Signs of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 18. (4/30/1896)

Signs of the Times

Apr 30, 1896

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 30, 1896

The Resurrection of Christ

Much has been said during the early part of April from various pulpits and in various religious newspapers on the resurrection of Christ, more than in all the year beside. Why is this? Does the resurrection pertain to special seasons? Is it more important at one time of the year than another? What is its lesson? What does or should the resurrection of Christ mean to us? How should the great event be celebrated? How should it be remembered before the world? These are important and vital questions to every child of God, nay, more, to all people.

Why a Resurrection?—When Jesus was taken down from the cross, he was dead. That is one of the great facts of the Gospel. In order to live he must have a resurrection. Death comes in consequence of sins. But Jesus Christ did not die because he himself was a sinner. He kept the Father's commandments, and abode in his love. John 15:10. He “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” 1 Peter 2:22. He “gave himself for our sins.” Gal. 1:4. God “made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Cor. 5:21. And so he died, and hence the necessity of his resurrection.

Righteousness and Life.—He died because of our sins; he was raised because of his righteousness, or the righteousness of God in him. For “in the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” Prov. 12:28. He died, “the Just for the unjust,” to bring us to God; he lives, the Prince of righteousness and life. The power which raised him from the dead was the power of God manifest in a righteous life in sinful flesh. The law in him was not “the law of sin and death,” but “the law of the Spirit of life.” Rom. 8:2. And “the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Verse 10. And as Christ was absolutely righteous, God “loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” Acts 2:24. Death can hold forever only those who are identified with sin. Christ identified himself with sin, but not for himself nor in himself; it was solely for others that he died. He lives because death cannot hold the righteous. The resurrection is, therefore, the demonstration of the power of God triumphant over finished sin,—death,—even as it had been triumphant in a flesh of sin in his life.

The Power.—The power by which he was raised is the power of God, the same power that is in the Gospel; “for it [the Gospel] is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. . . . For therein [in the Gospel] is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Rom. 1:16, 17. The power of God in the Gospel is, therefore, the power which enables the child of faith to live the righteousness of God. This is the power of the eternal Spirit by which Christ was enabled to offer himself without spot, and by which his children fulfill or keep the righteousness of the law. Heb. 9:14; Rom. 8:4. It is the power of the life that Christ lived while on earth, and which he lives in every one who will have faith in him. Gal. 2:20. It is the power by which we are “born from above,” are made new creatures in Christ Jesus, “created” “unto good works,” “in righteousness and true holiness.” (See John 3:3–5; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10; 4:24.) This is the power of God, the power of his “endless life,” the power of his “eternal Spirit,” the power manifest in Christ’s life over sin, the power triumphant over death.

That Power in Us.—That same power must be in us, and will be in us, unless we receive the grace of God in vain; for “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Rom. 8:9. It is this power that the Spirit prays through the apostles that we may possess—“that ye may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Eph. 1:18–21.

The Gospel Memorials or Symbols.—The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are the three great facts of the Gospel. This the apostle Paul sets forth in 1 Cor. 15:1–4; after saying that what he declared to the believers was the Gospel, which they had received, wherein they stood, by which they were saved, he thus recapitulates:—

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Certainly, these great events, the death of the eternal Son of God, his burial and resurrection, should be remembered, should be kept before the world, should be proclaimed that others might receive it and be saved, even as did the Corinthians. Has God given us such memorials?—He has: “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” 1 Cor. 11:26. The bread and wine of communion are a reminder of the death of Jesus Christ, which is continually and forever effectual—an occasional symbol of a continual spiritual feast of feeding on the word and life of God. (See 1 Cor. 10:16, 17; John 6:54–56, 63.) It is not on Good Friday, or once a year, that Christ’s death should be remembered, but “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” 2 Cor. 4:10.

The Burial and Resurrection of Christ is symbolized by baptism. Says the same apostle:—

“Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should

walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Rom. 6:3–6.

But the careful reader will observe that it is not in the naked ceremony of baptism that the memorial is revealed. There is the likeness—the going down into the water, the whelming, immersion, burial, and the rising again. All this is of value only as it represents faith in the facts of the Gospel and the power of God. If the faith is genuine, it should mean a funeral and a wedding to all beholders. It says that the old man, the old life of sin, is dead, and we bury him forever; and that the new man is married to Christ, the One also raised from the dead, and whose life is in the believer. (See Rom. 7:4.) The ceremony of baptism itself is, therefore, but a symbol of the new life that is to be. It declares that the believer has forever renounced the world and sin, “that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Such a life should bring forth the fruits of righteousness unto the glory and praise of God.

The Value of Such Witness.—The value of Christianity is in its power, its life. If it be only the mere forms, the ceremonies, the ritual, the days, it is no better than paganism. Its reality is in the power of the individual life over sin and in righteousness, of which the simple Christian ceremonies are but symbols. What a witness it is to the power of God to see a sinner, one who loved sin, who bore its varied corrupting loathsome fruit, a curse to himself and a disgrace to his family and neighborhood, transformed by the power of God to a righteous man, whose life bears the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost! But this is no fancy picture. There are many such transformations yet, praise God. There would be many more if his professed people only knew him and knew his power. If they knew him, they would not need the recurrence of a spring pagan festival to bring the power of his resurrection to mind. They would not supplant his Sabbath by another pagan festival day in memory of a new event, a day never appointed of God. The power of Christ’s resurrection, the witness of that resurrection, is manifest in the righteous life of the believer, not for one day in the week, but every hour of every day. “Christ is risen!” Christian brother or sister, does your life show it? Are you “risen with Christ”? This is the vital question. What is his resurrection to you? Sinner, Christ desires to live his life in you. From beyond the tomb he sends the glad message to all, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” He has power to save you. He will live the same life in you that he lived while on earth—a life triumphant over sin. Will you let him do this? If you have his power in your life, the resurrection to life and immortality awaits you.

“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.” Col. 3:1.

“PRESENT WITH THE LORD.”

To those who love the Lord with all the heart there can be no more desirable condition than to be in his presence; for in his “presence is fullness of joy.” This the apostle preferred to being present in the body here. See 2 Cor. 5:1–8. What is meant by the expression “present with the Lord”? and where will it be realized?

1. Present with the Lord means more than having the presence of his Spirit here; for this the apostle had in his daily life. But being present with the Lord is being personally present in Christ’s personal presence. Not only does the child of God desire this, but the Lord desires it. He prayed, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.” John 17:24. He promised: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2, 3. To be present with the Lord is therefore to be with Christ in glory, a most blessed and desirable condition truly.

2. When will the people of the Lord be with him? This is answered in the text last quoted—when Christ comes again. But we are asked by honest inquirers: “Does not this mean at death? Was it not at death when the apostle expected to be with the Lord? Did he not prefer that to life?” The word of God reveals but one time when saints enter into bliss, when the Lord’s people shall be with him, and that is at his second coming. But his second coming is not death but life to his people. Death is an enemy which Christ came to destroy, and which will be destroyed from among his people at Christ’s coming. The following scriptures show conclusively that the people of the Lord will be with him at his coming the second time in glory, and this only by a resurrection from the dead. They base all upon the resurrection of the dead, and upon Christ’s second coming.

“For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” 1 Cor. 15:16–18.

“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.” Verses 51–54.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4:16–18.

“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16:27.

These scriptures prove conclusively that the hope of the Christian centers in Christ’s coming in glory and the resurrection from the dead. This the apostle calls “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13), and it was to that day he looked for the “crown of righteousness,” not only for himself, but for all those who “love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).

3. The time between death and the resurrection is a sleep, a time of unconsciousness, of negation of being, so far as man is concerned. The dead live only in God’s purpose; they live in fact only by a resurrection. The following texts will clearly prove this:—

“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” Acts 2:26.

“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption.” Chapter 13:36.

“For David is not ascended into the heavens.” Chapter 2:34.

“The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Ps. 115:17.

“For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” Ps. 6:5.

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ps. 146:3, 4.

“For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” Eccl. 9:5, 6.

These, and other texts which might be adduced, show conclusively that the condition of death is a state of silence and unconsciousness, in which the man is without thought or action, the thought perished.

With these conditions before us, it is easy to understand what the apostle says in 2 Cor. 5:1–8. Let the reader note especially that the apostle speaks not of two entities, not of soul and body, but of the Christian in the three conditions, namely, this present life, the condition between death and the resurrection, and the glorified state which the saints will reach by a resurrection or translation. With this understanding let us read the text:—

“For we know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved [if we lose this life], we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this [present life] we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven [made immortal at Christ’s coming, see Rom. 8:23]; if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked [or in the condition of the dead]. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed [not that we would die], but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life [at Christ’s coming, see above, 1 Cor. 15:51–54].

“Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit [God created us that we might live with him, immortal]. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord [‘at home with the Lord,’ E. V., when Jesus comes].”

What Paul longed for was not death, but life. He did not wish to be found naked, or unclothed, having no conscious existence; he wished rather translation to heaven, and a home eternally with Christ. This is the hope which the Lord holds out before us. Titus 2:13. Death is an enemy, “the last enemy that shall be destroyed.” 1 Cor. 15:26. He

who is rewarded by death, is he who receives the “wages of sin.” Rom. 6:23. God gives his children eternal life and immortality at his coming.

FREEDOM

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

We now come to the conclusion of the whole matter. In the eighth chapter of Romans the epistle reaches its highest point. The seventh has presented to us the deplorable condition of the man who has been awakened by the law to a sense of his condition, bound to sin by cords that can be loosened only by death. It closes with a glimpse of the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who alone can set us free from the body of death. This brings us to the state of

Freedom from Condemnation.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh can not please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Rom. 8: 1-9.

Questioning the Text.

What is the condition of them that are in Christ?

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”

How do such walk?

“Not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

From what have we been made free?

“From the law of sin and death.”

What has done this?

“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.”

How did God send his Son?

“In the likeness of sinful flesh.”

What for?

“For sin.”

What did he thus do?

“Condemned sin in the flesh.”

For what purpose?

“That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.”

Why could not the law itself do this?

Because “it was weak through the flesh.”

How is it then that it can be done in us through Christ?

Because we “walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

What is said of those who are after, or according to, the flesh?

“They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh.”

What of them that are after the Spirit?

“They that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

What is the difference between the flesh and the Spirit?

“These are contrary the one to the other.” Gal. 5: 17.

What is it to be minding the flesh?

“To be carnally minded is death.”

And what to be minding the Spirit?

“To be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Why is it that to be carnally minded is death?

“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God.”

In what does its enmity consist?

“It is not subject to the law of God.”

Can not the carnal mind be brought into subjection to the law of God?

“Neither indeed can be.”

Then what necessarily follows?

“So then they that are in the flesh can not please God.”

What is the condition of those in whom the Spirit of God dwells?

“Ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.”

What is said of the one who has not this Spirit?

“If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

“No Condemnation.”—There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ. Why?—Because he received the curse of the law, that the blessing might come on us. Nothing can come to us while we are in him, without first passing through him; but in him all curses are turned to blessings, and sin is displaced by righteousness. His endless life triumphs over everything that comes against it. We are made “complete in him.”

“Looking unto Jesus.”—Some people say, “I do not find this scripture fulfilled in my case, because I find something to condemn me every time I look at myself.” To be sure; for the freedom from condemnation is not in ourselves, but in Christ Jesus. We are to look at him, instead of at ourselves. If we obey his orders, and trust him, he takes the responsibility of making us clear before the law. There will never be a time when one will not find condemnation in looking at himself. The fall of Satan was due to his looking at himself. The restoration for those whom he has made to fall, is only through looking to Jesus. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” John 3: 14. The serpent was lifted up to be looked at. Those who looked were healed. Even so with Christ. In the world to come the servants of the Lord “shall see his face,” and they will not be drawn away to themselves. The light of his countenance will be their glory and it is in that same light that they will be brought to that glorious state.

Conviction, Not Condemnation.—The text does not say that those who are in Christ Jesus will never be reproved.

“Do you think he ne’er reproves me? What a false friend he would be If he never, never told me Of the faults that he must see!”

