Systematic Theology--Lesson 4, God the Holy Spirit

Today we’re going to finish up our look at the Trinity by reading about the One who may be the most misunderstood of the three Persons of the Godhead. We have seen that the Father is the One from whom all things proceed. We have seen that Jesus is our Savior, our Lord, the fulfillment of the Old Testament laws and sacrifices. But many people don’t quite understand the Holy Spirit. Before we begin, I want to make something abundantly clear. If you were to ask a Baptist what he believes about the Holy Spirit, then you asked a Pentecostal what he believes about the Holy Spirit, you would get two very different answers. Just to be clear—this is not a Baptist vs. Pentecostal thing or a debate about tongues. There is one doctrinal difference that I think needs to be cleared up, and we will talk about it later. My purpose today is to show who the Holy Spirit is in relation to the Trinity and in relation to us. When it comes to the Holy Spirit—Holy Ghost for all the KJV folks out there—there is always a danger that we can fall into one of two extremes. We can either focus on the gifts too much, or we can give the Spirit less than our full worship. We need to always remember that the Holy Spirit is God.

One of my favorite authors is A. W. Tozer. You won’t find him on any NY Times bestseller list. But when it comes to putting our relationship to God into words, there aren't many better than Tozer. He didn’t write big, huge volumes. Most of his books were about yay thick—but they'd make you feel about yay high once you got done reading it. One book in particular is called “The Divine Conquest.” And he devotes more than half the book to talking about the Holy Spirit. In fact one chapter about the Holy Spirit is entitled “The Forgotten One.” The Forgotten One. That title alone ought to make us stop and repent. We know that the three Persons of the Trinity—each one of them is God. We believe the Father is God, and we refer to Him as Lord. We believe the Son is God and we refer to Him as Lord. We believe the Holy Spirit is God. But how many times do we ever refer to the Holy Spirit as “Lord?” Tozer writes,

“Our blunder (or shall we frankly say our sin?) has been to neglect the doctrine of the Spirit to a point where we virtually deny Him His place in the Godhead. This denial has not been by open doctrinal statement, for we have clung closely enough to the Biblical position wherever our [creeds] are concerned. Our formal creed is sound; the breakdown is in our working creed…the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as held by evangelical Christians today has almost no practical value at all. In most Christian churches the Spirit is quite entirely overlooked…Brief reference is made to Him in the Doxology and the Benediction. Further than that He might as well not exist. So completely do we ignore Him that it is only by courtesy that we can be called Trinitarian. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity boldly declares the equality of the Three Persons and the right of the Holy Spirit to be worshipped and glorified. Anything less than this is less than Trinitarianism.”

I dare say anything less than this is less than true worship of God. On the other hand, there are some who take their devotion to the Holy Spirit altogether too far. Back in the late 90’s there was a movement that went by many names. Brownsville Revival. Toronto Blessing. There were many strange phenomena associated with it. Holy Laughter. Being “Drunk in the Spirit.” People were falling out on the floor laughing, acting like a fish out of water, like wild animals. More recently the same thing happened in Lakeland, FL with a fellow named Todd Bentley and the “Lakeland Revival.” All these people were claiming that all of this nonsense was “a move of the Holy Spirit.” The same Holy Spirit that led Paul to write this command to the churches, to Let all things be done decently and in order (1st Corinthians 14:40) was supposedly the same Holy Spirit that made all these people act like wild hyenas. Well, they were under the control of a spirit alright. But it wasn’t the Holy Spirit. The role of the Holy Spirit is not to whip people up into a frenzy and cause all kinds of chaos. God is not the author of confusion. The role of the Holy Spirit is to glorify God, testify of God’s truth, and lead us in righteousness.

We begin by looking at the Holy Spirit’s Person. First, His Deity. We know that God has been eternally God. He has always been a “Tri-unity.” He has always been Father. He has always been the Son. But He has also always been Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not just some new manifestation that happened on the day of Pentecost. In fact, where do we find the first mention of the Holy Spirit? Genesis 1:2—And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit played a role in creation. There are many other places where we find the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Isaiah 40:13—Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has taught Him? 7 times we read about YHVH dwelling “between the cherubim.” Isaiah 37:16—“O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.” The word “cherubim” is the plural of “cherub,” angels. The angels that God is said to dwell between are the angels on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. These angels would be facing each other with their wings stretched towards the other. In between the wings of these cherubim, whenever there was a pillar of smoke in between them, that pillar was the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God IS God. We see when Solomon finished building the temple. 1st Kings 8:10-11—And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of YHVH, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of YHVH filled the house of YHVH. The Holy Spirit filled the temple.

Next we look at His Personality. The Holy Spirit is NOT an “impersonal force.” The Jehovah's Witnesses teach, “To a certain extent [the Holy Spirit] can be likened to electricity, a force that can be adapted to perform a great variety of operations.” No. The Holy Spirit is a person. He has a Mind. 1st Corinthians 2:10-11--But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. He has Emotions. Ephesians 4:30--And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. He has a Will. 1st Corinthians 12:11--But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Now, let's take these verses and read them how the Watchtower would translate these passages:
1st Corinthians 2:10-11--But God has revealed them to us through His Electricity. For the Electricity searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the Electricity of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Electricity of God.
Ephesians 4:30--And do not grieve the Holy Electricity of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
1st Corinthians 12:11--But one and the same Electricity works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Doesn't make much sense, does it? Just like a lot of their theology, this idea that the Holy Spirit is some vague, impersonal, force "like electricity" does not match up with the clear teachings of Scripture. So, that’s the Holy Spirit’s Person. Next we look at The Holy Spirit’s Provision. He provides what we need. What do we bring into this world? Nothing. What do we take out of this world? Nothing. What do have in between that does not come from God? Nothing. We’re going to look at just a few of these. Most importantly, We Need Salvation—He Carries It Out. First, The Preparation. 1st Corinthians 2:14—But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1st Corinthians 12:3—Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 1st John 4:2—By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. If we confess Jesus Christ as Lord—if we continue that confession until the end, that is something we did not understand by our own wisdom or intellect—it is something that we can only understand because of the Holy Spirit.

And in order to accept salvation, we need to understand we need salvation. Again, that can only come if the Holy Spirit shows us. In John 14-16, Jesus tells His disciples about the coming Comforter—Helper, or Counselor. The Parakletos. Literally, One who is called to your side. The Holy Spirit. John 14:25-26—“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 16:7-8—“I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The Holy Spirit shows us that without Christ we are sinners all, and all equally guilty before God. Because of the Holy Spirit, when we look at something that is sinful, we see it as sinful, because in our own eyes, nothing is sinful. That’s the preparation. Next The Consummation. Once we’re saved, it’s up to us to keep ourselves saved. Right? Absolutely Not! We can no more keep ourselves saved that we can save ourselves to begin with! Titus 3:5--not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. Philippians 1:6--being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. HE is the one who started the good work. HE is the one who will keep it going. HE is the one who will finish it. Romans 12:2 (NASB)—And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove—lit., recognize, approve of—what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. How do we continue to know what is good, acceptable, and perfect? Only by the Holy Spirit.

Which brings us to Our Need Is Christ’s Presence; He Indwells Us. John 14:16-17--"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." 1st Corinthians 6:19-20--Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. Hebrews 13:5--Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Romans 8:11—But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. From the moment we are saved by the grace of God, we are not only filled with the Holy Spirit, but we are baptized into the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in us, and us in the Holy Spirit.

And this is where I want us to stop and examine this for a moment because there are many who say that there is a separate “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Let me say again, I am not seeking to start an argument, and that my goal is to speak truth in love. And this is something we can disagree on and still be brothers and sisters in Christ. Here goes: all believers are baptized into the Holy Spirit at the moment they are saved. There is no second “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” What happens is, people who believe this doctrine read what John the Baptist said in the gospels, that Jesus would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). In Acts 1:5, before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He told His disciples, “John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit—not many days from now.” This promise from Christ is to His disciples as a one-time event. It happened on the Day of Pentecost for a reason—to spread the gospel quickly to many different nations who spoke different languages.

There are 4 instances in the Book of Acts where people were said to have been “Baptized in the Holy Ghost.” Once on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), once with Samaritans (Acts 8:9-17), once with a Gentile named Cornelius (Acts 10:44), and once for the church at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-6). But if you read closely, you see that the reason the Holy Spirit fell on these people was (1) for the Jewish believers to take the gospel back to their own countries, (2) the Samaritans saw the gospel was for them, (3) Cornelius showed the gospel was for Gentiles also, and (4) the Ephesians had not heard about the Holy Spirit. But don’t think that these events are the pattern for every believer. For the believer, the pattern is this: the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins, shows us our need for God’s forgiveness, frees us from our slavery to sin, compels us to call on Christ to forgive our sins, comes to dwell within us so that we can do what God has for us to do.
1st Corinthians 12:13—For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
Ephesians 4:4-5—There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
Romans 6:3-4—Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Galatians 3:27—For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Now, are we to be “Spirit-filled?” Absolutely. Our Need Is Power; He Fills Us. Ephesians 5:18--And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. Well, what is The Meaning of Being Filled with the Holy Spirit? To be filled with the Spirit means to be empowered by the Spirit, permeated by the Spirit, and controlled by the Spirit. Then there is The Means of Being Filled with the Holy Spirit. First, We Surrender Control. Romans 6:11--Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Colossians 3:5 (ESV)—Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Luke 9:23-24—“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” We give up what we want. We say, “I don’t want to be controlled by what my flesh wants. I want to live according to what God wants.” There is a Swapping of Control. Ephesians 4:22-24—Concerning your former conduct, put off the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. We put off the old, we put on the new. 2nd Corinthians 5:17—Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Then there is A Sustaining of Control. Galatians 5:16--I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

And this brings us to our last topic, Our Need is Security, He Seals Us. Ephesians 1:13-14 (KJV)—In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. 2nd Corinthians 1:22 (KJV)—Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 2nd Corinthians 5:5 (KJV)—Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. There is one word that is common to all these passages and that is the word “earnest.” Other translations call it a “guarantee” or a “pledge.” The word “earnest” in the KJV carries with it an implication that what has been paid is a promise that the full purchase will be completed. 1st Corinthians 6:19 tells us that we have been bought with a price. That price was the blood of Jesus. God has given us the Holy Spirit so that we may know, as we walk through this life, that because He lives in us, we will one day live with Him. Sealed—If you think a saved person can be lost, then you believe there is a greater authority than God. Earnest—The promises of God are yes and amen.

Do not neglect to confess the Holy Spirit as Lord. But, do not be caught up in a bunch of frenzied activity that masks itself as a "move of the Holy Spirit." Next time, we will look at Angels. Here's a hint: they're NOT babies with wings!

So Christian, he can't stand to see Christ's name

Not sure which is more telling. The fact that Barack O'Telepromter is ashamed to have people see the name of Christ. Or that the Roman Catholic goatherders at Georgetown University acquiesced to his wishes. From FOXNews:

Georgetown University hid a religious inscription representing the name of Jesus during President Obama's address there Tuesday, FOXNews.com has confirmed, because White House staff asked the school to cover up all religious symbols and signs while the president was on stage.

The monogram IHS, whose letters spell out the name of Jesus, and which normally perches above the stage in Gaston Hall where the president spoke, was covered over with what appeared to be black wood during the address.

"In coordinating the logistical arrangements for the event, Georgetown honored the White House staff's request to cover all of the Georgetown University signage and symbols behind the Gaston Hall stage," university spokesman Andy Pino told FOXNews.com.

One correction to this story: The letters "IHS" do not spell out the name of Christ. They stand for the Latin phrase, "In hoc signum vinces" which means "In this sign--conquer!"

So here is the Telepromter of the United States, a man who is angered by ANYONE who DARES question the fact he is a Christian, showing the world that he is indeed ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ. Didn't he trot out George Snuffalupagus to be his little lap dog to do a softball interview in which O'Telepromter sternly defended his Muslim faith his Christian faith? Didn't all the news outlets that anointed him our Messiah go to great lengths to show us a man who loved Jesus? Who attended church regularly?

Oh, and here's another little nugget. During this speech, O'Teleprompter had this to say:

Now, there's a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when a storm hit. But the second is known as the wise man, for when "the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."

It was founded upon a rock. We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock. We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity -- a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.

Uh, Barry. Ya might want to dust off your Bible before you start quoting it. Number one, this passage IS NOT ABOUT MONEY! It's actually about something you have not shown you can do: hear the words of Christ and LIVE BY THEM. That includes that little command about "Whoever obeys my commands loves Me." The first command: Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And since you are ashamed of the name of Christ, you have shown that you cannot obey that command, so you have just shown yourself to be the man who builds his house on sand. And how great your fall shall be!

Second, Barry, you got the order of the houses backward. The FIRST man built his house upon rock, the SECOND built his house upon sand. Yeah, dig that Bible out from under your Qu'ran and crack it open once in a while and you might actually know what you're talking about.

And there stands the Whore of Babylon the Harlot on 7 Hills the Roman Catholic church bowing down and kissing his feet and showing the world that they are indeed apostate and desire the praise of men more than the praise of God. Although this shouldn't be surprising, seeing as how they consider Muslims to be their brothers. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day" (Paragraph 841 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church).

