But Christ indeed has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen alseep.
— 1 Corinthians 15:20
That next chapter after the last is the source of all the Christian's hope, for it assures us that our Lord has put death in its place and has delivered us from the ancient curse. Death did not end the activities of our Lord; it did not even interrupt them, for while His body lay in Joseph's new tomb, He was preaching to the spirits in prison (1 Peter 3:18-20). And after three days, His spirit was reunited with His body and the new chapter began, the chapter which can have no ending.
Had Christ not risen from the dead, His life, beautiful as it was, would have been a human tragedy. Since He did in fact rise, His life has been shown to be an unrelieved triumph. The blood, the pain, the rejection, the agony of dying, the cold, stiff body and the colder tomb?these belong to the former days. The days that are now are days of hope and life and everlasting freedom. What is true of Christ is true also of all who believe in Him. How many saints since New Testament times have lived and hoped and labored and worshiped, only to grow old and bent and to drop at last, weak and helpless, into the open grave. If that was for them the end, then we Christians would be of all men most miserable. But it was not the end. For all of God's true children there will be another chapter, a chapter that will begin with the resurrection and go on as long as eternity endures.
thought
Relatively little is revealed in Scripture concerning the believer's life in heaven. Are we not able to grasp what it will be like? We have little or nothing in human experience that qualifies as an accurate simile.
prayer
My only hope for life in that unending chapter is You, O Christ. You are the firstfruits. We are those that follow!
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
— John 11:44
He was dead, but He is alive forevermore. That such a thing could be was intimated by the miracles of restoration which our Lord performed during His earthly ministry. The widow's son was brought back to life for a brief time; at our Lord's gentle call Jairus's little daughter rose from her bed of death; and Lazarus, at Christ's command, came forth bound hand and foot. These were but vague disclosures of what was to come, and were at best only temporary suspensions of the inexorable law which demands that death shall always follow life?death complete and final.
For these all died again, and the rule of biography was upheld. Each ended in a sepulcher at last. And that sepulcher was the period at the end of the last chapter. What a perpetual wonder it is, then, that the biography of Jesus had to be resumed. Luke added not merely another chapter, but a whole book. The book of Acts was a logical necessity. "He showed himself alive after his passion," writes Luke. The rest of the New Testament gives us some idea of what He is doing now, and prophecy reveals a little of what He will be doing through the ages to come.
thought
What was it like for Lazarus to be dead four days and then be raised to life again? Did he want to return? There is nothing recorded concerning Lazarus after that experience. The period became a comma. Lazarus would die again but he would be raised forever.
prayer
Thank You, Father, that for the believer the period becomes a comma. From here we go home through Christ. Amen!
We 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.
— Romans 6:4
Matthew says, "And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb." Mark says, "And he [Joseph] bought fine linen, and took him [Jesus] down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock." Luke writes, "And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid." John says, ". . . There was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, . . . There laid they Jesus." They all agree: Jesus was dead. The life about which they had been writing was gone, The biography was ended.
Then for the only time in this history of human thought, a biographer adds to his book a new section which is authentic biography and begins to write a chapter to follow the last chapter. This time the story did not end with a funeral. The Subject, whose story should have ended at death, was once again back among men to challenge new writers to try to find enough paper and enough ink to write the rest of the story of the life that can never end. Whatever is written of Him now is written of a living man. He was dead, but He is alive forevermore.
thought
What if Christ had not risen? That demonstration of His post-resurrection power would be absent. Those promises of His unfulfilled?the coming of the Holy Spirit, the presence of Christ with us, His intercession for us, His coming again.
prayer
Forgive me, Lord, for failure to live in the experience of Your resurrection power. You declare that I died with You and may know new life just as You were raised from the dead.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
— 1 Corinthians 15:17-18
The four Gospels tell the story of the life and ministry of Jesus, and in so doing, they follow accurately the ordinary course of biography, giving the facts of His birth, growth, work, death and burial. That is the way with biography: the very word itself suggests it, for it comes from bios, life, and graphein, to write, and means the written history of a person's life. So says Noah Webster. Now, when we look at the Gospels we note an odd?and wonderful?thing. An extra chapter is added. Why? Biography, by its own definition, must confine itself to the record of the life of an individual.
That part of the book which deals with the family tree is not biography, but history, and that part which follows the record of the subject's death is not biography either. It may be appraisal, or eulogy, or criticism, but not biography, for the reason that the "bios" is gone: the subject is dead. The part that tells of his death is properly the last chapter. The only place in world literature where this order is broken is in the four Gospels. They record the story of the man Jesus from birth to death, and end like every other book of biography has ended since the art of writing was invented. . . . They all agree: Jesus was dead. The life about which they had been writing was gone. The biography was ended. Then, for the only time in this history of human thought, a biographer adds to his book a new section which is authentic biography and begins to write a chapter to follow the last chapter. . . .
thought
If Christ had not risen from that tomb of death our faith and that of millions of believers over the centuries would be utterly futile. There would be no hope, absolutely none.
prayer
O Risen Christ, my faith looks up to You. Because You live so may I. Hallelujah!
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
— Acts 4:31
To become a member of the body of Christ and join with the bride of Christ, you must be born into the family of Christ. It happens by believing in your heart that Jesus is Lord and confessing your faith with your mouth to the people. This is reasonable, and I do not understand why anybody should find fault with it. Suppose you were somewhere in the world, and someone asked you your nationality. Is there anybody here that would be ashamed to say where you were from? Why then should you go through life being secret Christians, too frightened, too scared to say, "I am a Christian"? If Jesus Christ has honored you by finding you and laying His hand on you, you ought never be ashamed of Him. You should be able to stand anywhere at any time and say, "I do not care who knows it. I am a Christian."
Be proud. I want the world to know that I am a Christian. From reading the lives of the saints I know I have a long way to go, and I want you to know that, too! I have a sharp tongue and an abrupt manner, and sometimes I say things that hurt feelings. I do not want to hurt your feelings. Just forgive a fellow who is too dumb to know better. I may not be a good Christian, but I am still a Christian. I am a member of the body of Christ. I am in the ark along with the blessed few who have been honored by God with grace, and for that reason I am not ashamed and I do not want you to be. We want a separated-from-the-world, heads-up, knees-bent, living church! Sure we can have our skating parties, gatherings and coffees. Nothing is wrong with that, provided we know that we do not need it. These activities are something on the side so we can relax. Jesus Christ is our center, and so the way to get in is by faith and confession.
thought
Why is it we try to be Christians incognito in certain situations? He is our Lord and He is not ashamed to call us His own.
prayer
Father, I am shy and timid by nature but will You give me boldness? May I be Peter after Pentecost, not Peter in the high priest's courtyard!
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
— Romans 10:10
If you want fellowship with the church, if you have not formally joined, there are two ways to do so. One is to pray in public, give money, show enthusiasm and fill out a card. The other is to do first things first?join the universal church?and then also fill out a card. An important part of joining the church is public confession. Why does the Lord want us to make a public confession? The Bible says, "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved" (Romans 10:8b-10).
The heart believes and the mouth confesses. Both are necessary to salvation. Even the thief on the cross made his poor pitiful confession. That is why God wants us to fellowship with each other, get together and tell the world and tell each other?because with the mouth confession is made for salvation. My plea is for those who have never undergone the marvel of the regeneration of new birth to take this seriously. Remember you get into the ark through the door, and Jesus Christ is the door. If you reject the ark, you reject the door, and if you reject the door you perish in the flood.
thought
We are members of Christ's body the Church. Through us, you and me, Christ wants to reach out to others through our living and our mouths.
prayer
O Lord, open my mouth to confess You boldly to people I meet. In my heart I believe but with my mouth I am slow to speak of You to those who do not know You.
