God; and that He enabled them to travail in prayer for others (Rom. 8:15; 16:26, 27). Weaknesses of the flesh to which they used to yield were now gloriously overcome by the resurrection power of Christ which was theirs to appropriate. As they walked in the Spirit, they no longer fulfilled the lusts of the flesh (Rom. 8:1). The resurrection of Christ was a declaration to them that death was defeated. Jesus Christ had abol ished death, and had brought life and immortality to light through the Gos pel, which was now completed. They, as Paul later declared, realized that Christ had died for their sins, was burled, and rose again for their justi fication; and that the resurrection would result in their glorification some grand day (2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Cor. 15:1-8; Rom. 4:25). They no longer dreaded physical death; neither were they to mourn as those who had no hope, when they witnessed the deaths of loved ones. They comprehended the fact that to live was Christ, and to die was gain. They saw awaiting them that glorious resurrection morning, assured to them because of Christ’s victory over death. Life took on real meaning. Henceforth they would live for eternity. They knew that nothing could ever sepa rate them from the love of God, for they were more than conquerors through Him that loved them, and died for them, and who was now sit ting at God’s right hand, ever inter ceding for them (Rom 8:34, 39). The results of that Easter morning were seen in the lives of Christ’s disciples as they went forth in new ness of life, in clarity of vision, and depth of passion and purity, to carry the glad message of redeeming love to every comer of the Roman Em pire. Let us, like them, empowered with the presence of the living Christ, go forth at His command to declare the Gospel of Christ's atoning death and justifying resurrection, as well as the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for victory in life and service. We must not forget the crowning accomplishment of that Blaster morn ing: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept . . . So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorrup tion . . . We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a mo ment, In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. . . . Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmove able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:20, 42, 51,52, 58). R ig * Thirteen
L IFE’S DARKEST moments are often h a rb ing e rs of life’s greatest blessings. On the ter, the fearful, despairing disciples huddled behind locked doors in Jeru salem, little realizing that they were on the verge of the greatest and most Joyful experience of their lives. God was faithful, not allowing His children to be tempted above that which they were able to bear, but showing them the “way of escape” that Easter Sunday morning. How ever, it was not an escape from grief and despair by way of some imag inary experience about which we hear so much today. The disciples were faced with the blessed and soul- reviving reality of their resurrected Master. Nothing they had ever ex perienced was more real than that Easter morning appearance of Jesus. The disciples had often been chal lenged by Christ Li various ways. On the first day He had met them with the invitation: "Come ye after me, and 1 will make you fishers of men.” He had also said to them: “For who soever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it,” and again: ‘Take up the cross, and follow me.” These challenges they had met, but the claims of this first Easter morning eclipsed everything that had gone be fore. They had seen angry men take their Master and condemn Him to die. They had believed it was He who was going to redeem Israel, but after beholding the crucifixion, or hearing the women, they were almost con vinced that they had been mistaken in thinking that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. Their dis illusionment had cast them down into the pit of deepest despondency. All of their theological conceptions were thrown into chaos. Their spir itual condition was worse than it was before they had met Jesus. It seemed to them that Jehovah had forsaken them; they lost confidence in the prophecies of the Old Testament. Ap- APRIL, 1947
parently they had misunderstood Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, and Micah, in their predictions regarding the time, place, and manner of the coming of the Messiah. If Jesus were not the Promised One, how could they believe again in their Scriptures? It appeared to be Sa tan’s hour of greatest triumph, but Easter Sunday morning was actually to prove his greatest defeat. When Christ met His gloomy dis ciples, and they realized that they were face to face with the crucified Jesus, they were challenged with the glorious fact that He was indeed the Son of God. What dawned upon them that wonderful morning was to become the deepest conviction of their souls; and was to become the motivating power which would make them fiery evangelists, carry ing them through the greatest trials, and fiercest persecutions: Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Later, on a Galilean hillside, they were to hear from His own lips the glorious declaration: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” So, the death of Christ, in stead of eclipsing their work for Him and sending them back to their fishing craft, was to be responsible for their real service for Him. They were commanded now to go and teach all nations, baptizing their con verts in the name of the Trinity, with the blessed assurance: “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). Previous to His betrayal and cru cifixion, Christ had told the disciples that after He had gone away, the Comforter would come and abide with them always. After He had ap peared to them, they found that Christ was not only with them, but that He was within them, too. They knew, experimentally, what Paul wrote to the Colossians: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). They found that the Spirit dwelling within them witnessed with their spirits that they were the sons of
night of the crucifixion of their Mas
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