A New Creation: The Church
A New Creation: The Church
When Jesus spoke to Martha about her brother’s resurrection, she affirmed her faith in that Jewish doctrine: “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (John 11:24; see also Acts 23:8). But Jesus had quite something else in mind and replied, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He moved resurrection out of a statement of faith and into a person, and out of the future and into the present. He did not nullify the doctrine of future resurrection, but He did tell her (and us) that His resurrection power is available to His people today.
As important as doctrine is, it isn’t enough for us simply to affirm what we believe. We must realize that Bible doctrine is incarnated in the Son of God and that He through the Spirit makes each doctrine real and active in our lives. “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30 NASB). Christianity is not just another religion with a statement of faith. Christianity is Christ!
Of the many pictures of salvation found in Scripture, resurrection is one of the most important and encouraging. “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24). Unsaved people aren’t simply “sick” because of their sins; they are “dead in … transgressions and sins.… But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:1, 4–6). Hallelujah!
We don’t know how many people Jesus raised from the dead, but three of these miracles are recorded in the Gospels. He raised a twelve-year-old girl who had just died (Luke 8:40–56), a young man who had been dead probably a day (7:11–17), and Lazarus, an older man who had been dead four days (John 11:38–44). If I were to ask you which of these persons was the most dead, you would think I had lost my mind, because there are no degrees of death, only of physical decay. Millions of refined, religious people live in our world who, like the little girl, give no evidence of decay, but are still spiritually dead. Others like the young man give more indication of decay, and some, like Lazarus, are quite decayed and everybody knows it. But all of them are dead!
In each instance, it was the command of His Word that restored life to these people, the same Word that today raises sinners from spiritual death when they believe in Jesus (John 5:24; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23–25). And after they had received new life, they all gave evidence that they were indeed alive. The little girl walked about the room and ate some food; the young man spoke; and Lazarus, even though his feet were bound, came out of the cave and put on new clothes. When sinners are raised from spiritual death by the power of the living Christ, you can tell it by their walk, their talk, their appetite for spiritual food, and their rejection of the old life as they “put on” the new (Col. 3:5–17). Paul said it beautifully in 2 Corinthians 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
But there are two great and glorious differences between physical resurrection and spiritual resurrection. First, everybody Jesus or the apostles raised from the dead died again, but those who have been raised to eternal life can never die again. Their bodies may “sleep” in death, but their spirits will go to be with Christ forever. When Jesus returns, they will receive glorious new bodies, as will believers who are alive at His coming and are caught up in the air (1 Thess. 4:13–18).
Second, the people Jesus and the apostles raised returned to natural life, but those who have trusted Jesus since His ascension to heaven possess supernatural life in the person of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit identifies each believer with the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of the Savior! Read carefully Ephesians 2:4–10, Colossians 2:6–15, and Romans 6, and note Paul’s prayers for God’s people in Ephesians 1:15–23 and 3:14–21. Our Father wants us to live by faith in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ through the energizing ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit could not be available to God’s people until the Lord Jesus had died, been raised from the dead, and ascended to heaven. “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate [Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7; see also 7:37–39). The very power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to all of God’s people today (Eph. 1:18–23), what Paul called “the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10). This is not past history; it is present reality. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Churches are made up of individual believers, and the Spirit must have control of those believers or nothing can be accomplished for God’s glory. The power of his resurrection is not only saving power (Rom. 10:9–10) and keeping power (Heb. 7:25), but it is also living power (Rom. 6:4; Gal. 2:20) and serving power (Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:14–15).
It’s sad that so many professed Christians are like those twelve spiritually deprived men Paul met in Ephesus who did not know about the indwelling Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1–7). It’s also sad that so many local churches are like the church in Laodicea that thought it had everything but was really “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:14–22). They claimed to be worshipping Jesus, yet He was outside the church door trying to get in (v. 20)!
The church doesn’t depend on financial power (“Silver or gold I do not have,” Acts 3:6), great intellect or talent (“They were unschooled, ordinary men,” Acts 4:13), or anything the world has to offer (“My kingdom is not of this world,” John 18:36). The success of the church depends wholly on the power that the Spirit gives God’s people as they pray, believe, and seek to serve the Lord for His glory alone. The secret of spiritual success is not found in imitating the world’s methods but in being incarnated by the Lord and His power through the ministry of the Spirit. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8).
A praying and preaching church is a powerful church. The apostles gave their attention to “prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4), for the Holy Spirit uses prayer and Scripture to accomplish His work. All prayer and no Scripture, and you end up with heat but no light; reverse it and you have all light and no heat. God wants our churches to be balanced so that the Spirit can enable us to have power for witness, work, and warfare.