86
March. 1936
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Christ’s RESURRECTION.
B y ROBERT C. MtQUILKIN* Columbia, South Carolina
O ur Ch ristian fa ith stands on the solid rock of g r ea t h is to r ic a l facts. And t h e s e facts form the basis for a present per sonal experience of a l i v i n g Christ. T h i s faith is in sharp con tr a s t to all so-called “ reli gions,” and also in “ way to God” that calls
Lord was the Head o f a new Body. The disciples were now competent witnesses of the resurrection, because they themselves were sharing resurrection life. Now was ful filled the glorious but mysterious promise the Lord had made just befbre His death: “ Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19). The disciples now had resurrection life, and they themselves were samples o f what the Saviour could do. There are in the New Testament Epistles at least thirty- one direct references to the bodily resurrection of our Lord, expressed in such words as “ resurrection” or “ raised from the dead.” In practically every case, the resurrection o f the body o f Christ is linked directly or indirectly with the present daily living of Christians. Believers who take Christ as their Saviour become united with Him in the likeness of His death, and also in the likeness o f His resur rection. What is the meaning of this truth for present living? The significance is this: “ That like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life” (Rom . 6 :4 ). This newness o f life is resurrection life, and it is lived by the power o f the risen Lord ministred to us by the Holy Spirit. When something to express the measure of the power o f God is sought in the Old Testament, it is His power in creation that is set forth. The measure o f the greatness of God’s power in the New Testament is the resurrection of Christ. This is the greater pqwer o f the new creation. Thus Paul speaks of “ the exceeding greatness o f his power to us-ward who believe, according to that working o f the strength o f his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead” (Eph. 1 :19,20). This startling statement means that the same power that was used in raising Christ from the dead is the power He used in making us alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, and also the same exceeding great power given to us that we might walk in newness o f life. The greatest miracle recorded in the Bible is the resur rection o f the Lord Jesus. What is the greatest miracle happening today? It must be the miracle which requires the same exceeding great power that was needed to raise Christ. The greatest miracle that is happening today is the living of the human life in the way that God designed that it should be lived. P ictures of R esurrection L ife The record of the life and service o f the disciples in the Acts of the Apostles gives a picture o f resurrection life. An outstanding note of that record is the exceeding great joy. In the midst o f persecution, or distress, or pov erty, the disciples were filled with overflowing joy. The fruit o f the Spirit is joy. An expression of the resurrec tion life is joy. These disciples also had the peace that passeth all understanding, another mark o f resurrection life. Their words o f witnessing were with mighty power, even the power of the Holy Spirit. They were guided by the Spirit. They were strengthened in body, ministering as of the strength which God supplies. The center o f all this record is the risen Lord Himself. The outstanding fact
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If the Lord Jesus Christ has not risen from the dead, our faith is vain. Our faith is not vain, but stands un shaken, because the Lord Jesus did die for our sins and rose again. The early disciples were never to preach their own experience. They were to be witnesses o f the resur rection o f the Lord Jesus Christ. They proclaimed historical facts that were to be believed— that Christ died for sins and rose again. They did indeed reveal the inner meaning o f those facts, and faith laid hold of God’s salvation pro vided through Christ’s death and resurrection. C hrist ’ s R esurrection and O ur E xperience What bearing do those objective historical facts have upon our own Christian experience ? The answer is a most startling one, and sets forth the glorious Bible view of vic tory over sin, o f spiritual power. Why did the early disciples have to wait for ten days after the ascension o f Christ before they went forth to preach? They were to be witnesses o f His resurrection. They knew that He had died and had risen again. For forty days He had been speaking to them the things con cerning the kingdom o f God. They had many infallible proofs that He was alive. Why did they not immediately preach Jesus as the Messiah, the Son o f God, the risen and glorified Lord, as Saul o f Tarsus did when he had proof that Jesus was alive? The answer is, that witnessing to the resurrection of Christ is more than reporting the fact that Christ arose. God the Holy Spirit had to come into those disciples before they could be witnesses o f the resur rection. But the disciples had been born o f the Spirit. What was the new thing that happened when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost ? He could not come in this way until the Lord Jesus was glorified (John 7:37-39). But now that Christ was glorified, through His death and res urrection, the ascended Lord, at the right hand of power, sent forth the Holy Spirit for a new ministry. The work o f the Holy Spirit may be summed up in two words: to “ minister Christ.” The Holy Spirit came to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Spirit baptized those disciples, they were united with Christ, and united with one another, so that now the risen, glorified *President, Columbia Bible College.
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