Today is Pentecost. It marks the day when Jesus fulfilled the promise that He would send the Holy Spirit to dwell in us after He left. It is hard not to list this event at the top of the “most-incredible-events-of-all-time”. Is it possible to even begin to contemplate the full reality that the infinite, holy, omnipotent God of the universe has determined to dwell within me?
And y...
My guess is that few would connect the resurrection of Jesus with the judgment of the world. I wouldn’t have either, prior to this study. But, Paul, while preaching to the Athenians on Mars Hill, clearly does so. In fact, he says that the resurrection of Jesus is the proof that God will judge the world:
Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people ...
It is probably true that we do not spend much time pondering the reality that Jesus intercedes for us with the Father. And, I suspect, we seldom, if ever, connect that intercession with the resurrection. However, the Holy Spirit, through Paul, makes that link:
Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died&...
Because of the resurrection of Jesus, one of the great hopes we have is that we will one day be reunited with our loved ones who have died in Christ: husbands, wives, sons, daughters, family and friends. Ravi Zacharias left us just a week ago, but we will be with him again. My father passed away a number of years ago and I still miss him, but he and I will one day laugh together once more.
I...
Let’s look at some more of these short truth claims that are ours because of the resurrection. And, take note that these seven are found just in 1 Corinthians 15:
1. Our faith is not in vain
… if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14
This is hard for us to imagine, because we know that Jesus did rise from ...
We now arrive at a series of short truth claims that come to us as believers as the result of the resurrection of Jesus. We will deal with two this time and the rest later.
Our sins are forgiven
… if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17
Most people would not say that our sins were forgiven because of the resur...
“declared to be the Son of God… by His resurrection from the dead” Romans 1:4
Last time, we pondered how the resurrection was the Great Confirmation, affirming everything the Scripture said about Him and all of His words. Now we want to contemplate the rest of this statement by Paul: that it was the resurrection which declared Jesus to be the Son of God… God in th...
“declared to be the Son of God… by His resurrection from the dead” Romans 1:4
The Holy Spirit, through Paul, tells us that it was the resurrection that “declared” Jesus to be the Son of God. Not that He wasn’t from all eternity, but this was the moment that God affirmed it to the world.
It was the Great Confirmation.
Louis Berkhof stated that th...
It is one thing for Jesus to rise from the dead, which, in itself, is an incomparable event that should give the deepest skeptic pause. But, for Jesus to have predicted that event and its details, and have it happen, raises everything to a new level, for it now demands our attention be drawn to who Jesus really is.
Jesus openly and clearly predicted His death and resurrection three times, y...
Today is Ascension Day. For most, that might provoke little more than “huh?” It is rare to find it on a calendar here. But Catholics celebrate it as the “Feast of the Ascension” by attending mass. And, surprisingly, it is an official public holiday all across Indonesia and in many European countries like France and Germany and Sweden.
In Germany, it has evolved into &...
