The resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the general resurrection of all

[Guest guest]

, jagbir singh

<adishakti_org> wrote:

>

> " And Jesus spoke again unto the eleven and said,

> " Grieve not because I go away, for it is best that I should go

> away.

> If I do not go away the Comforter will not come to you.

> These things I speak while with you in the flesh,

> but when the Holy Breath shall come in power, lo,

> She will teach you more and more,

> and bring to you remembrance all the words I have said to you.

> There are a multitude of things yet to be said;

> Things that this age cannot receive because it cannot comprehend.

> But, lo, I say, before the great day of the Lord shall come,

> the Holy Breath will make all mysteries known —

> The mysteries of the soul, of life, of death, of immortality, the

> oneness of man with every other man, and with his God.

> Then will the world be led to truth, and man will be truth.

> When She has come, the Comforter, She will convince the world of

> sin, and of truth of what I speak,

> And of the rightness of the Judgment of the just;

> And then the prince of carnal life will be cast out.

> And when the Comforter shall come, I need not intercede for you;

> For you shall stand approved,

> And God will know you then as he knows Me. "

>

> The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ 162:4-11

>

>

> " You are arriving at that point where your destruction is sure

> because you have to become the spirit. You have to rise in

> spiritual life and if your movement is downward who can help you?

> This is a very interesting Time as I have told you, is the Time

> of Judgment, and at this Time we have to be careful that we are

> our own judges. "

>

> Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi

> The Main Qualities To Imbibe, Cabella, Italy — Oct 5, 1997

>

 

Resurrection

by Eric W. Adams

 

The Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the idea of bodily

resurrection evolves from a vague concept into a developed

expectation. Beginning with the judgment of death in Genesis 3:6,

the divine plan of God unfolds in history. The patriarchal period is

more concerned with the first stages of the design. Community

function is central because of the " promise " concerning the " seed. "

The extension of existence is passed through progeny (Gen 12:1-3;

15:1-6) and individual resurrection is not the central concern....

 

The most conspicuous references to a resurrection are to be found in

later apocalyptic literature, as the salvation leitmotif moves

closer to the comprehensive perception that is later spelled out in

Christ's resurrection. A resurrection of the just and the unjust is

affirmed in Daniel 12:2-3: " Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the

earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and

everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the

brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness,

like the stars for ever and ever. " Unlike the " resurrections " of 1

Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:31-37, and 2 Kings 13:20-21, which are

resuscitations to the conditions of earthly life, Daniel 12:2-3

apportions a future allotment by the use of the future tense (both

in the Hebrew text and LXX)....

 

Other Jewish sources reveal a belief in a resurrection. The early

second-century SyriActs (translated from Greek) text 2 Baruch is an

example. Baruch ask God the questions, " In which shape will the

living live in your day? Or how will remain their splendor which

will be after that? Will they, perhaps, take again this present

form, and will they put on the chained members which are in evil and

by which evils are accomplished? " (2 Bar 49:2-3). The answer that is

given in 2 Baruch 50-51 is that initially the " earth will surely

give back the dead … not changing anything in their form " (2 Bar

50:2). After this event, " the shape of those who are found to be

guilty as also the glory of those who have proved to be righteous

will be changed " (2 Bar 51:1-2). The evil will take a more

evil " shape " and the righteous will take a more righteous " shape. "

 

By the time of Christ, the Pharisees (the most influential Jewish

sect just prior to the Christian period who dated back to at least

the second century b.c.) believed in a resurrection (Acts 23:8)

whereas, the Sadducees did not (Matt 22:23; Acts 23:8).

 

The New Testament. The resurrection of Jesus is the principal tenet

of the New Testament. Baptism is centered in Jesus' resurrection.

Even though Jewish illustrations were present for at least a hundred

years before Christ, Paul applies the act symbolically to death,

burial, and resurrection. He says, " When you were buried with him in

baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of

God, who raised him from the dead " (Col 2:12; NRSV see also Rom 6:3-

5; 1 Peter 3:21-22).

 

The Lord's Supper is less connected in its symbolism than baptism,

but the early correlation that it was celebrated on the Lord's day,

that is, on the day that Jesus raised from the dead, reveals an

early association.

 

The retelling of the empty tomb of Jesus is found in all four

Gospels (Mark 16:1-8; Matt 28:11-15; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:11-18).

The empty tomb of Christ stands in sharp contrast to other world

religions whose prophets and their adherents never make such a claim.

 

The appearances of Jesus after his resurrection to chosen

individuals play an important role in the proclamation of the gospel

message (e.g., Matt 28:9-10, 16-17; Luke 24:34; John 20:11-17; 21:1-

2; Acts 2:32; 3:15; 4:20; 10:40-41; 13:30-31; 1 Cor 15:5-7).

