Death Could NOT Hold Him!!

A very, very HAPPY and joyful Easter to you all! I am sitting here alone in my parent's house (alone again!) while they go to their church for a shorter Easter Day service. I was hoping to be able to get over to my sister's church in Newport again (after I so enjoyed the wonderful dedication of my nephew) but alas - could not get a lift!

So I am enjoying the sun and peace thinking about this - the most monumental day on the Christian calender. Today was the day when the two Roman soldiers were stunned by the angels rolling back the stone. Today was the day when Mary was asked; "Woman - why do you weep?". Today was the day when (I imagine) the whole of hell trembled as it's demonic lord screamed in absolute frustration and anger because he knew his doom was sealed - the Son of God had risen from the dead!

I don't think there is a better song to sum up today other than Stuart Townend's; "The Power of the Cross". The Cross only has it's power because of today. If Jesus Christ had not stepped out of the tomb in triumph then the Cross would have remained simply a notorious form of execution. But because dawn came on Easter Sunday morning - the Cross for us will now be forever the moment when Jesus Christ obliterated our sin forever and destroyed our identity as sinners! The Cross now becomes the moment when death itself was made a mockery of because it's power over us is lost!

Jesus Christ is risen today and forever - and is not hanging broken on a Cross but is risen seated and ruling at the right hand of the Father on high waiting for the moment when His enemies will be made His footstool by His glorious Bride - the Church! And to accomplish that - He has poured out His Holy Spirit on each and everyone of us to go forth in His royal identity! Saints!

"The Centrality of the Resurrection" by Richard B Gaffin Jr

It has been a while since I have done a proper book review but this book I discovered recently demands being reviewed! The first time I actually heard this book mentioned was during Ern Baxter's memorable sermon "The Neglect of Resurrection" at Earl Paulk's conference. The quotes that Ern brought from Gaffin's book really impacted me so I was thrilled to find a copy of the book at the wonderful Geneva Books (a Reformed conservative second hand book shop) in London. I've read it and it is incredible. So;

"The Centrality of the Resurrection - A Study in Paul's Soteriology" by Richard B Gaffin Jr.

This book was actually Gaffin's doctoral thesis published by Baker Books. He begins the book by making an important point - "Biblical interpretation never takes place in a vacuum". This seems to be so true. It has always puzzled me why Arminians and Calvinists, Cessationists and Pentecostal/Charismatics, Premillenials and Postmillenials, Baptists and Paedobaptists and so on all believe and look to the one same Bible for what we all call ultimate truth. We all approach the Bible with pre-concieved ideas from whatever our backgrounds present. It is with that in mind that Gaffin presented a disturbing result from his study;

"Charles Hodge (Systematic Theology) - Volume 2 - devotes four pages to the resurrection in contrast with a lengthy treatment of the atonement (pp464-591). W G T Shedd (Dogmatic Theology) - Volume 2 - passes directly from a discussion of "Vicarious Atonement" to "Regeneration". The major writings of B B Warfield in this area concentrate exclusively upon the death of Christ understood as atonement ... The approach of Louis Berkhof (Systematic Theology) is similar to that of Hodge. After a brief discussion of the resurrection he moves on to a lengthy treatment of the atonement (pp361-399). The approaches of Abraham Kuyper (Dictaten Dogmatiek) and Herman Bavinck (Gereformeerde Dogmatiek) provide no significant exceptions to this general pattern.

This viritual equation of the accomplishment of redemption with atonement which characterises traditional Reformed dogmatics is nowhere made more clear or expressed more programmatically than in the opening sentence of John Murray (Redemption - Accomplished and Applied); 'The accomplishment of redemption is concerned with what has been generally called the atonement".

Richard Gaffin then sums up what he has studied:

"In calling attention to this preoccupation with the atonement, my purpose is not to challenge the validity and necessity of this development, far less to call into question the conclusions reached. I wish to point out that the dominating interest in the death of Christ has had assoicated with it a relative neglect of the resurrection".

Gaffin then examines the Resurrection of Christ in Paul's Soteriology in two key parts. 1. The Resurrection of Christ and the Future Resurrection of Believers and 2. The Resurrection of Christ and the Past Resurrection of the Believer. After examining the Scriptures associated with these two areas, he then moves on to examine; 1. The Activity of the Father and the Passivity of the Son and 2. The Agency of the Spirit.

He writes;

"For Paul, "life" in the soteriological sense ... is grounded specifically in the resurrection of Jesus and it's manifestation is always an expression of that resurrection. Life for Paul is pointedly resurrection-life".

Just as Dr John Stott's contribution to Christian life has been helpful in restoring the aspect of the Cross of Christ to something more than a historical moment but rather usefulness in day to day life - so Richard Gaffin holds a similar view on the Resurrection;

"Resurrection with Christ involves an existential component. The believer's continuing walk in newness of life is based upon resurrection with Christ as that has taken place in his actual life history".

The recent debated issue of baptism in water most certainly carries importance in existential resurrection life. How can an infant understand the implications of this truth that Gaffin writes of?;

"Baptism signifies and seals a transition into the experience of the recipient a transition from being (existentially) apart from Christ to being (existentially) joined to Him".

There may be some arguments from some who's concern is that the Cross is the central component of redemption, that the ressurection is "naturally" included in the whole scope. Gaffin would not agree with this. He said;

"The resurrection is not an aspect or component of the death. Rather ... each has a meaning of its own which is supressed at the risk of seriously distorting Paul's Gospel".

His argument is this - if we abandon or neglect the truth of the resurrection and assume it is "all included" then we risk distorting the truth and true glory of the Gospel of grace. I am always excited to learn or read new insights into understanding the Person and work of Jesus Christ. I found Gaffin's thesis carried just such insights.

"The resurrection is the salvation of Jesus as the last Adam; it and no other event in His experience is the point of His transition from wrath to grace".

With all the recent popularisation and recent debate concerning the Cross and the atonement it is interesting that there isn't as much actual insight into the actual events of what happened on that fateful day on Calvary. It was the resurrection that marked the point of wrath to grace. Gaffin writes again;

"Strictly speaking not Christ's death but His resurrection (that is His exaltation) marks the completion of the once-for-all accomplishment of redemption".

The implications of ignoring this are note-worthy;

"In fact only by virtue of His resurrection is His death, a dying to sin. A soteriology structured so it moves directly from the death of Christ to the application to others of the benefits purchased by that death, substantially short-circuits Paul's own point of view".

Now lest Gaffin (or myself for reviewing this book so enthusiastically) be accused of attempting to down-play the importance of the Cross, Gaffin goes on to make an absolutely excellent point that fits both the Cross and the Resurrection into context.

"This does not imply that Paul compromises the absolute necessity and intrinsic efficacy of Christ's death (as an atonement). It does mean however that he does not confuse the ransom price, no matter how sublime and precious with what is secured by it's payment".

Let us make every effort to not become so overly focused on one aspect of Christ's atoning work that we miss the broader, more glorious strokes of what He did by coming to earth. Let us also not forget that He no longer lies in a crib as an infant, or walks the earth with His disciples. Let us not forget that He doesn't hang on a Cross broken and alone anymore but He has risen from the dead and triumphed over principalities and powers! He has ascended gloriously into the throne room of Heaven and has sat down at the right hand of the Father where He has been given the government of the universe - yet is daily interceding for those of us He is pleased to call sons! Let us not forget that one day He will return again in glory to receive His glorious and wonderful Bride who has been chosen from every tongue, tribe and nation for Himself!

He Has Risen ... to Reign!

A Happy Easter to everyone!! Christ has risen!!

Well I am on my own at my parent's house as they have gone off to their church so I have been left cooking the lunch. But I had a quick thought. I have said before that I will re-publish teaching of Dr Ern Baxter if it seems appropriate and to me Easter Sunday is THE occasion to re-publish this extremely key teaching on Resurrection. The sermon was called, "The Neglect of Resurrection". Here it is in four parts and some summary quotes:

Part 1 - "The Introduction".

"God has not given up on the world, God will not give up on the world and God ultimately intends to have a new heaven and a new earth where indwelleth righteousness and I am with Him!".

Part 2 - "The Scholars Neglect Resurrection".

"Those Christians who consider only Christ’s death are death-orientated. They never get past the Cross. These dear people have been dying daily for 50 years and they look like it – you wish they’d get it over with ... Cross-orientated people are sad people".

A quote from I. Howard Marshall:

"According to the theology expressed in the Acts of the Apostles the fundamental place in salvation history is to be assigned to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ”

Part 3 - "The Serious Neglect".

A quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

"Only the Risen One makes possible the Presence of the Living Person".

A quote from Richard Gaffin:

"Christianity, at least the Christianity of the New Testament, is a religion of Resurrection".

A quote from George Elton Ladd:

"It is clear that not the life of Jesus, not His teaching, not even His sacrificial death was the central emphasis in the earliest Christian proclamation. It was the Resurrection of Christ".

Ern Baxter himself: "I don't sing "Jesus keep me near the Cross!". I sing, "I see Jesus crowned with glory and honour!"

Part 4 - "Conclusions".

"I love His life. I love Him more every time I read the Gospels. He challenges my own humanity - but I don't live there. I come to his vicarious death and I mourn at His agony and I am influenced by His passion but I don't live there".

"But the baptism of the Holy Ghost is your enablement to reign".

"I receive the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit enables me to see Him and what He is doing now".

So there we have it.

Why did I say, "He has risen to reign?". Once again there is amazing symmetry between what Pete is writing on his blog and what I am writing. That isn't by design. I only checked his blog half-way through mine. But Ern Baxter's vision is so important to us both! Pete wrote:

"We might sing "Jesus keep me near the cross" (which is interesting since Jesus is nowhere near the cross now - He is on the throne, highly exalted), but still live under a cloud of condemnation. This should not be ... Therefore let us not stay at the cross but enter in to all that the cross has ... Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to stay gazing at the empty cross trying to stir up emotions in worship. Yes, the cross should break our hearts, and we should be filled with love and awe. However, we should not stay gazing. Rather we should enjoy all that He has done for us".

I originally went to Pete's blog to get the words of the famous Issac Watts hymn, "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun". It expresses the reign of Christ more ably than I ever could ... and it was a pre-1970's Dales hymn! Imagine that! Note the extra verses that you won't find in many modern abberational hymn books. They are in italics. This is the cry of my heart on this glorious Easter morning:

1. Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Doth his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.

2. Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.

3. There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barb’rous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.

4. For Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.

5. People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.

6. Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.

7. Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.

8. Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honours to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!

Jesus Christ is risen today! Hallelujah!