There is a non-profit organization that, as said in its mission statement, is dedicated to bringing the world liberty, free thinking, open expression of ideas, and peace to the world—certainly a lofty goal, but it sounds admirable, right?

If you want to pitch in and help their cause, they encourage you to volunteer and join them in their endeavors of altruism. If you want to support them financially, then they strongly encourage you to do so. Changing the world takes a lot of resources!

Can you guess what this organization is? It’s not Feeding America. It’s not Compassion International, The Humane Society of the United States, or even your local public library. It is the Atheist Republic organization, who say they are intent on removing the stigma around critical thinking and promoting scientific reasoning.

On their website, there is a section dedicated to quotes from influential atheist thinkers. One of those quotes is from Richard Dawkins, who states the following:

The Genesis story is just one that happened to have been adopted by one particular tribe of Middle Eastern herders. It has no more special status than the belief of a particular West African tribe that the world was created from the excrement of ants.

Richard Dawkins

Many others share Dawkins’ sentiment; look no further than the website on which I found this quote, and you will see this is true. There are others who will not take such a hard stance as that, but they still may find the creation account found in Genesis to be a tough pill to swallow.

It is even common for Christians to experience doubt on whether Genesis’ creation story is a historically reliable narrative on the origins of everything. In reality, though, we can be confident that the creation story in Genesis is a historically and scientifically reliable account on the beginning of creation. Let’s explore why.  

1. It Is in a Divinely Inspired Book

In today’s culture, some people mistakenly believe the creation story is an ancient relic of the past—it’s useful for giving us insight into an old culture, but in terms of accuracy it is not trustworthy because the Bible as a whole is not trustworthy. Such thinking discounts the Bible’s miraculous nature.

Set aside the fact that the Bible is the best selling, most widely translated, most produced book in world history. You can even forget the immense impact the Bible has had in countless countries (no other writing has shaped so many societies more). Simply consider the unity of the Bible’s message, despite it being written over a period of 1600 years by forty different authors with a variety of different backgrounds, such as fishermen, tax collectors, heads of state, and philosophers.

These authors wrote from three distinct continents in wildly differing cultures. Yet, the message of the Bible remains the same throughout each of its books. It has a clearly unified message from start to finish. Every book centers around God’s masterful plan to redeem a broken humanity through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Such amazing unity in the midst of such extreme diversity is unheard of. For lack of a better word, it is miraculous, showing that the Bible’s writers received divine inspiration from the creator and sustainer of the universe himself. If we receive the story of creation from the Bible, then we know we can believe it, as it comes from the inspired word of God.

2. It Is in a Scientifically Credible Book

To discuss the Bible as evidence for creation a little further, the idea that the former is a scientifically shaky document has become a prevalent one in our society. Although this perspective is popular, it is patently false.

The Bible is not a science book, but when it touches on the subject, it does so with remarkable accuracy. Its writers made many scientific claims that were ahead of their time, impossible to know without divine inspiration.

Take the shape of the earth, for instance. 500 years ago, intellectuals believed it to be flat. However, 2700 years ago, the book of Isaiah was already saying this:

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

Isaiah 40:22

On top of that, if you study the second sentence of that passage, you’ll notice it reveals that God stretches the heavens out. In a relatively recent discovery, scientists have learned our universe is expanding—the heavenly bodies above continue to move away from each other!

Next, the Bible told us the earth is suspended in outer space long before science did!

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.

Job 26:7

While the contemporaries of its time believed the earth rested upon Atlas’ shoulders, or perhaps on the back of a giant space-elephant (the latter would make for a great Star Trek episode), the Bible was the one making the correct assertion all along.

In short, the Bible is spot-on in any of the scientific commentary it happens to make, which greatly strengthens the case for creation as found in Genesis.

3. Genesis Provides an Orderly Creation Account

Other creation stories within mythology and legend assume the universe has always existed. In other words, they assume it is eternal. The book of Genesis, in contrast, informs us the universe had a beginning. It had a starting point (that’s what the scientific data of today tells us too, by the way).

Not only does Genesis tell us creation had an intentional beginning instead of a randomly induced birth via a cosmic explosion; it also tells us the universe was intentionally designed as well. That is why it is the perfect setting in which life can thrive and sustain itself.

Take a look at the days of creation and the orderly and intentional manner in which God spoke the world into being.

Day 1: light

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Genesis 1:3

Day 2: atmosphere

And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.”

Genesis 1:6

Day 3: continents formed

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

Genesis 1:9

Day 4: sun, moon, and planets

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.

Genesis 1:14-15

Day 5: birds and fish

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

Genesis 1:20

Day 6: animals and humans

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.

Genesis 1:24

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Genesis 1:26

In these passages, we see the creation process separated into two orderly halves. There were the days of forming, which consisted of light, water/atmosphere, and the ground/vegetation; and there were the days of filling, which consisted of the sun/moon, fish/birds, and animals/humans.

These elements of creation work together in beautiful harmony in order to keep life going, and for the world to have simply happened that way without rhyme or reason is an absurd notion. What if the sun had been just a little closer to earth? What if our atmosphere wasn’t just right for us to thrive in? The list of questions goes on and on.

4. Jesus Affirmed the Creation Story

Finally, for the believers who passionately love God but still retain some doubts about the validity of the creation story, know that the cornerstone of your faith—your redeemer, Messiah, and friend who lowered himself from glory in order to die for you a torturous death so your sins would be forgiven—taught it as truth. Jesus Christ affirms the Genesis creation account because he uses it in his teaching. He quotes from it.

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female?’

Matthew 19:4

If Jesus has been real to you, if you have been in a relationship of love with him, if you have experienced the peace passing understanding that comes from his salvation, if he has transformed your mind and brought purpose to your life…then you can also know the creation story is real. He said it was. He was there when it happened!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:1

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

John 8:58

So…

This world will throw everything it has at you to shake your faith. Pop culture scoffs at the idea of a creator. Widely celebrated professors routinely present Genesis 1 and 2 as a lie. Our friends and family often fall away, citing the biblical story as something too far-fetched to be correct. So fortify your faith. Always know why you believe what you believe. Chances are, someone is eventually going to ask you. Don’t you want to be prepared instead of stumbling around for an answer?

Don’t you want to build a stronger foundation of knowledge on which to rest your faith? That is the purpose for today’s exploration. Reflect on this passage as you go about your day, and see what conclusions it brings you to.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

1 Peter 3:15

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

You may be familiar with this passage of scripture. We like to quote it a lot—and for good reason. It’s a great reminder of the intimate connection we have to the Father. He took the time to lovingly, thoroughly create us into being, expending his boundless intellect to instill each of us with the unique personality, gifting, and appearance that would bring him glory and reflect his image.

The stamp of God’s beauty, wisdom, and creativity is present throughout all of creation. Everywhere we look, we see his masterpieces designed precisely and intricately so that life may be sustained. This is evident in the process of the world’s creation itself. Genesis 1, which details God’s formation of the universe out of nothing, shows us his ingenuity and demonstrates that we are not here by accident.

Let’s open our Bibles to Genesis 1 and take a deep dive into the process of creation together.

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2

We’ll stop right here for a moment. Notice the first sentence: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Think about that. God was right there at the beginning of everything. In fact, he was there before the beginning. Before time and space. Before the black void of outer space began expanding. Before all of that, he was. And he brought all there was and is to be into existence from absolutely nothing. This means time, earth, and the structure of the universe are a work of God and God alone. He designed everything from DNA to the laws of physics to the constellations in the night sky: all of it. He authored the blueprint and then carried it out.

We also see that at first, the earth was an unformed, uninhabitable mass. There was no order or cohesion to it…yet.

This brings us to the enlightening topic of binaries in creation. Through the creation process, God establishes order using binaries, which are, in terms of our subject matter, a pair of complimentary yet distinct elements of creation that work together to sustain life.

So, for example, land and sea are known as the land/sea binary. They are polar opposites, but they both work together to keep life going! They also make each other distinct: would land really be land unless there was the sea to sharply contrast with it? Another example is the night/day binary, and the same principle applies here. They are utter opposites, with one characterized by light and one characterized by darkness. However, they work relentlessly to keep the cycle of life continuing and to point out the differences in each other. Again, in the same way that land wouldn’t be land without the sea to make it distinct, would daytime really be daytime if we did not have evening coming later on?

With that said, continue reading Genesis 1 and observe how God uses binaries in the creation process to support life.

day/night:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1:3-5

earth/sky:

And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” ⁷ So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

Genesis 1:6-8

land/sea:

And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:9-10

sun/moon:

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

Genesis 1:14-16

light/darkness:

God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

Genesis 1:17-19

The pattern should be clear at this point. Within these relatively few passages, God creates many binaries that are pivotal to existence on earth. In all this binary talk, though, we have yet to discuss the most important one.

male/female:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;  male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27

This passage introduces us to the male/female binary, which is central to life. Theological writer Gary Brumbelow calls it a “manifestation of the complimentary nature of creation.” I would go a step further and call it the ultimate manifestation of creation’s complimentary nature.

Genesis 2 goes into more detail regarding the events of those last two verses:

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” ¹⁹Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.²³ The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” ²⁴ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Genesis 2:18-24

It was not good for Adam to be alone. Yet, no suitable helper for him existed. Nobody was there to be his partner, for him to compliment and for them to compliment him.

It is through the binary of male/female—this pairing of two mentally, emotionally, and physically distinct beings—that life is produced. They are so drastically different, and yet they compliment each other in their difference.

I cannot stress enough how in the process of creation, male/female is the most significant binary God created. Without it, the world would cease to be. Future generations would not be raised up to glorify God in a caring, protective family structure.

This creation binary also demonstrates the Lord’s intentions for the order of nature. Upon reading about God crafting the world together, we see what a God-ordained marriage is supposed to look like: one man and one woman joining together in an exclusive, life-long intimate relationship of love and loyalty.

There are profound implications behind this. New Testament scholar N.T. Wright explains them well:

The binaries in Genesis are so important—…heaven and earth…sea and dry land…male and female. It’s all about God making complementary pairs which are meant to work together. The last scene in the Bible is the new heaven and the new earth, and the symbol for that is the marriage of Christ and his church. It’s not just one or two verses here and there which say this or that. It’s an entire narrative which works with this complementarity … [as] a signpost or a signal about the goodness of the original creation and God’s intention for the eventual new heavens and new earth.

N.T. Wright

The symbolization behind the marriage of a man and woman is beautiful beyond words. The complimentary, life-sustaining marital covenant—the center of every healthy society in creation—is a reminder of the sacred union Christ will one day enjoy with his Church.

Application

To wind things down, let me give you two encouragements you can apply to your life.

Appreciate the Order of Creation

Under the natural order God has established, we are free from having to determine the fabric of reality by ourselves, which is an immense burden for which mankind was not created. We are free from having to make things up and endlessly create our own reality.

In the world we live in, it is not popular to acknowledge that there is an objective truth about what is right and wrong, or what we are here for, or how nature is structured. God’s Word tells us what is and what isn’t right down to our makeup, our marriages, and our gender. These are all unchangeable, absolute truths. Nobody can bend them to their will.

We sometimes don’t like this because we want the freedom to be our own God. In actuality, shaping the world our way creates a nightmare. If we have no unifying agreement about truth, reality, and morality, then that leaves it completely up to us in deciding what truth is. This leads to a never-ending, unfulfilling cycle of remaking our reality.

Appreciate the Unity in Diversity

God has made so, so many elements of creation complimentary: moon/sun, land/sea, light/dark, and of course male/female, showing us how he takes two vastly differing things and then brings them together in harmony to create something good. They, in their wonderful, amazing distinctiveness, work in unity.

This fact of creation brings to mind God’s Trinitarian nature. God himself consists of three unique Persons who work in glorious unity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are not carbon copies of each other. They have different roles, with the Father being the creator and judge of the world, the Son being the savior who pays our debt and reconciles us to God, and the Holy Spirit being our helper and ultimate guide so that God may build his Church. It only makes sense God’s handiwork reflects this unity.

In Closing…

Praise God! In his infinite wisdom, he has formed a world so awe-inducingly complex and majestic, with each piece of the multi-faceted creation puzzle snapping into perfect place with the next, that we should have no doubt we came from a thoughtful, loving creator. Because of this, we need not doubt that we or anything else in the universe occurred by random, arbitrary chance. We were intentionally made with a divine purpose.

Fearfully and wonderfully made indeed!

C.S. Lewis once said that humanity is “far too easily pleased.” Instead of focusing our efforts on pursuing a glorious God, living a meaningful life of worship and service dedicated to him and the expansion of his kingdom, we are all too willing to settle for a life of finite worldly pleasures. In this way, Lewis likens humanity to “an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea.”

I don’t think he is inaccurate in his assessment. It is one of the great tragedies of creation that we find so much comfort and enjoyment in mediocrity. To this human tendency, unsurprisingly, Christians are no exception, especially as it pertains to being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Every Christian has the ability to live a Spirit-filled life, but generally speaking, we do not dwell on this awesome truth enough, nor do we ask him to work through us using his Spirit! Too often, the everyday grind bogs us down, leaving us blind to the ways the Holy Spirit could use us to make disciples and glorify the Father. We come to church with no expectation the Spirit will transform us. We allow ourselves to dwell on the seven-day cycle and all its immediate chores as opposed to dwelling on eternity and how we could be living for it right now.

This article is all about changing that and becoming filled with the Holy Spirit.

What Does It Mean to Be Spirit-Filled?

Essentially, it is to increasingly yield control of your life to his influence. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 5:18-21 for more insight on the matter. It is the basis for this article.

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:18-21

As you can see from this passage, there are many ways living a Spirit-filled life can take form. Maybe it means you now have a greater desire to see the lost brought to Jesus Christ and a will to act on that desire. Maybe you now long to experience community with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, encouraging and equipping them as needed. Perhaps it means letting the Spirit into the bedroom so he can deal with sexual sin, into your office cubicle to reckon with what you look at in your spare time as well as your handling of business accounts, or into your family room to refine parenting skills.

As the Spirit fills you, he could address lust, anger, unforgiveness, financial stress…you get the picture.

Before continuing, it is important to make this clear: receiving the Holy Spirit and being Spirit-filled are not the same thing. When we place our faith in Christ and become born again, that is when we have the Holy Spirit. However, when we are filled with him, then the Holy Spirit has us. So you can have the Holy Spirit without being filled by him. Of course, to do so is profoundly unfortunate, comparable to Superman entering into battle with Lex Luthor without using the laser vision or inhuman strength available to him.

How Do You Become Spirit-Filled?

That’s an interesting question. Asking something like that assumes almost by default that you must take initiative and be the catalyst in having this happen. That is not the case. The filling of the Holy Spirit, like salvation, sanctification, and so many other miraculous happenings, is a work of God, and we must simply yield to his will.

There are some things you can do, though, that help surrender control over to the Spirit.

Don’t Be Filled with the World:

Let’s dig a little deeper into Ephesians 5. Paul tells us not to be “drunk on whine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Take note of the language he’s using here , particularly with the word “instead.” Paul is saying that in place of being full of sinful drunkenness, we are to be full of the Spirit. It’s like we have two choices. We can choose to fill ourselves with worldly pursuits or we can choose to fill ourselves with the Spirit. It’s an either/or type of deal; we can’t do both.

If you want to live a Spirit-filled life, then, but it’s not happened thus far, consider your behavior. Are you desiring a Spirit-filled life while also continuing to lie to your boss every day at work? Are you hoping to enjoy the full abundance of God but also turning on your computer each night to look at pornography?

Repent of your worldly pursuits and pray for the power, grace, and love of the Holy Spirit to overflow within you.

It’s Gonna Take Humility:

A large part of living as an effective servant for Jesus Christ is a letting go of the self. You must realize that you are woefully, wretchedly broken on your own and can do nothing to further God’s kingdom by yourself. Anything of spiritual productivity you have done in the past was due to the awesome power of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It was not done because of your righteousness, grace, spirituality, and so on (this is certainly the case with me).

Consider the wording of our text in verse 18, when Paul writes that we should “be filled” with the Holy Spirit. This call to be filled is written in the passive voice, even in the original Greek with which Paul wrote Ephesians. If Paul had decided to write this passage in the active voice, it would have read something along the lines of “fill yourself with the Holy Spirit.” But he tells us to “be filled” instead.

In other words, be passive and receive the filling of the Holy Spirit instead of taking personal action to get the filing for yourself. See the distinction?

Realize in humility your desperate need for the Holy Spirit and, in prayer and petition, ask God to fill you with him. This is something you need that you cannot attain on your own accord. You will become more filled not as you grow more devout—you will become more filled as you grow more dependent.

We also see this concept of humility in verse twenty-one of this passage. We are to humbly submit to one another out of reverence for Jesus! Being Spirit-filled does not mean taking center stage and powerfully shouting the Gospel from the rooftops so that, after your glorious speech, people have no choice but to convert. Often times, it means lowering yourself to servant status and dying to yourself for the sake of others.

Know the Filling Is Ongoing:

During one of his sermons on this topic Pastor Anthony once said “the influence of the Holy Spirit is a grace in which you continue to walk.” In a nutshell, this means there is not just one instance in which the Spirit fills us, leaving us set for life. We must be filled with the Spirit on a regular and ongoing basis. After all, there will never be a time you don’t need the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit in your life.

You will need him when the person you are discipling backslides once again and you begin to lose patience with them. You will need him when you and your spouse fight for the third time in a week and you’re beginning to worry about your marriage. You will need him when a beloved family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and you are so distraught that you feel like you have nothing to give others spiritually.

You will always have need for the filling of the Spirit. Remember that, and consistently hunger for it.

A Life Transformed in Gratitude

I want to close by focusing on verses 19-20, starting in the middle of 19: “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This passage is a clear instruction to do something that may sound like a silly platitude, but it is undeniably necessary t do. Put gratitude in your attitude.

Right after Paul instructs the Church to be Spirit-filled, he goes on to tell us to continually give thanks to the Father. Being Spirit-filled and harboring a thankful heart are linked. And there is a lot for which we can thank God, isn’t there?

We can give thanks for the joyful purpose serving him instills in our lives, as well as the immense honor of having his Holy Spirit come to dwell in us. Or, what about the fact that we have a hope carrying us not just through this world, but into the next? We have eternity ahead of us.

Then think of the small things that make life wonderful. We have God to thank for the cool breeze that rustles through branches, making trees whisper. We have God to thank for the rising sun each morning as it heralds in the new day. We even have him to thank for the roughly 23,000 breaths we draw in over a 24-hour period. There is no shortage of reasons for our thanksgiving.

With God, our yoke is easy and our burden is light. Draw near to him with a humble, submissive heart gladdened by gratitude, and take on the abundance of a Spirit-filled life. Watch as the Spirit transforms your personal relationship with the Lord, your disciple making, your proclivity for old sinful habits, and the innermost desires of your soul.

The Bible teaches that all people are called to come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:4, Titus 2:11), while also acknowledging that we are dead in sin and cannot come to God of our own will. (John 6:44, Romans 3:9-12, Ephesians 2:1) How do we reconcile the biblical call to turn to God with humanity’s inability to respond to God’s offer of new life? This tension is reconciled through the enabling effect given by the Holy Spirit called prevenient grace. This is a grace that prepares the soul to effectively hear the gospel by lessening their spiritual blindness and strengthening their will to knowingly accept or reject revealed truth. Without God’s prevenient grace, no one could come to Christ and be saved. Everyone would only plunge deeper into sin and misery. The Bible is clear that God is bestowing grace in countless ways into our lives prior to our receiving Christ and conversion to God.

When a person comes into a saving relationship with Christ, they do not meet him as a stranger. Jesus has been showing himself and drawing that person to him in numerable ways. Prevenient grace provides the link between human depravity and God’s universal call.

Let’s launch an exploration into prevenient grace through the opening statements of the Gospel of John. Then we will look at important qualities of this doctrine and then tease out its significance for mission and evangelism.

Universal Call and Personal Response

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… ⁹ The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God…¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

John 1:1-5, 9-13, 16-17

If you’re not familiar with this passage you might think, “Who is this Word that John mentions over and over again?” The term Word was actually a phrase taken from Greek philosophy which refers to the ultimate basis of meaning and life. John, in using this term, uses it to reference Jesus as the personal expression who reveals who God is. In v.4 he writes, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” To strengthen this claim, John adds in v.5, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The word shine in this verse is a strong verb. Pastor Matt Woodley states that v.5 could be translated as follows: “The light is shining on even now in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” In v.9 he says this again in a different way: “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” In the original language it’s in the present tense, which means this is an ongoing process; he is still shining on everyone.

Further, it is seen from these verses that the scope is universal. Prevenient grace is extended across the globe. Jesus is the light “of all mankind” and “to everyone.” Though this grace is universal, people need to respond to it. This grace is not forced or irresistible. People need to willingly or positively respond. So, the offer this grace brings can be rejected. Verse 12 clarifies, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” The condition for being a child of God is to receive and believe. Not everyone wills to do so.

What are some qualities of this grace?

Qualities of Prevenient Grace

Prevenient Grace Draws

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:44

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.

John 12:32

Notice the beautiful expression Jesus uses: “draw all men to Myself.” They are not forced or pushed. This drawing is an inner persuasion and motivation to see one’s need for Christ and respond to the goodness of his love.

Prevenient Grace Convinces

One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

Acts 16:14

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.

John 16:7-8

This grace convinces us of the truth of Jesus Christ and our need to receive it. It may do so by convincing us of our guilt before God, of the hopeless of our lives without Christ, or mercifully helping us to see that the world has no more answers to meet our deepest needs for hope and love.

Prevenient Grace is Given Generously:

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:4

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

Acts 17:26-27

The wideness and depth of this grace is vast, calling people to the extended arms of Christ, who is ready to embrace everyone who comes to God by faith and repentance.

Prevenient Grace Can be Rejected:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

Matt. 23:37

Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved…You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

John 5:34,39,40

You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

Acts 7:51

So What?

The practical implications of prevenient grace are innumerable, but let’s look at a few as it relates to mission.

Christ initiates mission.

If you are a Christian, it is because of prevenient grace. Prevenient grace accompanies the first openness of a person’s heart and mind and will toward Christ. If you think, will, or do anything that is good, it is because God has secretly worked upon your heart. This is important to realize in the task of evangelism and discipleship. The best of missions have understood that even if you go to the ends of the earth with the gospel, you will always find that God always beats you there. One example of this was when a missionary who was lecturing in Africa about how the missionaries brought the Gospel to Africa. The African believer interrupted and said, “The missionaries did not bring the Gospel to Africa; God brought the missionaries to Africa.” This insightful comment shifts the emphasis to God’s prior agency and the Great Commission. God was already there in prevenient grace. We fully embrace the importance of human decision and the the necessity to proclaim the gospel. (Romans 10:14-15) However, the efforts of mission and evangelism are futile without God’s prior action of prevenient grace.

