THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF
CHRIST'S RESURRECTION
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
Lesson 13
The Christian religion is founded on the truth of
Christ’s resurrection, and could not exist if Christ had never risen from
the dead. He left behind no philosophy or organization to hold His followers
together. Nevertheless, all believers are bound to Him in a way that transcends
ideology and organization, for our hope stems from the knowledge that He rose
from the dead. Because He lives we know that He is who he claimed to be, that
He has triumphed over death, and that we “have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”
(Ephesians 1:7). [Galatians
During Christ’s sojourn on
earth, He identified Himself with the Father, and even said that He and the
Father were one. In other words, to know Jesus is to know the Father and to see
Jesus is to see the Father (John
Since atonement can only be made by
one who is without spot or blemish, Christ would not have been acceptable to
God as an offering to atone for our sins if He had been guilty of any
transgression (Exodus 12:5, Numbers 19:2,9, Isaiah 53:9-11). If
Christ had sinned, that sin would have made Him a slave of Satan, and it would
have been impossible for Him to triumph over death (Romans
Since “the wages of sin is
death” the very fact that we are going to die is proof that we are
sinners, and the fact that we cannot keep ourselves from dying is proof that we
need a Savior (Romans
In other words, we are the ones who
deserved to die! However, Christ not only loved us enough to take our sins upon
Himself and die in our place, but the fact that He rose from the dead is proof
that God accepted His death as the payment for our sin (1Peter 3:18). Our
salvation depends upon what He did, not what we do. No sin is ever imputed to
those who trust in Him. [Hebrews
The good news that Christ died for
our sins and rose again in victory over death is the very heart and center of
the gospel, for it is only through the knowledge of His victory over death that
we can face death without fear (1Corinthians 15:1-4). In fact, because our
salvation depends on what He did rather than what we do, we see death as a
triumph not a tragedy. For that reason, first century Christians often saw the
death of a believer as an opportunity to share the hope of the resurrection
with the unsaved friends and relatives of the departed. If some of those
unsaved friends and relatives accepted Christ and were baptized in the hope of
being reunited with their loved one at the resurrection, they were literally
being baptized for [i.e. in order to be reunited with] their dead relative
(1Corinthians 15:29). May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all!
1. What is the Christian
religion founded on?
2. What does our hope stem from?
3. How do we know that Christ triumphed over death?
4. What did Jesus mean when He said that He and the Father were one?
5. What does the fact that Christ rose prove?
6. If Christ had been guilty of sin, would He have been acceptable to God?
7. Could a mere man resist the power and wiles of Satan?
8. What is the fact that you are going to die proof of?
9. What is the proof that God has accepted Christ's sacrifice?
10.What is the heart and center of the gospel?