1Acts 2:24, 27; ²Lk 24:39; ³Rom 6:9; Rev 1:18; ⁴Jn 10:18; ⁵Rom 1:4; ⁶Rom 8:34; ⁷Heb 2:14; ⁸Rom 14:9; ⁹1 Cor 15:21–22; ¹⁰Eph 1:20, 22–23; Col 1:18; ¹¹Rom 4:25; ¹²Eph 2:1, 5–6; Col 2:12; ¹³1 Cor 15:25–27; ¹⁴1 Cor 15:20

We saw, in our last study, that the exaltation of Christ comprises four steps, the first being His resurrection.

Our present answer presents the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection in 3 parts. The first part describes its nature, the second part lists the truths that are demonstrated by it, while the third part presents its benefits.

Five things may be said about the nature of Christ’s resurrection:

Firstly, we must realise that Christ’s body did not see decay or decomposition when he died and laid in the grave. This was so because He is the Son of God, the "Holy One" (Acts 2:24; 27). Though He was Son of God, He had to suffer the process of death because He was bearing the sin of His elect; but now that their sin has been completely paid for, it would be impossible and improper that He should suffer the corruptions associated with death. (Believers must still die and it is proper for us to suffer corruption though our sins are paid for because we are not the "Holy One").

Secondly, Christ rose with "the very same body in which He suffered, with the essential properties thereof" (cf. Lk 24:39). That is to say, the body in which the Lord rose in bore the same basic characteristics, which identified it as the body that died and was laid in the grave. In other words, His body was not re-created, as some claimed.

Thirdly, the resurrected body of the Lord is "without mortality, and other infirmities belonging to this life." That is, although the Lord was raised with the selfsame body, He was no longer subjected to death or the bodily limitations of this present life. This contrasts with, for example, the resurrected body of Lazarus whom the Lord raised from the dead. Lazarus’ body was returned to the qualities that it had before he died. He continued to be subjected to pains, illness, death and other bodily limitations common to man.

Fourthly, the resurrection of the Lord involved His human soul, which had entered paradise at the point of his death, being reunited with his body.

Fifthly and finally, Christ’s resurrection occurred on the third day by His own power. We had already considered why He did not rise immediately, consider now that He was raised from the dead by His own power (Jn 2:19-21; 10:18) and not by the power of another.

This leads us to the second part of the answer, which concerns four truths that are asserted in Christ’s resurrection:

The first is that Christ by His resurrection decidedly "declared Himself to be the Son of God" (cf. Rom 1:4). How does His resurrection have this effect when the resurrection of Lazarus does not? The reason is that Christ raised Himself by His own power; and this is significant because we are told in other parts of the Scripture that God raised Him from the dead (Acts 4:10; 5:30; 13:34; etc); that the Father raised Him from the dead (Rom 6:4; Gal 1:1; etc); and that the Spirit raised Him from the dead (1 Pet 3:18). By whose power, then, was the Lord raised from the dead? The Scripture cannot be broken (Jn 10:35). The power of the Son is the same as the power of the Father, and the power of the Spirit. It is the power of God! There are three Persons in the Godhead, who are the same in substance, equal in power and glory. Here is a tremendous proof that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God as He is fully Man; and is truly the Son of God.

Secondly, His resurrection from the dead confirms unambiguously that His suffering and death has "satisfied divine justice" in regard to the sin of His people. Since death is the wages of sin, He would have to remain dead as long as He has not completed paying the penalty due to our sin. But since He rose from the dead, we know that He has fully paid for our sins.

Thirdly, by His resurrection from the dead, Christ demonstrated powerfully to us that He has "vanquished death, and him that had the power of it." By rising from the dead, Christ assures us that death has lost its sting and that the grave has lost its victory. Satan can no longer keep us under bondage to the fear of death (Heb 2:14), and believers need not doubt that as Christ rose from the dead, we who are united to Him will also one day be raised.

Fourthly, by His resurrection, Christ proved Himself "to be Lord of quick and dead." The apostle Paul puts it this way: "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living" (Rom 14:9). That is to say, that by His resurrection, the Lord shows that His "authority… over His people is not confined to this world, but extends beyond the grave" (Hodge).

Christ rose from the dead and declared the truth that we listed not as a private individual but "as a public person," being the "head of His Church" (Eph 1:20, 22-23; Col 1:18). Thus the benefits of His resurrection extend to His Church. Our answer teaches us that there are, particularly, four benefits.

Firstly, He rose for our justification (see Rom 4:25). This is so because: (1) If He remained in the grave, it would be evident that He is not what He claimed to be, and therefore faith in Him would be meaningless, and therefore justification would not be effected; (2) Only a living Saviour can intercede and mediate for us to ensure that the benefits of His sacrifice is applied to us, and God has appointed that all such benefits must be given via a Mediator. Thus if Christ rose not from the dead, we would never be declared righteous though Christ has paid for the penalty of our sins.

Likewise, secondly, Christ rose from the dead, for our "quickening in grace." We have been "quickened… together with Christ" (Eph 2:5), says Paul. The power that raised us and continues to sanctify us is the "power of the resurrection" (Phil 3:10). We have the redemptive benefit of regeneration applied to us for Christ rose from the dead and on account of His mediation, God is supplying all our need "according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:19).

Thirdly, the knowledge that Christ rose from the dead "supports us against all our enemies." Paul refers to this fact in 1 Corinthians 15:25–27. The point is that we face many enemies against our purpose of glorifying and enjoying God in this present life. The enemies are in the unseen world, in our corruption and in death. The fact, therefore, that Christ triumphed over all His enemies in His resurrection is a tremendous encouragement to us that we shall one day also triumph over all our enemies.

Likewise, fourthly, the fact of Christ’s resurrection assures us of our resurrection from the dead at the last day. If Christ who is the head of the Church rose from the dead as our representative, will we not be raised also from the dead, seeing we are united to him covenantally and by His Spirit? W