Deliverance from the Death-state
Dearly beloved, let’s consider a conversation that Jesus Christ had with the Sadducees concerning the resurrection from the dead.
“The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him. . .” Matthew 22:23
The Sadducees quoted the law given to Moses (out of its context, of course) to trap Jesus in his teaching. These men attempted to pit God’s Word against God’s Son. If we did not understand the two spiritual kingdoms it would be hard to understand how men could be so evil. This is not so different from Genesis 3, when the serpent pitted his word against God’s Word.
“. . . Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all, the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.” Matthew 22:24-28
They quoted the law to set up a hypothetical scenario. These religious leaders were evil men. How do we know? We know by their mishandling of the Word of God and their attitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ. How did Jesus Christ respond to them?
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” Matthew 22:29
The Lord told them that they erred on two points; they were ignorant of the scriptures, and of God’s power to perform them. Remember, the context in which the Lord is speaking concerns the resurrection from the dead. He shifts the subject from their hypothetical scenario to the resurrection.
“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.” Matthew 22:30-33
God is not the God of dead people, but of the living. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are presently dead. For God to fulfill His covenant promises with these men, He will have to raise them to life again; He is the God of the living, and these men will live again when God sends His Son to resurrect them from the dead.
Death is death, not life. The Lord Jesus Christ will raise God’s people to life again in the resurrection. If the dead are alive today, what need would there be for resurrection?
To teach them about resurrection, the Lord quoted what God revealed to Moses.
“Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” Exodus 3:6
God previously founded a relationship with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The LORD told the children of Israel, “I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God”. Exodus 6:7
Resurrection is required if God is to fulfill His covenants to them, for God is the God of the living and they must rise and live again for Him to do this.
“Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; ‘Behold, O My People, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O MY People, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it,’ saith the LORD.” Ezekiel 37: 12-14
“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” Hosea 13:14 AV
There is no release from the death-state except for that which God provides.
Thank God for His wonderful grace and mercy to the Church which is in Christ! Those who have confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead will be saved.
We have the victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ and his accomplishments.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man [Jesus, the Christ] came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s, at his coming.”
I Corinthians 15: 20-23
“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” I Corinthians 15:51-54
The condemnation of death passed upon all men in Genesis 3; that was no mystery. The scriptures reveal that all people will be in one of the resurrections; that was not a mystery. Here we are shown something that wasn’t known previously.
When Christ returns to gather the Church unto him in the air, some saints will yet be living and they will be changed. We find the same truth about those in Christ in I Thessalonians 4: 13-18.
"For our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is a able even to subdue all things unto himself." Philippians 3:20 and 21
Rejoice, beloved, he is coming and we will acquire the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ!