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The
Gospel Observer
"Go therefore
and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe
all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20).
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April 1, 2018
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Contents:
1) Bible Prophecy (7) (Tom Edwards)
2) News & Notes
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-1-
Bible Prophecy (7)
Tom Edwards
Last week’s installment centered around prophecies pertaining to the
crucifixion and death of Christ. Today’s article will focus on
His resurrection.
David declares in Psalm 16:8-10 the following:
“I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”
If you have read the book of Acts, then you probably find this
previous passage familiar. For it was cited by Peter on the
day that the church was established. Notice Acts 2:22-27: “Men
of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested
to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God
performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know —
this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge
of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put
Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the
agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its
power. For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE;
FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. THEREFORE
MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL
LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR
ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.”
Peter also shows that because David “was a prophet and knew that GOD
HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS
THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER
DECAY” (Acts 2:30-31; See also 2 Sam. 7:12-16 and Luke
1:30-33). So Jesus was raised from the dead for that as well,
and “exalted to the right hand of God.” For “God has made Him
both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:29, 36).
That Jesus would be raised from the dead is also seen in Acts 13:34,
but first let us see another prophecy concerning this in Psalm
2. The psalmist writes:
“But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain” (v. 6).
“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to Me, ’You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession’” (vv. 7-8).
Going back to Acts 13, we now see that the thought of God begetting
Jesus is actually referring to His resurrection — rather than being
conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. Luke writes:
“And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they
asked Pilate that He be executed. When they had carried out all that
was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and
laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead; and for many
days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to
Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.
And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the
fathers, that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that
He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ’YOU
ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’ As for the fact that He
raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has
spoken in this way: ’I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF
DAVID.’ Therefore He also says in another Psalm, ’YOU WILL NOT ALLOW
YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY’” (Acts 13:23-35).
Numerous passages throughout the New Testament speak of the Lord’s
resurrection. In selecting an apostle to take Judas’ place,
one of the qualifications was to have been a witness of the Lord’s
resurrection (Acts 1:22). Peter, in speaking of himself and
the other apostles, testified that “This Jesus God raised up again,
to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). That God raised
Jesus from the dead is seen in Acts 3:5, 4:10; 10:40; and
13:30. In doing a search for “resurrection” and “raised dead”
in a computer Bible, I came across 31 passages in the New Testament
that speak of the Lord having been resurrected — and that is not all
of them.
The resurrection of Christ was a main theme in the preaching of the
apostles. For they were to be His witnesses of that
(Acts 4:33; Acts 10:38-43). Paul had also testified toward the
Lord’s resurrection when in Athens (Acts 17:3, 18, 31), when before
King Agrippa (Acts 26:23), in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14), and
elsewhere.
Jesus was “declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection
from the dead…” (Rom. 1:4).
Because Jesus was raised from the dead, those who are spiritually
dead in sin can be raised to a spiritual life, after submitting to
God’s plan of salvation. As Paul explains, “Or do you not know
that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been
baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in
newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4).
From this passage, we see that it is baptism — and not merely
belief in Christ only, nor belief in Christ and repentance only —
that is that last step by which we receive the “newness of life.”
For baptism puts us “into Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27). As Paul
writes in Colossians 2:12, “having been buried with Him in baptism,
in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the
working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Baptism is the “in
which” we are raised up from in order to be “raised up with Christ”
(Col. 3:1).
Paul also wrote of that to the Ephesians: “And you were dead in your
trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the
course of this world… But God, being rich in mercy, because of
His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved)” (Eph. 2:1-2,5). Compare also Colossians
2:13.
Notice, too, that when we compare Romans 6:3-4, in which baptism is
part of how one acquires the “newness of life,” with the above
passage in Ephesians 2, we can conclude that even in being baptized,
it is also still a part of God’s grace — rather than some type of
meritorious work through which salvation could be deserved or
earned. For we are saved by grace — which certainly does not
nullify the need to hear God’s word (Rom. 10:17), believe in Jesus
(Jn. 8:24), repent of sins (Luke 13:5), confess faith in Christ
(Rom. 10:9-10), and be baptized (Mk. 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).
Consider also Colossians 3:1: “Therefore if you have been raised up
with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God.” This, again, reminds us of Romans
6:3-4 which speaks of the new life we have in Christ when coming up
out of the water of baptism.
But also because of the Lord’s resurrection, all the literal dead,
down through the ages, will also be physically resurrected.
For “if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has
been raised… For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has
been raised” (1 Cor. 15:13,16). The implication is: since Christ was
raised, the dead will also be raised.
This is also seen in John 5, where Jesus says, “Do not marvel at
this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will
hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to
a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment” (vv. 28-29).
This is talking of a physical resurrection. For the “Do not marvel
at this” is pointing back to the spiritual resurrection spoken of in
verses 24-25: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and
believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into
judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say
to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the
voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” So
when Jesus goes on to say, “Do not marvel at this,” He then
continues with another type of resurrection that might require more
faith to accept — and that is a physical resurrection. Notice,
too, that the physical resurrection is not limited to only the
saved. For the lost will be raised as well.
Everyone. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to
make our souls ready by accepting God’s way of salvation while we
now have the time to do so.
When Jesus says, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are
given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:30), He
is not talking about a spiritual resurrection; but, rather, a
physical one. For He was answering the question the Sadducees had
asked concerning a woman who had become a widow 7 times by 7
brothers. Since they had each died, the question was, “In the
resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be?” (v.
28). The Sadducees, of course, “say there is no resurrection,
nor an angel, nor a spirit” (Acts 23:8); so they were simply trying
to entrap the Lord with their question. But the point I want
to emphasize from this is that there will be a physical
resurrection. For if Matthew 22:30 is speaking of just a
spiritual resurrection (in which the sinner has become a saint by
being born again and having that new life as a Christian in Christ),
then it is while on earth that Christians “neither marry nor are
given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” But who
would think that — especially in view of all the Bible passages,
such as Ephesians 5:22-33, that give instruction for husbands and
wives.
Martha, whose brother had been physically dead for four days, knew
that he would “rise again in the resurrection on the last day” (Jn.
11:24). And Jesus, who referred to Himself as “the
resurrection and the life” (v. 35), merely gave the command,
“Lazarus, come forth” (v. 43) — and it was so!
To be ready for that physical resurrection in the last day, we must
first undergo that spiritual resurrection by submitting to the
gospel plan of salvation, which includes the need to hear the
gospel, to believe in the Deity of Christ, to repent of sins, to
acknowledge faith in Christ, and to be baptized for the remission of
sins. We are then to also follow through in maintaining that
new life in Christ. For Jesus died for us that we might live
for Him (cf. 2 Cor. 5:15).
(All Scripture from the NASB, unless otherwise indicated; and all
underlining for emphasis mine.)
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News & Notes
Jim Lively was able to have a small growth on the top of his
head “frozen” with liquid nitrogen instead of having any more cut
away. He will now not have to return for about six months for a
checkup on it.
Deborah Medlock has not been well lately.
Others to also continue to remember in prayer: Charles Crosby,
Doyle Rittenhouse, Shirley Davis, Frankie Hadley, Jim Lively, A.J.
& Pat Joyner, Misty & Jason Thornton, Michelle
Rittenhouse, and Mary Vandevander.
WordPress version of this bulletin:
https://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com/2018/04/01/the-gospel-observer-april-1-2018/
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The Steps That Lead to Eternal Salvation
1) Hear the gospel, for that
is how faith comes (Rom. 10:17; John 20:30-31).
2) Believe in the deity of Christ
(John 8:24; John 3:18).
3) Repent of sins (Luke 13:5;
Acts 17:30).
4) Confess faith in Christ (Rom.
10:9-10; Acts 8:36-38).
5) Be baptized in water for the
remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4;
Gal. 3:26-27; 1 Pet. 3:21).
6) Continue in the faith, living for the Lord; for, if not, salvation can be
lost (Heb. 10:36-39; Rev. 2:10; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
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Tebeau Street
CHURCH OF CHRIST
1402 Tebeau Street, Waycross, GA 31501
Sunday services: 9:00
a.m. (Bible class); 10 a.m. & 5 p.m. (worship)
Tuesday: 2 p.m. (Ladies' Bible class) (New Time)
Wednesday: 7 p.m. (Bible class)
evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (912)
614-8593
Tom@ThomasTEdwards.com
http://thegospelobserver.wordpress.com (Gospel Observer website with
pictures in WordPress)
http://thomastedwards.com/go
(Older version of Gospel Observer website without pictures, but
back to March 1990)
http://tebeaustreetchurchofchrist.org/
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