Then the church [singular noun] throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
— Acts 9:31
Sometimes people come into the local church who have never come into the universal church. People join a church who have never been born into the true church. Some churches actually throw the doors open and say, "Now we'll sing the closing hymn for those who want to unite with the church. Come to the front." Al Capone could come in and join. Nobody asks any questions; they just take in anybody. I do not believe in that at all, and I know you do not either. I believe that if you are going to get into a local church, you should first be in the universal church, which Jesus purchased with His own blood.
You should get into the church with rebirth, the Holy Spirit and regeneration. Then you should join a local assembly. It is impossible to receive Christ and reject His people. How do you find the Shepherd? Go where the sheep are! If you do not know where the Shepherd is, then go where the sheep are. All else being equal, that is where you will find the Shepherd. Whoever receives Christ must receive His people too. Jesus said, "He who receives you receives me" (Matthew 10:40a). Whoever rejects the bride rejects the Bridegroom, and whoever rejects the flock rejects the Shepherd. I think that is clear enough.
thought
One does not enter the Church through the front door of a building, the "New Comers Class" or an interview with elders. It is by being born of God through faith in Christ. Then comes identification with a local group of fellow believers who form a local
prayer
Lord, thank You for local believers with whom I can worship, through whom I can be ministered to and with whom I can be part of Your Church in my community.
If [God] did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ...if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.
— 2 Peter 2:5,9
Third, the church is depicted as an ark on the flood waters. As the ark of Noah floated on the waters and contained all who would be salvaged, so the church of Jesus Christ is an ark on the flood waters and contains all who will be salvaged. Remember that! All in the ark are saved, and all outside the ark perish. All around us is a perishing world, and we float on top of it in a little ark called the church. All that are not in the church?the ark?will perish. You say, "Now hold on a minute. Do you mean to say that if you don't join the Avenue Road Church, you will be lost?" No, but what I do say is that the church is the ark containing the ransomed, and inside the ark is life. Outside the living church of Christ are the lost. Inside are the saved. You are not saved by joining a church, which is a mistake local churches make.
The animals all came into Noah's ark by the door. Christ is the door to the church, and whoever will be saved must come in by the door. There is no other ark on the flood. Suppose someone said, "Well, hold on a minute. Don't be so narrow-minded. Let's be tolerant. We do not want to get in Noah's ark; we want an ark of our own." Well, there weren't any other arks on the flood. It was either get into Noah's ark or perish. A few got into Noah's ark, and God preserved the race. In the church of Christ, God is salvaging a small number from the flood. A fatal error is the independent life?to say that you are a Christian, but you don't associate with any churches. You are a Christian, but you don't feel the necessity to join a church. It is true that there are hypocrites in the church?not in the true church, but in the local assembly. Even Jesus had His Judas. The local assembly and the true church of Christ are sometimes not synonymous.
thought
While the ark is not used as an explicit image of the Church, a number of references are found in the New Testament suggesting a typological analogy. The Church is the only ark in the flood of judgment and Christ is the only way to get on board.
prayer
How good, Lord, to be part of Your Church in the turbulent world sea. 'In a love which cannot cease, I am His and He is mine.'
There is one body and one Spirit?just as you were called to one hope when you were called?one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
— Ephesians 4:4-5
If you are a member of the true church of Christ, then you are a member of the company that will make up the true bride of Christ. As a local church, we are a miniature of the bride of Christ. A second description of the church is the body of Christ. Jesus Christ is the head, and as the head of His church He directs it. My hands move because my head tells them to. My head directs my body. The head of a local church is not the pastor, but Jesus Christ the Lord. He is the head of the universal church of which the local church is a part. A local church is not all the body of Christ, but in miniature it is the body of Christ.
thought
Church as the body of Christ is a uniquely Pauline image. Christ is the head. Believers are body members with special body functions. As members of the same body we are interrelated and interdependent. No one of us can exist as a loner cut off from others.
prayer
Lord, thank You for the many other body members through whom You have ministered to me. And thank You for the privilege of being part of Your body through whom You minister to others.