Note from Pastor - 4/17/22
We’ve been quoting the Apostle’s Creed on most Sunday mornings for some time now. Here’s what Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said about the Apostle’s Creed:
The Apostles’ Creed, this most venerable of creeds, exposits the fundamental core of the Christian faith. It contains within its affirmations spectacular and eternal truths. Indeed, wrapped up in the Apostles’ Creed is nothing less than the unfathomable riches of our God, the surpassing knowledge of Christ, and the true theological identity of Christ’s people. That is why we must consider each phrase of the creed, one by one, in order to mine its glorious riches...
Considering each phrase can be edifying indeed, therefore, this Easter, let us consider the phrase, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.”
It can be easy to assume that belief in the gospel results merely in the “forgiveness of sins” and “life everlasting.” However, this phrase concerning the resurrection of the body is essential to truly understanding the fruit of the gospel. The gospel is a message of salvation not only for our souls, but for our physical bodies as well. When God made the world, he looked at it and said, “This is good.” Therefore, the physical world, though it is tainted with sin and thus given to futility, is still part of God’s good creation. Our ultimate hope is not a disembodied saved soul, but rather, resurrection.
In fact, our baptism points to this reality. When we partake in believer’s baptism by immersion, it’s not only a sign of our faith in what Jesus has done for us, but also a sign of our faith in what Jesus is going to do in raising us. It’s a physical demonstration of something spiritual that has happened—spiritually, we have died to sin, been raised with Christ, and now we live in Christ and for Christ. It’s also a physical demonstration of something physical that will happen. If Christ tarries, one day, we will die. When Christ returns, our dead bodies will be raised to life to enter his kingdom and share in his eternal reward.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says, “According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.”
On this Easter Sunday, let us remember the resurrection of Christ, not merely as the sign that the payment for sin has been made in full, but as a demonstration of the renewal of the physical world that all the redeemed will enjoy in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1-5).
The Apostles’ Creed, this most venerable of creeds, exposits the fundamental core of the Christian faith. It contains within its affirmations spectacular and eternal truths. Indeed, wrapped up in the Apostles’ Creed is nothing less than the unfathomable riches of our God, the surpassing knowledge of Christ, and the true theological identity of Christ’s people. That is why we must consider each phrase of the creed, one by one, in order to mine its glorious riches...
Considering each phrase can be edifying indeed, therefore, this Easter, let us consider the phrase, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.”
It can be easy to assume that belief in the gospel results merely in the “forgiveness of sins” and “life everlasting.” However, this phrase concerning the resurrection of the body is essential to truly understanding the fruit of the gospel. The gospel is a message of salvation not only for our souls, but for our physical bodies as well. When God made the world, he looked at it and said, “This is good.” Therefore, the physical world, though it is tainted with sin and thus given to futility, is still part of God’s good creation. Our ultimate hope is not a disembodied saved soul, but rather, resurrection.
In fact, our baptism points to this reality. When we partake in believer’s baptism by immersion, it’s not only a sign of our faith in what Jesus has done for us, but also a sign of our faith in what Jesus is going to do in raising us. It’s a physical demonstration of something spiritual that has happened—spiritually, we have died to sin, been raised with Christ, and now we live in Christ and for Christ. It’s also a physical demonstration of something physical that will happen. If Christ tarries, one day, we will die. When Christ returns, our dead bodies will be raised to life to enter his kingdom and share in his eternal reward.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 says, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says, “According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.”
On this Easter Sunday, let us remember the resurrection of Christ, not merely as the sign that the payment for sin has been made in full, but as a demonstration of the renewal of the physical world that all the redeemed will enjoy in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1-5).
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