Article 44

By Steven J. Hogan

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a most important truth, a central fact of Christianity. Only because Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead can we be saved and forgiven, receive eternal life, have true love and peace in our hearts, and go to heaven and be with God and Christ and fellow believers forever and ever. 1 Cor. 15:3-4 – “I delivered to you of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” Today, I want to look at a number of verses that talk about a person’s death and Christ’s resurrection, about our problem and Christ’s solution for us and, in fact, the only solution there is. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” 

First, we have to look at the reason for a person’s death, which is sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every person who has ever lived in this world has sinned and is therefore separate from God, and falls short, far short of being holy, of being what God wants him or her to be. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death.” The consequence, the result of our sin, is that we spiritually die. In Genesis 2:17, God said to Adam and Eve, “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it, you will surely die.” The dying talked about here is not physical, but spiritual. Ephesians 2:1 tells us, “You were dead in your trespasses and sins.” Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sins will die.” These verses are not talking about the death of the body, but the death of the soul. We are talking then about spiritual death, which is caused by sin, and which results in physical death. While people get quite concerned and upset about physical death, we should be most concerned about spiritual death, our separation from God, our Creator, and the Lord of all.

The person who sins is spiritually dead, and if he never gets right with God, is never forgiven of his sins and physically dies, then he is eternally dead. That is, he is spiritually dead and separated from God forever, and will be punished forever by God for his sins. I cannot think of a more sad and sobering truth in the Bible, that people who sin and don’t ever get right with God, will be apart from God, and be righteously punished by God forever. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Hebrews 10:31

God is holy and righteous and must deal with a person’s sin, one way or the other. The one way is what Jesus Christ does for us, and the other way is what we try to do ourselves, which never works, which always results in eternal death and punishment. John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” Matthew 25:41, 46 – “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels… These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Romans 4:23-25 – “Now not for His sake only was it written that it was credited to Him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” Vs 25 says Jesus was delivered over because of our transgressions. That is, God the Father delivered Jesus over to death because of our sins. Jesus died on the cross for us, being punished by His holy Father. Then it says He was raised “because of our justification,” or better said, He was raised for our justification, that is, Christ’s resurrection was necessary for us to be justified. You see, Jesus would not have defeated sin and justified us if He had just stayed in the tomb, because the result of sin is death, and Jesus was still dead in the tomb.

But the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead means He got victory over sin, and proves He got victory over sin. You see, sin results in death, and the fact that Jesus was no longer physically dead, meant that He defeated not just death, but sin which resulted in death. And all who believe in Jesus are justified, are completely righteous in God’s sight, and because of Jesus Christ, defeat both sin and death. Romans 4:24 talks about those “who believe in Him.” To be justified, to be made perfectly righteous in God’s sight, we need to believe in God, and believe that He raised Christ from the dead. And God raising Christ from the dead showed that Christ got victory over sin – for Christ paid for our sins, and then died, but He did not stay dead. His resurrection proves that He not only got victory over our sin, but also over the result of sin which is death.

Hebrews 2:14-15 – “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise, also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” This tells us some important truths: First, Jesus needed to be a man, for only by being a man could Jesus die in our place, and die for our sins. Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died, thereby getting the victory over sin and death, the evidence and proof being that He rose from the dead. Second, we understand that the devil has the power of death, which means he has power over unbelievers who are spiritually dead. All who are sinners are children of the devil and are in his camp, his domain of death and darkness and, therefore, the devil, has power over them. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 3:13-14

Of course, it’s our sin, our rebellion against God that allows Satan to have power over us; and an unbeliever when he sins, whether he realizes it or not, is doing what Satan wants him to do, and thereby remains spiritually dead. Again, it is our sin that gives Satan his power over us, this power of sin resulting in this power of death. The devil’s desire is to do all he can to keep people spiritually dead during their life on earth, and if he succeeds in that, then people will go to hell forever. In a real sense, Satan has the power of sin and death over us, and this power of sin and death has to be broken if we are to be saved.

Satan knows if unbelievers remain spiritually dead during their life on earth and then die, their opportunity for salvation is gone forever. Jesus came to take the devil’s power away, to destroy it for us, and give us the power of life, which is eternal life. The way to eternal life is through the resurrection, and the way to the resurrection is through death, and so Christ went through death and was then raised from the dead and, therefore, conquered death for us, His death and resurrection being the only means of eternal life. Christ took away the devil’s power of death through the resurrection and, therefore, could give us the power over death which is eternal life.

Hebrews 2:14-15 – “He (Jesus) also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Unbelievers are enslaved to sin, and the result of sin, which is death. Now many unbelievers are afraid to die. Maybe they have realized they have sinned against God and are guilty and deserve to be punished in hell. (Hebrews 10:26-27). Maybe they are afraid of being apart from loved ones and friends on earth. Maybe they feel they have to be a good person to get to heaven, and they know they are not. Maybe they are afraid of the unknown, of what is going to happen to them after they die. For whatever the reason, many unbelievers are afraid to die.

