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I. God's vindication of and satisfaction with Christ's person and work
II. The victory of Christ's resurrection
А. Over death and Hades
B. Over Satan and the world
Christ died to accomplish redemption and to clean up all the negative things in the universe. He did a complete job; nothing was left unfinished. After His crucifixion and burial He resurrected. Neither death nor the tomb could hold this One since He Himself is the resurrection (John 11:25). His life is a death-conquering and death-subduing life. It is even a death-swallowing life (1 Cor. 15:54): the more death it encounters the more living it becomes. Therefore the Lord Jesus says, "I am...the living One, and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades" (Rev. 1:17-18).
This living One who went into death was both God and man. Even after His resurrection, He is still God and man. His resurrection is of tremendous significance. In this lesson we will see that Christ's resurrection is His vindication and victory.
On the one hand, Christ is God; as God He laid down His life and took it up again (John 10:17-18). On the other hand, this One is a man whom God raised from the dead (Acts 2:32; 3:15). The raising of the man Jesus Christ shows God's approval of His Person and work. From His youth Jesus found favor with God (Luke 2:52). God vindicated Christ's crucifixion by raising Him up from the dead. This means that all that Christ did was accepted and honored by God the Father.
In Adam we were condemned to die because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). But Christ died as our substitute: He fully paid the price for our sins. How do we know that God has accepted Christ's payment? His resurrection is our "receipt," which proves that God has fully accepted Christ's payment for our sins. Suppose a criminal is sentenced to a certain prison term. How do we know whether he has served his sentence? We know when he is released. Resurrection therefore ends death. By believing in Christ, we are no longer pitiful sinners. We are fully justified, approved by God according to His own standard of righteousness. Not only so, but, as the resurrected One, He is also in us to live for us a life that can be justified by God and is always acceptable to God. Therefore, Romans 4:25 says that Christ was raised because of our justification. In fact, for our salvation, the primary thing that we believe in is Christ's resurrection (Rom. 10:9).
Next to God, death is the most powerful thing in the universe. No one can turn death away. No one, that is, except the Lord Jesus. He is the only One who has gone into death and come out living, never to return to death. He is both God and resurrection (John 1:1; 11:25), possessing the indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Since He is such an ever-living One, death is not able to keep Him. He delivered Himself to death, but death had no way to hold Him (Acts 2:24).
The Lord Jesus was in the domain of death for three days. He took a good look at death and found it to be powerless to hold Him. So on the third day the Lord Jesus simply walked out of death. He might have said, "Death, I have finished my mission; you can do nothing with Me, and I am not afraid of you. Now is the time for Me to walk out of your domain. I am not in a hurry. I could stay here for another day if I wanted to, but now it is time to leave." He was not fearful of death, running away from the tomb; rather, He peacefully took the time to fold His burial clothes and put them in good order (John 20:7). What a testimony of His victory over death!
In His resurrection, the Lord Jesus also took away the authority of death and Hades. This is why in Revelation 1:18 the Lord says, "I have the keys of death and of Hades." Because man fell into sin, death came in and is now working on earth to gather up all of mankind. Death resembles a dustpan used to collect dust from the floor, and Hades resembles a trash can. Whatever the dustpan collects is put into the trash can. Thus, death is a collector and Hades is a keeper. Death and Hades tried their best, but they could not keep Christ in their domain. Praise the Lord, death is subject to Him and Hades is under His control. Hallelujah! Christ has the keys of death and Hades.
Christ's resurrection is also a testimony of His victory over Satan and the world. In His crucifixion Christ dealt with Satan. Hebrews 2:14 says that "through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the Devil." Also, when the Lord spoke to His disciples of His coming crucifixion, He said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). The Lord took care not only of Satan, but also of Satan's system, the world. After finishing such a great task on the cross, Christ came out of death and Hades triumphantly. But Satan and the world did not fare so well. Christ defeated them by His death and left them in the grave. His resurrection is a demonstration of that victory.
Are you impressed by Christ's resurrection? He has overcome the strongest enemy — death. Sometimes you may feel as though you were dead and buried. But consider the Lord Jesus. He actually went into death and Hades, and came out triumphantly. Your situation can never be worse than what the Lord Jesus went through. This living One is now in your spirit. When you feel depressed and weak, do not pray that the Lord would make you strong. All you need to do is to boldly declare, "Christ is resurrected! He has overcome death and Hades. Praise Him, He is Victor!" After such a prayer, you will proclaim as the Apostle Paul did: "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:54-55). Praise the Lord! Death could not hold Christ; neither can it hold those who are in Him.
