The God of Resurrection Our God is the eternal living God; from eternity to eternity He is the living God. Although He became flesh, lived on the earth for thirty-three and a half years, and was crucified on the cross, He resurrected from death after three days. He entered into death as a man, but He lives forever and ever (Rev. 1:18). Hence, He is the God of resurrection. Resurrection proves that God is a living God. There is no power that He cannot overcome. Death is an exceedingly great power in the universe. No one can withstand death. Apart from God, death is the greatest power in the universe. When death comes, no one can withstand it. Throughout history man has been searching for ways to overcome death, but no one has ever overcome it. Rather, all have been taken captive by death. The Lord Jesus overcame death and broke through death; He resurrected from death. He was incarnated not only to work but also to fight. He had to prevail over every opposing power in order to accomplish redemption. The four Gospels do not only tell us where the Lord went on earth and how He conducted Himself in the flesh; the Gospels also tell us of the battles that He fought while He was on earth. After the Lord was manifested among men, He encountered all kinds of attacks—from sin, man, the world, and demons—some were hidden, and others were obvious. No matter whether Satan used man to attack the Lord or whether he used the environment, the Lord overcame every attack. Therefore, the Lord could say, “The ruler of the world is coming, and in Me he has nothing” (John 14:30). The Lord overcame every attack of Satan, whether from man, the world, or sin. Then the Lord went into death and was resurrected from death to overcome death. The last enemy that the Lord overcame was death. Death is the last enemy that God will abolish in the universe (1 Cor. 15:26). The last thing that the devil, who has the might of death (Heb. 2:14), used to attack the Lord Jesus was death. The Lord came to meet His enemy, who has the might of death. The Lord did not avoid death. If He had avoided death, it would have meant that He feared death and that He was unable to overcome death. The Lord did not avoid death, because He did not fear it, and He could overcome it. The Lord could overcome death because He is living. Death could not overcome Him. The Lord did not fear death; rather, He accepted the challenge of death. The Lord entered into death in order to give it an opportunity to fight with all its might. Death has been operating and fighting in Adam’s descendants for thousands of years. Except for the Lord, every person who has entered into death has been overcome by death. All who have entered into death have been swallowed up by death. As a result, everyone fears death. Our Lord, however, not only did not fear death, He also overcame death. He entered into death and emerged from death. The Lord’s entering into death and emerging from it testify to the fact that He is the living God and to the surpassing greatness of His resurrection power. The cross, the grave, and the power of Hades could not subdue the living Lord. He overcame death, the grave, and the power of Hades, and thus He resurrected. The Lord is the Lord of life. It was not possible for Him to be held by death (Acts 2:24). Satan utilized the world, the environment, the cross, the grave, and lastly, Hades to attack the Lord, but the Lord withstood every attack. The Lord willingly passed through the baptism of death and entered into Hades, letting them do whatever they wanted, because He is the living Lord, whom Satan cannot conquer. Death could not hold the Lord, the grave could not restrict Him, and Hades could not detain Him; He resurrected. Resurrection is deliverance from death. Resurrection is the overcoming of death. Resurrection is different from being living. In order to be living, one does not need to pass through death, but in order to be resurrection, one must pass through death and emerge from it. Resurrection stands the test of death, that is, passes through and emerges from death. Hence, the Lord Jesus said, “I am the First and the Last and 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). Hence, God is not only the living God but also the God of resurrection. He died, but He overcame death. Death fought the Lord with all its might, but it could not conquer Him. The principle of resurrection is overcoming death and emerging from death. The God of resurrection has been tested and proven to possess an unshakable life. Extracted from "The Living God and the God of Resurrection" (7), authored by Witness Lee, originally published in "Ministry of the Word" Chapter 101, November 1959 by Living Stream Ministry
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 20:39:49 +0000