Getting into Christ is only the beginning, not the end, of Christian life. It is the entrance to the school where we are to learn of him. He takes the ungodly man, with all his evil habits, and forgives all his sins, so that he is counted as tho he never had sinned. Then he continues to him his own life, by which he may overcome his evil habits. Association with Christ will more and more reveal to us our failings, just as association with a learned man will make us conscious of our ignorance. As a faithful witness, he tells us of our failings. But it is not to condemn us. We receive sympathy, not condemnation, from him. It is this sympathy that gives us courage, and enables us to overcome. When the Lord points out a defect in our characters, it is the same as saying to us, “There is something that you are in need of, and I have it for you.” When we learn to look at reproof in this way, we shall rejoice in it, instead of being discouraged.

Law of Life in Christ.—The law without Christ is death. The law in Christ is life. His life is the law of God; for out of the heart are the issues of life, and the law was in his heart. The law of sin and death works in our members. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ gives us freedom from this. Mark that it is the life in Christ that does this. It does not give us freedom from obedience to the law, for we had that before, and that was bondage, and not freedom. What he gives us freedom from is the transgression of the law.

Christ’s Work.—This is made very plain in verses 3 and 4. God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” There is no fault to be found with it, but with us, because we have transgressed it. Christ’s work is not to change the law in any particular, but to change men in every particular. It is to put the law into their hearts in perfection, in place of the marred and broken copy.

The Weakness of the Law.—The law is strong enough to condemn, but it is weak, even powerless, with respect to what man needs, namely, salvation. It was and is “weak through the flesh.” The law is good, and holy, and just, but man has no strength to perform it. Just as an ax may be of good steel, and very sharp, yet unable to cut down a tree, because the arm that has hold of it has no strength, the law of God could not perform itself. It set forth man’s duty; it remained for him to do it. But he could not, and therefore Christ came to do it in him. What the law could not do, God did by his Son.

Likeness of Sinful Flesh.—There is a common idea that this means that Christ simulated sinful flesh; that he did not take upon himself actual sinful flesh, but only what appeared to be such. But the Scriptures do not teach such a thing. “In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining

to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” Heb. 2:17. He was “born of a woman, born under the law,” that he might redeem them that were under the law. Gal. 4:4, 5, R.V. He took the same flesh that all men have who are born of woman. A parallel text to Rom. 8:3, 4 is found in 2 Cor. 5:21. The former text says that Christ was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” The latter says that God “made him to be sin for us,” altho he knew no sin, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

“Compassed with Infirmity.”—All the comfort that we can get from Christ lies in the knowledge that he was made in all things as we are. Otherwise we should hesitate to tell him of our weaknesses and failures. The priest who makes sacrifices for sins must be one “who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.” Heb. 5:2. This applies perfectly to Christ; “for we have not an High Priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Heb. 4:15. This is why we may come boldly to the throne of grace for mercy. So perfectly has Christ identified himself with men, that he even now feels their sufferings.

The Flesh and the Spirit.—“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Note that this depends on the preceding statement, “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” The things of the Spirit are the commandments of God, because the law is spiritual. The flesh serves the law of sin (see the preceding chapter, and Gal. 5:19-21, where the works of the flesh are described); but Christ came in the same flesh, to show the power of the Spirit over the flesh. “They that are in the flesh can not please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Christ dwell in you.” Now no one will claim that the flesh of a man is any different after his conversion from what it was before. Least of all will the converted man himself say so; for he has continual evidence of its perversity. But if he is really converted, and the Spirit of Christ dwells in him, he is no more in the power of the flesh. Even so Christ came in the same sinful flesh, yet he was without sin, because he was always led by the Spirit.

The Enmity.—“The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” The flesh never becomes converted. It is enmity against God; and that enmity consists in opposition to his law. Therefore, whoever opposes the law of God is fighting against him. But Christ is our Peace, and he came preaching peace. “You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight.” Col. 1:21, 22. In his own flesh he abolishes the enmity, so that all who are crucified with him are at peace with God; that is, they are subject to his law, which is in their hearts.

“Life and Peace.”—“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” To be spiritually minded is to have a mind controlled by the law of God, “for we know that the law is spiritual.” “Great peace have they which love thy law.” Ps. 119:165. “Being justified [made righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The carnal mind is enmity against God. Therefore, to be carnally minded is death. But Christ “hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10. He has abolished death by destroying the power of sin in all who believe in him; for death has no power except through sin. “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Cor. 15:56. So that even now we may joyfully say, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” E. J. W.

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