For I delivered to you first of all
That which I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
and that He was buried,
and that He rose again
the third day
according to the Scriptures,
and that He was seen by Cephas,
then by the twelve.
After that He was seen by over
five hundred brethren at once,
of whom the greater part remain
to the present, but now some
have fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James,
then by all the apostles.
Then last of all He was seen
By me also, as by one
Born out of due time.
1Corinthians 15:3-8
The apostle Paul was arrested in the year 57 A.D. and the letter(s) to the Corinthian Church was written before his arrest and while he was on his third journey and was residing for a while in Ephesus. Jesus Christ was crucified about the year 33 A.D., therefore only 24 years had lapsed since the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and those who saw Jesus alive after His resurrection would still be alive, at least some of them, and if Paul had written that which was not true, then there would have been an uproar over Paul having written a lie. He didn’t! the fact of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ cannot be disputed with impunity for even men who did not claim to be Christian wrote of His death. Victory over death was the monument of Jesus Christ’s sojourn while on earth and is the monument or foundation of our faith. The resurrection of Jesus was not some form or resuscitation, and then the body would die, a death that is natural to all men, no, Jesus’ body was raised from the dead to immortality, this was the work of Jesus Christ, for He is the common Savior of all, and is the true life of all, death was destroyed and now death is trampled on by all those who believe in Jesus Christ, and how did Jesus trample on death? By the resurrection of His body, and that resurrection was that the body which was now immortal: “…he who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1Timothy 6:15b-16). This is a mystery, so mysterious that many have confused their theology and claim what the Bible does not claim, that Jesus comes twice, once for the Church and once for all others, especially those who have put faith in Him. But this is not so, there is not plan B for He has only said that He is coming on the Last Day, and when He comes then will all of God’s children, the dead and those still alive receive the promise: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but 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 this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in Victory” (1Corinthians 15:51-54; cf. Isaiah 25:8).
This fact of the resurrection of the body of Jesus Christ is proved more effectively by those facts, more so than by any words, especially of those whose mental sight is not sound. Death having been slain, put to death forever, how then could there be any other issue that this resurrection of Jesus is the Victory, the monument for it is the final event that secures salvation for all of God’s Children. He then took this victorious act and sat down at the right hand of God for there He makes intercession for all of God’s children forever: “But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God though Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them”(Hebrews 7:24-25). Even the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us, defining our theology of the Trinity, for if both are doing the same act of intercession then both would by necessity be the same, that is to be of the Godhead, the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). If anyone will cavil over the facts finding them to be insufficient, then let him or her provide proof in the opposite to what has been said to regards to the facts presented.
Dead men cannot provide any effective action, for their influence is only as good as long as they are alive, and stop upon their death and the grave. It is true that only deeds and actions that have energizing effect belong only to the living. Yes, there may be some lasting effect by what the have done, but they do nothing more, they are dead, and their power to cause more action by being alive is gone, gone to the grave with them; they work no more. The Savior is alive and His influence to energize people, daily, moment by moment, is in effect due to Him being alive. We find that Jesus Christ is persuading numbers of people all over the world to accept His faith and to be obedient to His teaching. Yes, you are called, enabled by Him, and are called God’s children but there is still the need for a person to be persuaded, and this is done by hearing of the Word, and this faith then enables that hearer to choose Jesus Christ even if it takes more than one hearing. Sin is sin, and sin holds sway over a person and as a person becomes sanctified in this life then the word of God has more influence in that person’s life: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher” (Romans 10:14). Listen closely: does a dead man prick the consciences of a man so that they throw off long established traditions and bow down to the teachings of Jesus Christ? There may be some overflow of influence due to a man’s work, or life, but that is not the dead man doing it actively, for a person is being influenced by the work of a person at this point and not the person who is dead. At some point in time the influence of a person loses its active effect and slowly fades away while another living person gains influence, a living person. But, if Jesus Christ is not alive, actively alive, and if He is dead, how is it that He makes the living to cease from their activities, such as the adulterer from his adultery, the murderer from murdering, the unjust from the avarice, and the profane man to become religious? If He did not rise, is still dead, how is it that He routs and persecutes and overthrows false gods, whom unbelievers think are alive. Wherever Jesus Christ is named, idolatry is destroyed and the fraud of evils spirits is exposed. This is the work of One Who is Alive, who lives and is not dead: more than that it is the work of God. How absurd it would be to say that this is not true when all evidence for its truth is present from history and even in our day, for we see the unbeliever become a believer, we see changed lives, and we see men and women everywhere claiming and acknowledging with their mouths, and with their lives, that Jesus Christ is alive and is the Son of God. The unbeliever has not facts to support their claim that the resurrection of Jesus Christ did not happen.
This is what this season is all about, the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what is changing our lives, the facts are the facts, but we have the call of God, we have the enabling of God through the intercession of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, therefore we live our changed lives, and we preach wherever we can, both by mouth and by action.
For it is written:
“As I live, says the LORD,
every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall
confess to God.”
So then each of us
Shall give account of himself
To God.
Romans 14:11-12; cf. Isaiah 45:23
Make Plans Now! It is Not Easter––It is Resurrection Day
Richard L. Crumb
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