Systematic Theology--Lesson 3, God the Son (part 2)

Last week we talked about the two natures of Christ. We saw that not only do we need to understand that he was fully God, but it is also necessary that we believe He was fully human. That if anyone does not believe He had a body of flesh and bone, they are in fact Antichrist. 1st John 4:2-3; 2nd John 1:7. He is very clear that one must believe Christ came in the flesh. So that’s who Christ was. Today we’re going to look at what Christ did and is doing now and will do. We will look at His death, what it accomplished. And we will look at His resurrection and what it accomplished. And we will look at what He is doing now and what He will do one day. We begin with The Death of Christ, specifically The Accomplishment of His Death.

Are we under the Law of Moses? For saints, those who know Christ as their Lord and Savior, then the answer is NO!
Romans 8:1-2—There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.
Galatians 5:18—But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Romans 6:14-15 (KJV)—For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid!
And this brings us to the words of Christ in Matthew 5:17-18 (NASB)—“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Christ did not come to abolish the Law—He came to fulfill it, and to redeem us from its curse and its penalty.

Paul tells us in Galatians 3:13—Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. If you recall, John the Baptist—no relation to John the Methodist—was in Bethabara, baptizing people in the Jordan River, and along comes the Messiah, Christ Jesus, and what does John cry out? John 1:29—“Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world!” He saved us by taking our sins upon Himself.
2nd Corinthians 5:21—He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Isaiah 53:5—But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Not a fair trade—but it fulfilled the Law. I like this quote from Martin Luther--"This is the mystery of the riches of divine grace for sinners, for by a wonderful exchange our sins are not ours but Christ's; Christ's righteousness is not Christ's but ours."

The Old Testament Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur—was symbolic of the coming Christ. The High Priest would take two goats, draw lots, and whichever goat was declared the “scapegoat” this would be the one to bear the sins of the people. Leviticus 16:21-22—Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel… putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness… Think about this: When Christ hung on that Cross, He was our scapegoat—God laid upon Him all the sins of all those who would ever believe, and He was sent into the wilderness of death. The Passover also typified Christ. The Passover was celebrated to remember when God led the people out of slavery, when He spared the people because of what? The blood of a lamb on their doorpost.
Exodus 12:5-7—“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year…And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.”
1st Peter 1:18-19—you were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
1st Corinthians 5:7—For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

If we are covered by the blood of the Lamb of God—as a lamb without spot or blemish—then eternal death will pass us by because of the blood of Christ, our Passover. That’s the death of Christ and what it accomplished.

Next we are going to look at The Resurrection of Christ. Matthew 20:18-19--“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” Jesus is telling His disciples—AGAIN—that He must go to Jerusalem to die. Nobody believed Him. But let’s look at The Evidence of His Resurrection. First there is The Empty Tomb. He ain't there! When John and Peter and Mary Jesus’ mother and Mary Magdalene—when they got to that hole in the side of the hill they all saw the same thing—nuttin’! He ain't there! One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Matthew 28:5-6—“I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” HE IS RISEN! There are not three more beautiful words in any language. Not only do we have the empty tomb. We also have The Eyewitnesses. Acts 1:3--He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 1st Corinthians 15:3-8—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, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. He appeared to His apostles. He appeared to Mary His mother and to Mary Magdalene. He appeared to the travelers on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to over 500 people at one time—and He appeared to the apostle Paul over a year after His resurrection.

Then we have the soldiers guarding the tomb. Roman soldiers were a very meticulous lot. They were always on guard to do their duty at all times. And if it meant guarding a hole in a wall and keeping a bunch of Jewish fishermen from stealing the body of their teacher—if that’s what they had to do, they did it under pain of death. They weren’t about to die for a bunch of pitiful old Jewish guys. So it’s a pretty safe bet that when they told the chief priests what they saw they meant what they said. Matthew 28:11-15—Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. They saw the angel come down. They saw the stone get rolled away. They saw Jesus walk out of that tomb. Can you imagine what they said as they stormed into the high priest's office? “What kind of god was this man? We didn’t sign up for this!” When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed…; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Matthew wrote his gospel at least 10 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. So this story was still going around. And just to show you how long a good fish story can last, Justin Martyr wrote in the year 170 AD—a full 140 years after the resurrection—that there were still many Jews who still believed the story.

These eyewitnesses are evidence of His resurrection. In Acts 25, Paul has just appeared before the governor Festus. King Agrippa arrives and wants to hear about this Paul. So when he gets there, he is greeted by Festus who tells him, Acts 25:17-19 (NASB)—"So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive." Then besides the empty tomb, besides the eyewitnesses, we have The Existence of the Church. I like this quote by Frank Harber--"It was not the teachings of Jesus that was the centerpiece of early Christian proclamation; rather, it was the message that the crucified Messiah was now alive."

So, we have all this evidence. Empty Tomb. Eyewitnesses. Existence of the Church. What does it all mean? In other words, what are The Effects of the Resurrection. For one, It Proved Jesus’ Claims.

In Mark 8:31-32, Jesus foretold His death. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly.
And in fact, the Old Testament bears witness.
Hosea 6:2—After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.
In John 2:19, He told the Pharisees “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”

The resurrection also Provided Victory.
1st Corinthians 15:55-57—O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:37—we are more than conquerors—literally, we super-conquer—through Him who loved us.
Death is one enemy we can never defeat. But, because Christ has conquered the grave, He gives us that victory also.

Which brings us to the next point, It Previews Our Own Resurrection. In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul spends 6-7 verses telling us how useless our faith is if Christ is not risen. Our preaching is empty, our faith is futile, we are false witnesses, we are still in our sins, and above all else, we are of all men the most pitiable! BUT… 1st Corinthians 15:20-21—But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

Firstfruits. In the Old Testament, the Israelites, if they were planting 10 acres, what they would do was they would plant 1 acre. Then about a couple weeks later they would plant the other 9 acres. The first acre they planted would come up first, and this was dedicated to the service of God. This one acre was kinda like a guarantee for the rest of the harvest. And what was this one acre of fruit called? Firstfruits. Christ’s resurrection is the firstfruits of our own resurrection. Check this out. As Jesus hung on the cross, after He gave up the ghost and died, listen to what happens in Matthew 27:52-53—graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. This was a sign that Jesus’ sacrifice was accepted by the Father. And it was a sign to us that we too would be raised.

It Paved Our Way Into God’s Presence. In the Old Testament tabernacle and temple, you had the Holy Place, and behind that you had the Most Holy Place. Who could go into the Most Holy Place? The high priest How often could he go in there? Once a year. What did he have to have? The blood of bulls and goats. We read in Hebrews 9-10 that the temple and the tabernacle were symbolic of Heaven. Christ has entered into the TRUE Most Holy Place—not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own blood. Hebrews 9:23-26—it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often …but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And He has purified us for His own sake. Titus 2:12-14—For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

And because He has purified us, we can now go into the very presence of God the Father!
Hebrews 4:16—Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Christ has become our Mediator between us and God.
1st Timothy 2:5—For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

And all this was made possible the minute Christ gave up the ghost and died. We talked about how the graves were opened, and the dead were raised. What else happened when He gave up the ghost? Matthew 27:51—And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son upon the Cross, He has broken down the middle wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14-15), we can go into His presence any time we need to.

So, brings us to our last point, what will He do on that last day? He will judge. There will be two separate judgments. The Judgment Seat of Christ, and The Great White Throne. We read about the Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ in 1st Corinthians 3:11-15—For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Now, can anybody tell me what false doctrine has been built upon this passage? PURGATORY. The Romish system uses this verse to justify their belief in Purgatory. Wrong. This passage does not talk about saints having their venial sins burned away. It is talking about all the dead works we believers did, that did nothing for the kingdom of Christ, being burned. Notice what it says. If anyone's work is burned... The person's WORK will be burned--not the person themselves. 2nd Corinthians 5:9-10 (ESV)—So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

That is for believers. The unbelieving will stand before the Great White Throne, where they will be judged against Christ. Romans 2:16 speaks of the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. All those who died in their sins will stand at this Great White Throne. Revelation 20:11-15—Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it…And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened…And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books…Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. There are people who say “Well, when I get there, I'll make my case and He’ll have to listen.” Well, He might just give that person a chance to make their case. But then He’ll look at them and He may say something like, “You were pretty good. But you weren’t perfect. I was.” Matthew 5:48—“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Romans 3:19—Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. They are judged against the Law. They are judged against Christ—who fulfilled the Law. This will be the “day when all things are accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). Next week we will look at God the Holy Spirit, probably the most misunderstood member of the Trinity. If you want to start an argument with a Christian, talk about the Holy Spirit.