Christ make himself known.

We stated earlier that the scope of this grace is universal. Now that’s a pretty astounding claim. How then does Jesus shine on Buddhist, Hindus, or Muslims? I do not know all the answers to this question. That is really for God to figure out. But here is an interesting story of Pastor Tounde from Nigeria, told by Pastor Matt Woodley. Speaking of Pastor Tounde, Woodley writes of meeting him:

I just assumed, he was raised in a Christian family. But as he told his story he said, “I was actually raised in a very strong Muslim family, and I’d never really heard the name of Jesus.” Then Tounde told his story: “This is how I came to know Christ. I had a dream in which Jesus appeared to me, and he was holding a lit candle shining bright. And he brought me into this room, and in this room there were all these candles that were not lit yet. And Jesus said, ‘You must take my light and you must light all these other candles.'” He said that was the first step on his journey towards Christ. He had other dreams about Jesus. He came to accept Christ as his Savior. He was disowned by his family, kicked out of his house as a young man, and was treated as dead. But he kept following Christ. Now, Tounde’s story is really interesting because nobody shared the gospel with him. Jesus appeared to him in a dream.

This is such a beautiful story because we see Christ was drawing this precious man. Christ was shining on him. Christ’s light was appearing to him in his dreams. When somebody comes to Christ, they’re not meeting a complete stranger. They’re meeting somebody that was already seeking them, already drawing them to himself.

Last week, we took a deep dive into the divinity of the Holy Spirit, affirming that he is fully God just as the Father and the Son are. This week calls for another exploration of the Spirit, focusing instead on his unique role within the Trinity. Studying such a topic will inevitably result in a broad discussion spanning many categories, as he does so much more than simply one thing.

However, it could be said that the Spirit, in all he does, works to uplift and glorify the Father and Jesus Christ. To this end, he appears to take a behind-the-scenes approach to his work.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the unique role of the Holy Spirit!

What is the Holy Spirit’s Role?

He Convicts the World:

Consider the words of Christ:

⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

John 16:7-8

Here we see the active part the Spirit plays in the realization of our desperate need for a savior. Without his conviction, we would not understand that we are unrighteous. The idea that a totally good and just God must judge us for what we have done would not give us any pause.

Basically, the Holy Spirit’s grace allows us to see how we have sinned against a sovereign God, of whose perfect standard of righteousness we fall short. Without this merciful act, we would not know we need to approach Christ and ask him to be our savior. Salvation could not take place.

If you have not been a Christian your whole life, then you remember the days before you believed. Think about the first time it dawned on you that, left to your own devices, you were woefully and hopelessly sinful. I remember vividly the shame I felt when this knowledge came over me—the knowledge that time and time again, I had sinned against a perfect and holy God who had only ever shown me love.

This was, of course, an unpleasant experience, but it’s what brought me to my knees before Christ, knowing I had no other hope but him. In this way, the conviction of the Holy Spirit informs us of our need to reconcile with a glorious God and brings us to see the miraculous wonder of salvation through Jesus.

He Is Our Advocate and Teacher:

What do you think of when you hear the word “advocate?” It’s a word that evokes strong imagery. If someone is your advocate, then they are always stepping up to the plate for you. They are always encouraging you, looking out for your best interest and promoting your strong traits to others. Personally, I think of a sports agent, who “advocates” for their clientele of players by telling the league executives about how great a player they are, asking around about new opportunities for their players, helping their players market themselves in their career, guiding them to new business opportunities, and so on.

When it comes to the Holy Spirit, though, he does not advocate for our monetary gain—he advocates for us spiritually. Romans 8:26 tells us that he intercedes for us, talking and pleading with God on our behalf using groanings too deep for words. He knows our deepest needs far better than we do, as we do not know what to pray for. That is why, through wordless groans, he speaks for us.

This advocating isn’t the only way the Spirit helps the helps the believer. He teaches us too. Think about it: how much better do you comprehend the wonders of the Bible now as opposed to when you first believed?

The Spirit guides us, helping us take the Word of God as more than just abstract knowledge and apply it in our lives. He treasures scripture in our heart so that we do not forget the promises of God, the salvation we have received, or the commands we must follow in order to make disciples.

All of this not only serves to grow us into closer relationship with God; it also equips us to proclaim his word to others. This equipping, part of which includes the Spirit’s gifts of ministry (we will discuss that soon), is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We are not alone in our mission to pass on an obedient relationship with Jesus to our community. The Holy Spirit is there to lead us in our disciplemaking and in our proclamation of Christ!

Look no further than Acts 2 for a concrete example of this. The Holy Spirit, who had just come upon Peter other believers, guided him to give a profound teaching that led to the salvation of thousands:

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:37-41

He Regenerates:

…he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”

Titus 3:5

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.”

John 3:5

Picture a pile of dried twigs and leaves. Not exactly the most beautiful sight to behold, is it? Then picture what happens when someone throws a lit match on the pile. Pretty soon, that pile looks very different—it erupts into burning, dancing flames.

This is a good word picture to describe the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Before placing our faith in Christ, we are dead in our sins: spiritually bankrupt through and through. We are not unlike the twigs and leaves from the previous paragraph, all dried out and devoid of warmth. But then, the instant we become believers, the Holy Spirit sparks a flame of spiritual life within us. It is now our honor to be a new creation in Christ. This happens as soon as we receive the Holy Spirit, an event which occurs the moment we accept Jesus as our savior.

I like the way The Gospel Coalition puts it:

The grace of regeneration is the power of God that grants humans the ability to exercise faith and new inclinations towards God.

The Gospel Coalition

Without regeneration, there is no pursuing a new life with the Father.

He Sanctifies Us:

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:13

I’ll ask you one more question. How different are you now from when you first became a Christian? If your conduct has become more righteous, your will more aligned with Christ’s will, then this is attributable to the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification.

In layman’s terms, sanctification is the gradual, lifelong process the believer undergoes in which the Spirit leads them to be more like Jesus. Perhaps you have noticed this in your personal walk with the Lord. As time passed, you began to desire the things God desires, and your old life of sin became less and less appealing. Maybe you desire to make disciples and see God transform the lives of others more than you used to. Maybe you no longer lose patience for those who are less mature than you are, instead extending them grace just as God extended grace to you. It could be any number of situations like this. Through consistent sanctification, we better display the fruits of the spirit laid out in Galatians 5:22-23, making us more loving, joyful, patient, forbearing, kind, faithful, good, gentle, and self-controlled.

Sanctification does many things. It grows us internally, drawing us into deeper community with God and helping us glorify him on a whole new level. It also acts as a testimony to those around us. The Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification will not go unnoticed by others in your life, especially those who knew you before it took place.

This stark difference in your character will demonstrate to them that Jesus has made a real, tangible impact on your life. It will show them the hope you have through him, which in turn may lead them to desire God themselves. This is another way the Spirit elevates the Father and the Son.

He Equips:

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Finally, as if playing a pivotal role in our salvation, helping us understand and draw near to God through his Word, making us new, interceding for us before God, and transforming us to be more like Jesus were not amazing enough, the Holy Spirit is the one who distributes spiritual gifts to the Body of Christ.

It is he who gives proper equipping for making disciples of Jesus Christ and proclaiming the glory of God. He lovingly gives each person a distinct blend of gifting to fit how God fearfully and wonderfully made them and the situations he placed them in. Whatever your particular gifting in ministry is, it came from the Spirit so the Father and the Son Could be honored—so their kingdom could grow.

The Selfless Love of the Spirit

I hope reading this revealed to you new insights about the Spirit. I hope it helps you better appreciate all he does for us in our personal relationship with God and our ministries. Furthermore, I hope it made you appreciate the beautiful model of selfless love the Spirit provides us.

The reason his role is initially less obvious to Christians than the roles of God the Father and God the Son is because he willingly works from behind the curtain, letting the fruits of his labor result in an exaltation of the other two. This is a divine being—fully God and worthy of honor and worship and praise—who chooses to work for the honor of Jesus Christ and the Father.

This is not done because he is somehow lesser than they are. It is done out of love. The work of the Holy Spirit is a work of love.

How often does the Holy Spirit cross your mind? If you stop to think about it, how much do you truly know about him? If you are like many Christians, you may be surprised as you realize you know shockingly little.

Many in the church do not dwell on the wonders of the Holy Spirit anywhere near as much as they should. This is odd. He’s mentioned countless times throughout scripture. He is pivotal to our ministry and the growth of God’s kingdom. Perhaps most importantly, the Holy Spirit is divine. He is one of the three distinct persons that are God.

While we dedicate consistent worship and study to the Father and the Son, as we should, we do not devote the same attention to the Holy Spirit. There could be any number of reasons for this. Don Stewart, a prolific theologian and defender of the faith proposes that we neglect him because teachings on topics such as the Father’s deep love for creation or Christ’s sacrifice for mankind’s sin appear more important.

To a lot of people, the Holy Spirit is just that third vague, abstract member of the Trinity. They may regard him as more of an it than a he. If you were to ask them who he is, they might tell you he is a Godly soul or Star Warsy force that comes to live with us, guiding us through life with profound wisdom and knowledge as well as fueling us spiritually…and yes, they would tell you he’s a member of the Trinity, but they would not be able to tell you the implications of that.

The Holy Spirit is fully God, just like the Father and just like the Son. He is worthy of devotion and worship just like the other two. God is not God without the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is God.

Today, we are going to explore three pieces of evidence that demonstrate the Spirit’s divinity.

Evidence #1: The Holy Spirit Is God’s Spirit

The Holy Spirit isn’t just an otherworldly, heavenly being sent by God to do his bidding. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God himself who comes in the name of Jesus Christ to equip the saints and expand the kingdom of God. Take a look at some of the passages that show this:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2

For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Matthew 10:20

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:22

These scriptures illustrate the fundamental misunderstanding many Christians have today regarding the Spirit. He is more than an impersonal force. He is more than a friendly ghost we can refer to as an “it.” He is not lesser than the Father and the Son. If God can live in us, making us his dwelling place through the Spirit we have received, then clearly the Spirit is God. If, as Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:17, the Lord is the Spirit, then the Spirit must be God. Finally, if, as Jesus explains in Matthew 10:20, the Spirit is the Father’s spirit, then he is undoubtedly God because the Father is God.

Furthermore, this was one curated selection of passages. There are many ore throughout the Bible pointing to the Spirit as God.

Evidence #2: The Holy Spirit Has Immense Power

There is nobody like the Spirit of God. Read the Bible cover to cover, and you will find no person with more power or ability. Let’s unpack a few supporting verses together.

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

1 Corinthians 2:11-12

God is an infinite, all-powerful being. He is outside of time and space, fully eternal in nature. To wrap your mind around him is to wrap your mind around the incomprehensible. Who can hope to grasp the concept of infinity or the concept of forever? Such a feat would require someone to transcend the material, linear world. Yet, the Holy Spirit, as we see in this passage, knows completely the thoughts of an infinite and eternal God. This is something only God could do.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

1 Corinthians 2:13

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2:13

In these readings, we see the incredible and pivotal work of the Holy Spirit in God’s ministry here on earth, as well as in the individual lives of believers. It is the Holy Spirit who has the divine power to provide Christians with spiritual gifts so that disciples may be made and the body of Christ may be edified. The Holy Spirit helps us, in his great power, to be more like God in conduct and character, sanctifying us and giving us the fruits of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is he who grants us understanding of God and guides us along in our teaching of others. Without the awe-inspiring power and authority of the Spirit, there would be no effective ministry, no effective proclamation of the Gospel. So profound and overwhelming is this power, it directs us to the reality of the Holy Spirit’s identity: he is fully God.

There is nobody else in the Bible endowed with as much spiritual authority or influence than the Spirit, save for the other Persons of the Trinity.

Evidence #3: The Holy Spirit is Co-equal

Have you ever heard the saying, when someone was comparing two allegedly similar things, that one “should not even be mentioned in the same breath” as the other? It is an expression used to convey extreme distaste at the thought of pitting two specific entities against each other as one so clearly reigns supreme that it shouldn’t even be a discussion. In a sports debate, for example, an avid LeBron James fan might forcefully assert that “Michael Jordan shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath as LeBron James.”

Setting that silly example aside, we see the Holy Spirit mentioned in the same breath as the Father and Jesus. Observe the scriptures below:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

2 Corinthians 13:14

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:4-6

When the speakers in these scriptures mention all of them in the same breath like this, it is deliberate. In passages such as these, the persons of the Trinity are established as co-equals. To describe God, each one is mentioned—including the Holy Spirit. This means the Holy Spirit is God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son. If the Father and the Son are God, then he must be God too, since he is on equal footing with them.

So What?

Some many wonder why a study on this topic even matters. After all, since the Holy Spirit is God isn’t learning about God the same as learning about the Spirit? Why single out the Holy Spirit in particular?

R.A. Torrey answers this question well. Consider this quote:

If the Holy Spirit is a divine person, worthy to receive our adoration, our faith and our love, and we do not know and recognize him as such, then we are robbing a divine being of the adoration and love and confidence which are his due.

R.A. Torrey

Also, as if the previous tragic statement is not enough, neglecting the Holy Spirit does more than rob God of much-deserved glory: it keeps us from knowing and loving him as we ought.

Think about relationships with other people. In order to grow into closer community and friendship with them, you must learn more about them. Gradually, you discover who they are—their aspirations, their deepest longings, their personality quirks—and this brings you closer. Relationship with God, in this respect, works the same way. To learn more about God and his nature is to grow in relationship with him, or, to put it even more plainly, to grow in understanding of God is to deepen the most important relationship of your life.

Lastly, learning about the Holy Spirit’s divinity informs us of the many amazing ways he advances the Gospel to every corner of the earth. Next week we will explore more intently how he works to accomplish this when we look at the role of the Holy Spirit.

“…the gospels are not reliable accounts of what happened in the history of the real world. All were written long after the death of Jesus…”

Richard Dawkins

One of the critiques against the accounts of Jesus in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) is that they are legends written at a time far removed from the events themselves. They are not history but embellished legends like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. But how true is this? I have made the case that the gospels give us strong evidence for the the resurrection.  But how reliable are the accounts in which this evidence is based upon?  In this article, we want to give three levels of evidence which show that the gospels were certainly written by people who had to have a direct and intimate knowledge of the people, backgrounds and events surrounding Jesus. The evidence strongly points to them coming from eye-witness accounts.  

Evidence # 1: Superior Testimony for Life of Jesus

The record of Jesus, found in the Gospels, contains a remarkable amount of information that is superior to any person in ancient times as measured by the:

• amount of recorded content
• proximity to the events recorded
• the earliest surviving documents

If Jesus were a person of miraculous and eternal importance sent to earth, this should not be surprising. We would think that this kind and quality of testimony would be expected. If he were not, then this amount and quality of information is inconceivable. Here is why. Jesus was from a remote backwater town (Nazareth in Galilee) in a troublesome and insignificant country of Palestine (Israel was called Palestine by Rome). Palestine, about the size of New Jersey, was about 2,300 square miles with a population of around 500,000. He was born and raised in a peasant class of carpenters and carried out only three years (AD 30-33) of public ministry in this small country. Compare this to the most powerful and well-known man of Jesus’ time: Tiberius Caesar (ruler of the Roman Empire), who reigned 23 years (AD 14–37) over three continents which covered approximately 1,100,000 square miles of land and included around 60 million people. Even with these vast imbalances, there is a superior documentation for Jesus than there is Tiberius. Jesus was only known in an area that had much less than 1% of the territory, with only 8% of the population, and 1/10 of public activity as Tiberius . With this is mind, let’s compare the main sources regarding the two lives.

Sources On the Life of Tiberius

Author and Work	Words	Earliest Copy	Date Written
Velleius Paterculus, Roman History	6,489	16th century	AD 30
Tacitus, Annals	48,200 (most of this was not about Tiberius)	9th century	after AD 110
Suetonius, Tiberius	9,310	9th century	after AD 120
Cassius Dio, Roman History	14,293	9th century	after AD 200

Sources to the Life of Jesus.

Gospel	Words	Earliest Copy	Date Written
Matthew	18,347	2nd/3rd century	80–85
Mark	11,103	3rd century	65–70
Luke	19,463	3rd century	60–85
John	15,445	2nd century	80-95

In summary, we see that the gospels have a higher amount of recorded content, despite Tactus’ 48,200 words. They are written closer to the events recorded, even in the time period of reliable memory. They also have the earliest surviving documents.

What about Paerculus being a contemporary writer?

With all of this, there are two areas the records about Tiberius might seem superior. The first is that Velleius Paterculus wrote as a contemporary (AD 30) of Tiberius. However, he wrote under political pressure to provide propaganda for the reign of Tiberius, not as an objective historian. Tiberius financially supported him to write for this purpose. In fact, Tacitus and Suetonius (two of the authors mentioned above) tell us that Tiberius executed many people suspected of writing against him. Paterculus, of course, tells us nothing about this. For this reason, his writing is considered to have the least value of the four sources.

What about all of the content that Tacitus provide?

The second apparent advantage for the records about Tiberius is the length of Tacitus’s Annals, 48,200 words. Understand that though he deals with Tiberius’s reign, they focus on many events and intrigues that happened while he was emperor which are not directly linked to Tiberius, himself. By contrast, all four Gospels are exclusively focused on Jesus.

Evidence # 2: Geographical Details

The four gospels demonstrate a direct familiarity with the geography of the places they write about. In total, they mention twenty-six towns. Among the towns listed are not only famous places, like Jerusalem, but also small towns, which would not have been known to outsiders. Beyond this, they described geographical locations in a way that would have only been customary or traditional to the locals of that area. Let’s look at one impressive example.

Sea of Galilee

According to the gospels, Jesus spent much of his time by the Sea of Galilee. Now, “sea” is a rather exaggerated word for a body of water just thirteen miles in length and eight miles wide. Those who did not grow up by the Sea of Galilee would not have referred to is as a sea. It would be seen as a lake. Those from the area who had not traveled far or wanted to give this beloved body of water a more elevated name called it a “sea”. Matthew, who was from Galilee, uses the word “sea” sixteen times. Mark, who recorded the words of Peter, who fished there for years, uses “sea” nineteen times. John, a Galilean fisherman, uses the word “sea” nine times. In distinction from them, Luke (a gentile outsider), who was from Antioch (over 200 miles north of Palestine), alone of the four writers just calls it “the lake.” (Luke 5:1, 8:22-23) This is what you would expect from writers, who were actually there, and had an intimate knowledge of the customs and language of the time.

Chorazin Is Only In the Bible

The gospels are valuable geographical sources giving the first or only recorded cases of certain towns. Jesus reproaches three Jewish towns: Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.

 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! … And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? 

Matthew 11:21, 23

The little-known village Chorazin is in fact on the road to Bethsaida and just a couple of miles north of Capernaum. There was not a single literary source that is known that could have provided this information to a gospel author. In fact, if it were not for the Bible there would be no record of it. Yet, archaeology shows it to be an abandoned town. (Jesus did curse it.) Chorazin is mentioned because they were eye-witnesses of the times and geography surrounding Jesus.

Decapolis Receives Its First Mention

Another example is that no historian doubts the existence of the Decapolis, a group of cities characterized particularly by a gentile population. These are mentioned in the works of Josephus, Pliny the Elder, and Ptolemy. But according to widely accepted dates, Mark is the first to mention the Decapolis. (Mark 5:20, 7:31; Matthew 4:25) This, again adds another layer of evidence that the writers were native to the environment in which Jesus did his ministry.

Evidence # 3: Detailed Account of Names 

Another strong level of evidence was the gospel writers detailed use of names. Names are often difficult to remember. Most names of people are assigned rather arbitrarily with no memorable reason why an individual should be called one name or another. We regularly forget names even as we remember many other things about people. This has strong implications for the quality of information we have within the gospels because their knowledge of local names reinforces the authenticity of having been there either directly or indirectly. It stretches the imagination to think that later writers would have been able to research local naming patterns and write a plausible story. It is even more far-fetched to think that four authors might have been able to do this, as each contains names not in the other three.

Palestinian Naming Patterns

Jews were located in many places in the Roman Empire and the different locations (e.g. Egypt, Lybia, Syria) had rather distinct naming patterns. The popularity of various names among Jews outside Palestine bore little relationship to those inside Palestine. Richard Bauckham (New Testament scholar at Cambridge), has studied the relative frequency of different Jewish personal names in Palestine surrounding the time of Jesus. His research shows that the Gospels are nearly perfect in how they captured the frequency of names among Palestinian Jews of the time. By contrast, if you examine the most popular Jewish names in a different region (such as Egypt), the list is dramatically different.

Popularity of Names Cited in Palestinian Literature of the Time	Popularity of Names Cited by the New Testament Authors
15.6% of the men had the name Simon or Joseph	18.2% of the men had the name Simon or Joseph
41.5% of the men had one of the nine most popular names	40.3% of the men had one of the nine most popular names
28.6% of the women had the name Mary or Salome	38.9% of the women had the name Mary or Salome
49.7% of the women had one of the nine most popular names	61.1% of the women had one of the nine most popular names

Bauckham highlights a further feature, which is the unclarity that arises when so many individuals share the same name, for example, Simon. There were no last names to distinguish people, so they had to clarify by other ways. Common ways to do this included adding an element such as a father’s name, a profession, or a place of origin. This is what we find in the gospels: clarifiers are used with the most common names and not with the less common ones. The most common name for Palestinian Jewish males was Simon, so the Simons we have in the gospels are introduced with clarifiers, such as:

• Simon Peter (Mark 3:16)
• Simon the Zealot (Mark 3:18)
• Simon the Leper (Mark 14:3)
• Simon the Cyrenian (Mark 15:21)

Likewise Mary was the most common female name, and Mary’s clarifiers, are as, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph” (Matthew 27:56). Someone living outside the land or at a later time would not be able to give people the right names. However, the gospels have four different authors, who have managed to present us with a credible array of Palestinian Jewish names. What is more, they have clarified the most common names for that land even though in another land those same names were not so common as to require clarification. (e.g. In Lybia, Simon would be an uncommon name.)

Names of the Twelve Apostles

The remarkable extent of this may be seen by considering the list of apostles as given in Matthew’s Gospel. Peter Williams (New Testament professor at Cambridge) provides a list of the 12 apostles with brackets beside their names ranking the popularity of each of their names in Palestine at the time. What is striking is that the more popular the name, the more it needs a clarifier.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon [1] (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew [99]; James [11] son of Zebedee, and his brother John [5]; Philip [61] and Bartholomew [50]; Thomas [99] and Matthew [9] the tax collector; James [11] son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus [39]; Simon[1] the Zealot and Judas[4] Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Matthew 10:2-4

We see immediately that the more popular names, like Simon [1], Judas [4], John [5] Matthew [9], and James [11] have clarifiers. On the other hand, the less popular names like Thaddaeus, Bartholomew, Philip, and Thomas do not have clarifiers. So not only are the names authentically Palestinian, but the clarifying patterns are such as would be necessary in Palestine, but not elsewhere.

By far the simplest explanation is that the Gospel authors were able to give an authentic pattern of names in their narrative because they were reliably reporting what people were actually called. Given that names are also hard to remember, the authentic pattern of names in the Gospels suggests that their testimony is of high quality. After all, if they have correctly remembered the less memorable details—the names of individuals—then they should have had no difficulty in remembering the more memorable outline of events.

Peter Willaims, Can We Trust the Gospels?

Conclusion

There are so many more levels of evidence which can be provided, as well as so many more details to the evidences given here. Suffice it to say, the evidence bears out the conclusion made toward the end of John’s gospel:

This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

John 21:24

I had been a Christian for six years by the time I was twenty-one. I began to deeply doubt my faith. “How do I really know this is really true,” I asked myself.  As I grew in my intellectual journey, I came to a place where I needed solid evidence or proof for my faith in Christ. My doubts were plaguing me. On the first Easter morning, all of Jesus’ followers were in the same place but with a multiplied intensity. They had given all of their lives to Jesus; they left everything. From the perspective of the earliest hours of Easter morning, it all proved to be untrue.  After the terrifying events of the crucifixion, they fully expected Jesus to do what we all expect deceased people to do: stay that way.  There was no one at the tomb counting 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, in anticipation of Jesus rising from the dead.  But something happened to them which happened to me: the unexplainable encountered the undeniable and their lives were forever reframed.  In my deep doubts, I encountered the evidence for the resurrection, and my faith became strengthened.

You may ask, “How do I know this is true?”  “How do I know there is real hope beyond death?”  “How do I know that good will conquer evil?”  “How do I know that what we are ultimately investing our lives in really matters?” The answer to these questions are found in the events which occurred on the original Easter Sunday.  

Why Believe in the Resurrection?

There are four solid reasons:

• Evidence # 1: The empty tomb.
• Evidence # 2: The credibility of the eye-witness accounts.
• Evidence # 3: The resurrection appearances.
• Evidence # 4: The start of the church.

To examine this evidence, let’s look at the record from the Gospel of John 20:1-21.

Evidence # 1: The Empty Tomb

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

John 20:1

The events of Good Friday took Jesus’ followers by storm. Since the crucifixion, they spend the next couple of days in heads spinning grief and confusion.  It is now past the Sabbath (Saturday), and not one of them assumed a resurrection.  The story continues…

So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

John 20:2

Historians agree that Jesus was a messianic or a significant religious figure; he developed a committed following, and he was crucified. They also agree that the tomb was empty.  Where there is a departure in thought is how it became empty.  There are those who do not accept that it became empty due to a resurrection. They assumed what Jesus’ early followers assumed: there must be a natural explanation because dead people stay that way; they don’t rise. Thus Mary exclaimed, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Let’s assume, then, there are natural explanations. Here are three theories which are offered:

Natural Explanation # 1: The disciples stole the body.

This would make Christianity the greatest hoax of all time. The overwhelming obstacle with this theory is that perpetrators of a religious hoax seek to gain something for themselves, like money or power. What did claiming the resurrection get the disciples? Instead of wealth, many times they accepted poverty for the sake of proclaiming the message of Christ. Instead of power, every single one was tortured and killed for their proclaiming Jesus. This was not a hoax.

Natural Explanation # 2: The Jewish leaders stole the body.

The significant obstacle with this theory points to motive. Why would they have done this? The established Jewish community were fierce opponents of Jesus and the church. They would have gladly produced the body to shut the growing movement of Christianity down.

Natural Explanation # 3: The Romans stole the body

The problem remains the same. They would have gladly produced the body, as well. This would show that Jesus was not greater than Caesar.

Evidence # 2: Authenticity of Eye-Witness Accounts

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

John 20:3-4

The disciples apparently do not go as a group least they be arrested. The two disciples were racing to the tomb, and Peter is the slow poke. The humor in this detail is quite striking. This is a life changing message, and the writer points out that the “other disciple” reached the tomb first. Why? Is it the last one to the tomb is a rotten egg?  No. John is bringing his readers into the very unfolding of the events as he remembers everything so vividly. This reads like someone who had really been there because he was there.

He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.  Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”  “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for? ”Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”  Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,  “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”)….Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!”

John 20:5-16,18

Mary Magdalene was the first to witness and tell others about the resurrection of Jesus. In the world of first century Palestine, a woman’s testimony was not recognized as legally binding. Frankly, it would have been an embarrassment for the first century church according to the existing social standards to have the resurrection first declared on the testimony of a woman. The story would not have been told this way unless it was in fact the truth. If embarrassing details are added to a story, it is done so because they are true.

Evidence # 3: The Resurrection Appearances

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

John 20:19-20

Again, some people resort to natural explanations as an alternative to the resurrection. Here are a few:

Natural Explanation # 1: Jesus did not actually die.  (Swoon Theory)

Here is the correspondence of a woman wrote J. Vernon McGee: “Our preacher said that on Easter Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed him back to health. What do you think?” McGee replied, “Dear Sister, beat your preacher severely. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for six hours. Run a spear through his heart. Embalm him. Put him in an airless tomb for three days. Then see what happens.”

The Romans were masters at crucifixion and verified his death as the blood and water ran from his side when they speared him. (John 19:34)

Natural Explanation # 2: Maybe the disciples hallucinated.    

Here is the problem: hallucinations are like dreams. They’re individual events that can’t be shared between people. During the next 40 days Jesus appeared at least a dozen times to a total of 515 different individuals. He talked with people. He ate with people. He even invited one skeptic to put his fingers in his hands where the nail holes were, and to put his hand in his side where the spear had been thrust into him. One person said, “If you had 515 people all having the same hallucination at the same time, that would be a bigger miracle than the resurrection itself.”

Evidence # 3: The Early Church

^{Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”}

John 20:21

No one was going to launch a movement in Jesus’ name if Jesus did not rise from the dead.  Nobody was going to repeat His teachings, his stories, his parables, if he had only died.  That is because Jesus claimed too much about himself.  (Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 8:31-33) And if it was possible for him to be arrested and crucified, then he was not who he claimed he was. But the resurrection changed all of that. His claims about himself were vindicated.  

Reframing Your Life

You have an undeniable hope for the future. 

I have performed hundreds of funerals. Some people may not think a lot about God or what happens after we die. As soon as someone dies, it becomes a much more significant issue. We sometimes feel that we’re indestructible. Eventually we recognize that we’re not. In those times we often go to what could be called a feel good theology. “He’s gone onto a better place.  Now, he’s an angel in heaven.”  “Now, grandma is in a better place looking down on us.” I don’t know about you, but just to be honest, there’s certain times of the day I don’t’ want grandma looking down on me from anywhere, just saying. Quite frankly, we guess and make things up to comfort our fears about death. But, it is too important a question to leave to guess work.  This is the vital truth of the resurrection. Jesus did not have a near death experience.  He had an actual death experience and came back to tell us what is on the other side.  Because of these credentials, I will trust what he has to say. “I will go and prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

The undeniable hope in the present. 

Many people cry out, “I can’t believe in a world where a God allows bad things to happen to good people.” But the early church never voiced that complaint. They saw the worst thing happen to the best person of all. Yet, out of that came the reversal of destructive evil and pain. The resurrection brought an entire reframing of life.  The first followers of Jesus saw that there is purpose in the pain; there is renewal in the loss.  As Jesus was resurrected by the strong arms of the Father, so those arms will bring resurrection power today.

• Whatever bad news you face; his arms will pick you up. 
• To the devastated husband whose wife has left you; you feel betrayed and alone, his arms will pick you up.
• To the frightened parents of a depressed child; his arms will pick you up.
• To the anxious worker who has lost their job; his arms will pick you up.
• To the guilt-ridden addict hiding in the shadows; his arms will pick you up.
• To the lonely young person longing to be loved; his arms will pick you up.

The Father’s arms are plenty strong. They have not lost any of their power, and they will pick you up. Resurrection is coming.

Postscript: What If You Don’t Believe the Bible?

Some may respond to the evidence by saying, “I don’t believe the Bible as a divinely inspired book, so I can’t accept the above as evidence.” You don’t have to believe in the Bible as a divine book or the Word of God to consider the evidence above. Just take John’s account as a historical record. Compared to all ancient literature, the Gospel of John has the strongest proof of being authentic. Most ancient writings (e.g., Herodotus, Plato, Homer, etc.) have their closest copy from 600 to a 1000 years after the original. Many of these consist of a dozen copies or less.  The Gospel of John has parts or fragments as early as 30 years away from the original. Beyond that there are thousands of copies. We can be certain that the story gives an accurate account of the events which originally happened. More on the authenticity of the accounts in the next blog.

The bodily and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important thing anyone can ever know about. It’s the single greatest, most consequential, most miraculous event in human history. It’s the culmination of God’s plan to restore the brokenness of creation that he began all the way back in the book of Genesis. As followers of Christ, it is foundational to what we believe and the reason we have a hope greater than this world can offer.

This is why having a clear, coherent theology on the bodily and glorious resurrection is so crucial. We must understand why we believe what we believe and the nature of what we believe, as well as equip ourselves to tell others the reason for the hope we have. That is the reason for beginning our exploration on this beautiful, life-giving doctrine.

What Do We Mean by Bodily and Glorious?

It is important to start with the basics. When we refer to Christ’s resurrection as both bodily and glorious, we are referring to two distinct yet interweaving concepts. To say that Christ was raised from the dead bodily is to say that God literally and physically raised him from the dead. Jesus, in our material time and space, went from the state of death to the state of life.

One moment, his heart was not pumping; his lungs were not taking air, and his body was cold. The next, blood began circulating through his system. He drew in a breath. He arose and stood on his two feet. In other words, his resurrection was not symbolic, metaphorical, or figurative, as some may claim today. It did not simply happen “in our hearts” as we spread the message of Christ, keeping him alive through our testifying of his love to others. It actually happened. He actually returned from death to life through a divine act of God.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 

Luke 24:1-7

For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Romans 14:9

Meanwhile, to say that Christ’s resurrection is glorious is to emphasize the magnificent, supernatural aspect of his return from death. Yes, Jesus arose with a body that retained a physical component…but it also appears to be more than that.

 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

John 20:19

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

Luke 24:31

In his new body, Jesus is able to walk through walls. He can make himself appear and disappear at will. His new body is the same one that ascended into heaven and the same one that will return to this world one day riding on a cloud. Through all of this, though, he will always have the holes in his hand, and we will one day have the opportunity to brush our hand over the frame of his face. His body is both spiritual and physical. God did not abandon the material aspect of Christ’s form when he brought him back to life. He kept it—and then added to it. In this way, Christ’s resurrection was both bodily and glorious.

It doesn’t end there. This has implications for us, and they are profound beyond imagination.

What It Means for Us

1. It Means Jesus Is Who He Said He Is: When he walked the earth, Jesus made a number of extremely bold claims. So bold were these claims, in fact, that he was either a liar, a lunatic, or he was who he said he was. These assertions centered around his identity as the Messiah—the divine savior of humanity sent by God himself. God in the flesh.

The woman said, I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.“

John 4:25-26

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“

John 14:6

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

John 8:58

Jesus dying and rising again confirmed without a doubt that all these statements are true: he truly was and is God’s chosen savior of the world who came down to take the punishment for our sins, bringing us restoration, hope, and peace. Take a look at just two of the prophecies he, in doing so, fulfilled from hundreds of years earlier. Remember, these were made far before Christ came to earth.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hide their faces; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:3-5

Above, we see it prophesied that the Messiah will endure immense suffering and torment from the very people he is set out to save, something that Jesus certainly did when he was crucified at Golgotha.

 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,  and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 53:10

This passage describes that though the Messiah will be crushed for mankind, his days will continue. Furthermore, the Lord’s will is going to prosper in his hand! We see this happen when Jesus raises from the dead. Death does not keep him from seeing more days. Jesus Christ lives, and the will of the Lord prospers in his hand as he builds his Church. This should be enough to convince even the most adamant skeptic that Jesus Christ is the undisputed savior and king of the world, and by his wounds he offers salvation to all who place their faith in him.

2. It Means Creation Will Be Redeemed: Jesus’ bodily and glorious resurrection shows us that creation will one day be free from the curse of sin. It is a precursor to what is coming in the new heaven and the new earth.

Again, draw your attention to the fact that God, upon raising him from the grave, did not replace his physical body with a purely spiritual or ethereal one. No, Jesus retained the physical aspect of his Being and received more on top of it. This shows us that one day, all of creation will be made gloriously anew, and this does not refer exclusively to humanity; it’s all of creation. When the new heaven and the new earth arrive, creation as we know it will not wither away completely. It will be reborn, keeping what was lovely, losing the curse of sin, and adding more glorious things to its repertoire!

Consider this excerpt from Paul:

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time

Romans 8:18-22

This is indescribably good news. Sin ravaged the world to its core. One day, God is going to undo all of that…and it will be more wonderful than anyone could imagine. New Testament professor Vern Poythress puts it well in her article “The Reversal of the Curse,” in which she says the idea that “God will simply throw the present creation into the scrap heap, so to speak, and start from scratch” is far from the truth.

3. It Means Humanity Will Be Restored and Made New: Take a look at this passage from Romans.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30

This passage means a lot of different things, especially when pondering on Paul’s term for Jesus: the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Jesus is the firstborn among us in more than one sense, and Poythress again provides valuable insight on the matter—in her understanding, he is, of course, firstborn among us because he is greater than us in authority and he has existed far longer than us (he has always existed). He is firstborn because he transcends us in power and ability, as well as because he was resurrected before any other members of God’s family will be.

However, the professor points out an entire new way of looking at this term by pointing out that Jesus is the representative of humanity. Because of this, his resurrection into his bodily and glorious form foreshadows our coming bodily and glorious resurrections: the new forms we will take as we enjoy intimate community with God in the new heaven and the new earth. His resurrection was the first among many, making him the firstborn among all that follow after him.

His resurrection is the pattern, or model, that we imitate and to which we conform.

Vern Poythress, 2004

So take heart because you are redeemed. You are restored. One day, you will inhabit a world without suffering. Without tears. Without sin. You will walk with Jesus in your new and glorious body, enjoying the fullness of creation without evil. There is no hope greater than this.