Believers can confess the reality of the resurrection of Christ because of the empty tomb, the appearances of Christ after His resurrection, and the witness of the disciples. Also, experiencing spiritual resurrection confirms the reality of the physical resurrection.

Source: The Evangelical Presbyterian, 2006. 2 pages.

I Believe … in the Resurrection

The Apostles’ Creed details two resurrections:

  1. (I believe) the third day he (Jesus Christ) rose again from the dead
  2. (I believe in) the resurrection of the body.

This study concentrates on the first of these, but it inevitably impacts upon the second.

Why do I believe in the Resurrection of Christ? Because...

First: The Facts Support it🔗

Let me mention three

A. The Empty Tomb🔗

This is a vitally valid piece of evidence. All four gospels historically record that, come the third day, the tomb in which Jesus’ body had been laid was empty. Not only did the disciples proclaim this fact, but the attempt of the authorities to bribe the soldiers to say the body had been stolen was public knowledge (Matt 28:12-15) and proves the point. All kinds of theories (stolen, swoon, twin, hallucination, mistake etc) have been advanced to explain the empty tomb, but to no avail. Strictly speaking the grave was not empty; it was when he saw the empty linen clothes lying there that John believed that Christ was risen from the dead. (John 20:6-9)

B. The Extensive Appearances🔗

The New Testament records at least ten post-resurrection appearances – five on the first Easter Day and five during the forty days that followed.

He was seen in private by ones and twos and in public by many at once; he made himself known by night and by day, both in Judea and in Galilee. The same men saw him more than once and at times that were wide apart. They saw his face and heard his voice; and all that they saw and heard told them that their Lord in his risen body was real indeed.M L Loane

We could add that they held him by the feet, touched him with their hands and shared with him of their broiled fish.

C. The Elated Disciples🔗

That a phenomenal transformation occurred in the disciples on and following that “first day of the week” is indisputable. Their sorrow was turned into joy, their doubt into faith and their fear into boldness. (See John 20:11-28) From sad, dejected, disappointed men whose hopes had been dashed (Luke 24:21), they became elated, vibrant and courageous witnesses of their risen Lord. The paralysis of doubt that gripped them following the crucifixion vanished and they evinced a certainty of faith that is inexplicable apart from their conviction that he was, in fact, risen from the dead. The facts support it.

Second: The Faith Requires it🔗

The Apostle Paul is very specific on this. He tells us in 1 Cor 15:13-19 that if Christ is not risen then our preaching is vain, our faith is also vain, we are yet in our sins, the dead are perished and we are most miserable as those without hope. In plain terms our preaching is a lie and the faith that rests on the gospel proclamation is empty and hollow if Christ did not rise from the dead. So useless, in fact, is our faith in these circumstances that we are yet in our sins­ – in guilt before, and under the condemnation of, God. Without his resurrection there is also no redemption, no reconciliation with God and no justification. (Rom 4:25) Furthermore if Christ is not the conqueror of death then all the dead are perished – lost, damned – forever separated from God, heaven and eternal life.

Accordingly, if we have shaped our lives on the basis of hope in Christ, with all that that involves – crucifying the flesh, warring against temptation, bearing the cross, suffering reproach for his sake – only to find that that hope has been an illusion, we certainly are most pitiable. A Christianity without the risen Christ and the sure and certain hope of our resurrection from the grave to full salvation and eternal glory is worse than useless. The faith requires it.

Third: The Fellowship Proves it🔗

The disciples are not the only people who have encountered the risen Lord. Paul writes of God making known “what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27) The Apostle John, also writing many years later says:

that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.

Every true believer has come into a vital personal experience and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The uniform testimony of believers through two thousand years is that Christ is indeed risen from the dead, and they live with a consciousness of his living presence that is unmistakable and undeniable. The Lord’s promise, in the great commission, to be with his disciples always has proved to be true – as the history of the Christian church makes clear. We also are comforted that he will continue so even unto the end of the age.

But you don’t need to take the testimony of someone else to convince you of the truth of this doctrine. Make contact with him for yourself – seek him by faith, through prayer; and experience personally the fellowship of which John writes. Then you, too, will be able to say with the chorus “You ask me how I know He lives? – He lives within my heart”. The fellowship proves it.

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