Class Notes: 3/31/2018

Titus 2:13; Resurrection Sunday part 1

Titus 2:13;

We celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ because we are looking forward to the fulfillment of our confident expectation which occurs at his appearing when we will see him and we will be like him.

The importance of our Lord's sacrificial death on the cross is emphasized in the presentation of the Gospel. It is the unmerited favor of God that presented His Son as a Substitute for us and it is the unconditional love of Jesus Christ who submitted Himself to be judged for our sins. As a result of His substitutionary sacrifice anyone on this planet who places their faith in His Person will be saved.

John 3:16 provides a concise presentation of this information.

Jesus presented this information to Nicodemus just after the passover that came during the first year of his public ministry in approximately 26ad. The Lord's crucifixion would not occur for another three years and the details of His work on the cross were not yet clear to most of those who believed in Him and came to follow Him.

The Old Testament, prophesies especially Isaiah 53, contain many references to these details,

As Jesus' life in Unglorified Humanity progressed he clearly presented His Messianic identity through His miracles, His healings, and His fulfillment of all of the prophecies recorded in scripture regarding his first advent.

When He arrived at the cross He was not only qualified to become the Substitute for the fallen human race which was lost in sin but He had also clearly revealed to those who had objectivity that he was the Messiah.

When His work on the cross was completed in precise compliance with the salvation plan of God there remained one more thing that had to be accomplished before salvation and eternal life could become a reality for those who believe in Christ.

TLJC had to be physically raised from the dead in resurrection body. Without this resurrection there could be no salvation.

This is the resurrection that we celebrate today.

1Cor 15:12 b; indicates that Some of the members of the Corinthian church were of the belief that believers would not acquire a literal resurrection body. They contended that there would be a "spiritual" resurrection but not a physical one.

Verse 12 begins with the conditional particle plus the indicative mood of the verb "egeiro" which sets up the protasis of a first class condition. This is a statement of fact that calls into question the claim of some of the Corinthians which is expressed in the apodosis: "... how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?"

Taking this as a premise, Paul enters into a debater's technique whereby he makes the assumption that their claim is true. He then systematically demonstrates the fallacy of their contention starting in verse 13 and continuing through verse 19.

In these seven verses Paul takes the position for the sake of argument that there is no resurrection of the dead. He uses the debater's technique with a series of first class conditions assumed to be true for the purpose of debate.

1Cor15: 13 -But let us assume if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;

v. 14 - and let us assume if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also in vain.

v. 15 - Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we witnessed against God that He raised the Messiah, whom He did not raise, if we are to assume in fact the dead are not raised.

v. 16 - For let us assume if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;

v. 17 - and let us assume if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

v. 18 - Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

v. 19 - Let us assume if we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Paul successfully argues that if there is no resurrection then there is no salvation and as a result we would be forced to conclude that even Christ was not resurrected.

He goes on to show that without the resurrection of Christ we are still in our sins and therefore our faith in Christ is worthless.

The resurrection of Christ is absolute proof that the Father was satisfied with his work on the cross. If we are to conclude that there is no resurrection then Christ was not resurrected and therefore His work on the cross is found to be insufficient before the righteousness and justice of God.

The Corinthians who held this heretical view were not only rebuked by Paul's logic but also by the testimony of Old Testament heroes that we will examine to discover the power that confidence in the resurrection provided them as they applied it to their spiritual life through the faith-rest drill as a problem solving device.

We find Abraham in Heb 11:8-12; which chronicles the faith-rest decisions he made from his conversion in Ur through his life in Canaan.

Abraham understood that his eternal destiny was to live in heaven with the Lord and was determined that he would never cease to search for the Eternal City until he discovered it.

Hebrews 11:8 - By means of faith-rest in a doctrinal rationale Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out [ from Ur ] to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance ( Abrahamic & Palestinian covenants ); and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

v. 9 - By faith-rest in a doctrinal rationale he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;

v. 10 - for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

v. 13 - All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were able to focus on the unseen future where they were confident they would reside in a permanent eternal city "whose architect and builder is God."

If they were to live in an eternal city they would also have to have the capacity to exist in such an environment which implies an understanding of a resurrection body.

This wisdom had already been manifest by Abraham when he was ordered to offer Isaac as a sacrifice in:

Genesis 22:1 - Now it came about after these things, that God tested "nasah " Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

v. 2 - And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

These mandates are filled with typology: Isaac becomes a type of Christ while Abraham illustrates God the Father. Abraham's only son portrays the Messiah as the uniquely born Son of God and Abraham's love for Isaac corresponds to the Father's infinite personal love for Jesus.

God the Father loved His Son immeasurably but He was willing to offer him as a substitutionary sacrifice for the entire human race.

Abraham loved Isaac in the way any Father would love his son. God's request for him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice posed the maximum test for Abraham's faith.

The explanation for why God would command Abraham to do such a thing for the purpose of testing him.

The Hebrew word for "testing" is "nasah" that carries the idea of testing for the purpose of proving the quality of someone or something.

God only tests for the positive purpose of identifying the fact that the person has the doctrinal capacity to pass the test.


Genesis 22:9 - Then they [ Abraham, Isaac, and two attendants ] came to the place of which God had told them; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood.

Genesis 22:10 -And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took a knife to slay his son.

v. 11 - But the angel of the Lord [ a theophany of Jesus Christ ] called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, "Here I am."

v. 12 - And He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son from Me."

Abraham had been placed under the maximum pressure of testing and had passed the test as God knew he would. If Abraham could pass this test then whatever else he would face later on in life by comparison would be insignificant.

This is an a fortiori in the same way the Jesus' once and for all work on the cross is an a fortiori.

And what was the doctrinal rationale that Abraham applied in his use of the faith-rest drill on Mount Moriah?

We learn the answer in Hebrews 11:17 -By means of faith-rest in doctrinal rationales, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac; and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;

v. 18 - it was he to whom it was said, Gen 21:12; "In Isaac you descendants shall be called."

Abraham was being tested. The word translated "tested" is the present passive participle of the Greek verb "peirazo" which is almost the same as the Hebrew "nasah" "to try someone; to put to the test in order to assess one's value."

Under this testing when Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac his first doctrinal rationale is stated in the phrase "and he who had received the promises."

Abraham had received two unconditional and immutable covenants from God: the Abrahamic Covenant promised that he would be the patriarch of a great nation in Genesis 12:3 and the Palestinian Covenant said that this nation would occupy a Promised Land described in Gen 15:18-21; Gen17:6-8;

These covenants were later granted to Isaac when the Lord informed Abraham and Sarah that she would become pregnant with a son. Abraham, who was 100 years old, who at the time doubted it offered Ishmael as a compromise Genesis 17: 18-19;

Typology is also presented in Heb 11:17 when Isaac is described as Abraham's "only begotten son" who he "offered up" as a sacrifice.

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