The work of Christ 6 /Resurrection & Righteousness

 

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.  But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

 

(Rom.8:9-11)

 

So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

 

(I Cor.15:45)

 

 

Does the resurrection of Jesus only have meaning for our future?  Does it have any impact on us today?  Paul wants us to understand that the impact of the resurrection is not just historical (an event that happened to Jesus), nor is it consigned to the future (an event that will happen to us).  Between these two poles it remains a profound spiritual reality that shapes life for those who are in Christ. 

 

Paul explains how - through our baptism - we are so united to Christ that His history (a life of righteousness) becomes our history and His future (a life of resurrection) becomes our future.  We are perhaps used to thinking about our history (a life of sin) becoming His history, and our future (death and condemnation) becoming His future on the cross.  But the converse is equally and gloriously true.  We become so identified with Christ that we are ‘baptised into His death’ (Rom.6:3).   This huge consequences: ‘We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life … For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin may be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin’ (Rom.6:4-5).

 

Christ’s death on the cross doesn’t just free us from the guilt of sin; but also from its power.  Christianity is not just the same old me caught an endless cycle between sin and forgiveness.  It is our inclusion and participation in a totally different kind of human life - a resurrection, new creation humanity (Col.2:12). 

 

Clearly there is a sense in which this isn’t the case!  When I became a Christian, there was no observable change in my humanity.  It is still the same old body, connected inexorably to this same old cursed world.   It remains what Paul will call ‘this body that is subject to death’ (Rom.7:24).  This part of what I am will remain unchanged throughout my pilgrimage through this age.  It will only be discarded at death (unless Christ returns first) to be taken again in resurrection glory (I Cor.15:26-28 & 42-44.  If Christ does return first, then I will be transformed without experiencing death, I Cor.15:51-52).  So if this cursed, sinful body hasn’t ‘died with Christ’, nor been buried with Him in baptism (Col.2:12 & 3:3), then in what sense have I been ‘baptised into His death’ (Rom.6:3)?  Paul is talking about what has happened to us spiritually.  Our bodies may be lagging behind, tied to this passing age, but our spirit has already gone through death with Christ, and into the reality of resurrection (and Ascension, Rom.8:30; Eph.2:6).

 

This puts us in the painful and complex position of living simultaneously in two realities at two different levels of our being.  That is why Christian living feels conflicted, as it we are being pulled in two directions at once.  We are living in two natures: our sinful nature, like the age it is a part of, is already dying, whilst our new creation humanity is already enjoying everlasting life.  We are creatures in transition, passing from one reality to another, living in the midst of a clash between old and new creations.  This devastating tension will only be resolved when we throw off this mortal coil; and we will only be completely human when we receive our resurrection bodies - bodies of life, rather than death.

 

This is what makes the Spirit’s work of transforming us slowly into the image of Christ an inevitability (I Cor.15:49, note it is the resurrected Jesus whose image we shall bear).  Righteousness is a possibility because I live in a resurrection humanity; sin is still a reality because I live in a fallen and cursed humanity.  But the direction of travel is towards our resurrection future, which means this body of death will be done away with (Rom.6:6), and it should be increasingly possible to live in obedience to Christ!  Is it any wonder that Paul exclaims, ‘[T]hanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance (Rom.6:17).  May this be true throughout the life of MIE.

Questions

 

In our last study looking at Jesus’ Resurrection we noted that there is continuity between our bodies here and our bodies in the New Creation.  How does that affect our thinking about our physicality, and our bodies and how we use them?

 

If our future is physical, then why does Paul speak of our resurrection bodies as ‘spiritual’ in I Cor. 15:44?

 

Given the continuity between our bodies now and then, do you think we will we - like Jesus (John 20:27; Rev.5:6) - retain scars, injuries, disabilities in in the New Creation?  Why / why not?

 

Read Rom.6:1-14:

 

If a Christian asked you why it mattered how they lived, what would you say?  What arguments would you use to explain why it is essential for Christians to grow in holiness? 

 

Why is our sense of conflict and struggle in the Christian life an encouragement rather than a discouragement?

 

How does the prospect of resurrection make you feel (if anything)?  Is it something you contemplate regularly?  Why do you think that is?

 

Does Paul’s teaching here inspire you in your pursuit of holiness, and in your battling against sin? 

 

In Rom.6:11, Paul tells us to think of ourselves as (or count ourselves) ‘dead to sin, but alive to God…’.  Is this simply the power of positive thinking?  How can we become more consistent and effective in putting this into practise?

 

Why does Paul - in Rom.6 -  think we no longer need to obey sin?  Does this tally with the reality of your experience?  How do you think you could strengthen this dynamic in you Christian living?

 

 

Memory Passage:

 

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

Col.3:1-4

 

For further reflection:

 

Peter rejoices that we have been born - through the resurrection of Jesus - into a living hope … an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (I Pet.1:3).  It is important that as Christians we meditate deeply and regularly on that hope, otherwise it fades from view and loses its ability to motivate and inspire us in our pursuit of holiness.  But in our meditation we must strike a Biblical balance between two opposite but equally deadly errors.

 

On the one hand we must remember that we are still subject to weakness, sickness and death.  We still live in these bodies of death, in which sin (potentially) reigns (Rom.6:6 & 12).  This guards us against over-optimism about what our experience of Christian living can be in this age.  Periodically the Church has lost balance in this direction, and made extraordinary claims about the possibility of living without sinning and being able to eschew sickness.  We begin to think we should appropriate other aspects of life in the New Creation here and now (Mk.12:25 & I Tim.4:3).  When we lose balance in this direction it is catastrophic and often leads to incredulity, cynicism, disillusionment and pain.

 

On the other hand, our sense of already participating in the New Creation humanity can become so vague, and its focus so distant, that it has no meaningful impact on our discipleship.  We give up hope of transformation, and slide into a spiritual inertia in which we expect nothing to change.  We assume what we have been is what we will always be; we bow to the inevitability of our ongoing sin; we consign ourselves to spiritual immaturity and boredom.

 

Neither option honours Christ and the cosmic work He has wrought in His life, death and resurrection.  Let us hold true to a full vision of the Bible’s teaching.