Colossians 2:9 says Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, which means He is perfect, and therefore could die for us and pay for our sins. Colossians 2:10-14 tells us, “In Him you have been made complete, … And in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the remove of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead… He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven of us all our sins.”

Through Jesus Christ you have been made complete. The fact that you were spiritually circumcised means you have a new spiritual heart, you are a new person in Christ, you are a child of God. And it’s not by your works, but by your faith, your trust in Christ alone. “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness.” (Titus 3:5). Colossians 2:12 says you were baptized, not physical baptism, but spiritual baptism, which means you were spiritually placed into Christ. Since Christ was raised from the dead you were, spiritually speaking, raised from the dead and raised up with Him. This is an amazing work, an incredible miracle of God for us who were lost in our sins, spiritually dead, and with no hope.

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection and because you were raised up with Him, you are not spiritually dead but are spiritually alive, your sin and debt being taken away; and it’s not by your works, but by your faith in Christ and His work for you. Again we see that Christ defeated the devil, made him powerless, which means he has no power over you; and you are forgiven of all your sins. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1, 31-34

Ephesians 2:1-9 is a great section of verses about our problem of sin and the answer being Christ and what He did for us. As unbelievers we were sinners and, therefore, spiritually dead and deserving God’s wrath. But because of His mercy, God sent His Son to die in our place, to save us from our sin and from death. And again we see that we are saved, not because of what we do, but because of God’s grace, because of His mercy, because of what He did for us. The good news is that we are now spiritually alive, and spiritually speaking, are seated with Christ in heaven and, in fact, are citizens of heaven. Not only that, but God will show us the surpassing riches of His grace in the ages to come.

Revelation 1:17-18 –“Jesus placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” John was very afraid, for he had just seen this vision of Jesus, and it was a powerful, sobering and frightening vision. But Jesus tells him not to be afraid, and if we know Jesus, if we are saved, we have nothing to be afraid of, not even death, which to be honest, is a person’s biggest fear.

An unbeliever should be very concerned about what’s going to happen to him after he dies. He should be asking himself some serious questions: “Is there life after death? Will I live after I die? Will I cease to exist? Is there purgatory? Will I go to heaven? Will I go to hell? Will I be judged by Christ for my sins? Will I be declared innocent or guilty? If I go to hell, will I be eternally and painfully punished for my sins? What is the answer to my problem of sin and death?” These are extremely important questions; and a person who doesn’t know Christ should be dreadfully afraid of what will happen to him after he dies – but sadly, most people aren’t very concerned. Their idea of the afterlife is often wrong, for they are believing their own misconceptions or some false teaching. And so they are stuck in their sin, and facing eternal death. Yet you should pray for God to be merciful and gracious to the lost, and for Him to give you opportunities to share the good news of the gospel.

Now Jesus reminds John and all of us the truth about life and death.
– First, Jesus says He is the “first and the last,” that He Himself is God, which means He has all authority and power, and that what He says is true, absolutely and eternally true.
– Second, Jesus says He is the “Living One,” for He was dead, but He was raised from the dead, and is now alive, and will live forevermore, which means He defeated and conquered death, which is the best news there is. No one else could defeat death, could get victory over it, but Jesus did, and He did it for Himself, for His Father, and for those who know Him and will know Him.
– Third, Jesus has the keys to death. This means through Christ, we can defeat death, both spiritually and physically. We spiritually come alive when we are born again; and we physically come alive when we are glorified, for then we receive our new, immortal bodies, which enable us to live forever with God in body, soul and spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:50-53

It also says Christ has the keys to Hades. In the New Testament, Hades refers to hell, to that place of punishment an unbeliever goes to after he dies (Luke 16:23-24). That Christ has the keys to Hades means He controls, means He has power over who goes to Hades and who doesn’t. Jesus died on the cross to pay for all the sins of all the people who repent of their sins and believe He died for them, and those who believe will be forgiven of their sins, and not be punished in Hades. If you don’t believe in Christ you will go to hell, to Hades, and after that you will be punished forever in the lake of fire, that horrific place unbelievers go to at the end of the millennial kingdom, after the Great White Throne Judgment. Rev. 20:11-15

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 – This gives us the big picture. It talks about Christ being resurrected, which happened about 2000 years ago, and then it says we will be resurrected, will be glorified at Christ’s coming, which will happen in the near future. At Christ’s coming, the church will be raptured and all believers from all time will be given brand-new, perfect and powerful bodies. And then the next age, the millennial kingdom age will begin, and you and I, in our glorified bodies, will reign with Jesus Christ and serve Him, carrying out our specially assigned tasks on this earth. And then it will be said, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of Hosts, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory.” Isaiah 6:3

Finally, at the end of that 1000-year period, Jesus Christ will hand the kingdom over to God the Father, and then the eternal kingdom will begin, and we will be with Christ in the new city of Jerusalem, worshiping Him, reigning with Him and serving Him forever. Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 145:1-2 – “I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised.”