Jesus Christ, The Son Of God, The Risen Lord From The Dead (Romans 1:1-4)

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Risen Lord from the dead (Romans 1:1-4)

“Paul, a servant, 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.” (Romans 1:1-4 ESV)

Almost everyone here, if not all, belongs to a religion called Christianity. The word for religion in Chinese (??) - we Koreans also use the term (??) for that matter - means basically the highest teaching. Some define it as the utmost teaching, and others the ultimate teaching concerning the life and the world, or the most important teaching, etc. Various dictionaries define religion in Chinese term (?? ??) in variant manners, but all to the effect that religion means the superlative teaching.

As religious text, the Bible also has a lot of the important teachings or lessons. Without doubt, teaching is very significant part in the Bible. However, there is more important and fundamental factor in the Bible than teaching. Can you imagine what that is? I am referring to (historical) event. In fact, the very first chapter of the Bible describes how God created the heavens and the earth and all other creatures and human being in His image.

All the teachings of the Bible are based on the fact that God created the heavens and the earth and all the creatures and man in His image as the central figure in His creation. Therefore, the creation is the basis of all the teachings of the Bible and the foundation for all the biblical beliefs. For this reason, should turn out all the world and human beings are as products of natural process called the evolution, for example, all the Bible teachings would be not only pointless, but fraudulent and lies, no matter how meaningful and truthful they might sound.

On the other hand, since God's creation is the basis for all their beliefs, the Bible believers are commanded to remember God as the Creator. The Israelites kept the Sabbath as commanded by God because God rested on Saturday, the seventh day, after the six days of creative ministry.

For us Christians, though we realize the need to remember God as creator, we don’t necessarily keep the Sabbath. Rather we traditionally gather to worship in Sunday. We do so because Jesus rose again from the dead on Sunday. And we Christians gather every Sunday to commemorate and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. By celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, we remember God’s new work of creation because God restored His relationship with the fallen world, thus making the new creation in Jesus’ death as atoning sacrifice and Jesus’ resurrection as evidence His atoning sacrifice was accepted. (Col 1:20; 2 Co 5:17) Thus, I would say, Jesus' resurrection is the root and core of our Christian faith. All the teachings and lessons of the New Testament are based on the resurrection.

If Jesus, on the other hand, had not risen from the dead, then all the New Testament teachings are baseless; they are lies and frauds or at the most wishful thinking. The birth of Jesus, the teachings, ministries, and miracles of Jesus, yes even the death of Jesus on the cross don’t mean a thing, but outright nonsenses.

(My Confession: I do believe everything that Jesus said and did since I believe He has risen from the dead. But I can’t help but believing in His resurrection because of His marvelous teaching, ministry, and character as described in the books of the gospel. I believe that unless He is the Son of God, he cannot give such marvelous teachings, live such a compassionate life and die such sacrificial death as Jesus did. )

Nevertheless, the Bible says, "If Christ had not risen, all that we teach, believe, and preach is in vain and we will still be in sins (our sins not forgiven), and we are of all people most to be pitied." If in fact Jesus had not been resurrected, what are we doing here in this beautiful Sunday? As the Bible says, if the dead cannot rise again, we will die tomorrow, and we will eat and drink.

Why is the resurrection of Jesus so important? Why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so essential and at the core of our Christian life? Let’s see what the text today has to say about our question.

“Paul, a servant, 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.” (Romans 1:1-4 ESV)