The Spirit of Life - Christ's Resurrection

Introduction

As we begin this morning, I think we would do well to give a quick review of where we’ve been so far in chapter 8. Having been justified, regenerated, repented, and believed, we are in Christ, and there is therefore no condemnation for us. As John Murray said in his commentary on Romans, condemnation has been replaced with it’s opposite: justification.

This justification was accomplished by Christ in verses 2-3, in a way that it could not be accomplished by us. Christ obeyed the law, fulfilled it, and satisfied all it’s requirements in his life, death, and resurrection.

Then in verse 4 we see the purpose for which Christ did these things: so that the Law could be fulfilled in us as it was fulfilled in him. So that we might walk as Jesus walked: according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.

Thus Paul in 8:4 introduces us to this concept of walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and really, to walk according to the Spirit is to walk as Christ walked, for as Jesus Himself declared in Luke 4:18

Luke 4:18 NASB95

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,

and the apostle John noted in John 3:34 that the Father gives the Spirit to the Son in full measure.

Joel Beeke says that as the human servant of the Lord, Jesus needs and receives the graces of the Spirit to live and fulfill his office. And therefore, in order for us to live and fulfill our office, our calling if you will, we need the graces of the Spirit as well.

And so Paul continues in verse 5 to explain that in order walk according to the Spirit, you must start in the mind. Before the actions of the body are taken according to the Spirit, the thoughts of the mind must be considered according to the Spirit. As Paul will say in chapter 12, the renewing of the mind according to the Spirit is to precede the obedience of the life according to the Spirit.

And what does a Spirit-quickened mind focus on? According to verses 6-8, it is life, peace, and submission to God.

And how does one know that their mind is Spirit-quickened, which leads to their actions being Spirit-guided in fulfillment of the Law?

According to verse 9, by the indwelling of the Spirit within one’s soul, sealing and guaranteeing their belonging to Christ, and serving as the source of spiritual life, which in turn serves as a down payment on the hope of future physical life, that one day our bodies will will be resurrected in glory. And it is to that resurrection glory that we turn our attention today.

Look at the text

Paul makes his argument by parallel here, indicating that the reason we know we will be resurrected is because the same Spirit that was in Christ is in us, and that Spirit raised Christ, and if it was in Christ and subsequently raised Christ, then it will also raise us if that Spirit is in us.

That’s the breakdown of Paul’s logic here and it’s an argument that ought to bring us great hope. Hope that this mortal life is not all that we have to look forward to, but that rather, in Christ, we have offered to us that most precious commodity that we considered last week, that great treasure that everyone is searching for, a way to preserve and extend their own life. There’s only one way to preserve and extend your life and that is by being raised from the dead by Spirit of God who raised Christ from dead.

So Paul’s pastoral logic is this: He intends to instill resurrection hope in the Roman church and in us, and he does that by stating that our resurrection will be like Christ’s, for it is accomplished by the same Spirit. Therefore, if our hope is to be based in truth and reality, we must understand Christ’s resurrection. Then and only then can we understand our own, and upon that understanding our hope is not fanciful, but it is grounded in truth. As Jesus rose, so we shall rise.

Therefore, let us consider the resurrection of Christ.

The Spirit of Christ’s Resurrection

So as we consider today the implications of verse 11, let us consider as firmly established that truth that the whole Godhead, the one true and living, Triune God dwells within us, and us within Him, in full saving relationship, by the mediating and indwelling work of the Holy Spirit.

Charles Hodge puts it this way:

Systematic Theology Argument from the General Teaching of Scripture

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God. Wherever, therefore, the Father is, there is the Son, and where the Son is, there is the Spirit. Hence if Christ dwells in the believer, the Father does and the Spirit also does. In answer to the question of the disciples, “Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?” our Lord answered, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:22, 23.) In the Bible, therefore, it is said that God dwells in his people; that Christ dwells in them, and that the Spirit dwells in them. These forms of expression are interchanged, as they all mean the same thing.

So having already established the gospel reality of indwelling from verses 9 and 10, in verse 11 we can move forward in our study of the Spirit’s work in Jesus’ bodily resurrection.

The historical reality of Christ’s resurrection

Paul presupposes that Christ’s resurrection is a real, historical event that actually happened. Let’s review the story as John tells it.

John 20 NASB95

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first; and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

John takes the resurrection as an historical event, Paul does the same, and so should we. Now there are progressive scholars out there today, and there have been for many years, who try to say that the resurrection only existed in the minds and hearts of the disciples, and that because of their great faith and belief in Christ’s mission and teaching, that it was as if he was there with them after he died. To that I say baloney. Why? First, the disciples according to verse 9, didn’t even understand the Scriptures teaching that Jesus was to rise from the dead. If they have no understanding of that, how could they just make this whole event up? Secondly, The implication of verse 22 is that the disciples may not have even been truly saved up until this point. If they didn’t even know Jesus savingly, internally, experientially, by the indwelling of the Spirit, they would have had a very hard time carrying on His legacy in their hearts.

Charles Hodge says the following regarding this historical reality of the resurrection:

Systematic Theology (§ 1. Resurrection of Christ)

The resurrection of Christ is not only asserted in the Scriptures, but it is also declared to be the fundamental truth of the gospel. “If Christ be not risen,” says the Apostle, “then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). “If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins” (verse 17). It may be safely asserted that the resurrection of Christ is at once the most important, and the best authenticated fact in the history of the world.(1.) It was predicted in the Old Testament. (2.) It was foretold by Christ Himself. (3.) It was a fact admitting of easy verification. (4.) Abundant, suitable, and frequently repeated evidence was afforded of its actual occurrence. (5.) The witnesses to the fact that Christ was seen alive after his death upon the cross, were numerous, competent, and on every account worthy of confidence. (6.) Their sincerity of conviction was proved by the sacrifices, even that of life, which their testimony entailed upon them. (7.) Their testimony was confirmed by God bearing witness together with them (συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ, Heb. 2:4), in signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. (8.) That testimony of the Spirit is continued to the present time and granted to all the true children of God, for the Spirit bears witness to the truth in the heart and conscience. (9.) The fact of Christ’s resurrection has been commemorated by a religious observance of the first day of the week from its occurrence to the present time. (10.) The effects produced by his gospel, and the change which it has effected in the state of the world, admit of no other rational solution than the truth of his death and subsequent resurrection. The Christian Church is his monument. All believers are his witnesses.

The theological significance of Christ’s bodily resurrection

Why is the resurrection important? Why is this the central reality of Christian belief and life?

Hodge tells us, in answer to the question “Why is the resurrection so important?”

Systematic Theology § 1. Resurrection of Christ

1. From the circumstance that all his claims, and the success of his work, rest on the fact that He rose again from the dead. If He rose, the gospel is true. If He did not rise, it is false. If He rose, He is the Son of God, equal with the Father, God manifest in the flesh; the Salvator Hominum; the Messiah predicted by the prophets; the prophet, priest, and king of his people; his sacrifice has been accepted as a satisfaction to divine justice, and his blood as a ransom for many.

2. On his resurrection depended the mission of the Spirit, without which Christ’s work had been in vain.

3. As Christ died as the head and representative of his people, his resurrection secures and illustrates theirs. As He lives, they shall live also. If He remained under the power of death, there is no source of spiritual life to men; for He is the vine, we are the branches; if the vine be dead the branches must be dead also.

4. If Christ did not rise, the whole scheme of redemption is a failure, and all the predictions and anticipations of its glorious results for time and for eternity, for men and for angels of every rank and order, are proved to be chimeras. “But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of them that slept.” Therefore the Bible is true from Genesis to Revelation. The kingdom of darkness has been overthrown. Satan has fallen like lightning from heaven; and the triumph of truth over error, of good over evil, of happiness over misery, is forever secured.

The practical significance of Christ’s bodily resurrection

So what did Christ’s resurrection do? Joel Beeke points out three things that the resurrection did:

It constitutes Christ’s complete victory over death.

It confirmed Christ’s complete victory of sin and guilt.

It is the fountainhead of all spiritual blessing.

Listen to the way Beeke captures the pastoral and practical significance of the gospel in this anthemic outburst from page 902 of Volume 2 of his systematic theology:

Reformed Systematic Theology, Volume 2: Man and Christ Steps in the State of Exaltation

What a glorious message the empty tomb conveyed! “The Lord is risen indeed!” (Luke 24:34). All the promises and blessings of salvation lie wrapped in this wonderful news. The best news ever heard came from a graveyard! Oh, victorious resurrection—death is disarmed, sin is subdued, the world is overcome, Satan is trodden underfoot, the grave is sanctified, hell is conquered, and the old man is mortified. Do you see it and embrace it? Redemption is accomplished! Eternal life is secured! Justice is satisfied! The curse of the law is buried! Guilt is paid! Debt is cancelled! God’s amen on the all-sufficient work of Christ is loudly declared! All of salvation is verified! Christianity is true! Jesus is alive! Hallelujah!

The means and agency of Christ’s bodily resurrection

We would do well to consider the theological reality of the resurrection, specifically the actions and agency of God to raise Christ from the dead.

Paul’s focus in Romans 8:11 is on the Spirit as the agent of resurrection. But once again turning to Charles Hodge, we discover that not only is the Spirit involved, but indeed the entire Triune Godhead is directly involved in the resurrection:

Systematic Theology The Efficient Agent in the Resurrection of Christ

In numerous passages of Scripture the resurrection of our Lord is referred to God as God or to the Father. The same person who in the second Psalm says, “Thou art my Son,” is addressed in the sixteenth Psalm by that Son, “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” In Romans 6:4, it is said, that Christ “was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father;” so also in Acts 2:24, “Whom God hath raised up.” In Acts 13:30, it is said, “God raised him from the dead.” So in Ephesians 1:19, 20, we are told that sinners are converted by the same mighty power “which wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.”

So we can see clearly that God the Father is an acting agent in the resurrection.

Systematic Theology The Efficient Agent in the Resurrection of Christ

In other passages, however, it is said to be the work of Christ himself. Our Lord speaking of his body said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19.) And again, John 10:17, 18, “I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”

So not only is God the Father involved, but Christ speaks of Himself as the agent of His own resurrection.

John Murray explains in his commentary on this passage that while God is the primary agent of the resurrection, the Father employs the power of the Spirit in the resurrection act, and it can therefore be said that the Spirit is a co-actor and co-agent with the Father of the resurrection of Christ.

So not only are the Father and Son involved as active agents of the resurrection, but the Spirit also.

Therefore, Hodge concludes:

Systematic Theology The Efficient Agent in the Resurrection of Christ

This diverse reference of the same act to the several persons of the Trinity is in accordance with the common usage of the Scriptures. The three persons of the Godhead being the same in substance, the act of the one ad extra, is the act of the others. Any external divine act, i.e., any act terminating externally, is an act of the Godhead; and therefore may, with equal propriety, be referred to either of the divine persons. “What things soever he [the Father] doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (John 5:19.) All, therefore, that the Scriptures teach on this subject is that Christ was raised by the divine power.

In other words, from a theological perspective, Christ’s resurrection was effected and accomplished by the active work of all three persons of the Godhead. The Father raised Christ, the Spirit raised Christ, Christ raised Himself. The resurrection can only be understood in the Trinitarian framework then.

Conclusion

So as we wrap this up this morning, let’s look at where we’ve been. We saw last week that the new life that has been imparted to our spirits through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the first guarantee that we will one day receive new life in our bodies. This week, we’ve seen further than the resurrection of Christ prefigures and sets the stage for our own resurrection, and in a larger sense, all three of these realities undergird the final life-creating act of the Spirit when the universe is recreated and the Spirit brings forth the new heavens and the new earth, which Paul will explain in verse 20 and 21 in just a few weeks.

Next week we will be considering how Christ’s resurrection teaches us of our own resurrection, and the hope that we have in that. I hope you’ll join us.