Resurrection

The Bible tells us that Jesus lived and died for our justification but how we know that the sacrifice satisfies God. How do we know that that perfect sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God. Although we know that this offer. Your propitiation actually yielded propitiation with the four 5000 closes while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. This week on Renewing Your Mind. We are celebrating the turning point of history, the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the question that Dr. RC Sproul just raised is central to his message today. How do we know that Christ's sacrifice was acceptable to God, we continue now with our work of Christ in our last session we considered briefly his atoning death on the cross and today were going to look at the resurrection may seem a little bit strange to speak of the resurrection of Christ as part of his work because the whole events of his resurrection was one in which Jesus was completely passive. He didn't raise himself from the dead, but rather he was raised by the power of the Holy Ghost from the dead understand what went on there in the resurrection. The first thing we have to realize is that when Jesus died on the cross. He was really dead. And when he was buried in the tomb. He was really dead.

This was an occasion where the body of Jesus was now a corpse. His soul had left his body and was with the father, but his physical corpse was placed in the tomb and in the case of that corpse, as well as with any other corpse.

There was no heartbeat. There were no brain waves. There was no blood pulsating through his veins. He was dead, and as a dead man in his humanity.

He was utterly powerless to do any significant work and yet we speak of the resurrection as part of the vitally important work of Christ understand that.

Let me take a moment to look at Paul's statement of these matters in first Corinthians chapter 15 beginning at verse 24. Paul writes these words, but now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead, as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ's at his coming. And then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom of God the father when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet in the last enemy that will be destroyed is death for his put all things under his feet, and so in this portion of the apostolic interpretation of the significance of the resurrection we see the idea that we looked at earlier in this series of the link between Jesus and Adam in the function of Christ as the new Adam or is the second and the first Adam brought death into the world. The new Adam brings resurrection from the dead, and so the supreme enemy that afflicts humanlike death itself is triumphant over what the resurrection here we see Christus Victor Christ Victor not only over Satan not only over sin, but he is victorious over death itself and not simply for himself what the apostle tells us here is that he becomes the first fruits so that in the resurrection God doesn't just raised up Jesus from the dead.

But he also raises up all who are in Christ who will participate in that triumph over death.

That's why the resurrection of Christ is so important to the Christian faith. The fact that we join together for worship every Sunday and set a Friday because Christ was raised from the dead on Sunday. We call that the Lord's day, and that is become the new Sabbath. The new guarantee of everlasting life. For all of those who put their trust in him. But let's go back now to the resurrection itself. As I said the body of Jesus was utterly passive. You may see an analogy with Lazarus, whom Jesus raised when Lazarus was raised from the dead, Lazarus contributed nothing to it. You recall that Lazarus had been dead for four days and when Christ came and raised him from the dead holiday do it. He didn't go into the tomb and give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, nor did he plead with the corpse and coax the courts is like a bomb Lazarus get yourself together. Now, instead he called with a loud voice saying Lazarus come forth and at the command of the son of God. This dead body came to life. I use that analogy because you go back to the dawn of creation and how was the whole universe brought into being hounded life come to pass in the first place to the trans-collision of atoms in this ultimate slime not the through the divine imperative by the command of the eternal God the omnipotent one who said, let there be light and the lights came on the sugar power is command was what it took to bring life into reality. In the first place and what it took to bring Lazarus back from the dead.

The same power of God the Holy Spirit who hovered over the waters in the beginning, to bring forth the gestation of all things, so that same spirit now comes into the room where the corpse of Jesus is situated and bound with the grave claws of Lynn and the spirit of God raises them from the you think about early that Sunday morning sunlight the islands for the brain waves begin the heart starts to beat the blood starts the course through the veins of the slain Jesus in the power of the Holy Ghost becomes of those graves close out of the state of death and comes out I will victorious over death's interesting comment that the New Testament makes about the resurrection of Jesus that so many people believe is the ultimate unbelievable marigold of people in the secular world. The skeptic says that there's anything we know for sure is that when people die they stay dead and so if there's anything mythological about Christianity. It's the central tenant of the resurrection, because I say such an event is simply impossible that the New Testament looks at it from a completely different perspective and says it was not possible for death to hold death had no claim over him death is the punishment that God gives to living banks first seen but Jesus was sent to us.

Of course when he took her soon by imputation on the cross, he was filled with sin but not a result. In his own inherent sinlessness gives no authority to death the containment so impossible is is is impossible that he wouldn't be raised from the death.

How can that hold us harmless human but it can't.

And so Jesus is vindicated in this act of resurrection.

The New Testament tells us that Jesus was a ray used for our justification that strange he lived for our justification. He died for our justification but he also was raised for our justification so that whole process by which we are made right with God in justification rests upon the person of Jesus through his life, his death and his resurrection, why, how does the resurrection bear upon our justification will suppose that all that Jesus did was to live a life of perfect obedience which were considered plush offering himself as a perfect sacrifice once and for all in his death, but how we know that the sacrifice satisfied God, we know that that perfect sacrifice on the cross was acceptable to God, we know that this offering a propitiation actually yielded propitiation with the father and the resurrection. The father sends that he receives the perfect sacrifice of Christ. He accepts the as his work of justifying the oven. God the father is saying in the resurrection I am satisfied and removes the curse from us in the resurrection from the dead. Later on here in first Corinthians in verse 42 so also is the resurrection of the dead. The body that's our bodies. Anybody is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption again. It was made.

