The First Resurrection (Continued from our previous post.)
The Church as joint-heirs with their Lord have been begotten “…to an inheritance incorruptible, (immortal), and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you…” 1 Pet 1:4
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.” 1 Pet 5:4
“...We shall be like him; (the glorified ‘changed’ Jesus) for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
“Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead (in Christ, i.e. the special dead) shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Cor 15:51-53
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…” 2 Pet 1:4
The Greek word, aptharsia; meaning incorruption, a death-proof condition, an indestructible existence, not dependent upon an outside life source, having life in itself.
Thus can be seen that the second death could have no power over those who attain the divine nature.
This was the prize of which the apostle Paul spoke saying;
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14
And in 2 Tim 1: 9, speaking of the Father;
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Heb 3:1
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Phil 3:10, 11
It can be readily seen from the forgone scriptures that the first resurrection is a special type of resurrection, and in the last scripture quoted (Phil 3:10, 11) this is brought out quite clearly.
“The power of his resurrection” “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." Eph 1:17-21
“THE resurrection” The Greek word here for resurrection is “exanastasis” with the emphatic article “ex” added thus implying a special resurrection, the out-resurrection, the resurrection of the selected-out ones, the chief or choice resurrection.
“of the dead “ Greek emphatic, thus the special dead, the resurrection of "the dead IN Christ” provided only for the spirit-begotten members of the Anointed.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead IN Christ shall rise first” 1 Thess 4:16
The dead in Christ, applicable only to the elect Church, they are reckoned as dying with, or in Christ, their Redeemer. “…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” Rev 2:10
Thus is shown that the special dead who are to be granted acceptance to the Divine nature, the crown of life, are those who have overcome they are “more than conquerors” through, and in Christ their Lord.
As the apostle Paul said in 2 Tim 4:7 and 8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
It should be noted that there is a distinction between those who sleep in Christ, that is the dead IN Christ, and the rest of the world who are said to be asleep in Jesus, compare 1 Cor 15:18 with 1 Thes 4:14. Christ is the title of our Lord as the new creature and of his office. Jesus is the name for the Redeemer, through whose sacrifice comes to all men and the opportunity to share in a resurrection of the dead. It is through Jesus the man, who died, "the just for the unjust” that the race previously extinct, dead in Adam have hope of an awakening from death But as for the dead in Christ, “…ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Col 3:3
“…ye are dead…” That is to say, there is no you. You have been dissolved into Christ, like grapes crushed into wine. From the divine standpoint, you are, so far as your earthly existence is concerned, reckoned dead. This is the way that God looks at you now; the old creature is counted as dead.
“…your life is hid with Christ in God.” There is no individuality; you are of the body of Christ. We have no life in ourselves; we have placed all our earthly life rights, given to us through Christ, upon the altar of sacrifice, to be totally consumed. Therefore there is no life in us accept that which is of Christ, as the apostle Paul states in Galatians 2:20 “I (the old man) have been crucified with Christ; therefore it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Paul also summed it up in 2 Tim 2:11 “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with (or in) him, we shall also live with him”
In our next post we will take a look at another resurrection, the resurrection of the Ancients.
The Church as joint-heirs with their Lord have been begotten “…to an inheritance incorruptible, (immortal), and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you…” 1 Pet 1:4
“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.” 1 Pet 5:4
“...We shall be like him; (the glorified ‘changed’ Jesus) for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
“Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead (in Christ, i.e. the special dead) shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Cor 15:51-53
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…” 2 Pet 1:4
The Greek word, aptharsia; meaning incorruption, a death-proof condition, an indestructible existence, not dependent upon an outside life source, having life in itself.
Thus can be seen that the second death could have no power over those who attain the divine nature.
This was the prize of which the apostle Paul spoke saying;
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14
And in 2 Tim 1: 9, speaking of the Father;
“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began."
“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Heb 3:1
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Phil 3:10, 11
It can be readily seen from the forgone scriptures that the first resurrection is a special type of resurrection, and in the last scripture quoted (Phil 3:10, 11) this is brought out quite clearly.
“The power of his resurrection” “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." Eph 1:17-21
“THE resurrection” The Greek word here for resurrection is “exanastasis” with the emphatic article “ex” added thus implying a special resurrection, the out-resurrection, the resurrection of the selected-out ones, the chief or choice resurrection.
“of the dead “ Greek emphatic, thus the special dead, the resurrection of "the dead IN Christ” provided only for the spirit-begotten members of the Anointed.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead IN Christ shall rise first” 1 Thess 4:16
The dead in Christ, applicable only to the elect Church, they are reckoned as dying with, or in Christ, their Redeemer. “…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.” Rev 2:10
Thus is shown that the special dead who are to be granted acceptance to the Divine nature, the crown of life, are those who have overcome they are “more than conquerors” through, and in Christ their Lord.
As the apostle Paul said in 2 Tim 4:7 and 8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
It should be noted that there is a distinction between those who sleep in Christ, that is the dead IN Christ, and the rest of the world who are said to be asleep in Jesus, compare 1 Cor 15:18 with 1 Thes 4:14. Christ is the title of our Lord as the new creature and of his office. Jesus is the name for the Redeemer, through whose sacrifice comes to all men and the opportunity to share in a resurrection of the dead. It is through Jesus the man, who died, "the just for the unjust” that the race previously extinct, dead in Adam have hope of an awakening from death But as for the dead in Christ, “…ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Col 3:3
“…ye are dead…” That is to say, there is no you. You have been dissolved into Christ, like grapes crushed into wine. From the divine standpoint, you are, so far as your earthly existence is concerned, reckoned dead. This is the way that God looks at you now; the old creature is counted as dead.
“…your life is hid with Christ in God.” There is no individuality; you are of the body of Christ. We have no life in ourselves; we have placed all our earthly life rights, given to us through Christ, upon the altar of sacrifice, to be totally consumed. Therefore there is no life in us accept that which is of Christ, as the apostle Paul states in Galatians 2:20 “I (the old man) have been crucified with Christ; therefore it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Paul also summed it up in 2 Tim 2:11 “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with (or in) him, we shall also live with him”
In our next post we will take a look at another resurrection, the resurrection of the Ancients.
