A. INTRODUCTION
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die,
he shall live’” (John 11:25).
1. Jesus told Martha, “I Am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
a. Shows our great attachment to the body.
b. She expected a resurrection in the future, Jesus promised eternal life now.
c. Our resurrection is guaranteed as though it has already occurred.
2. Jesus raised three persons:
a. The widow’s son, “Young man I say to thee arise” (Luke 7:14).
b. The daughter of Jarvis. “Talitha, cumi which is interpreted, ‘Little girl My words make you live again’” (Mark 5:41, ELT).
c. Lazarus. “He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth” (John 11:43).
d. The miracle that produced resurrection and life was His voice. There is power in Christ’s words then and now.
e. People are saved today by the Word of Christ. “We are born again with the Word of truth” (James 1:18, c.f. Col. 3:16).
f. We will be raised by Christ’s words. “The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with His voice, mighty like Michaels . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise” (I Thess. 4:16).
3. Jesus predicted His death and resurrection. “He begun to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things . . . and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31).
B. RESURRECTION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
1. First predicted. “And after my skin is destroyed, this [I know,] that in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:26).
2. Three Old Testament examples give hope:
a. Elijah. “And he stretched himself on the child three times . . . and the soul of the child came unto him again, and he revived” (I Kings 17:21-22).
b. Elisha. “He stretched himself upon the child . . . and the child opened his eyes” (II Kings 4:34-35).
c. Touched Elisha. “They were burying a man . . . and he touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up” (II Kings 13:21).
3. David’s prediction of Christ’s resurrection. “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Sheol); neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” (Ps. 16:10).
C. THE RESULTS OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST
1. Jesus overcomes the power of death. “Finally, Jesus delivered up the kingdom to the Father, when He did away with Satan’s role and authority . . . He destroyed the last enemy which is death” (I Cor. 15:24-26, ELT).
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
(I Cor. 15:54-55, LB).
2. The resurrection is part of the gospel message. “Moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel . . . first of all . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures: and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day” (I Cor. 15:1-4).
3. To give life. “He gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Peter 1:3, TEV).
D. OUR RESURRECTION
1. We received eternal life by the substitutionary death and resurrection.
“Since we have been united with him in His death, we will also be raised as He was” (Rom. 6:5, LB). “God gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead” (Eph. 2:5).
2. We received a new standing in Heaven by the resurrection. “For God raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with Him in the heavenly realm” (Eph. 2:6, LB).
3. We will receive transformed bodies. Our earthly bodies which die and decay are different from the bodies that are raised. Our bodies now get sick, but they will always be healthy. Now we have weak, dying bodies, but they will be full of strength. They are just human bodies but at the resurrection, they will be glorious” (I Cor. 15:42-43, ELT).
4. We will be like Jesus. “He (Jesus) will change these wretched bodies of ours so that they resemble His own glorious body, by that power of His” (Phil. 3:21, Phillips).
5. We will receive our rewards at the resurrection. “You will be rewarded, when the righteous are raised from the dead” (Luke 14:14,ELT).
6. We will reign with Christ. “Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in the first raising of the dead. The second death hath no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall rule with Him for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:6, TEV).
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at eltowns@liberty.edu and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
To receive this lesson, log on to www.elmertowns.com. You will find it under Sunday School lessons. To email Dr. Towns, eltowns@liberty.edu. For more information on the class, log on to the Internet for TRBC Home page at www.trbc.org/pbc.
