[Preface: Gazing on the Face of God]
But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you… Acts 3:14
Previously, we contemplated that God is Judge. Because He is both Creator and Holy, He has the right and responsibility to His own nature to judge rebellious acts that are contrary to His divine character and purposes. When He acts in this capa...
This is the final piece in our “40 days” of pondering the resurrection and its implications. We have covered a lot of ground and I pray that you have found something of benefit. More importantly, that God might have done something in your heart and mind—maybe prodding you, or even provoking you, or possibly just solidifying the criticality of the resurrection in your daily tho...
In the midst of Jesus telling His disciples that He was going to be killed and then raised from the dead, He also talked to them about His leaving. The Resurrection surprised them; the Ascension did not… nor did Pentecost.
I suppose it was in the 40 days of teaching after the resurrection that they finally began to understand what was going on. Can you imagine having over a month with...
When Jesus was telling His disciples that He was going to die and then be raised on the third day, He also let them know that He was going to leave. But whenever He talked about leaving, He gave them comfort, either by telling them that the Holy Spirit would come or that He would come and be with them. We looked at these things several times before.
But there is a passage that we have left a...
Yesterday was Pentecost. Today is the day after. And so will tomorrow and all the days for the rest of your life. For, if you are in Christ, every day is the day after Pentecost. Why?
Because God has come to make His home within you.
It might be worthwhile to reread that statement again. It is one of the most incredible truth claims in all of Scripture. How much do you and I believe it? ...
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 ...
