On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead Opening Prayer Psalm 123 1 To you I lift up my eyes, * to you enthroned in the heavens. 2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, * and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to you, O LORD our God, * until you show us your mercy. 3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy, * for we have had more than enough of contempt, [Unison] 4 too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, * and of the derision of the proud. Lord, our creator and redeemer, we look to you for all that we need. Look with favor on us, your servants, and give us your grace; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? John 11:25,26 For as he, in rising again, came fort victor over death, so the victory of our faith over death lies in his resurrection alone. Institutes II.13.1 he suffered the same death that other men naturally die; and received immortality in the same flesh that, in the mortal state, he had taken upon himself. Institutes II.16.13 1
In the Resurrection of Jesus Christ man (sic) is once for all exalted, and appointed to discover with God his right against all his foes and thus set free to live a new life, in which he no longer has sin and therefore the curse too, death, the grace and hell, in front of him but behind. Exegesis Karl Barth, Dogmatics in Outline, p. 121 Next comes the resurrection from the dead. Without this what we have said so far would be incomplete. For since only weakness appears on the cross, death and burial of Christ, faith must leap over all these things to attain its full strength. We have in his death the complete fulfillment of salvation, for through it we are reconciled to God, his righteous judgment is satisfied, the curse is removed, and the penalty paid in full. Nevertheless, we are said to have been born anew to a living hope not through his death but through his resurrection 2.16.13. o 1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, o 1 Peter 1:3-12: Peter encourages his persecuted readers by beginning his epistle with a description of their sure and glorious salvation in Christ (NIV Study Bible notes) o Westminster Confession of Faith, XII: 1. All those that are justified, God vouchsafeth, in and for his only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption:1 by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God;2 have his name put upon them;3 receive the Spirit of adoption;4 have access to the throne of grace with boldness;5 are enabled to cry, Abba, Father;6 are pitied,7 protected,8 provided for,9 and chastened by him as by a father;10 yet never cast off,11 but sealed to the day of redemption,12 2
and inherit the promises,13 as heirs of everlasting salvation.14 Scripture Citations 1. Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:4, 5. 2. John 1:12; Rom. 8:17. 3. Rev. 3:12. 4. Rom. 8:15. 5. Eph. 3:12; Heb. 4:16; Rom. 5:2. 6. Gal. 4:6. 7. Ps. 103:13. 8. Prov. 14:26; Ps. 27:1 3. 9. Matt. 6:30, 32; I Peter 5:7. 10. Heb. 12:6. 11. Lam. 3:31; Heb. 13:5. 12. Eph. 4:30. 13. Heb. 6:12. 14. I Peter 1:4; Heb. 1:14. o Heidelberg Catechism 45: Q. 45. What benefit do we receive from the resurrection of Christ? A. First, by his resurrection he has overcome death that he might make us share in the righteousness which he has obtained for us through his death. Second, we too are now raised by his power to a new life. Third, the resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge to us of our blessed resurrection In rising again, came forth victory over death, so the victory of our faith over death lines in the resurrection alone. o He was put to death for our sins, and raise for our justification (Romans 4:25). For how could he by dying have freed us from death if he had himself succumbed to death? How could he acquired victory for us if he had failed in the struggle? Therefore, we divide the substance of our salvation between Christ s death, sin was wiped out and death extinguished; through his resurrection, righteousness was restored and life raised up, so that thanks to his resurrection, righteousness was restored and life raised up, so that thanks to his resurrection his death manifested its 3
power and efficacy in us. Christ was declared the Son of God in the resurrection itself (Romans 1:4). o God raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that our faith and hope might be in God (1 Peter 1:21). As the mediator between God and man, Christ provides the only access to God (John 14:6). In Christ, the Father is revealed (John 1:18). Christ s redeeming death has opened the path of access to God (1 Peter 3:18). (NIV Bible Study Notes). o We are engrafted in the likeness of his death, so that sharing in his resurrection we might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). ESV o Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Victory Over Sin, Death, and the Devil Jesus Christ brings us salvation through his triumph over sin, death, and the devil. Here Christ is the victor. The early Christian imagination was very vivid in elaborating the ways in which Jesus Christ won the victory over the principalities and powers of this world. This elaboration makes more vivid the fact that once there lived in history a human being who was not overcome by evil but who overcame evil by good. In the life of Jesus, evil could not turn love into hate. Even from the cross, Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the instance in human history of a human being who could not be destroyed by death. Gad raised him from the dead. This triumph over sin, death, and the devil was not only a foretoken of God s final salvation; it was also a viceroy with which believers could identify, and in which they could participate. Irenaeus spoke of the work of Christ a recapitulation. Jesus recapitulated in himself the long history of human evolution, undoing what human beings had does to themselves and fulfilling God s intentions for them. We appropriate and participate in this recapitulation. 4
Our participation in the victory of Christ is illustrate din many events in our common life. In university communities persons who have neither the physical abilities nor the inclination to play in college sports yet identify with their team in a way that enables them to participate in its victories and losses, They do not even say the college worn or lost; the say we won or loss. Hence the early church spoke of our participation in the victorious life of one who could not be destroyed by evil or death or the principalities in this world. Discussion John Leith, Basic Christian Doctrine, p. 155. 1. Reading Colossians 3:1-5, how do we live if we are raised with Christ? 2. How do the sins detailed in the Colossians passage tear at the fabric of community? 3. What are the two primary explanations for Jesus death and resurrection according to Calvin? What is their significance in your personal daily living? Bibliography Hesselink, I. John Calvin s First Catechism: A Commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997. Barth, Karl. The Faith of the Church. New York: Meridian Books, 1963. (this is an interesting little book: it is a commentary on the Apostles Creed according to Calvin s Catechism). Book of Order Form of Government: Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA): Part 2 Book of Confessions Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA): Part 1 Barth, Karl Church Dogmatics (particularly I/2,3; IV: Doctrine of Reconciliation) Barth, Karl. Dogmatics in Outline Calvin, John. The Institutes of the Christian Religion, John T. McNeill ed. 5
Leith, John H. Basic Christian Doctrine Leith, John Creeds of the Churches McKim, Donald K. Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. McKim, Donald K. Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1992 Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrine Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Creeds Kittle, et al Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols. VanGemeren, Willem A. general ed. Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, 5 vols. See footnotes for other specific references 6