Talk

50 Implications of the Resurrection (Part Two)

Ben Stuart

March 24, 2024

Join us as we continue in part two of learning what the implications of the resurrection are for us as believers. Ben Stuart walks us through passages of Scripture that are not only promises for our future but that have the power to change the way we live life right now.

Key Takeaway

We will never know this side of Heaven the extent of His goodness, kindness, and grace that Jesus poured out on us. However, we get glimpses through the Scripture of God's heart towards us. Jesus not only removed sin, but through the Spirit, He gave us life, and we will sit in the presence of the Father forever.

God did something so beautiful through the resurrection that we must see it through a prism to grasp its glory fully.

If the tomb is empty...

1. We have confidence that Jesus speaks the truth.

Matthew 16:21, 20:17-18, 26:32, Mark 16:7. Jesus kept telling of His death, burial, and resurrection. Why does He keep telling them over and over? It increases your faith. Jesus did what He said He would do then; therefore, you can believe it when He says He's coming back, that the Father loves us, etc.

2. David is a prophet.

Acts 2:22-36. This is Peter's first sermon after the resurrection. Standing near David's tomb, he used him as an illustration. The Jewish belief was that the body would decay after three days, but David said that the Holy One would not see corruption. David knew that one of his descendants would sit on the throne forever. Jesus is a descendant and did not see corruption. So, David was a prophet. Why does this matter? It tells us that we can trust the Old Testament. All of God's words are true and can be trusted. If we can trust what He said in the Bible, we can trust what He is saying to us in our lives.

3. God kept His word to the fathers.

Acts 13: 23, 32-35. Out of David came the Holy One, and Christ fulfilled hundreds of promises made in the Old Testament.

Acts 13:36-40. The promise is that there is life after the grave. God kept giving clues throughout the Old Testament: born of a virgin in Bethlehem, hailed from Nazareth, etc. So when all these things come to pass in Jesus, we know we can believe it.

4. In Jesus, all of us who believe are freed from what the law could not free us from.

The law is not just lighting the way; it leads us to the One who can solve the problem. Sin is leading us to death, but Jesus, who died, was buried, and rose again, came to set us free from death. The law is good, but it cannot give you life.

The law is like a tutor to lead you to Christ. Just like an x-ray shows you are broken, but it cannot fix you. You have to go to a doctor and ask him for help.

5. The Holy Spirit has been poured out on believers.

Acts 2. This is Peter's sermon after people became filled with the Holy Spirit. He calls them back to Joel to remind them of this promised day. In Hebrew, Spirit, breath, and wind are all the same words. One of the greatest tragedies in Genesis is that God created humanity, breathed life into the dirt, and brought us to life. It's intimate and animate. We, Adam, sin against God; God says you are dust, and to dust you'll return. What left? The wind of God is gone. The Old Testament promises that one day, the Spirit will return. Isaiah 53 says that the descendant of David would bring the wind with Him. Peter explains that's what they were seeing: the Spirit of God returning. Jesus brought the wind back. See John 16:7-8.

There is a big difference between forgiving someone and marrying them. If you forgive someone, that doesn't make you married to them. Jesus forgave us, but the Spirit in the intimate and animating experience that binds us together. We get both in the resurrection.

Yes, the Cross is about the forgiveness of sins, but that's where the Gospel starts. Jesus moved sin out of the way so that the Spirit would return to an intimate relationship with us to bring us life.

6. God will give life to our bodies through the Spirit that dwells in us.

Romans 8:10-11. If the Spirit raised Jesus, the Spirit will raise you. The Spirit is so strong that even though your body is decaying, He is bringing you to life.

Ephesians 1:13-14. We are marked with a seal guaranteeing what is to come. The Holy Spirit is like an engagement ring, promising what is to come but not enjoying all the benefits quite yet.

7-9. We can walk in the newness of life now because we are united in a resurrection like His, and we will live with Him.

Romans 6:4-10. Where Jesus goes, you go. You will rise like Him and live with Him.

There's a difference between rescuing someone and adopting them. Just because you save someone from getting hit by a car doesn't mean they get a room in your home. Yet because of the resurrection, Jesus saved you, and you get to live with Him. The resurrection has knit you together forever.

We walk in newness now, and because of that, it changes how we live right now. Engagement changes how you live now because you know marriage is coming.

10. We are dead to sin and alive in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:11. It's not wishful thinking. Because Jesus rose from the grave, we go where He goes. When Jesus Christ beat death, you consider yourself dead to sin and alive in Christ.

11. Our bodies now belong to the Lord, not sexual immorality.

1 Corinthians 6:13-18. The body is not meant for sexual immorality or "pornea," a junk draw term for all sexuality outside of God's intention in the covenant of marriage. The Church in Corinth believed in the Gospel but also believed that their body was disconnected from their soul. Just feed your body's appetites because the rest of your body is separate. Who really cares about the body when your soul goes to God?

