Morning By Morning #131

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:20

From the pen of Charles Spurgeon:

Our entire system of Christian faith rests on the fact that “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,” for “if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith,” and “you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:14, 17). The surest proof of Christ’s divinity is His resurrection since He “was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Therefore, if He had not risen, it would not be unreasonable to doubt His deity.

Christ’s sovereignty is also dependent upon His resurrection, “for this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (Rom. 14:9). Our justification, one of the greatest blessings of the covenant, is linked to Christ’s triumphant victory over death and the grave as well, for “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). Indeed, even our very regeneration is tied to His resurrection, for “he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Most importantly, our ultimate resurrection rests in His resurrection, for “if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” (Rom. 8:11). If Christ has not risen, then we will not rise; but if “He has risen” (Matt. 28:6), then those who are asleep in Him have not perished, but “in [their] flesh” will surely “see God” (Job 19:26).

Consequently, the silver thread of the resurrection runs through each of the believer’s blessings, from one’s regeneration to one’s ultimate eternal glorification, and secures them together. Thus, what could be more important for a believer than the glorious fact of Christ’s resurrection! What could bring more rejoicing than this great truth established beyond doubt—“Christ has indeed been raised from the dead”!

The promise is fulfilled,

Redemption’s work is done,

Justice with mercy’s reconciled,

For God has raised His Son.

Joseph Hart, 1712-1768

From the pen of Jim Reimann:

Another point to consider is that if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, He would have been a liar, for He said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days…The temple he had spoken of was his body” (John 2:19, 21). If Jesus was a liar, He would not have been God, for “God is not a man, that he should lie” (Num. 23:19). And, if He was not God, He would not have qualified to be the sinless “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), for He would have inherited a sin nature like the rest of us.

It comes down to this: what you believe is important—especially when it comes to Jesus and who He is. If we are wrong about Him and His resurrection, and “if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men” (1 Cor. 15:19)!