Most vivid with the burial of Lazarus. Where were told that after the four day that there was this terrible aroma escaping from the tone, the old King James said he stank it the stench that goes with the corruption of the flash was part of the reality of the deaths in the burial of Lazarus, why did the women go to the room early on Sunday morning except to bring their ointments and their perfume to anoint the body of the man who in deaths would begin to see corruption. So the body is put in the grave.

It's sown in corruption when Jesus is raised from the bed. It wasn't just a resuscitation.

It wasn't just as he was before he died he wanted of the tomb and now God raised him from the dead.

He comes out of the same shape he was before now. Yes, there is continuity between the body that one in their and the body that came up is the same body was still identifiable by the marks of the nails and the sword and the like can be recognized but the results are a dramatic change in the body of our will. From the time he went into the tomb and the time that he came out when he came out in resurrection is not simply that his former body was restore now his former body was glorified again.

Listen to how Paul describes it, it's sown in corruption, profitability's raised in incorruption the body that came out of that to could never ever suffer decay or corruption in the flesh. Our bodies when they come out of the tomb, and our resurrection will never again deteriorate. They will never again be subject to the ravages of time and of disease will be incorruptible bodies sown in dishonor betrays the glory we sing along. The study, the Christ life follow the pattern of humiliation that moved in the direction relentlessly towards exultation and even the body of Jesus were sown in dishonor humility crucified his race.

Sorry no I don't know what a glorified human body looks like, but I noticed different from what our bodies are now earlier again. The apostle Paul had said all flesh is not the same flesh.

There's one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals. Another fish that another of birds. There also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies, but the glory of the celestial is one, the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There's one glory for the sun. Another glory of the moon. Another door the stars for one star differs from other star we see gradations, degrees of glory all around us but we haven't seen is glorified humanity and that's what came out of the tent, sown in dishonor raised in glory because it is sown in weakness. You know the Bible extols our creation. Psalmist says we are fearfully and wonderfully made sometimes and when I reflect on my own life of over seven decades.

I'm sometimes surprised at how can this frail body has survived several years in this world on this planet with all the diseases all the actions all the things of faith like the one about that that how you could live this long because you're that close to death every second heartbeat away because our bodies are fundamentally weak.

They do not have the capacity to sustain themselves indefinitely as far as living forever were utterly impotent in our natural condition were sown in weakness just as Jesus body was put in the tomb, and the weakness of human flesh, but the body that came out left that weakness behind the body that came out came out in power and in strength. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

And so it is written, the first man Adam became a living being the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural and afterward, the spiritual, the first man was of the earth made of the dust.

The second man is the Lord from heaven, and as was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of the dust and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of the dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man here is the crux of the work of Christ in the resurrection that he gives us a new humanity that he restores the original image of God and his people and has prepared them to live forever. Paul concludes by saying this I say brother in the flesh and blood can't inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed for the corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and the mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.

Death is devoured considerable by victory over death will purchase now Hades, where is your victory. The sting of death is sin, the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the point of his work is that he is raised by the father, by the power of the spirit not simply for his own vindication, but he's raised for us. He may be the first to be raised in this manner being brought forth in a glorified state but is by no means the everyone who is in Christ Jesus will share in this resurrected glory. This is this is very hard in the center of the Christian. This is our hope, the resurrection proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, the true and lasting identity of Jesus, the apostle Paul wrote that Jesus was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, and as we look forward to Easter Sunday.

These truths fuel her worship don't think glad you joined us for Renewing Your Mind on this Tuesday blindly web the message we just heard this from Dr. RC Sproul series. What did Jesus do understanding the work of Christ in 12 messages. RC examines how Jesus lived the perfect life which made him worthy of dying for our sins and and how his death appeased the father's wrath. I recommend the series to you and will send it to you with the two DVD set when you contact us today with a donation of any amount to leader ministries. You can find us online at Renewing Your Mind on org or if you prefer, you can calls with your gift at 800-435-4343. Also, be sure to check your link in your learning library where you'll find the digital files for the series ready for viewing.

Once your donation is complete. That way you can watch the messages this week as you prepare for Easter and while you wait for the DVDs to arrive. Again, the title, the series is what did Jesus do understanding the work of Christ or web address again is Renewing Your Mind.org and her phone number is 800-435-4343. We hope to hear from you and I treasure the many times I was able to interview RC and among the many things I asked him over the years was what did Jesus mean when he said I am the resurrection and the life.

But I think it means that he and his resurrection as the Bible tells us is the firstborn of many brother that the power of the resurrection is found in him. He says on the resurrection and the life.

And then in the book of Revelation appears I was one who was dead and now I'm alive and that he communicates the power of resurrected life to all of those who are his.

And because he rose from the dead. We will as well. And that's the wonderful good news of the gospel will continue doctors groceries tomorrow as he describes the events that marked Christ's return to glory the ascension. I hope you'll join us Wednesday for Renewing Your Mind