The scripture that's specifically
mentioned here that the disciples did not understand is Psalm 16. Verse 9, Therefore my heart is glad and
my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer
thine holy one to see corruption. Now they don't understand that
scripture right now. John's stooping outside the tomb,
Peter's running in and John comes in. Mary Magdalene's standing
off there to the side, you know, watching them. They don't understand
the scripture yet, but I'm telling you, they will. You know, when
Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, 3,000 souls were saved. You know the scripture he quoted?
Psalm 16. Peter understood then, didn't
he? He understood, he told him, man, brethren, David wasn't writing
by himself. This is a prophecy of the Messiah.
He rose again. Now look in Luke chapter 24. Where did Peter learn that? From
the time that he's standing there in the tomb, not understanding
that scripture. So he preaches at Pentecost.
What happened that he understood that scripture? The Lord opened
the scripture to him. The Lord taught him. Luke 24,
verse 13. And behold, two of them went
that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem,
about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all
these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while
they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. But their eyes were holding, that they should not
know him. And he said unto them, what manner of communications
are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad?
And one of them, whose name was Cleophas, answering said unto
him, art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known
the things which are come to pass there in these days? And
he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning
Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty in deed and
word, before God and all the people. Now the chief priests
and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and
they have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been
he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this,
today is the third day since these things were done. Yea,
and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the And when they found not his body, they came
saying that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said
that he was alive. And certain of them which are
with us went to the sepulcher and found it, even so as the
women had said, but him they saw not. Then he said unto them,
O fools and slow of heart to believe all the prophets have
spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to
enter into his glory? and beginning at Moses, beginning
at Genesis, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto
the village, where they went, and he made as though he would
have gone further, but they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for
it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went
in to tarry with them, and it came to pass, as he sat at meat
with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and break, and gave
to them. And their eyes were opened, and
they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they
said one to another, did not our heart burn within us while
he talked with us by the way, and while he opened us the scriptures? And then when the Lord, look
over at verse 44, when the Lord met with the disciples, he said
unto them, these are the words which I spake unto you while
I was with you. All things must be fulfilled which are in the
law of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms concerning me,
then opened he their understanding that they might understand the
scriptures. That's why Peter understood the
scriptures. That's why he could go back on
the day of Pentecost and preach from Psalm 16, because the Lord
opened his understanding that he might understand the scriptures.
And their hearts burned within them when the word was preached
to them, because now they understood Christ. Old Testament scripture
is just a story to you until you see Christ. And then they
make your heart within you burn. Christ must rise again to fulfill
the scriptures. Thirdly, Christ must rise again
from the dead to fulfill his very own words. He must rise
again from the dead to fulfill his promise to his people. Now
Christ died to fulfill his words to his people. How many times
did he tell them, I'm going to be taken and crucified. I'm going
to die as a substitute for your sin. And he died to fulfill his
own promise. But if you look at Matthew chapter
16, Christ arose to fulfill his words, his promise to his people
of his resurrection as the representative of his people. Matthew 16 verse 21. From that time forth began Jesus
to show his disciples how that he must go into Jerusalem. and
suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and be raised again the third day. And you'd
think they heard, wouldn't you? He's preached it to them. Well,
look over in chapter 17, verse 22. And while they abode in Galilee,
Jesus said unto them, the son of man shall be betrayed into
the hands of men, and they shall kill him. And the third day he
shall be raised again, And they were exceeding sorry. He said,
I'm going to be raised again. They were exceeding sorry. Why? They didn't hear that part, did
they? They heard what they wanted to hear. They heard he's going
to be crucified, he's going to be slain. That's all they heard.
Well, look over at chapter 20 of Matthew. Things sink in to us slow, don't
they? Verse 17. And Jesus, going up to Jerusalem,
took the twelve disciples apart in the way. And he said unto
them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed
unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn
him to death. And they shall deliver him to the Gentiles,
to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him. And the third
day he shall rise again." The Lord promised he's going to rise
again. He rose again to fulfill His
promise to His people. He always keeps His promise.
He rose to fulfill His promise. He's gonna rise again the third
day. How many times does the Lord
promise us He's coming again? Reckon He's gonna do it. He's
coming again. He keeps His promise. Fourthly,
Christ must rise again from the dead because Christ risen is
the only way there's any good news in the gospel. for sinful
men and women like us. Now Christ must die as a sinner
substitute. God's justice demands the death
of the substitute because Christ was made guilty of the sin of
his people. God took the sin of his people
off of them. He put it on his son. And justice
demanded Christ die because he was made guilty of the sin of
his people. But his blood put that sin away. His blood washed
the sin of His people white as snow, blotted out their sin forever.
So, God's justice also demands Christ rise again from the dead,
because the sin that condemned Him to death is gone. Justice
demands He rise again as the representative of His people.
Now they must have life in Him, because He's risen. Look over
in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I tell you, if Christ is not
raised, you and I are wasting our time. If Christ is not raised,
we've got no good news to preach. You can't preach the gospel without
preaching the resurrection of Christ. You can't tell anybody
any good news without his resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you've received
and wherein you stand, by which also you're saved. If you keep
in memory what I preached unto unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."
See, he must die to fulfill the Scriptures. And he was buried,
and he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
That's the gospel. His death, his burial, and his
resurrection. Now look at verse 12. There's
no good news without this resurrection. If Christ be preached that he
rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection
of the dead? But if there be no resurrection
of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. You've
got faith in a dead Savior. Yea, and we also are found false
witnesses of God, because we've testified of God that he raised
up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise
not. For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, and you're yet in your sins. There's no
good news unless Christ is raised. There's no hope of the new birth.
There's no hope of the resurrection of these bodies if Christ is
not raised from the dead first. The whole good news of the gospel
hangs on this. the resurrection of Christ from
the dead. If he's not raised, we've got no good news. And that's
why I said today, today is not the day of the anniversary of
our Lord's resurrection, but I'm not gonna let false religion
rob us of the wonder and the joy and the comfort and the good
news. Christ arose. He arose so we'd
have good news to preach. Fifthly, Christ must rise again. Because this is the only way
his people can be saved. Now, why did Christ die? If God's
elect are going to be saved, Christ must die the death that
they deserve. He must die as the sinless substitute
to pay the debt of their sin. Justice demands his death. So
if Christ died for you, he died the death you deserve. Then you'll
never die. Not eternally. You'll never die
that second death. Look at Romans chapter four.
Now the great evidence that the death of Christ put the sin of
God's elect away is He rose from the dead. Romans 4 verse 25, He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. Now you know we weren't justified
when He was raised, we're justified by His blood. were justified
by His death, but the evidence, the proof of our justification,
the proof that He put the sin of His people away is He rose
again. God's people cannot be justified
unless He rose again. Look across to page Romans 5,
verse 9. Much more, much more than being
now justified by His blood, we should be saved from wrath through
Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son, Much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. We shall be saved by His resurrected
life. Now, 1 Peter 1. Hold your place
here in 1 Peter. We'll come back to this in just
a minute. 1 Peter 1, verse 18. Christ must rise again for the
salvation of His people. Forasmuch as ye know that ye
are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but ye are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you, who by him do believe God, that
raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith
and your hope might be in God. Your faith and hope is in God
because God raised him from the dead. This is the only way God's
people could be saved, if he's raised from the dead. Now, who
is Christ crucified and who was he raised for? For his people,
for God's elect. Christ arose for the salvation
of his people. He didn't arise to make salvation
possible, just like he didn't die to make salvation possible.
Christ arose for the salvation of his people. I don't believe
I've ever seen this before this week. Who did Christ appear to
after he rose from the dead? His people, just as people. Christ was crucified in front
of the whole wide world. All the world saw his shame and
his humiliation in his death. We saw him raised just as people. He appeared to the brethren.
He was raised for the salvation of his people and he glorified
for the salvation of his people. He risen and glorified for our
assurance. Christ came to save his people
from their sin and Roy got the job done. He saved his people
from their sins. That's not just doctrine, that's
the comfort and assurance of our heart. Sixth, Christ must
rise again from the dead because this is the only way his people
will be born again. 1 Peter 1 verse 23, being born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word
of God. And that's Christ, he is the
word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. If Christ did
not rise, never to die again, he wouldn't live and abide forever,
would he? And if he didn't live and abide forever, none of his
people would be born again. But because Christ arose, because
He arose from the dead as the representative of His people,
they have life. All those people have life. He
gives His people life in the new birth. And when a person
confesses their faith in Christ, when they confess Him, when they
confess their faith and their belief and that Christ is declared
in this gospel, what do they do? They follow the Lord and
believe in baptism. That's a confession that Christ
is all my salvation. The death, the burial under the
water, and the resurrection of Christ, being taken up out of
the water. That's how Christ saved me. That's how I was born
again. Through his death, his burial,
and his resurrection. And then last, Christ must rise
again. because this is the only way
his people will have any hope of these bodies being resurrected.
Romans 8 verse 10 And if Christ be in you, the body
is dead because of sin, but the spirit his life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his spirit that dwelleth in you." See, that's our hope both
of the new birth and the resurrection of these vile bodies. The same
God, the same power that raised up Christ from the dead is going
to raise up his people from the dead to be just like Christ.
Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The only way any of his people
will have hope of the resurrection is if Christ is raised first.
He's got to be the firstfruits. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 17. And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain and you're yet in your sins. Then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life
only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits
of them that slept. For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Everyone in
Adam died in Adam, died spiritually in Adam when Adam fell. Even
so everyone who's in Christ is going to be made alive through
his life. But every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruits,
Afterward, they that are Christ at His coming. Now, every child
of God, when they're raised again in the resurrection, we're not
gonna be raised in flesh like we are now. Now, we'll look like
each other, we'll recognize one another, but our flesh is gonna
be different flesh than this dead, stinking, corrupt flesh
we're carrying around now. We're gonna be changed into glorified
flesh, into flesh just like the resurrected flesh of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Look over in verse 47 of 1 Corinthians
15. For the first man is of the earth,
earthy. The second man, the second Adam,
is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they that are heavenly. And as they have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. But we
shall all be changed in a moment. In the twinkling of an eye at
the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead should
be raised incorruptible. And we, those who remain, should
be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption. And this mortal must put on immortality. And that's what's going to happen
because of the resurrection of Christ. We're going to be raised
in bodies just like him. I told you this last week. Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus, they put the body of the Lord in the
grave. They rolled that stone in front of the opening of it. I told you, the grave was defeated. Well, that fully came true when
Christ came out of the grave. The grave is defeated because
Christ came out of it. He arose with power over the
grave. And because Christ rose again
from the dead, there is no fear of death for the believers. And
there's no fear of the grave for a believer because Christ
is the Lord of it. He came out of it, and you will
too. I don't remember who it is, but
I read this many years ago, that because Christ arose from the
tomb, he made even the grave a pleasant place to wait, to
wait for his return. Look at verse 53. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption. This mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that's written, death is swallowed up in victory. O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin. Christ took that away, didn't
he, through the blood of his cross. The sting of death is
sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Now thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast. unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord. For as much as you know
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Christ our Savior
went to that tomb in power, having won the victory over sin. His death on the cross was not
a defeat. They didn't rip his life from him. He laid it down. He gave up the ghost. The death
of Christ was victory over sin. He died in power. and he went
into that tomb in power. It's like he didn't die on the
cross in weakness. He didn't go to the tomb in weakness.
He went to that tomb in power, and he came out of it in power,
having won the victory over death and degray. There's no fear. Therefore, brethren, be steadfast. Be unmovable. Don't let the world
take away your joy in Christ. He rose again because he must
to fully accomplish all the salvation of his people. All right, let's
bow and pray. Our Father, how we thank you
for the good news of the gospel. How we thank you for a Savior,
the sinless, perfect, holy Savior, who is the sacrifice for the
sins of his people, who washed the sins of your elect white
as snow, made us righteous and perfect in him. And how we thank
you for the good news of the risen Savior that gives us such
assurance and confidence in him, knowing that one day he will
return again for his people. And while we confess those who
believe We confess we can't wait. Hasten, Lord, the day. Till then,
cause this good news of the risen Savior to strengthen our heart
and encourage us and give us joy and consolation in Christ
that we be steadfast, unmovable in preaching the good news of
the gospel. The Savior crucified, died, buried,
and resurrected. for the salvation of his people.
Father, we're thankful. It's in his name we pray and
we do give thanks.