Graduate 193: Advent & Ephesians, Day 20
"These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead,..."
In this section, Paul draws our attention to a couple important aspects of the gospel narrative that have not been raised yet in this chapter and that, actually, many Christians tend to overlook. They are Christ's resurrection and ascension (with His enthronement being included in the latter). In v. 7, Paul says, "In Him [that is, Jesus,] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses". Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross is an integral part of God's gracious work in history--let us make no mistake about that. But that is not the whole story. If Christ had died and remained dead, His death would not have had the significance that it does.
Francis Foulkes says, on this point: "Most frequently the New Testament describes the resurrection as the work of God the Father (see Acts 2:24, 32, etc.). His raising his Son from the dead is the mark of his approval, the acknowledgment of him as his Son, and the declaration of him as Lord of all (Acts 3:15; 4:10; 10:40; 17:31; Rom. 1:4). But it is also the manifestation of the Father's power. ... To Paul, and in the New Testament generally, the cross, the resurrection and the ascension are considered as three parts of one great act of God." (Foulkes, 71)
Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 15, "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied." (vv.12-19)
Paul understood that our hope for resurrection, for complete redemption of body and soul, for final release from the power of sin and death, was to be found in the resurrection of Jesus. On the cross, the Father laid the sins of the world and their penalty on His Son, Jesus. A burden that was beyond the capacity of anyone else to handle, Jesus took upon Himself. To borrow an idea from one of my favorite teachers: Jesus went as low as a human being (perhaps any being) could go. But, remarkably, that was not the end of the story. God the Father reached down into that deepest and darkest of depths and lifted His Son out of it. Sin and death could not keep Him down. It's one thing to exact the just penalty for sin. It is quite another to bring someone back from that depth into fully restored relationship and fellowship in the Trinity. God did both.
Because God did this, we have reason for an unshakeable hope and confidence. The God who lifted up, redeemed, and even exalted the one who bore all the sins of the world, can certainly lift up, redeem, and even exalt those of us who place our trust in Him. That there is nothing beyond His reach or power or ability is demonstrated by the resurrection. Peter sounds a similar note in his first letter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Paul also comments on this same theme in his letter to the Philippians, where he explicitly exhorts them to imitate Christ: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)
Jesus lived in perfect obedience to His heavenly Father, and that obedience led Him to the cross. One might get the impression, on that model, that obedience to God is not such a good idea. If obedience to God can lead to things like the cross, oughtn't we to avoid it? Paul says, "No." Even though obedience to God may lead us into difficult and dark places, we have the assurance that God is able to overcome anything.
The author of Hebrews makes a similar point: "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) The author of Hebrews focuses on Christ's exaltation and enthronement (which we shall look at tomorrow) more than on the resurrection, but the point is the same. God's work will often lead us into difficult places. Indeed, any project that is truly worthwhile will tax us in incredible ways. But the power that God exerted in raising His Son from the dead, in turning the darkest of situations into the highest of hopes, in taking the faithful sacrifice of His Son and turning it to the ultimate good, is also available to us.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
In this section, Paul draws our attention to a couple important aspects of the gospel narrative that have not been raised yet in this chapter and that, actually, many Christians tend to overlook. They are Christ's resurrection and ascension (with His enthronement being included in the latter). In v. 7, Paul says, "In Him [that is, Jesus,] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses". Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross is an integral part of God's gracious work in history--let us make no mistake about that. But that is not the whole story. If Christ had died and remained dead, His death would not have had the significance that it does.
Francis Foulkes says, on this point: "Most frequently the New Testament describes the resurrection as the work of God the Father (see Acts 2:24, 32, etc.). His raising his Son from the dead is the mark of his approval, the acknowledgment of him as his Son, and the declaration of him as Lord of all (Acts 3:15; 4:10; 10:40; 17:31; Rom. 1:4). But it is also the manifestation of the Father's power. ... To Paul, and in the New Testament generally, the cross, the resurrection and the ascension are considered as three parts of one great act of God." (Foulkes, 71)
Paul writes, in 1 Corinthians 15, "Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied." (vv.12-19)
Paul understood that our hope for resurrection, for complete redemption of body and soul, for final release from the power of sin and death, was to be found in the resurrection of Jesus. On the cross, the Father laid the sins of the world and their penalty on His Son, Jesus. A burden that was beyond the capacity of anyone else to handle, Jesus took upon Himself. To borrow an idea from one of my favorite teachers: Jesus went as low as a human being (perhaps any being) could go. But, remarkably, that was not the end of the story. God the Father reached down into that deepest and darkest of depths and lifted His Son out of it. Sin and death could not keep Him down. It's one thing to exact the just penalty for sin. It is quite another to bring someone back from that depth into fully restored relationship and fellowship in the Trinity. God did both.
Because God did this, we have reason for an unshakeable hope and confidence. The God who lifted up, redeemed, and even exalted the one who bore all the sins of the world, can certainly lift up, redeem, and even exalt those of us who place our trust in Him. That there is nothing beyond His reach or power or ability is demonstrated by the resurrection. Peter sounds a similar note in his first letter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)
Paul also comments on this same theme in his letter to the Philippians, where he explicitly exhorts them to imitate Christ: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)
Jesus lived in perfect obedience to His heavenly Father, and that obedience led Him to the cross. One might get the impression, on that model, that obedience to God is not such a good idea. If obedience to God can lead to things like the cross, oughtn't we to avoid it? Paul says, "No." Even though obedience to God may lead us into difficult and dark places, we have the assurance that God is able to overcome anything.
The author of Hebrews makes a similar point: "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) The author of Hebrews focuses on Christ's exaltation and enthronement (which we shall look at tomorrow) more than on the resurrection, but the point is the same. God's work will often lead us into difficult places. Indeed, any project that is truly worthwhile will tax us in incredible ways. But the power that God exerted in raising His Son from the dead, in turning the darkest of situations into the highest of hopes, in taking the faithful sacrifice of His Son and turning it to the ultimate good, is also available to us.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 6:49 PM
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