Well, God does...a lot. That belief portrays a pagan view of the body. In Genesis, God didn't create disembodied souls. He made all of creation, including our bodies, and even though it is subject to frustration, He redeemed all of creation. That's why Jesus came in human form, physically died, physically rose, walked around, ate, and drank with real people. He didn't just redeem your spiritual life; He redeemed your whole life. You didn't just commit your soul to Him; you committed your whole life to Him. There are no separate categories. They are bound together with Him, so they can't be bound to anything else. When you sin sexually, you sin not just against Him but also against your own body. Your body matters to God, and how you treat and take care of it speaks volumes to Him.

12. We can approach the throne of grace with confidence.

Hebrews 4:15-16. We have a High Priest who has been tempted in every way we are. He knows the pit you are in, yet He was without sin. So, He can sympathize with our pain, but He also gives you a solution out of it. Because of the resurrection, the throne is not one of judgment but of grace that we are welcomed into. Not because we are worthy but because Jesus is. The standard He sets is high, but His grace is so much more.

13-14. We live for Jesus. We do not see people the same anymore.

2 Corinthians 5:14-17. Paul is explaining why he doesn't lead a self-indulgent life anymore. Why? Because the love of Christ compels him. We don't see people by anything other than if they know Jesus or not. His love propels you to be an ambassador and ask people if they know the grace you have in Jesus.

15-16. Jesus will judge the living and the dead. Whoever believes in Him will receive forgiveness in His name.

Acts 10:40-43. Jesus did good, yet He was killed. God vindicated Him by resurrecting Him from the dead and made Him appear in front of witnesses. Those witnesses were to go and tell everyone that Jesus beat death, so that makes Him the authority to judge all things, the living and the dead. He also offers forgiveness to those who believe.

Jesus isn't just a motivational teacher or the guy who works for you. He is the Lord of all living and dead things and will judge them both. While being judged by a Holy God is serious, He offers forgiveness through His name.

17. We will be brought into the presence of God by Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:14. This is what Jesus is most excited about. He cannot wait to have us be in the presence of the Father. The problem is He is Holy, and we are not. Jesus solves that for us.

18-19. Our life is hidden in Christ in God.

Colossians 3:1-4. When Christ appears, we will appear with Him in glory. How can you stand before a holy God? Because you are with Jesus Christ. He is the One who gives us the right to stand there. Our life is tucked away in Him, and He will lead us to the Father.

20. We are delivered from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 1:10. We have a deep and universal desire for justice. We're not graded on a scale, though; we are judged on a standard of purity. Therefore, we are all in trouble and not worthy of Heaven. There is judgment coming for sin; no one gets away with anything. Jesus said that the wrath of God's judgment will come. It will either fall on you, or you will step behind Jesus, and He'll take it on for you. He has provided a way to justify sinners like you and me.

21-22. We are not positionally seated and raised in Him, and in the coming ages, He will show the riches of His grace and kindness towards us.

Ephesians 2:5-7. It's not like Jesus saved us and then put us on an installment plan of steps for further forgiveness because we barely made it in. We are already raised and seated with Him. As we are there, He'll lead us to the Father and display His riches of grace and kindness towards us. Heaven is God putting on a show of how inexhaustible His kindness is. How? By pouring out on you and me. We didn't slip in the door; He will lavish us as though we always belonged.

“

"The standard He sets is high, but His grace is so much more."

”

Ben Stuart

Discussion Questions

Of all the implications taught in this message, which one means the most to you?
How do we know that we can take God at His word and that He always tells the truth? What does that do for your faith?
What is the purpose of the law? What did Jesus do to the law?
When Adam sinned, and death entered the world, what left us? How do we see in return in Acts 2? See also John 16:7-8.
Read Romans 8:10-11. What power dwells in you if you are alive in Christ?
Because we are living in the newness of life in Christ now, how does that affect how you live your daily life?
Using the analogy of engagement and marriage, if the Holy Spirit is a promise of what is to come, what do we have to look forward to?
According to 1 Corinthians 6:13-18, why does God care so much about our bodies and how we conduct our behavior? When Christ saved you, what did He redeem?
When you approach the Throne of grace, do you do it with confidence or insecurity? See Hebrews 4:15-16.
What is Jesus most excited about? Read 2 Corinthians 4:14.

Scripture References

21From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

17Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them,

“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death

But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ ”

22“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.

23This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

25David said about him:

“ ‘I saw the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

26Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest in hope,

27because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

you will not let your holy one see decay.

28You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.

30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.

31Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

32God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

33Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

35until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.” ’

36“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

23“From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

10But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.

11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

13And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

14By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

16Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

17But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

18Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

16Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.

14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.

15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Ben Stuart

Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.