SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY: MAN, CHRIST, AND HOLY SPIRIT Week Nine: The Resurrection and Ascension of Christ Introduction and Review This is the ninth session in a study of the doctrines of humanity, Christ, and the Holy Spirit. In our last two sessions, we ve focused on the atonement: Jesus lived a perfect life and endured a criminal s death in the place of sinners. We surveyed the biblical canon to see how the doctrine of the atonement developed across redemptive history. We also looked at how different Christians have articulated the atonement throughout church history. At its center, the atonement is a penal substitutionary sacrifice wherein Jesus took upon himself the penalty for human sin, thus turning God s just wrath away from us and cleansing us from our own sins. The atonement was accomplished on the cross, but is applied to each individual Christian when he or she places saving faith in Christ. This week, we conclude our discussion of the doctrine of Christ by focusing on his resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven. What Does the Bible Say? There are no Old Testament passages that specifically prophesy the resurrection of Jesus. Four passages explicitly teach the resurrection of dead humans, but do not mention the resurrection of the messiah in particular (Job. 19:25 27; Isa. 26:19 21; Ezek. 37:12 14; Dan. 12:1 3). What we know of the resurrection and its implications comes from the New Testament. All four Gospels teach that Jesus died on the cross and then came back to life again after being dead for portions of three days. He appeared to a variety of witnesses, particularly his close followers. For the sake of time, we ll include the passages from Matthew and John (cf. Mark 16:1 8; Luke 24:1 53). 1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you. 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, Greetings! And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me (Matt. 28:1 10; cf. 11 20). 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he The Doctrines of Man, Christ, and the Holy Spirit Page 1
did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes (John 20:1 10; cf. 20:11 21:25). Jesus resurrection body was a real physical body; he was not a spirit or apparition. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that his new body has special properties that pre-resurrection human bodies do not possess. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight (Luke 24:28 31). 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, Peace be with you. 27 Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. 28 Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God! 29 Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:19 29). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each played a role in raising Jesus from the dead. The resurrection was a Trinitarian moment in redemptive history. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father (John 10:17 18). 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (Rom. 8:11). The resurrection of Jesus secures our regeneration, justification, and glorification. It is a foretaste of the final resurrection of humans at the end of the age, when our resurrection bodies shall be like Christ s own body. The Doctrines of Man, Christ, and the Holy Spirit Page 2
3 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 (1 Pet. 1:3). 24b It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Rom. 4:24b 25). 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power (1 Cor. 6:14). 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ (1 Cor. 15:20 22). 42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being ; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven (1 Cor. 15:42 49). 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence (2 Cor. 4:14). After his resurrection, Jesus taught his disciples for a season of forty days before ascending to heaven. He went to a particular place, where he received glory and now reigns at the Father s right hand. The resurrection and ascension are closely tied together in the Scriptures. 1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 7 He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:1 11). 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing (Acts 2:32 33). The Doctrines of Man, Christ, and the Holy Spirit Page 3
55 But [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55 56). 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:19 23). Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs (Heb. 1:1 4). What Has the Church Said? There have always been some unorthodox or heretical Christians who deny the bodily resurrection. In the Patristic era, various Gnostic sects argued that Jesus was raised spiritually and lived on as a spirit; these groups believed that physical matters is inherently sinful. In the Reformation era, the Socinians argued for a spiritual resurrection; they also denied the deity of Christ. In the past couple hundred years, many theological liberals have rejected the resurrection. Some argue for a purely spiritual resurrection, while others allegorize the resurrection: Jesus lived on in the faith and deeds of his followers. The latter is the view of many scholars associated with the Jesus Seminar. Orthodox Christians in every tradition affirm the physical, bodily resurrection of Christ as a foundational belief of the Christian faith. The only real debate among traditional Christians concerns whether the resurrection body of Christ is also a spiritual body with special properties that are different from a merely physical body. All Christians agree that, to whatever degree Christ s resurrection body is spiritual, it is first and foremost a physical flesh-and-blood body. Our own resurrection bodies will be like Christ s resurrection body when our salvation is complete and we are glorified in the new heavens and new earth. What Should We Believe? Jesus Christ really did die and then he really was raised from the dead. His coming back to life was a permanent resurrection, not a temporary resuscitation. He has a real physical body and will continue to be the God-man for all eternity. He ascended into heaven, where he received the glory he truly deserved once he was at his Father s side. The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) and the Confessional Statement of The Gospel Coalition each provide a good summary of the resurrection and ascension in their respective sections on the doctrine of Christ. The Doctrines of Man, Christ, and the Holy Spirit Page 4
Baptist Faith and Message (2000) Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord. 1 The Gospel Coalition Confessional Statement We believe that, moved by love and in obedience to his Father, the eternal Son became human: the Word became flesh, fully God and fully human being, one Person in two natures. The man Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, was conceived through the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary. He perfectly obeyed his heavenly Father, lived a sinless life, performed miraculous signs, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven. As the mediatorial King, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, exercising in heaven and on earth all of God s sovereignty, and is our High Priest and righteous Advocate. We believe that by his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ acted as our representative and substitute. He did this so that in him we might become the righteousness of God: on the cross he canceled sin, propitiated God, and, by bearing the full penalty of our sins, reconciled to God all those who believe. By his resurrection Christ Jesus was vindicated by his Father, broke the power of death and defeated Satan who once had power over it, and brought everlasting life to all his people; by his ascension he has been forever exalted as Lord and has prepared a place for us to be with him. We believe that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. Because God chose the lowly things of this world, the despised things, the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, no human being can ever boast before him Christ Jesus has become for us wisdom from God that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 2 How Should We Then Live? The Full Gospel: Evangelical Christians frequently forget to mention the resurrection when they talk about the gospel. This is perhaps because we so emphasize (rightly) the forgiveness of sins. Nevertheless, the resurrection plays just as central a role in our salvation as Jesus sinless life and his atoning death. Furthermore, the resurrection secures the final, cosmic salvation of the created order. We must preach the full gospel that Jesus lived, died, and was raised for the salvation of sinners and the redemption of the cosmos. Two excellent evangelistic tracts that highlight the resurrection are Two Ways to Live and The Story. Defending the Faith: Many non-christians find the resurrection to be implausible; dead people don t come back to life (at least not permanently!). In our increasingly anti-christian culture, many skeptics are working hard to prove that the resurrection is a myth that intelligent people can t believe with integrity. When sharing Christ with some unbelievers, we must be prepared to engage in apologetics and defend the resurrection. This will require us to be familiar with some The Doctrines of Man, Christ, and the Holy Spirit Page 5
of the basic arguments in favor of the resurrection. Convincing a non-christian of the resurrection won t save him, but it might remove some of his intellectual barriers, paving the way for a presentation of the full gospel that is powerful to save. Every FBC Durham member should participate in the apologetics BFL class to learn more about defending the resurrection and other core truths of the Christian faith. The Goodness of Creation: Christians are sometimes tempted to elevate the spiritual above the material, but the resurrection won t allow us to do that. Christ did not simply die to save souls he lived a perfect life, died, and was raised again to save human beings, who are bodies and souls. Furthermore, that Christ became a real man at his incarnation and will remain so for all eternity on account of his resurrection demonstrates that creation is inherently good (though for now, fallen). We should care for our bodies, for our possessions, and for creation, each as an act of faith in the one who raises the dead and renews the created order. The resurrection (and incarnation) remind us that the God who created all things cares for all things, visible and invisible and so should we. Recommended Resources Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Zondervan, 1994), pp. 608 623. Adrian Warnock, Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything (Crossway, 2009). D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Christ (Crossway, 2010). Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ: A Journalists Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus (Zondervan, 1998). Gary Habermas and Michael Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus (Kregel, 2004). William Lane Craig, The Son Rises: The Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus (Wipf and Stock, 2001). Several preachers and teachers at FBC Durham have preached or taught on the topics of the resurrection and ascension over the years. You can access these sermons and lessons by doing a keyword search for resurrection in the Media Library of the FBC Durham website. Notes: 1 The Baptist Faith and Message, Article IIB: God the Son, available online at http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp. 2 Confessional Statement of the Gospel Coalition, Article 7: The Redemption of Christ, available online at http://thegospelcoalition.org/about/foundation-documents/confessional/. The Doctrines of Man, Christ, and the Holy Spirit Page 6