The Gospel of the Risen God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
It is indeed a great privilege and an honor to be here with you again to teach from the Scriptures especially as we celebrate God’s triumphal act in Christ’s resurrection. If you may, please turn with me to the book of Romans, we will read today from chapter 1, verses 1-7.
While you get there let me share with you that last week I was listening to an academic colloquium about the historicity of the person of Jesus Christ. One of the scholars involved was a priest, and at a certain point they were discussing the issue of the resurrection. So another man asked: So what about Jesus’ resurrection is so foundational for the Christian faith? What difference does it make?
The priest’s response was astonishing to me. In the most serious way, and as if he really believed what he was about to say, he answered: “Personally, I believe that Paul is just exaggerating when he says that if Jesus did not rose from the grave then our faith is in vain. He is using that line in a literary fashion, that’s all. I am still attracted to Jesus even if he wouldn’t have rose.”
Now, to be fair, this priest did believed that Jesus rose from the dead. However, to suppose we can separate the reality of the resurrection from the reality of the gospel was what astonished me.
So, today, I want to make the same question to you: what about Jesus’ resurrection is so foundational for the Christian faith? What do you care if Christ rose or not from the dead? How would you answer this to anyone who ask?
I believe that we ought to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the gospel depends on it. And by showing you how, my purpose this morning is to encourage you by the many things the resurrection accomplished.
So we are going to do this from Scripture in three brief points:
We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the Promise of the Gospel depends on it.
We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the Person of Gospel, the person of Christ depends on it.
We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the People of the Gospel depends on it.
Now, before we begin, there are two main things I’d like you to know about the book of Romans:
This was a mixed audience.
Jews, who were struggling to make sense of a crucified messiah such as Jesus Christ from their Scriptures.
Q: P, ¿Do you really want us to believe that this Jesus who was killed by Pilate is the King of Israel?
Romans (Gentiles/Not Jews) who were struggling to recognize Jesus as Kyrios, as Lord. Again, he died the worst dead possible.
Q, P, ¿Do you really want us to believe in the power of this Christ? I mean, the Roman Empire pretty much dealt with him, did it not?
Paul didn’t plant that church.
One of the reasons why the book of Romans is so theologically complete is that Paul had not founded that church.
Hence, he needed to be sure that he will give them almost all of the basic instruction they might need through this letter.
This is crucial, for whatever Paul will say about the gospel, he does so knowing that he will cause a first impression to the listeners.
Try to put yourselves in their shoes for a moment. Imagine you’ve never read nor hear anything from Paul. You know who he is, and that he is an apostle, but never before had you heard his direct teaching.
…with this in mind, let me read the opening verses of the book of Romans:
English Standard Version Chapter 1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s Pray
The Promise
The Promise
The Promise through the Prophets
After our text begins with a classic Pauline salutation, to which we will shortly return, the first thing we are told about this Gospel of God is that it was promised beforehand in the Holy Scriptures.
This is a great truth to ponder.
It is one thing to look forwards with hope to an expected joy.
It is another thing to look back and see how the promise has been fulfilled.
Think of your wedding those of you who are married. Oh the excitement of the coming event was great. Yet that is indeed only but a shadow when you compare it with the memories of the event itself, and all the life you’ve lived with your spouse ever since.
So, from the outset, Paul is telling to the Roman church this:
God is a God who is able to fulfill his promises.
The reason I am writing to you is because of God’s faithfulness, has been made evident by his gospel.
He promised all these things in the Old Testament,
He promised a suffering servant
From the seed of David
Born from a virgin in bethlehem
Announced by John the baptist
That would carry upon himself the sins of his people
But he also promised that he was going to die and rise again in the third day!
Furthermore, he promised of a time in which God was going to pour his Spirit upon his people, and raise leaders that were going to teach truth to his children
And again, there you have Paul, an apostle, a bondservant of Christ Jesus who is the testimony of that promised being fulfilled.
And so one of the thing that we ought to understand is that all of this components are crucial for the gospel.
God’s word and faithfulness depend on it.
This Gospel is one, according to Paul’s word, that is in line with, in sync with, one that follows the blueprint of Scripture.
which means that whatever the OT promised concerning this Messiah must come to pass if this Gospel Paul is preaching is to have any credibility whatsoever.
So, what does the OT says about the Messiah’s resurrection?
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
Isaiah 53:10–11 (ESV)
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
We could also mentioned Jonah 1:17, Daniel 12:2-3, Ps 22:22-31, ect...
We are able to trust the Lord because he is able to deliver what he promises.
We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the Promise of the Gospel depends on it
TR: now...Paul himself will begin to unfold what Scriptures teach about his coming Messiah
The Person
The Person
3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead
How this verse has been interpreted?
Natures juxtaposed.
Why not?
The incarnation is not only a human nature thing since is the divine Son of God who took upon himself this human nature.
The resurrection is not only a divine nature thing, since Christ resurrected in his body.
What’s the significance, then? Most likely, what we’ve come to know as the two states of Jesus Christ.
Christ’s Humiliation
Christ’s Humiliation
The first state is that of the humiliation.
Jesus came according to the Scriptures from David, the royal line of Israel.
How is this humiliation?
Because no mater how royal your blood is, it still required the divine to take the form of a servant.
It still required the Creator to take the form the creature. That in itself is humiliating.
And in that incarnate state he was birth in poverty, suffered all the struggles of life, was despised, falsely accused, unjustly judged, denied and abandoned by his so-called friends, naked, beaten, mocked, spitted upon, crucified, dead and buried.
There is no way for us to fully grasp the great atrocity and humiliation of the cross. Sinful people, you and I together with all humanity, hanging upon a cursed tree the Holy One of God.
This is what made the gospel message so unlikely. This is what was foolishness to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to Jews.
And this is also why the resurrection is so important.
Christ’s Exaltation
Christ’s Exaltation
The resurrection was the inauguration of a new state, a vindicated state, a state of exaltation for Jesus Christ our Lord.
You see, what happened thousands of years ago on that first Easter morning was not only significant because, I mean, how many people do you know that are able to predict not only their dead but also their coming agin into life, and are actually accurate about it?
But even more than that, three days after that awful event, where the Jews spoke lies, the Romans declared injustice, and the friends remained quiet; it was God’s turn to speak.
It was the Father’s turn to make a statement:
The Jews said, he is guilty, yet through the resurrection God, the Spirit of Holiness, said, he is holy.
The Romans said, he is under our power, yet through the resurrection God said, I have given him true power and every authority on heaven and on earth.
The friends cried, flee, and denied him, but the God said: I declare him to be my Son.
Jesus is who he said he was.
He was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.
And so the resurrection is crucial.
We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the Person of Gospel, the person of Christ who he is, what he has done, his humiliation and his exaltation depends on it.
The People
The People
But not only that, finally We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the People of the Gospel depends on it.
The people of the Gospel are directly affected by what the resurrection has accomplished. And what does Paul teaches here about what the resurrection has accomplished for our lives? 4 brief words on application.
Recipients of the Promise for Obedience of the Faith
No doubt Paul has sanctification in mind as he will make clear in just a few more lines, but right now he is talking about Faith itself. The obedience of the faith is the command we have to believe in the Son of God incarnate, Jesus Christ. To believe in who he was, in what he did, in what he promises.
Have you ever doubt Jesus? Most of us have at some point. Here’s one practical use of the doctrine of the resurrection: Whenever you are doubting his promises remember this, that Jesus not only foretold his death, but he also foretold his living once again forever. And not only his death took place, but his resurrection did as well, and that changed the entire world. Jesus is able to fulfill what he promises. The resurrection is a witness to all of Jesus’ words.
For the sake of his name among All Nations
Evangelism: Who is that person you don’t believe is possible for him/her to believe? Who’s that who is so lost, so separated, his hard so hardened, that you’ve about to give up or have given up already? Rome was that nation. It was by definition the most pagan nation on earth at that time. Yet Paul is writing to the Church; to Christians there. God is able to do far more than you imagine with those whom he has elected. Share the gospel of the resurrection! Do not stop believing in the power of God to rise dead people to life!
Called to belong to Jesus Christ, to be Loved by God, Called to be Saints 6-7a
Identity: What defines you? What is a Christian? In a world that so much struggles to understand what identity is and where identity is to be found, what can a Christian offer? What can you say about you identity? Is it your past, your present or your future that defines you? Academic achievements? Money you might earn? Family you have? Your membership or position at Church?
Let me tell you what the Apostle says, the one who was given authority by our risen Lord answers:
You are called to belong to Jesus Christ
You are called to be loved by God
You are called to be holy.
Here’s the funny thing about all three, you cannot do any of them on your own.
But through the resurrection, God has appointed Jesus to be Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36) now you belong to him who bought you with his precious blood. Just as Paul is a bondservant of Christ Jesus, you and I are now slaves who belong to our good master, Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. Furthermore, the resurrection reassures us of our stand before God. We belong to Christ as long as he leaves because after he had defeated death, what other enemy is left to defeat? Once he has ridiculed the principalities, authorities and powers of evil in the cross and with new life, what else as Paul will come to state:
English Standard Version Chapter 8
If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We belong to him forever because he rose to live forever.
Previously we all were people who because of our sin and misery were unable to stand before a holy God, less to require him to love us in our filthy rags, and yet, in Christ, we experience that fatherly love. Jesus gave his life as a ransom so that we may be clean, and the resurrection is the Father’s Amen! It is the Father’s acceptance of that payment. It is the Father’s testimony that the sacrifice Christ made is a positive witness to his love for us.
And what else shall we say about being sanctified? What else shall we say about being holy?
English Standard Version Chapter 6
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
English Standard Version Chapter 6
9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Do you see how central is the resurrection to the gospel? to your life and my life?
Sanctification: You think you’ve had your fill? You’ve got to your limit? Jews thought that about Jesus as well. Romans thought that about Jesus as well. But God who is able to rise Jesus by the power of the Spirit, is able to make you holy for his glory.
Grace and Peace 7b
Are you stirred and anxious? Are the troubles of your life so hard that you are close to your limit? Is this the case for someone close to you? Let me tell you something, the same God that provided for you a great high priest able to sympathize with you in your distress, struggles, and temptations, is the God that rose him from the grave in victory never to die again. So that you may receive grace, that reminds you of the Father’s disposition towards you in Christ, and the peace of God that surpasses understanding.
Notice again how verse 4 speak of the resurrection of the dead. Let me as we come to a close bring to your attention an important detail missed in translation. The word there for dead is not singular but plural. Why is this important? Because it reminds us that the resurrection is a massive scale event, about which Christ is the leader, and you and I, in time, will follow. You and I will share in that state of glory that Christ has, we will be transformed, risen from the dead, to everlasting joy, where we will weep no more.
By the resurrection, grace and peace are indeed possible.
So What do you care if Christ rose or not from the dead? Why do celebrate today this truth? why is it so important to you and me?
we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because the truth gospel depends on this unique historical event.