Introducing God's Divine Beauty

2 Chronicles 20:21 "And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever." (KJV)

Introduction:

Today's post features an attribute of God that one almost never hears about today: Divine beauty. The verse above urges the reader to praise the beauty of God's holiness. The underlined word in the original Hebrew speaks of splendor, majesty and grandeur. Whenever this same verse is rendered in other English translations, such words as majesty and splendor are viewed as synonymous with "beauty". The Psalms speak the most often about God's Divine beauty. Psalm 27:4 for example reads: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple."

Attempting to describe God's Divine beauty

God's beauty is that quality of God that makes Him worthy of every extreme positive estimation of value, admiration and desire. One author, J. Pohle, notes the following about God's beauty:

"Reason tells us that God must be beautiful, for He contains within His essence the elements of beauty (perfection, harmonious proportion and splendor), the attribute which necessarily results from this must be His. Now God is infinite perfection. His infinitely numerous good qualities (not parts) coalesce in His Divine essence into a most intensive unity. Finally, He is all light and pure clarity, consequently - He must be beautiful."

God's Divine beauty captures the deepest part of us that longs for the three traditional elusive values known in the history of philosophical thought: the good, the true and the beautiful. God is Good, as asserted for example in Psalm 136. God is true - meaning, He is the standard by which all other standards are measured. As the truth, Jesus Christ embodies truth and reveals God as God in the purity of His true humanity. 

Beauty as a virtue is the most elusive quality - since so many assume that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, to call something beautiful requires there to be a standard by which we assert beauty. Just as objective morality - right and wrong, true and false, good and bad, require the existence of God who possess the Divine character and qualities that are the standard of moral values and duties; so it is with beauty. If God did not exist, there would be no way to ascribe qualities like beauty, ugliness, proportionality and the like. Beauty, by its very essence is an immaterial feature and which can only be possible if there exists an ultimate, immaterial being that we know as God.   

Old and New Testament texts that speak about God's beauty and Christ's beauty

Whenever we scan the Old and New Testament scriptures on the subject of God's Divine beauty, we find a wealth of material. As already mentioned, synonyms such as "majesty", "splendor", "glorious", "excellency" and of course the term "Beauty" highlight this quality of God. In the Old Testament we can look to the following texts that describe God's Divine beauty: 2 Chronicles 20:21; Job 40:9-10; Ps 8:1,9; Ps 27:4; 29:1-2; 36:7; 45:2-4; 145:5,10-12; Isaiah 24:14; Isaiah 26:10; Isaiah 35:2; Zechariah 9:16-17. 

The majesty and glory of God are featured in the above Old Testament texts to point us to the beauty of God. When we come to the New Testament, we find the beauty of God focusing not just on all three Persons of the Trinity which together are the One God of Biblical revelation, but particularly the second Person - the Lord Jesus Christ. 

New Testament texts such as John 1:14; Colossians 1:15; 2:9 and Hebrews 1:3 highlight beauty as seen in Christ's human and Divine natures. Two things we know about any beautiful thing is how it can take various features to co-exist without being chaotic and take unity of attributes without becoming monotonous and featureless. Christ is One in Person with two natures. He is at once perfect variety without chaos with respect to His humanity and deity; and yet, He is perfect unity without becoming monotonous concerning His Person. Christ is the clearest and most robust revelation of beauty in both the senses of what we mean when we say God is beautiful as well as the beauty of what it means to be human. 

God's Divine beauty demands a response

Perhaps more than any other quality, beauty, whether creaturely or Divine, is characterized by the response it evokes in the one experiencing it. When we see a sunrise, listen to a symphony, watch a wedding, see a wonderfully prepared dish of food, see our spouse, watch our children or grandchildren or visit the Grand-Canyon, all of these various things are beautiful. They evoke wonder, elevation of emotion, a sense of completeness, an extending of one's focus beyond oneself to whatever object of beauty we are seeing. God, in infinitely, more wonderful ways, evokes such responses. 

Many writers have noted that our being made in God's image (see Genesis 1:26-27) not only has us possessing mind, emotions and will as part of our personhood (features which roughly define God's Personhood), but also the innate capacity to respond to the beautiful. God Himself responds to infinite beauty as the Triune Persons behold one-another in Perfect unity and diversity. Is it no wonder that older writers refer to the goal of Christian salvation as beholding God's beauty (see Isaiah 33:17 and 1 John 3:1-3). 

Closing thoughts

In today's post I aimed to introduce us to God's Divine beauty. My prayer is that as a result of this post, we can all say without hesitation that God is beautiful!

How the resurrection power of Jesus can help us deal with life's frustrations

Romans 6:5-7 "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin."

How the resurrection power of Jesus can help us deal with life's frustrations 

The reality of Christ's resurrection on that first Easter Sunday validates everything achieved on Good-Friday. Were it not for Easter, then Christ, His cross and all he accomplished would had remained hermetically sealed in history. Christ's resurrection and ascension 40 days following His that event ensured that the historic event could be made a living experience in the lives of His followers - both then and now. If Christ had not been raised, then we would having nothing more than the tragic death of one man. 

Today's post wants to briefly consider how Christ's resurrection from the dead provides the power Christians need to deal with what can often times be the frustrations of life or the exhausting nature of battling sin. Below I am going to give two brief observations and scriptures that readers can appeal to in beefing up their strategy in overcoming frustration and whatever else may be depleting the spiritual reserves of the Christian life.

1. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead demonstrated that the objective, historical event of the cross could now be applied (see 1 Corinthians 15:11-28; 1 Peter 1:3-5). Hence, forgiveness of sins and the power to overcome such are rooted in the resurrection power of Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; Acts 3; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7;24-25).

2. Moreover, the causal connection between Easter and Pentecost means that by the Holy Spirit, the events of the cross and empty tomb are brought to sinners in salvation and continue to have ongoing, progressively increasing significance in the believer’s post-conversion sanctification (Luke 11:13; John 16:1-12; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 30-41; Romans 5:1-5; 6:12-16; 8:1-8; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:4-10; 2 Peter 1:3-11). 

As I heard one preacher say in a recent message: even though we can never live up to all the scripture we take into our hearts and minds; yet, we can only be effective to the degree we take in scripture into our hearts and minds. God's Word and Spirit connect us to the events of Christ's cross, empty-tomb and ascension. In our battle with sin, may we ever appeal to these realities and realize that our union with Him means His power is ever available to us to overcome whatever frustrations we may be dealing with at any given time. 

Adjusting To A New Way Of Life - How To Be More Effective In Christian Sanctification - Romans 6:9-23

Romans 6:8-13 "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts."

Introduction:

In the last post we looked at what are called "Gospel Indicatives" and "Gospel Imperatives". The former of these refers to the realities of Christian identity or union in Christ. The latter of these refers to the responsibilities or commands to Christians we find in the New Testament. The former details "who I am and Whose I am". The latter has to do with "don't do this" and "do do that". In short, the Gospel indicatives indicate the "truth", "doctrine" or "realities" of my new found position in Christ. The Gospel imperatives deal with the realm of application in daily sanctification. 

Christian Sanctification is all about Adjusting to a New Way of Life

In life, a person experiences having to adjust to new ways of living, such as: marriage, parenting, new job, a move & health. Such major life-events assume major adjustments. The Christian-life involves the greatest spiritual adjustment. Why? One’s new identity in Christ ought to include the continual adjustment of a person’s priorities and practices. Today's post wants to consider more closely Paul’s discussion on Christian identity in sanctification: i.e. - “adjusting to a new way of life”.

Since exploring the concepts of "Gospel Indicatives" and "Gospel Imperatives", we will utilize them in understanding how we can be more effective in Christian growth. Thus, what components are involved in consistently adjusting one’s new-found way of life to align more with Jesus Christ, His Spirit and His Word?

Realities of Christian Identity. Rom. 6:9-11,15-19, 20-23. (These realities are “gospel indicatives”)

The Gospel indicatives we find in Romans 6 spell out for us who we are and whose we are. In the last post, I referred to the specific verses in Romans 6 that detail these Gospel indicatives:

1. Romans 6:3b "all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?"

2. Romans 6:4 "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

3. Romans 6:5 "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection."

4. Romans 6:6a "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him"

5. Romans 6:8 "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him"

6. Romans 6:11 "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."


7. Romans 6:23b ..."but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

When it comes to one's identity or union in Christ, the idea of change and adjustment to that newfound identity lies at the core of Christian sanctification. There ought to be a difference in one how thinks, acts and talks because of who they are and Whose they are in Christ. The job of the Gospel indicatives is to remind and reinforce to the Christian the reality of who they are in Christ.

To illustrate, in the area where I live, people are adjusting to warmer temperatures and the beautiful weather that characterizes Spring. Gone are the coats, boots, and snow shovels. In their place I notice people wearing light jackets or short-sleeved shirts. Weeks ago, one would not had seen many people on the sidewalks or at the near-by city-park. But now, when driving home from the church where I pastor, I'll notice numerous people walking their dogs, pushing strollers and enjoying the warmer temperatures. Why? The people understand that things have changed, and thus they adjust how they dress and act accordingly. Now keep this illustration in mind, since we will refer to it shortly in understanding the second thought associated with effective growth in Christian sanctification or adjustment to the new found way of life in Christ...

Responsibilities of Christian identity. Rom. 6:12,13,19. (These responsibilities are “gospel imperatives”)

So what is it that Christians are commanded to do or not do in Romans 6? Again, without the Gospel indicatives, the Gospel imperatives become burdensome. However, with the understanding of who one is in Christ, the Gospel imperatives or responsibilities become a delight to carry out. As 1 John 5:3 reminds us: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." In the last post, we had listed the following imperatives from Romans 6..

1. Romans 6:12 "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts"

2. Romans 6:13a "and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin..".

3. Romans 6:13b ...."but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead".... .

4. Romans 6:14a "For sin shall not be master over you".... .

5. Romans 6:19b ...."so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification."

To return back to the illustration above, would it not be odd to see someone dressed in full winter gear on a warm, Spring-time day? Or worse yet, imagine trying to build a snowman in July or operating a snowblower along a sandy beach. We would not dream of doing such things. Yet, many Christians, when told to abstain from certain things, will attempt to carry out the prohibitions of the Gospel imperatives without first considering the change that has occurred in their lives. 

Or to use the same illustration differently: do people on a warm spring-time day need convinced to "go outside and enjoy the sunny weather"? Or how about this: "go for a walk or open the windows and enjoy the smell of the fresh flowers and budding trees." Why are such commands easy to carry out? Because the people carrying them out understand that the status of their situation is that of people living in what is now warmer, nicer weather. The behavior and actions match with the reality of the status in which one finds themselves. 

When it comes to effectively adjusting oneself to the new way of life in Jesus Christ, such adjustment can only be enjoyed and truly possible when one understands the reality of their identity in the Lord. 

Closing thoughts

In today's post we considered the components necessary to adjust to the new way of life in Christ Jesus. In other words, we explored what is necessary to be more effective in Christian growth in sanctification as spelled-out in Romans 6:9-23. We discovered the following two components...

1. Realities of Christian Identity. Rom. 6:9-11,15-19, 20-23. (These realities are “gospel indicatives”)


2. Responsibilities of Christian identity. Rom. 6:12,13,19. (These responsibilities are “gospel imperatives”)

The Importance of Gospel Indicatives and Gospel Imperatives In Romans 6

Romans 6:9-13 "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."

Introduction: Defining "Gospel Indicatives" and "Gospel Imperatives"

Today's post is going to explore the realities and responsibilities of Christian identity in Christ or what Bible teachers call "Gospel indicatives" and "Gospel imperatives". 

Anytime we speak of a verb or statement being in the "indicative", we are referring to how that verb or statement is describing someone's status or identifying the reality of that person or state of affairs. Gospel indicatives are those statements that tell me "who I am" and "whose I am". In Paul's letters to the various churches, we find his letters or epistles characterized by two general formats. First, Paul reminds his readers of who they are and whose they are by way of Gospel indicatives. 

After reminding his readers of their identity, Paul will then employ what are called "Gospel imperatives" or exhortations for his readers to apply to their lives. Identification leads to application. The more I understand "who I am" and "whose I am" by way of Gospel indicatives, the better I will be able to adjust my thinking, behavior and speech by way of the "Gospel imperatives". 

Seeing how Gospel indicatives and Gospel imperatives work in Romans 6

Romans 6 is concerned with unfolding Paul's opening discussion on the believer's post-conversion growth in Christ or sanctification. Central to the thought of Romans 6 is the notion of "union with Christ" or "identification with Christ". We could say Romans 6 explains what follows from one's union with Christ in justification at salvation (covered chiefly in Romans 5). It is in Romans 6 that we discover how the above categories of "Gospel Indicatives" and "Gospel Imperatives" work together to help Christians understanding the reality of their identity and the attendant responsibilities.

With regards to Gospel indicatives or the realities of Christian identity, we find the following statements in Romans 6...

1. Romans 6:3b "all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?"

2. Romans 6:4 "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life."

3. Romans 6:5 "For if we have become united with Him..."

4. Romans 6:6a "knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him"

5. Romans 6:8 "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him"

6. Romans 6:11 "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."


7. Romans 6:23b ..."but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We can tell whenever we are dealing with the realities of Christian identity or Gospel indicatives. Note the underlined prepositional phrases: "in Christ" and "with Christ" and "in Christ Jesus" and "into His death" and so forth. Such "in" and "with" and "into" language speaks of our relationship and position "in" and "with" and "into" Christ and He with us. This is the reality of the believer's position with respect to Jesus Christ. No one person nor circumstance can annul this truth. So with the precious Gospel indicatives or realities stated, Paul then lays out the Gospel imperatives or responsibilities in Romans 6...

1. Romans 6:12 "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts"

2. Romans 6:13a "and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin..".

3. Romans 6:13b ...."but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead".... .

4. Romans 6:14a "For sin shall not be master over you".... .

5. Romans 6:19b ...."so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification."

Again, the underlined phrases point to commands or "imperatives", i.e - "don't do this" and "do do that". Such imperatives are Gospel imperatives, referring to the responsibilities of the Christian in their progress in sanctification. 

The trap Christians fall into when the Gospel indicatives are unknown or avoided

Sadly, so many Christians (including myself) develop temporary amnesia and allow circumstances, other people, the world and internal hangups of the past to define who we are. Worst still, rather than focusing upon these Gospel indicatives, we will attempt to carry out the Gospel imperatives apart from them - thus reversing the God-ordained order. In other words, we try to carry out Christian responsibilities without laying hold of the precious realities.  If one tries to carry out the Gospel imperatives without the Gospel indicatives of Romans 6, they will quickly find themselves frustrated and defeated. Why? The imperatives require the indicatives to not only be lived out, but enjoyed.

Illustration: When a car loses the ability to transfer the power of the engine to the wheels

Not to long ago I was driving our family car on a moderately long trip. My wife and I were the only ones in the vehicle. The traffic on the particular highway we were driving was moving at a brisk pace. As we drove, we suddenly found our car's engine racing and our vehicle traveling at a progressively slower velocity. Soon, we had to pull off at an exit and get the car to a garage. The mechanic told us that the transmission had burned up its internal mechanisms, thus resulting in a decreased ability for the car to continue driving. 

The Gospel indicatives are like the motor of the Christian life. As we grasp "who we are" and "whose we are", we come to terms with the power source of the Christian life - our union with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel imperatives are like the demands of road travel on a vehicle. As long as the power of the engine is transferred to the wheels, everything is fine. However, what happens when I fail to connect the demands of the Christian life to the power source (the transmission in this case)? I find myself getting bogged down and laboring to keep up. I need to be constantly reminded in the Word of God as to what the Gospel indicatives are - since they describe the reality of my identity. Only then will I be able to carry out responsibilities that otherwise are impossible to do on human strength alone. 

Closing thoughts

Today we explored what are called: "Gospel indicatives" and "Gospel imperatives". Gospel indicatives are those statements in the New Testament that describe the reality of my identity in Jesus Christ. To put it another way - the indicatives describe "who I am and Whose I am". Such Gospel indicatives are necessary if I am to carry out the responsibilities of the Christian life or what are also called "Gospel imperatives". 

A Character Study On Mary Of Bethany: A Pattern For Following Jesus Christ

John 11:1-4 "Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 

Seeing a detail I had never noticed before

Today's post begins with an admission regarding the parenthetical remark made by the Apostle John in John 11:2 - "It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick." So what is my admission? I had never noticed this little comment until reading through John 11 this past week. I marvel at how often one can read and re-read a familiar passage of the Biblical text, teach on it or preach on it - and still find something new upon a later time of study. John's comment here is designed to help the reader think back to the specific identity of Mary of Bethany. All exceptional writing ought to help the reader connect with lead characters. The inspired text of scripture accomplishes this better than any other piece of literature. 

Mary's biography of how she was first met by the Lord Jesus Christ frames for the reader why this family was so special to Him. Over a period of time, He got to know not only Mary, but her sister Martha and presumably her brother Lazarus whom he would resuscitate from the dead (that is, bring back to life what was previously dead). Today's post wants to explore who Mary of Bethany was and what lessons we can learn from her story as a follower of Jesus Christ. We can note the following pattern for discipleship in the life of Mary of Bethany...

Mary of Bethany: The One Who Wanted To Pattern Her Life In The Footsteps Of Jesus

Concerning this remark made by John about Mary in John 11:2, the Bible Knowledge Commentary has the following remark:

"Luke added some information on the two sisters Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38–42). This Mary … was the same one who later (see John 12:1–10) poured perfume on the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. However, John may be assuming that the original readers of his Gospel already had some knowledge of Mary (cf. Mark 14:3–9)."

If we consider the cross references mentioned in the above quotation, we can develop a profile of Mary's journey of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke 10:38-42 records one of the first episodes involving Mary, Martha and Jesus - 

"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Mary, we could say, was the disciple that wanted to follow the Lord Jesus in such a way as to be in earshot of his teachings. She literally wanted to follow in the footsteps of her Lord - as seen in her efforts to "sit at His feet", an expression of humility and eagerness to learn. But what else can we learn about Mary and her journey of discipleship with the Lord Jesus...

Mary of Bethany: The Disciple That Was Willing To Pay The Cost Of Following Jesus

We've seen how Mary of Bethany wanted to have her life patterned after the Master. In discipleship, we discover that there not only needs to be a willingness to follow Jesus, but also to die to self and pay the price of whatever it takes to follow Him (Luke 9:23-24). John makes reference to Mary's sacrificial act of pouring oil upon Jesus and wiping His feet with her hair (see John 11:2). In John's Gospel, this act is recorded in John 12:1-8, following Jesus' raising of Lazarus. John 12:3 specifically states - "Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume."  John's specific reference to Mary's act is of such significance that he attaches this act as the chief identity marker of Mary. We find this particular act of Mary of Bethany recorded in the other Gospels.

Mark 14:1-8 records the same scene of Mary's devoted act. We pick up the text in Mark 14:3 "While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head." The particular vial which Mary had was made of a costly material called "alabaster", filled with an even costlier perfume from the orient (likely India) called "nard", as pictured what it might had been like below:


To release the precious perfume inside the vial, one would simply "snap" the slender neck of the alabaster vessel and pour out its contents. What Mary did cost the equivalency of a year's wages. She was dramatizing her life's desire to pour out her love, at whatever cost. Extravagant? yes! Costly? definitely! Worth it? only one person was worth such devotion: Jesus.  

Interestingly enough, not only do the Pharisees respond harshly to Jesus, but also the disciples (see Matthew 26:8)! We can tell by the reaction of the people witnessing this act that its cost was steep - too steep for sentiment and convention. Following Jesus will cost everything - if need be: convention, convenience or even one's life. Mary of Bethany wanted to pattern her life in Jesus footsteps and she was willing to pay the price. But what else can we learn about discipleship from Mary of Bethany's devotion to the Lord Jesus?

Mary of Bethany: Powerful testimony to other people

When it comes to following Jesus Christ, discipleship is not just about "me and Jesus". Whenever anyone counts the cost and by faith follows the Lord Jesus Christ, their life ought to be such that others will be influenced to do the same. In Matthew 26:1-13 we see this same turn of events. In both Mark's versions and Matthew's, we see Jesus make reference to Mary's act being included in the proclamation of the Gospel for ages to come. We read in Matthew 26:13 "Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.” 

Whenever we read Jesus' statement concerning Mary, how do we know that what He said came true? The fact that we read of her act in three of the four Gospel accounts (Matthew 26:1-13; Mark 14:1-8; John 12:1-8) tells us that this act was meant to be read, preached about and embedded in the memories of God's people. The Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, edited by Walter Elwell, notes the following:

"Jesus’ word of commendation that her act will be remembered “wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world” (v. 9) evidences his consciousness of an interval of evangelization between his death and return at the end of the age."

Closing thoughts:

Today's post was about a character study on the life of Mary of Bethany. We began by considering a remark made by the Apostle John in John 11:2 concerning her anointing of Jesus. We then explored the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and John to discover lessons for discipleship and how Mary grew in her her devotion to Jesus. We discovered the following life lessons to apply to the following of Jesus Christ today:

1. Pattern one's life in the footsteps of Jesus.

2. Pay whatever price necessary to follow Jesus.

3. Present a testimony that will encourage others to follow Jesus.

Death's Obituary - Reflections On That First Easter Morning

1 Corinthians 15:54-57 "But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Jesus Christ won the cosmic battle, resulting in Death's obituary

When one reads the above closing text of 1 Corinthians 15, it has the ring of an "obituary about death". Paul's whole point in 1 Corinthians 15 is to detail how we can know not only the historicity of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, but also its life-practical and eternal implications. When it is all said and done, what Christ achieved on that first Easter morning not only had historical significance and life-changing significance, but cosmic significance. When I say cosmic, I mean the supernatural war that the kingdom of darkness has waged against God since Lucifer's cosmic rebellion in heaven at the near beginning of creation (see Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28). Satan's introduction of sin to Adam and Eve, and their compliance to his temptation, resulted in curse, sin and death on the whole physical creation (see Romans 5:12-21; 8:20-25). Would death have the final word?

In thinking on what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, the thought came to mind concerning "death's obituary". We certainly find evidence of Christ's victory over death issuing forth on that first Easter morning, as found in Luke 24:1-8 - 

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words."

Such words ought to always be remembered by Christ-followers everywhere when faced with doubt, fear or worry. As I prayed about what it must had been like on that first Easter morning, as well as what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, this theme of "Death's Obituary" kept coming up in my heart. So, I shared this thought with my wife, and what she wrote below goes wonderfully with what Paul seems to be communicating in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57. I close today's post with her wonderful piece entitled: "Death's Obituary".

Death's Obituary - By Debi Smith

Death, formerly from the region of Hades. died on Easter morning surrounded by legions of stunned and terrified demons. Death lived a long life. Some of His biggest claims to fame included scaring and immobilizing people from living; killing people that thought they had tomorrow; and separating people from loved ones until Death decided it was there time as well. Death leaves behind no one to mourn him. There will be no services, but there will be a celebration held at a later date when Jesus Christ comes back to claim His followers. At that time, there will be a burial as Death will be cast into the lake of fire never to be seen again. In lieu of flowers or donations, we ask that everyone seek the Lord while He may be found and embrace eternal life."

What Is Holy Saturday? Reflections On What May Had Happened To Jesus Between His Death And Resurrection

Hebrews 9:11 "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation".

Introduction: Briefly Defining Holy Saturday

Today is not just any ordinary Saturday for many Christians throughout the world. In many places, today is celebrated by what is called "Holy Saturday". Robert E. Weber, Myers Professor of Ministry at Northern Seminary, writes about Holy Saturday in his book - "Ancient-Future Time - Forming Spirituality Through The Christian Year":

"In most churches, there is no Holy Saturday service. When there is, it is generally in the morning and consists of Scripture readings and prayers."

Weber then later writes:

"Saturday is a day of rest and preparation for the great service of resurrection. It is a day to keep silence, to fast, to pray, to identify with Jesus in the tomb, and to prepare for the great resurrection feast."

Weber's recounting of the basic elements of Holy Saturday connects us to traditions that attempt to set our hearts and minds on Jesus and His accomplished work. Just as the time between crucifixion and resurrection was a time of waiting, Christ-followers are keenly aware of the necessity of waiting on God. We look for Him to perhaps answer a long-standing prayer request or more broadly speaking, we wait and pray for the hastening of Jesus' second coming. Holy Saturday is a day that points us to the fact that in Jesus, there is more to look forward to and that we, having confidence in His finished work, look to Him. This day also considers what all Jesus may had done between His death and resurrection.


Thinking on what Jesus may have done between His crucifixion and resurrection
Bible-believing churches are right to emphasize the work Jesus accomplished on the cross. Moreover, when it comes to what will be tomorrow's emphasis - Christ's resurrection, the remainder of the New Testament in some 300 passages connects all the various aspects of justification in salvation, growth in sanctification and the promises of heaven in glorification to Christ's resurrection. Much work was done!

But what about between Christ's death and resurrection? What did Jesus do that makes His overall accomplishments even more glorious (if that's possible)? Today's post will attempt to answer this question as we reflect on what Jesus did between death and resurrection on this Holy Saturday.
What happened to Jesus between His Death and Resurrection? A Possible Sequence Of Events

As you read the various accounts in the New Testament regarding Christ's death, burial and resurrection - burial of Jesus' body is included in the preaching of the Gospel. Ancient and modern-day Christians in many churches throughout the world recite what is called "The Apostle's Creed". Among the lines repeated in the creed, we find the following words:


"He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into Hell. On the Third Day He rose from the dead."

The reference to Jesus "descent into Hell" speaks to the topic of our focus with which we can re-phrase as a two-fold question: when Jesus died, where did He go and what did He do between that time? furthermore, if He did anything, what bearing did it have in the relationship between His crucifixion, resurrection and the lives of Christians today? Below is a sketching out of what possibly may had occurred when Jesus died.
1. When Jesus died, His human soul went into the presence of God the Father whilst His physical body was lain in Joseph's of Arimathea's Tomb

Hebrews 9:11 indicates that Jesus' first stop following His death consisted of appearing before the Father in Heaven. The Person of the Son, touching His Divine nature, was ever in union with the Father, whereas in terms of His human nature, the Person of the Son would appear by way of His departed human soul.  This last statement seems certified by what we read in the remainder of the text in terms of how He appeared before the Father "with His own blood".  At the end of Hebrews 12 we read that this blood bears witness before the Father's throne of the innocence of all those whom He calls and convicts to believe.  

To once again repeat Hebrews 9:14 - 

"how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" Thus Jesus, in His human soul, through the Holy Spirit, offered Himself. When He cried out "into thy hands I commit my spirit", the answer to that prayer was given when he breathed his last.

Jesus activity of presenting His once and for all sacrifice to the Father paved the way for every Christian who dies to have the promise of immediate entrance into the presence of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:1-6; 2 Peter 1:11-2) The Lord accomplished much not only on the cross, and not only in His resurrection but also in the time in between. However there is more....
2. Jesus went from heaven into the paradise part of Sheol (Hades or the realm of the dead) to release the Old Testament righteous to the third heaven

In Luke 16:19-31 we read the most detailed account of what post-mortem (after-death) existence was like prior to Christ's resurrection. The righteous saints of God who trusted in God by grace through faith alone went to what was called "Paradise". The term "Paradise" is a Greek loanword from the Persian language meaning: "delightful garden".

