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The Major Aspects of Resurrection
by John Urs And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. (1 Corinthians 15:14) Take the Resurrection out of Christianity and you have not Christianity ! Resurrection is the essence of Christian faith. The apostle Paul is talking in 1 Corinthians 15 about the importance of Resurrection and about the major aspects of the Christian faith that are affected by Jesus' Resurrection. The first aspect of the Resurrection is the historical aspect. Resurrection is not a fairy tale, but a historical reality! This aspect was proved by Jesus' friends and was proved by Jesus' enemies. Starting more than 2000 years ago people are still believing and are ready to die to prove this truth. In spite of the fact that there are many enemies that are trying to deny and to bring doubt about this reality, Resurrection of Christ is a proved historical fact and His church is the best prove of this. The second aspect of Jesus' Resurrection is the soteriological aspect. Soteriology is the doctrine of Salvation. Paul is stating very clear, without Jesus' Resurrection there is not salvation, we are lost and our sins are still pressing over us. Without Jesus' Resurrection there is not righteousness (Romans 4:25). Without Jesus' Resurrection there is not a Good News, there is not a Gospel of forgiveness. His Resurrection was prophesized by the prophets of the Old Testament and by Jesus Himself. Jesus' Resurrection is the Father's approval for His ministry, suffering and death. Without Resurrection, Jesus' suffering for us would have been in vain. The third aspect of Jesus' Resurrection is the empirical aspect. When I'm saying empirical I mean touchable or practical aspect. This aspect is answering to the today's practical question: "How Jesus' Resurrection is affecting me now in April 2007?" The apostle Paul is talking about the fact that all the people who don't know Jesus as Lord and Savior are dead in their iniquities and sins. When we come from darkness to the light we are RESURRECTED or we experience METANOIA the changing, the renewing of our mind (Romans ch. 6, Romans 12:1). In other words we are experiencing the Resurrection here and now, we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are not perfect, but we are a new person. The apostle Paul is talking about experiencing the power of Jesus' Resurrection and this is what we receive when we believe and when we live as a true witness of the Resurrection. The fourth aspect of Jesus' Resurrection is the eschatological aspect. Eschatology is the doctrine about the end times. Jesus' Resurrection is pointing to the time when our physical body we'll be resurrected and transformed too. Actually, this is one of the most comforting thoughts that we have when we are facing death, this is our hope: THE RESURRECTION. The apostle Paul is talking here about another future aspect that will involve Resurrection, and this is JUDGMENT. He says that all people will be resurrected, but some to receive their reward and some to receive their punishment. These are only few major aspects of Jesus' Resurrection, and this should be enough to make us understand how important is this for us and for our eternal destiny. We still have the time to change our life and to expect Resurrection with hope and to enjoy our eternity with our Lord. If you're reading this and you don't believe in Jesus' Resurrection you have to know that you're lost and hopeless, but still you have the great chance to experience God's love NOW. Because of the strong commercial aspect of our society, the Easter became like a second hand holiday, with rabbits and eggs. I hope that this words we'll help us understand how important is this event for our faith, for our lives and for our eternal destiny. John Urs-http://www.saltmin.com Feel free to print and publish this article as long as you don't modify the content and post the author and weblink. God bless you! Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |