The Trinitarian Shape of the Resurrection

Since God is triune, there is a trinitarian shape to everything he does. It doesn’t matter if it’s creation, his revelation to the world, the cross, or Scripture; it has the fingerprints of the Trinity all over it. The same can be said for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. If we look at the resurrection as if it exists apart from the Trinity, we’ll inevitably misunderstand something at the core of the event.

Who raised Jesus from the dead?

It’s one of the more common questions about the resurrection. Jesus died, he was buried, and he rose from the dead. Someone has to be responsible for his resurrection, but who? Let’s take a look at three sections of Scripture to see if we can formulate a good picture of who raised him from the dead.

“Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” (Galatians 1:1, NIV)

As Paul wrote his short and punchy letter to the church in Galatia he decided to begin with the resurrection of Jesus. The interesting thing about the way in which he begins is that he tells the church that the Father raised Jesus from the dead, which (although it’s interesting) makes sense. Jesus died; therefore, he needs someone to raise him from the dead. The Son died and so his Father brought him back to life.

“And 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.” (Romans 8:11, NIV)

Paul, again, writing to a church—although, this time it’s the church in Rome—mentions the resurrection of Jesus. In this letter, however, Paul seems to be giving credit to another person of the Trinity. Paul writes that “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you.” It’s an interesting phrase and maybe a bit confusing without a couple other verses to give some context. Just prior to this statement Paul had written a couple other things about this “Spirit of him”. Paul wrote, “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:9-10, NIV). What do we make of this, then? I think we come to see that this “Spirit of him” is the Holy Spirit of God. And, because of Romans 8:11, we can say that the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.

“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” (John 10:18, NIV)

This last statement is from Jesus himself before his death and resurrection. In John 10 Jesus has called himself “the good shepherd” and this “shepherd” will lay down his life for his sheep. In other words, Jesus is saying he will die for his sheep—the ones who belong to him. Not only will he die for his sheep, but he will not remain dead for his sheep. To quote Jesus directly, he says, “I have authority to lay it (my life) down and authority to take it up again.” Jesus has the authority to lay down his life, which is what he tells Pilate. And he has authority to take up his life. So, according to the testimony of John, we can say that Jesus raised himself from the dead.

Can we put all this together?

Here, we’re helped by remembering that God is the Trinity. Since God is the Trinity, the earlier three statements on who raised Jesus from the dead fit together perfectly. God is not some impersonal being that exists from time to time as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And, just as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit worked together in creation and the cross, they worked together in raising Jesus from the dead.

The Trinity was united in the effort to raise Jesus from the dead. The Father raised Jesus from the dead. The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus raised Jesus from the dead.

In other words, God raised God from the dead.

It All Hinges on the Resurrection

Without the resurrection we have nothing.

If Christ did not rise bodily from the grave after being put to death on the cross, our faith is worth nothing. We would be a pitiable bunch hanging our hope upon something that is nothing more than fantasy. All the Apostles, all the disciples, all the New Testament authors, all of those in our day who identify themselves based on the person of Jesus Christ would be wasting their time—giving it to something void of all real meaning—if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead.

However—and this is a life-changes, worldview rearranging “however”—if Jesus did rise bodily from the dead after being put to death and placed in a tomb, everything changes.

The way we view the world around us changes because Jesus rose from the dead. The way we understand our relationship with God changes because Jesus rose from the dead. The way we love people changes because Jesus rose from the dead. The way we disagree with people changes because Jesus rose from the dead. The language we use while talking theology changes because Jesus rose from the dead.

Everything changes.

I was listening to a debate/conversation between two orthodox Christians and two “spiritual” thinkers as they discussed Jesus’s “resurrection from the dead.” What struck me most about the debate/conversation was not the way in which the orthodox Christians gave biblical evidence of the resurrection. It wasn’t even the way in which they spoke about the logical consistency of the resurrection, beginning with historic biblical Judaism into what came to be called Christianity. What struck me the most was how the other two gentlemen struggled for adequate language to use while talking about the resurrection.

The two gentlemen who denied that Jesus rose bodily from the dead reached for again and again the appropriate language to use in describing an event that took place 2,000 years ago. They struggled for language to use in describing how the earliest disciples would have thought about what they saw with their own eyes or were told about by those who saw it with their own eyes. And, maybe even most of all, they struggled with trying to hold on to some sort of meaningful relationship with Easter while denying everything that Easter is built upon—the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Why they would even want to retain something of Easter is something else to think about.

They had given up the foundation upon which they were building their “spiritual” house and (although they would most likely take offense to this statement), unbeknownst to them, the ceiling was cracking, the walls were falling in, and the floor was sinking into the sand. Their house they had worked so hard to build—without a proper foundation—was doing just what houses do that don’t have a foundation—they were collapsing.

The bodily resurrection of the once-dead Jesus Christ from death is the foundation upon which our homes can be built. In fact, it’s the only sure foundation that will work.

Jesus was crucified. Jesus died. Jesus was placed in a tomb. Three days later Jesus was no longer in the tomb, because he had risen bodily from the dead. And now, we, live in the light of that historic event and everything is different because of it.

It all hinges on the resurrection.

Four Implications of the Resurrection

“But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:5-6)

Tomorrow is the day in which large numbers of Christians around the world celebrate the crucified Son of God being raised from the dead. The implications of the resurrection are countless and could be thought on for the rest our lives with no fear of coming to the end of what the resurrection of Jesus meant and means. However, with that as a starting point, it still seems good to me to roll around in our minds what we are able to in preparation and in celebration of Easter.

I have listed below four implications of the resurrection as a means to kick-start your worship of the One who is risen indeed.

1. Jesus Christ has been vindicated.
“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’” (Luke 24:44-48)

2. Death has been dealt a mortal wound.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

3. Jesus Christ has risen to be always making intercession for his people.
“Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us.” (Romans 8:33-34)

4. Jesus has made us victorious over death and sin.
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)