0700. Christ Was Raised by the Spirit

Christ Was Raised by the Spirit

"But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead, shall also give life to your mortal bodies, on account of His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom_8:11).

1. Jesus Christ was born of the Spirit, He was indwelt of the Spirit, and He was raised from the dead by the Spirit. The analogy is clear. We, too, who are born of the Spirit, indwelt of the Spirit, will also be raised by the Spirit. The assurance of this resurrection lies in the fact that the Spirit of God has sealed us unto the day of the redemption of His purchased possession. We may compare the resurrection body of our Lord with the resurrection body which shall be ours. For, we look for Christ from Heaven, Who will change our vile bodies and fashion them like unto the body of His glory.

2. The main lesson, however, for us, is not the resurrection of the body, but the quickening of our body here and now. "The Spirit will also quicken our mortal body." The word "mortal" does not refer to a dead body–such a body is spoken of in the Bible, as a "corruptible" body. The mortal body, is the body which we now have. It is mortal, because it has in it the seed of death. When Christ comes, He will change the mortal bodies of living saints into immortal bodies; He will also change the corruptible bodies of sleeping saints into bodies incorruptible.

The promise, then, which we have before us is that the body in which we are now living will be quickened by the Holy Spirit, Who indwells us. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." "As thy days, thy strength shall be." How blessed is the truth that the Spirit of God will give us physical strength to do His work.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR