We Believe in the Resurrection

The third day he rose again

Nicene Creed

On the third day he rose again

Apostles’ Creed

Jesus’ resurrection is a unique event in history.

It’s a critical historical event, foundational to Christian belief. As the apostle Paul wrote, ‘if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins’ (1 Cor 15.17).

No wonder, then, that it’s mentioned in the creeds. So, too, is the resurrection of all believers (more on that in a later post).

Today, we’re focusing on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection for Christian leaders.

The Bible tells us of a handful of other people who died and returned to life[1], but, remarkable as these miracles were, they were not the same as the resurrection of Jesus for two important reasons.

HUMAN AGENCY INVOLVED

First, in these other cases, the miracle happened through the words or actions of another person—Elijah, Elisha, Jesus, Peter, or Paul. By contrast, when Jesus rose from the dead, no human agency was involved. God the Father raised Jesus to life.

In doing so, God declared Jesus’ identity as the ‘Son of God’ (Rom 1.4). It was the same declaration God the Father made at the baptism of Jesus (Matt 3.17) and his transfiguration (Matt 17.5). In life and death Jesus was fully pleasing to his Father. In raising him from the dead, the Father declared that he was eternally pleased with his Son.

UNIQUE

Second, in the other cases, the person who returned to life went on to die at some later date. Life returned to a dead body, but that body remained perishable. By contrast, when Jesus rose from the dead, he had a unique kind of body, one that could not die again. As the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans,

For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

Rom 6:9

His resurrection body was imperishable.

Jesus’ resurrection was more than a temporary reprieve from death; it was death’s decisive defeat. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul makes it clear that Jesus’ resurrection is a ground-breaking event, a ‘firstfruits’ of the general resurrection to come.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

1 Cor 15.21-23

It is not simply that Jesus rose again. As he declared (in John’s gospel), he is the resurrection, and through him, others will share in this resurrection (John 11.25). That’s why his resurrection gives us ‘living hope’ (1 Pet 1.3).

The resurrection of Jesus was not merely the most important event in history, it was also the beginning of a new natural order, the starting point of a new creation. The apostle Paul speaks of our participation in the resurrection of Jesus as something that will take place in the future as well as a reality we experience in the present.

To the Romans, he writes,

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Rom 6.5

That’s in the future. Yet to the Colossians, he refers to the resurrection in the present, through baptism.

Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Col 2.12

We will be raised with Christ and we have been raised with Christ.

Christians live in two parallel realities.

THE OLD

We are still part of the old creation. Outwardly, we are ‘wasting away’ (2 Cor 4.16). Our bodies are subject to decay along with all physical things in the universe. Yet we are also waiting. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes that ‘we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies’ (Rom 8.23). The day will come when we are declared to be God’s sons in a resurrection event like the resurrection of Jesus. For now, though, we groan with suffering and long for a resurrection body. Here’s the apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians.

For while we are in this tent [our present body], we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Cor 5.4

THE NEW

At the same time, we are already part of the new creation. As Paul writes emphatically, ‘if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor 5.17); and to the Corinthians, ‘though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Cor 4.16). When writing to Titus, Paul calls this ‘renewal by the Holy Spirit’ (Titus 3.5b); it takes place also when our minds are ‘transformed’. That’s why he urges the Romans to ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’ (Rom 12.2b), so they can know and do the will of God. Believers are urged to ‘put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator’ (Col 3.10). A verse in his letter to the Corinthians is particularly descriptive of the manner in which we are being changed as we gaze upon the Lord’s glory.

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Cor 3.18

What does this mean for Christian leadership? I have two thoughts.

RESURRECTION – PRESENT AND FUTURE

First, our ministry to others should reflect both the present and future benefits of Christ’s resurrection. We need to acknowledge the groaning we experience now in these perishable bodies. For this reason, we should make space for lament and be tender towards those who struggle physically or mentally. After all, our brains are physical things—they’re part of the body—so they too are decaying!

Yet as we walk alongside those who suffer, we call them to wait patiently and eagerly for future resurrection. This is not passive waiting, but active—as they wait, we encourage them to be transformed by gazing on Christ. We should never set limits on the degree to which God can change a person’s thinking, affections, and passions in this life as they offer themselves to him and the renewing work of his Spirit. For as we present the glories of Christ to others, we pray that the Spirit will change them.

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED

Second, recognising the present and future benefits of Jesus’ resurrection is key to being sustained in ministry. The apostle Paul writes about outer decay and inner renewal in order to encourage believers. ‘Therefore,’ he writes, ‘do not lose heart (2 Cor 4.16a); ‘we are of good courage, I say’, he writes in the same letter (2 Cor 5.6a). When people in our churches focus only on the things of this physical world, they can easily lose heart. We see this on a daily basis. We see the frailty of ageing bodies and the devastation of disease. And so we minister to them in their suffering.

This is right and good, but we too can become discouraged by our own suffering. If we’re not careful, we can be led into all sorts of temptations to satisfy the desires of the body, to seek a temporary reprieve. But, as Paul notes, ‘we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5.7). We see the reality of physical decay and we know the lure of physical indulgence, but, with the eyes of faith, we also catch a glimpse of the glory of Christ and the weight of his coming glory.

Because of this, though we look forward with confidence, we focus on the job at hand right now. We rejoice as we see people changed in their attitudes and affections as they grow to know the Lord more. We even see progress in ourselves! So, we must lift our eyes above our circumstances to gaze on the Lord Jesus.

The resurrection of Jesus should change how we look at life. Paul’s advice to the Colossians is especially noteworthy.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God

Col 3.1

When we set our hearts on things above, it should change how we live. Just a little further on in his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes,

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Col 3.12-14

In light of the resurrection of Jesus, this is how we should live.

ETERNAL HOPE

Brothers and sisters, we will be raised with Christ. We wait in certain hope of bodily resurrection. But we have already been raised with Christ. We are ‘new creation’ people, being renewed in the image of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This is why our ministry should be marked both by patient endurance and by good courage.

So, make this your confession today: ‘I believe in the resurrection’.

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1. The son of a widow from Zarephath was returned to life through Elijah (1 Kings 17.17-24). A boy from Shunem was raised through Elisha (2 Kings 4.8-37) and the body of a man whose body was thrown into Elisha’s tomb also returned to life (2 Kings 13.20-21). Jesus returned to life the son of a widow in Nain (Luke 7.11-17), the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:49-56), and Lazarus of Bethany (John 11.1-44). The bodies of many saints were returned to life when Jesus died (Matt 27.52-53). Tabitha (Dorcas) was returned to life through the apostle Peter (Acts 9.36-42). Eutychus was returned to life through the apostle Paul (Acts 20.7-12).