 

The resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the general resurrection

of all humans, which will be followed by the dispensing of God's

justice; to the righteous there will be a " resurrection of life " and

to the unrighteous a " resurrection of condemnation " (John 5:28-29;

cf. Rev 20:4-6). Regardless of the complex time sequence involved in

the various resurrections recorded in the New Testament, Jesus'

bodily resurrection is the basis for the future resurrection of

humans (1 Cor 15:42-50). The Spirit, which was given after his

resurrection, is the " guarantee " (or " first installment " ) that God

will raise the righteous from the dead, and that they will not be

found " naked, " that is, incorporeal (2 Cor 5:1-5; cf. Eph 1:13-14),

but will have a corporeal existence with God. Even though

believers " groan " while in their bodies (2 Cor 5:2), they will

be " further clothed " after their resurrection (v. 4). There will be

recompense for what was done in the body; therefore, one must seek

to please God (vv. 6-10).

 

First Corinthians 15. The earliest teaching in the New Testament

concerning the resurrection is undoubtedly 1 Corinthians 15.

Paul " passes on " that which he has received (presumably by oral

tradition), which is of " first importance. " Paul says that the

resurrection was in accordance with the Scriptures—a perception that

was an important one considering the magnitude of the teaching. The

seemingly insignificant detail of the time sequence ( " the third

day " ) is not an inconsequential component; rather, it reveals the

historical nature of the event, which was not a private, subjective

experience but one that occurred in actual time and was attested by

Cephas, the Twelve, and five hundred people.

 

Paul, using simple logic, concludes several things " if the dead are

not raised. " The specific problem that he is addressing is that some

of the Corinthians were saying that there was no resurrection of the

dead. If there is no general resurrection, then the conspicuous

conclusion that " Christ has not been raised " can be deduced.

If " Christ has not been raised, " then several philosophical

conclusions can be outlined.

 

First, the missionary proclamation concerning Christ " is useless "

(v. 14). This perception was undoubtedly an important one for Paul

considering that his commission to the Gentiles was rooted in the

idea that Jesus was " first to rise from the dead " (Acts 26:23).

Therefore, Paul's mission to the Gentiles unfolds in light of the

resurrection of Christ and the corollary futility of his own life

ensues if there is no resurrection. Paul corresponds with the

Corinthians with much passion in these verses. The collapse of the

resurrection was commensurate to Christianity being fallacious for

Paul.

 

Second, if there is no resurrection the faith of the believer

is " vain " and " futile " (vv. 14, 17). The eschatological aspect of

faith is rooted in the notion of resurrection. The resurrection of

Jesus guarantees the resurrection of the believer. Future salvation

is based on the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, faith in God's

justice in resolving the problem of theodicy is " vain " (cf. 1 Peter

3:21; Rom 4:25) if there is no resurrection.

 

Jesus' resurrection is a prototypical event. As " the firstfruits " (1

Cor 15:23) he gives the Spirit as the firstfruits to the believer

(Rom 8:23). This Spirit indwelling is the " first installment " (2 Cor

1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:14) and the basis for the hope of the " redemption

of our bodies " (Rom 8:23).

 

Third, the early missionaries were " misrepresenting God " if there is

no resurrection (1 Cor 15:15). Paul's logic allows no room for

a " spiritual " approach that discounts the resurrection. The belief

in bodily resurrection is commensurate with belief in God. If God

exists and if he created the universe and has power over it, he has

power to raise the dead. Attempts to explain the resurrection as a

mere sociological phenomenon without the supernatural element

minimizes the magnitude of the event and the role that it played in

the formation of Christianity.

 

For example, the fourth of Paul's conclusions— " you are still in your

sins " (v. 17)—shows the magnitude for Paul of the resurrection. The

resurrection of Jesus showed that Christ's oblation as the

sacrificial lamb was accepted by God, which is the basis for the

giving of the Spirit to believers and the forgiveness of their sins.

 

Fifth, if there is no resurrection " those who have fallen asleep in

Christ are lost " (v. 18). In other words, they have returned to dust

with no future cognizance of any existence. This statement gets at

the core of the basis for hoping and not fearing death. It also

affects morality. God's future judgment modifies earthly behavior.

Paul's conclusion that " If the dead are not raised, `Let us eat and

drink, for tomorrow we die' " (v. 32) reveals the tenable resolution

of materialistic hedonism, when the resurrection of Christ as the

firstfruit and the ensuing general resurrection are dismissed. As in

the Old Testament, theodicy, especially in times of persecution, was

perceived as futile if there was no future vindication.

 

Finally, the result of such logic led Paul to declare that " If for

this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to

be pitied " (v. 19 NRSV). Paul articulates the persecution he

received at Ephesus in verse 32, which only has meaning if the dead

are raised. The persecution and even death of many of the early

Christians led to Paul's conclusion that theodicy is resolved by

bodily resurrection.

 

Resurrection by Eric W. Adams

www.bible.crosswalk.com

 

Bibliography. J. E. M. Dewart, Message of the Fathers of the Church;

R. B. Gaffin, Jr., The Centrality of the Resurrection: A Study in

Paul's Soteriology; G. R. Habermas, The Resurrection of Jesus: An

Apologetic; M. J. Harris, Raised Immortal: Resurrection and

Immortality in the New Testament; G. E. Ladd, I Believe in the

Resurrection.