In the Old Testament, the realm of the dead was situated into two-compartments: Paradise, and then Sheol (New Testament calls it "Hades" or the realm of darkness, Abbadon and other names). Hades or Sheol proper was a place of torments, where the Rich Man (called in the KJV "Dives") went and became tormented in flames. Hades (also called "Hell" in the KJV) represents a holding place (like a county-jail of sorts) for all unbelievers who rejected the Gospel and await the final judgment (see Revelation 20:11-20).

When Jesus died, He had promised the thief on the cross that "Today you will be with me in Paradise", meaning that the thief would accompany Jesus in Paradise (see Luke 23:43). Evidently Jesus' post-mortem journeying between death and resurrection included His first stop in Heaven to present His once and for all sacrifice, followed-up by His release of the Old Testament saints to be taken into the third-Heaven where God abides (see Ephesians 4:7-10). Consequently, right after Jesus' death, there appeared what were likely many of these released Old Testament saints in Matthew 27:52 - "The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised."
3. Jesus in between His death went to proclaim His victorious death to the regions of Hell

So far, we have proposed what may had happened to Jesus once His human soul departed from His body between His death and resurrection. First, He went into Heaven to present His once and for sacrifice. Second, He descended down into the Paradise part of hell or Sheol (also called Hades) to release the Old Testament Saints to go into the third heaven with God where followers of Jesus go now following death (see 2 Corinthians 5:1-6; Hebrews 12:22-24).

So what did Jesus do next? 1 Peter 3:18-19 states - 18 "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison." When Jesus presented His once for all sacrifice to the Father in Heaven and set free the righteous from Paradise, He journeyed to the regions of the Kingdom of Darkness, to Hades itself, (sometimes translated Hell) to proclaim His victory.

It is suggested that in proclaiming His victory to those darkest regions, He may had grabbed the keys of death and Hell. Jesus in no way suffered in Hell, as claimed by some false teachers today. The wrath of God and experience of Hell was a finished work in the courss of His crucifixion. Instead, Jesus' post-mortem journey into the darkest regions was a victory march of sorts. Revelation 1:18 clues us in on this journey of Jesus between His death and resurrection - "and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." When Christ was on the cross, He suffered the wrath of God in the place sinners. His journey into the regions of Hell was to proclaim victory. As He said-so on the cross: "It is finished!" (see John 19:30).

Jesus' earlier statements of the "gates of Hell" not prevailing against the church in Matthew 16 could be held as true and firm. The King went behind those gates to announce to Hell and its powers of the Death that He had conquered them- and that His soon resurrection was going to seal the deal.

4. Jesus' affected things in the Heavenly realms to secure the church's mission here on earth

No doubt about it, Jesus was still working, even though His body lain in the grave for three days. He journeyed into the presence of His Father to present His blood, set free the Old Testament saints and then he journeyed into Hell to proclaim victory. His work on the cross was not just an event here in history, it was a cosmic victory. So what were the results?

Ephesians 4:7-9 connects His work done in His death, burial and resurrection to the ongoing work of the church: "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8Therefore it says,“WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)"

Christ's work prepared for what would be done here on earth by the church. All that remained was for Jesus to rise from the dead and then, 40 days after His resurrection, ascend into Heaven. In Christ's ascension, He would send His Holy Spirit and He would transition everything from the Old Testament way of things to the New Testament way of things.

Closing thoughts:
The work of redemption was secured at the cross. The groundwork for the mission of the church was prepared between His death and resurrection. The power of redemption for such a mission was supplied from His resurrection. The guarantee that His church will accomplish her mission comes from His ascension as Lord over His church. Today, on this Holy Saturday, praise the Lord Jesus Christ for all He has done in His death, burial and resurrection!