In
the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God
wrought all that was necessary for our eternal
salvation. When Adam sinned the whole human race died,
but now in Christ, those who place their eternal destiny
in His hands are made alive. There are three phases to
this death, burial, and resurrection as it applies to
believers. The first is that we were identified with
Christ when He suffered and died, was buried, then
resurrected. When He died, we died in Him; when He was
buried and arose again, we were buried and then arose
from the dead with Him. God, before the foundation of
the world, placed His chosen ones in Christ and allowed
their Representative to suffer, bleed, and die in their
stead. Their sins were placed upon Him, and their names
were in His bosom when He suffered His passion. Just as
the high priest of Israel bore the names of the twelve
tribes upon his breastplate when he offered the
sacrifices and entered into the Holy of Holies, so
Christ, our High Priest, bore our names in his heart
when He suffered for us; and now He bares them in Heaven
itself in the presence of the Father.
1
Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed.
Heb 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the
priests went always into the first tabernacle,
accomplishing the service of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once
every year, not without blood, which he offered for
himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the
holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the
first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which
were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not
make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to
the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers
washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until
the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good
things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of
this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by
his own blood he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the
ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot
to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new
testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of
the transgressions that were under the first testament,
they which are called might receive the promise of
eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of
necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead:
otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator
liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated
without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the
people according to the law, he took the blood of calves
and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop,
and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God
hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle,
and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with
blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of
things in the heavens should be purified with these; but
the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places
made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but
into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God
for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as
the high priest entereth into the holy place every year
with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the
foundation of the world: but now once in the end of
the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of
many; and unto them that look for him shall he
appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Exo 28:29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the
children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon
his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a
memorial before the LORD continually.
30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment
the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's
heart, when he goeth in before the LORD:
and Aaron shall bear the
judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before
the LORD continually.
This
phase might be called the eternal purpose of God
aspect of our redemption, and it is that which is only
seen, and accessed by faith. We were not there when
Jesus died—in a physical manner. We had not as yet been
born or committed any personal sins; and we had not
chosen to have Christ be our substitute or sin bearer.
This all happened because, in eternity, God sovereignly
chose us to salvation, and placed us in His Son that He
might be our Representative and Substitute—Jesus died
for our sins, which were as yet uncommitted, but were
already known in the mind of God. We were “elected,”
“ordained to eternal life” by the Sovereign will
of God without any action or assent on our part.
Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are
seen were not made of things which do appear.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the
good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein
he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and
prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in
himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times
he might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even
in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will:
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works,
but of him that calleth;)
12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the
younger.
13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated.
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
will have compassion.
16 So then it is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
God that sheweth mercy.
Jer 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5 Before I
formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou
camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I
ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Deu 7:6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy
God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a
special people unto himself, above all people that are
upon the face of the earth.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor
choose you, because ye were more in number than any
people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would
keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath
the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and
redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand
of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may
give it you
Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were
glad, and glorified the word of the Lord:
and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and
whom he justified, them he also glorified.
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be
for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up
for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give
us all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?
It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us
1
Pet 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Now,
this is not to say that we were born into this world
being saved already, because we are thus chosen, but we
must be born again, or born from above for
this to become a reality in us. God does not
automatically make us one of His children, even if
He chose us to be one, but He uses means to bring this
about. We must be given repentance to understand we are
a sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, under the
judgment of God, without any hope of saving ourselves,
and a heart that cries out to God for mercy. We must
then be given faith to see Christ hanging upon the cross
for us personally, bearing our punishment, our judgment,
and the wrath of God against us. We must experience “repentance
toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”
in order for salvation to become effective.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born
when he is old? can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that
which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not
that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
1
Cor 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory
what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in
vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I
also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the
third day according to the scriptures:
Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
Num 21:6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people; and much people of
Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have
sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against
thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents
from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery
serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to
pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh
upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon
a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had
bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he
lived.
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the
Greeks,
repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ.
This
initial phase of salvation affects primarily the spirit
of man, although eventually the whole of man is redeemed
through its efficaciousness. The good news to the spirit
of man is that Christ has fulfilled the demands of the
law for those who trust in Him, and has also shed His
blood to pay for their failure to keep God’s law. It is
by putting our faith in who Jesus is and what He did for
us when He lived on this earth as the God-man, that our
eternal salvation is secured. Our salvation is what is
called objective in nature as opposed to
subjective. It is something that we view outside of
ourselves, something that was done outside of our own
personal experience; it was done on our behalf, as
opposed to something we did or experienced. That is why
we are saved “through faith” and “not of
works,” because it is something we did not do, and
could not do for ourselves, but something that had to be
done for us. Just as the spirit of man died when it
perceived the futility of man trying to obey God’s Law,
it is now quickened by being enabled to perceive the
truth of the Gospel message. Thus our spirits are
revived, or reborn in the truth that the way to God has
now been opened; and man’s required obedience to the law
has now been replaced by obedience to the gospel truth.
1
Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall
all be made alive.
Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the
law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
for there is no difference:
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Heb 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the
priests went always into the first tabernacle,
accomplishing the service of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once
every year, not without blood, which he offered for
himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying,
that the way into the
holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the
first tabernacle was yet standing:
Matt 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud
voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in
twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did
quake, and the rocks rent;
Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath
consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say,
his flesh;
Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you
according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus
Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery,
which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of
the prophets, according to the commandment of the
everlasting God,
made known to all nations
for the obedience of faith:
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin,
but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the
servants of righteousness.
Gloriously, when we are allowed to see the truth, Christ
also comes into our hearts in the Person of the Holy
Spirit. Whether we are born again to see the truth, or
we see the truth and then are born again, or whether
both are one and the same and happen simultaneously, is
to me, still a great mystery. However it may happen, the
Spirit of Christ unites Himself to man’s spirit as the
believer and Christ are wed together spiritually. We
become a part of the spiritual body of Christ, one with
Him, eternally bonded together by this spiritual union.
1
Pet 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which
liveth and abideth for ever.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the
flesh profiteth nothing:
the words that I speak
unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for
ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:
but ye know him;
for he dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you.
1
Cor 6:17 But he
that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his
flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they
two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning
Christ and the church.
Skipping, for a moment, the second aspect of our
salvation, which will be our primary focus, the third
part of the salvation process will be the literal death
and burial of the body, and its resurrection from the
grave. To the dust we will return until the day comes
when Christ shall call His redeemed ones out of the
grave; then we shall have a new glorified body like unto
His—the only exception being those who are still alive
when He returns. These living saints will be
changed in a moment, and be caught up together with the
resurrected saints to forever be with their Lord.
Now, we have already looked at this aspect of dying
previously, and shall try not to be redundant. However,
just as the body of Christ died literally and was
buried, so must this body of sin, in which we dwell,
also die. This body of flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God—it must be changed through death and
resurrection. The body Jesus occupied when He walked the
earth was not the same as His new glorified body, and
neither shall ours be.
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
till thou return
unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin.
1
Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It
is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is
sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual
body.
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made
a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening
spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural; and afterward that which is
spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man
is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy:
and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we
shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery;
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, 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.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the
same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be
delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the
firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body.
Now,
the earthly body of Jesus was uncorrupted by
sin—unlike the body of sin in which we dwell. However,
He was still
“baptized”
as our example and our forerunner. By His physical
death, He suffered the “pains of death,” so that
we should have no fear in following Him. For the saints
of God we need not fear “the valley of the shadow
of death,” because Christ walked through the real
valley of torment and suffering on our behalf. Our death
is a mere shadow of what He went through.
Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who
is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and
made higher than the heavens
Mat 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan
unto John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be
baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so
now: for thus it
becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he
suffered him.
Mark 10:38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye
ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of?
and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized
with?
Mark 14:65 And some began to spit on him, and to
cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto
him, Prophesy:
and the servants did strike him with the palms of their
hands.
Isa 50:6 I gave
my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that
plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and
spitting.
Isa 52:14 As many were astonied at thee;
his visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of
men:
John 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus,
and scourged him.
Matt 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus
into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole
band of soldiers.
28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they
put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand:
and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him,
saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and
smote him on the head.
31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the
robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and
led him away to crucify him.
32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha,
that is to say, a place of a skull,
34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and
when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
35 And they crucified him, and parted his
garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among
them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36 And sitting down they watched him there;
37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS
IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one
on the right hand, and another on the left.
39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their
heads,
40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and
buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the
Son of God, come down from the cross.
41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him,
with the scribes and elders, said,
42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the
King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross,
and we will believe him.
43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he
will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
44 The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast
the same in his teeth.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all
the land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud
voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to
say, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me?
Psa 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words
of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not;
and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises
of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou
didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted
in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and
despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out
the lip, they shake the head saying,
8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him:
let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou
didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God
from my mother's belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is
none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan
have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening
and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are
out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the
midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me
into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the
wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my
feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots
upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength,
haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the
power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me
from the horns of the unicorns
Matt 27:57 When the even was come, there came a rich man
of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus'
disciple:
58 He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then
Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
59 And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in
a clean linen cloth,
60 And laid it
in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock:
and he rolled a great stone to the door of the
sepulchre, and departed.
Matt 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale's belly;
so shall the Son of man be
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew
unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his
counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was
impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon
the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both
sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within
the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even
Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order
of Melchisedec.
Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with
me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me
Lastly, we would say that our times are in God’s hands,
and He has appointed us a time to die; so what have we
to dread, for He is in complete control of our death.
“O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
Psa 31:15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me
from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that
persecute me.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to
die, but after this the judgment:
1
Cor 15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where
is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is
the law.
57 But thanks be
to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
To
that last statement we might add that it is not God that
causes our death. It was man taking upon himself the Law
of God, and his resulting failure to keep the Law, that
brought about his separation from God. However, God uses
and controls everything, particularly in the lives of
His children. He did not cause Lucifer to fall and
become the Devil, but God uses him and controls him. God
did not cause Adam to sin, but He uses that sin and the
sins of the entire world for His own purposes and glory.
He did not make men evil, but He uses evil men for His
purposes. So even death, which was brought into the
world by man’s sin, and is used by Satan to control his
subjects, is under God’s control—He holds the keys to
death and hell. Christ, through His death and
resurrection, overcame death, took the power that death
held over mankind away from Satan, and now uses it for
His own purposes and glory.
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it:
for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to his purpose
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,
son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will
be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides
of the pit.
Job 1:9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job
fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his
house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou
hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is
increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he
hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he
hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth
thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of
the LORD.
Dan 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar
lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding
returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I
praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is
from generation to generation:
35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as
nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth:
and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest
thou?
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned:
1
Cor 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all
enemies under his feet.
26 The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,
I am alive for evermore, Amen;
and have the keys of hell
and of death.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of
the same; that
through death he might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil;
15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all
their lifetime subject to bondage.
Most
of us will face a literal death and burial before Jesus
comes. The bodies of those saints who have already died
are even now being corrupted by the forces of the grave.
In our identification with Christ, that body in which we
lived on this earth will never come forth from the
grave. That life which we knew in our earthly flesh will
never be the same. What is laid in the grave can never
be retrieved physically, or in any other sense. What
comes forth in the resurrection will be so different
that we will even have a new name, as will our Lord
Jesus Christ. We will be so entirely different, that the
demands of the Law, sin, and death will no longer have
any power over us. All of our earthly bonds and
relationships will be forever dissolved, as we now know
them. We will only be reunited to our loved ones in
Christ in a new relationship—as brethren in the Lord.
All the earthly prestige and glory we may have enjoyed
on this earth will be forever gone. Everything of our
old life will be laid in the grave and will pass away,
and everything that comes forth of the grave will be
new.
Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh
will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give
him a white stone, and in the stone a new name
written, which no man knoweth saving he that
receiveth it.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the
temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I
will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of
the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh
down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon
him my new name.
Mark 12:24 And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not
therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures,
neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they
neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as
the angels which are in heaven.
Gal 3:28 There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all
one in Christ Jesus.
Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are
sanctified are all of one:
for which cause he is not
ashamed to call them brethren,
Rom 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that
know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man
as long as he liveth?
2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the
law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the
husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her
husband.
3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married
to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but
if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so
that she is no adulteress, though she be married to
another man.
4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to
the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married
to another, even to him who is raised from the dead,
that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
Rom 8:2 For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death.
2
Cor 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after
the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the
flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become
new.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I
make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for
these words are true and faithful.
Furthermore, just as in our predestinated, eternal
salvation, we have no part in this bodily resurrection
either. Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, and so we also must wait upon the Father to
resurrect us. As the Spirit of God awoke our dead spirit
and gave it new life, so He will awaken our dead bodies
to new life also. Those that die must rest in hope, and
those that live must have the assurance of hope that God
will perform His promises.
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection:
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. Believest thou this?
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you,
he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by
his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
1
Thess 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them
also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
2
Pet 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us
all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through
the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and
virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust.