|
THE VICTORY OF CHRIST. Howard Taylor.
67. Q. Does this mean that when he died, death could not hold him? A. Yes. So he rose from the dead. The New Testament speaks of Christ rising in his own power. It also says that God raised him from death. The actual power of the resurrection was the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Christ and the Spirit of the Father. 68. Q. What does this show? A. It shows that his death really was a conquest of sin, and this could only be so because he was the Son of God become man for us. Thus his resurrection from the dead confirms that he is the Son of God. 69. Q. Was Jesus the same after he rose from the dead as he was before he died? A. It was the same Jesus who rose as who died. He was flesh and bone and could eat. The nail prints were still in his hands and feet. The tomb in which he had been laid was empty. And yet there was something very different about him. 70. Q. What was different? A. He no longer lived with the disciples as before, but just appeared to them and disappeared from them over a period of time (forty days). They did not always recognise him. 71. Q. What had happened? A. The New Testament speaks of the resurrection of Jesus as the foundation of our own resurrection on the last day, and therefore the foundation of the new creation. Jesus rose from the dead never to die again. His whole humanity had been changed, having become immortal and glorious. Sometimes the Bible speaks of God's kingdom as new life for this world, and sometimes as a new kingdom breaking into this world from above. We see both brought together in the resurrection of Christ. He is the same Jesus who died, yet there is something other-worldly about him. In the resurrection of Christ, heaven and earth, God and humankind are re-united. 72. Q. How can we understand this? A. We cannot fully understand it. In the new creation there will be things no earthly mind had imagined. The resurrection of Jesus is beyond complete description by earthly language, even though it took place in our world. 73. Q. What happened when Jesus ascended into heaven? A. His bodily presence was completely withdrawn from the world. He did not merely go into the sky, but went beyond the skies into heaven itself. If we travel in a space ship we will always he in the sky; we will never get beyond the sky. But Jesus has gone beyond our space time into heaven itself. In heaven he represents us before his Father as our High Priest and advocate. 74. Q. Does that mean the world will not see him again? A. No. One day the skies will be opened and all eyes will see him. REFERENCES 67.-68. John 20:1-31; 10:17,18; Acts 2:24;3:15; 1 Pet. 3:18; Rom. 1:4. 69. Luke 24:1-11, 40-43; John 20:26-28; Luke 24:38-43. 70. John 20:11-20; Luke 24:13-31; Acts 1:3. 71. 1 Cor. 15:20-23, 42-50; Phil. 3:20-21; Is. 2:2-5; Rev. 21:1-5. 72. 1 Cor. 2:9, 13:9-12. 73. Acts 1:6-11; Heb. 4:14, 12:2; 1 John 2:1-2. 74. Acts 7:56; Rev. 4:1, 19:11; Matt. 24:30.
========================================= If these questions and answers have assisted
you in your
thinking, study
or
preparation please
fill in
a
Feedback form (see
'Feedback' link
below)
stating
to which
article/sermon
note/book
review
etc you
are
referring.
|