Because He Lives!

By Roy Ciampa, PhD
Associate Professor of New Testament

As we approach Easter Sunday my thoughts go to a few key passages about Christ’s resurrection and what it means for our own present and future.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ takes us to the heart of the gospel. It is the climactic event to which all four gospels lead us to look forward as we read along. And other New Testament authors also make it clear that Christ’s resurrection is at the heart of the gospel message. In Romans 1:2-4, Paul refers to “the gospel [God] promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord” (NIV). That Christ now reigns as “the Son of God in power” is established by his resurrection from the dead. The long-awaited time has finally arrived when, rather than being merely a bit player in the politics of the Ancient Near East as was the case throughout , God’s anointed Davidic king now reigns over all creation to bring righteousness, peace and joy to all those who recognize him for who he is. The resurrection of Christ is the promise of our future and that of creation as a whole, and gives meaning to our present life in the midst of the sufferings and challenges we face in this world. As Paul says in light of the resurrection in Romans 8:18, “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

Here are a few more thoughts on the meaning of Christ’s resurrection, mainly in light of Paul’s discussion of it in 1 Corinthians 15 and drawn from the new Pillar commentary on 1 Corinthians (Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians [The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2010], pages 737-9):

For Paul, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is at the heart of the gospel message (1 Cor. 1-15), gives meaning to our life and service to Christ in this present age (vv. 16-19, 29-32) and serves as a fundamental basis for perseverance in Christ (v. 58). It also clarifies (as do some other NT texts) the relationship between protology and eschatology (the beginning and the end of the human story, vv. 24-28, 45-49) and the relationship between Christ’s experience of resurrection and glory/reign and God’s intentions for the rest of his people (vv. 20-28). The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, more fully expounded here than in any other part of Scripture, makes it clear that God’s purpose has never been simply that of “saving souls” for a disembodied existence in heaven, as though creation itself was of merely temporal usefulness and significance. Creation turns out to be not simply the context in which God is working out his redemptive work, but reflects instead the breadth of God’s redemptive concern and plan. Physical, earthly and bodily existence have to do with the nature of creation as God made it and, in a completely redeemed and transformed version, are part of the nature of the context and existence that God has in mind for us and the rest of creation throughout eternity. Our life in this world matters, in part, because it turns out to be not merely a waiting room in which we pass our time until being invited into the rest of the building where we will really live. Our life in this world establishes the starting chapters for a story that will continue and flourish in radically new ways (and not merely begin for the first time) upon the resurrection of the dead.

As Oliver O’Donovan has argued (Oliver O’Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline of Evangelical Ethics, 13), “Christian ethics depends upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”:

In proclaiming the resurrection of Christ, the apostles proclaimed also the resurrection of mankind in Christ; and in proclaiming the resurrection of mankind, they proclaimed the renewal of all creation with him. The resurrection of Christ in isolation from mankind would not be a gospel message. The resurrection of mankind apart from creation would be a gospel of a sort, but of a purely Gnostic and world-denying sort which is far from the gospel that the apostles actually preached.[1]

O’Donovan also points out (p. 56) that “[t]he resurrection of Christ, upon which Christian ethics is founded, vindicates the created order in this double sense: it redeems it and it transforms it.” The proclamation of the resurrection of Christ “directs us forward to the end of history which that particular and representative fate is universalized in the resurrection of mankind from the dead… (15:23). The sign that God has stood by his created order implies that his order, with mankind in its proper place within it, is to be totally restored at the last” (O’Donovan, 15). This message gives meaning and significance to this present life, making it clear that our “life on earth is important to God; he has given it its order; it matters that it should conform to the order he has given it. Once we have grasped that, we can understand too how this order requires of us both a denial of all that threatens to become disordered and a progress towards a life which goes beyond this order without negating it” (O’Donovan, 14-15).

Although I’m not a big fan of Gaither music, I can’t argue with their famous chorus. It is because He lives that I can face tomorrow without fear, and life at this present moment has meaning in light of the fact that He lives and holds the future.

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[1] O’Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order, 31. “The work of the Creator … is affirmed once and for all by this conclusion [i.e., the resurrection]. It might have been possible, we could say, before Christ rose from the dead, for someone to wonder whether creation was a lost cause. If the creature consistently acted to uncreate itself, and with itself to uncreate the rest of creation, did this not mean that God’s handiwork was flawed beyond hope of repair? It might have been possible before Christ rose from the dead to answer in good faith, Yes. Before God raised Jesus from the dead, the hope that we call ‘gnostic’, the hope of redemption from creation rather than for the redemption of creation, might have appeared to be the only possible hope. ‘But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead …’ (15:20). That fact rules out those other possibilities, for in the second Adam the first is rescued. The deviance of his will, its fateful leaning towards death, has not been allowed to uncreate what God created” (Resurrection and Moral Order, 14)

By Maria Boccia, PhD
Professor of Pastoral Counseling and Psychology
Director of Graduate Programs in Counseling Charlotte campus

At Easter time, I often find myself reflecting on one particular character in the Easter story. This year, I found myself thinking about Thomas. The Scripture refers to him as Thomas the twin, but he is better known today as doubting Thomas. This is no doubt because of the story found in John chapter 20. Thomas appears only a few times in the Gospel stories, mostly during the listing of the names of the twelve. In John 11, when Jesus tells the disciples that he is returning to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, Thomas response first, saying "let us go also, so that we may die with him." He also appears however in John 14 where his question to Jesus about not knowing where he is going, Jesus responds with that oft-quoted verse "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the father but through me." You've got to love the guy! On the one hand, his faith seems to be reflected in his willingness to follow Jesus even though he thinks it will result in death. On the other hand, he does not really understand who Jesus is or what he is doing. Which brings me to John chapter 20, were Jesus helps him to finally be clear on the subject of who he is.

After the disciples had been shocked by the report of Mary Magdalene that she had encountered the risen Christ, he had appeared to them through the locked doors of the upper room. He calmed their fears and showed them that he was truly risen from the dead. Thomas, however, was not with them at that time. When he showed up, they told him about seeing Jesus risen from the dead, and he expressed his doubt: “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). Some commentators suggest that the presentation of injuries were sometimes presented as evidence in court. This would be in keeping with some of the other testimony-like features of the resurrection story. Nevertheless, it is, no doubt, because of this response that we call him doubting Thomas. But is it so different from the rest of the disciples who did not believe Mary Magdalene?

I can appreciate Thomas. I can appreciate his need for evidence. I've spent most of my career as a biomedical scientist, and I tend to look for evidence to support or refute my theories. I have to see it to believe it also. When I was a young Christian, I was ashamed of this. If I really had faith I wouldn't need "evidences." I would be able to hear God's Word and that would be sufficient. I feared judgment for my unbelief. And then I found Thomas.

What draws me to this story in John 20 is Jesus’ response to Thomas. About a week after the first appearance, Jesus shows up again behind closed and locked doors, but this time Thomas is present. The first thing reported of Jesus is that he speaks to Thomas: “He said to Thomas, ‘Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’” Thomas needed evidence, and Jesus offered the evidence he needed. As a young Christian, this was not the response that I had expected to my struggle and unbelief. I expected condemnation. But Jesus doesn't condemn Thomas. Jesus offers Thomas what he needs to believe. And Thomas rises to the occasion remarkably well: ‘Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”’ (vs. 28). The Gospel of John highlights the response of people to Jesus’ ministry and claims about himself, contrasting belief and unbelief. What endears this story to me is that it tells me that no matter how fragile my faith is and no matter how challenged it is by my inclination to require evidence, Jesus will always meet me there and give me what I need to have the faith he requires. In fact, right there with Thomas I see myself receiving a promise directly from Jesus: “Jesus said to him, ‘Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed’” (vs. 29). Thank you, Jesus.

Easter and Christ’s Mission in Ephesians 1:20-22

By Roy Ciampa, PhD
Associate Professor of New Testament

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! We just celebrated Easter, the victorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m also finishing up an essay on “Missio Dei and Imitatio Dei in Ephesians” and it has had me thinking about how Ephesians 1:20-22 reveal how Christ’s resurrection and ascension relate to God’s strategy and plan for our redemption.

In Ephesians 1:20-22 Paul alludes to both Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 8:5-6. I should quote those verses in their context:

¹⁸ I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰ which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹ far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Eph 1:18-23, NIV)

Let me start with the allusion to Psalm 8 in v. 22. God “placed all things under his feet” comes from the second half of Psalm 8:6. Psalm 8 is a meditation on God’s creation of humanity to serve as his vice-regents as reflected in Genesis 1 (see, for example, the references to having dominion over the realms of the beasts, birds and fish in Psalm 8:7-8 and compare with Genesis 1:20-25 and note the dominion language in how it relates to the material in Genesis 1:26, 28). The psalm describes God’s commissioning of the human race with their dominion as over all creatures in terms of having all things placed under their (“man’s” feet), that is, under their reign and authority. This is applied to Christ, who, as Messiah, represents the whole human race and fulfills our destiny in his own person.

In Ephesians 1:20 we have the reference to Christ being seated at God’s right hand, alluding to Psalm 110:1: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’” (NIV). Here the Davidic king (who is much greater than David himself) is invited to sit at the place of honor beside God as he brings all his enemies into submission. Psalm 110 looks forward to the restoration of the pattern described in Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 through the Davidic king. Paul informs us that this has begun to find its fulfillment through the resurrection and exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ establishes his triumph over all his enemies, including sin and death, and provides the foundation for our confidence that in him we find not only the forgiveness of our sins and new life in Christ by the Spirit, but also points to the ultimate redemption in which in the saint will reign with Christ for ever and ever (cf. Rev. 22:5; 1 Cor. 15). To him, our great redeemer, be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever!