Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-04-13
I'm my soul an Easter morning -

IT. then. We be risen with Christ, seek those
things which are above, where Christ stitch
on the right hand of God."-Col. 81.
Notwithstanding the fact that word Eas-
ter is of heather origin and originally
applied to the Queen of heaven" we may.
perhaps, do we'll to remember that this need
not Danish the thought of Easter 1t has
now developed before the Christians mind, in
commemoration OF our Lords resurrection from
the dead With the word Easter let pray
and seek to understand the full Importance OF
the great resurrection event. Our Lords resur'
rection may be viewed from three different
standpoints. all of them interesting.
/. His resurrection from the dead meant that
he finished the work which he undertook to 40
on our behalf-the great work for which he
left the heavenly glory and humbled himself
Irom the spirit nature to the human plane
when ne was born of a woman. He undertook
to do the Fathers will and to give His life
ransom price in offset of original sin and
Its death penalty, which passed upon father Ad-
am and by heredity upon all of his race The
Scriptures inform us that reward or JOY was
set before our Lord-the joy Of doing the heaV-
emily Fathers will, the joy of redeeming man
kind and the JOY of attending thus to the
great reward offered namely, glory. honor ana
Immortality a. the right hand Of the Majesty
on High; far above angels, principalties and
powers and every name that is named. Our
Lords resurrection from the dead implies
that His work met with the Fathers approval
had been legitimalely secured as His high re-
ward.
world, for the mere giving Of His life did
not finish the work of redemption 1t remained
for Him to make application Of the merit Of that
sacrifice; and before He could present II before
the Father behalf He must needs be
Himself raised from the dead So. then, our
Lords resurrection means that He who has
undertaken the reconciliation. of the world BY
His blood mas taken the first great step
and merely awaits the Fathers time for the
second great step, the Inauguration Of the reign
Of righteousness and the blessing Of Israel and
all the families of the earth. This importance
of Christs resurrection the apostle emphasized
saying, IF Christ be not risen, then is
Ye yet in your sins But now is Christ
risen from the dead. and become the first
fruits of them that slept" Il Cor 15:14-2o.)
He himself Slept" for parts of three days
and is declared TO have been ''the first that
should rise from the dead''-"the first born
amongst many brethren" Others had been
awakened to a revival of their perishing con
dition-Lazarus, the widow of Mains son, Jai-
rus daughter and others. Christ alone, up to
that time, experienced reserrection-a full rails
ing up out Of death in every sense and de-
gree.
8. Our Lords resurrection has a special sig
nificance to the church, because we are in
formed that He was raised from the dead
He experienced a change of nature. being put
to death in the flesh and quickened In spirit
so the church is promised that she shall have
a share in His resurrection-His kind OF res
urrection-a resurrection to new nature, a
spirit nature. As further evidence Of this the
apostle points out that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of Cod hence the neces-
sary change in resurrection Of all those who
would be 'heirs of God and joint-heirs OF
Jesus Christ their Lord in His heavenly king
dom, He emphasizes this still further in de-
scribing the resurrection of the elect church.
He calls II the resurrection Of the dead. saying,
80 also rs the resurrection Of the dead. It Is
sown in corruption; 1t is raised in interruption;
it is sown in dishonOr; it is raised in power; it
is sown q natural body, II is raised Spirit
ual body. There is natural body. and there
is spiritual body. AS we (the church, the
members OF His body have borne the image
Of the earthly (one ADAM we shall also bear
the Image OF the heavenly (Chrisb."-I Cor.
THE WORLDS RESURRECTION.
Incidentally let us notice the worlds resur
rection, not because it is part of our topic
but because II is so misunderstood that some
clarifying of the subject may assist US In
understanding more particularly the difference
between 1t and our resurrection and it's the
churchs.
The Greek word "anastasis.' rendered res
direction" signifies to lift up again. to lift
up completely. with the implication that the
something lifted up has previously fallen
down. Father Adam, from harmony with God
perfection of being and lasting life, fell down
into a condition Of sin, dying. death. He
had not the power to restore himself to Di-
vine favor, nor to raise himself up out OF
the condemnation. His entire race shares IN
the fall from perfection, hence the Saviour,
the Deliverer, provided by God, we are as
sured, is liable to save to the uttermost," aUi-
to deliver not only from SIM but from death
not only from the tomb, but from all the
weaknesses of heredity, all the SIM the
blemishes, which rest upon our race. Christ
has already died, the just for the unj0st,"
to accomplish this end. True, He has applet
the merit of His sacrifice only to the house
hold of faith, only to the believer. No one
else is properly prepared to receive or appre-
ciatc it. But the provision of the Divine plan
is that the Christ Jesus, the head, and the
elect church His bride) at the close or TINS
age, shall become the mediator between God
and the world OF rebels, and shall seal, rattfy,
make firm, the new covenant between God
aaWsa gafNA hal
Lord, that 1 will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel and with the house of
Judah" der. 3l:31) Under this new cove
nant the blessing Of forgiveness and recon-
ciliation shall be most favoraby arranged FOR
Israel Satan shall be bound, and all the
families of the earth shall have the privilege
Of becoming "Israelites indeed"
This will be the worlds resurrection oppor-
tunity. The living Of the nations will he
dealt with first. By promises, instructions,
punishment and rewards, they will be raised
conditions, and IL they be obedient, will at
tain to a full deliverance from death to ever
lasting life, in harmony with God. The min
istrations of the great Mediator will extend
also to those who sleep in Jesus-to the dead
world, redeemed by the precious blood, and
will grant them not only an awakening from
the tomb but subsequently an uplifting bless
ing and power, with all the privileges ana
Of attaining everlasting life md
perfection. In the past we have had too
small too narrow view OF the Divine pur-
pose, as expressed in the word "snastasis"
1resurrectionj The Apostle Peter refers 10
this resurrection and calls it restitution" in
Acts 1881.
IF YE BE RISEN WITH CHRIST"
We have seen that the worlds resurrection |
will be a gradual one during the thousand |
years (Millennial period Of Christ's reign |
Notice now that the churchs resurrection is |
also a gradual one Each believer, after max |
ing a full conservation of his earthly powers !
and talents to the Lord, and after being be- |
gotten of the Holy Spirit. is counted new
creature in Christ Jesus and he is said to |
have risen from the dead state, to which |
dead bury their dead" Matt. s:22.) These |
new creatures are reckoned as dead in respect |
to the flishy, earthly interests, etc, but alive
in the sense that they have new hopes, new /
ambitions, now purposes and prospects.
However these are not dealt with In the |
same manner as the world-in a period of one |
thousand years in which they will be required
10 rise to actual perfection. on IT." ront-'rV
their human bodies, being devoted to death |
must not be restored, must not be perfected |
but must go down into d~0'h ne 'N"'r 80
flee even as Jesus body laid down its vtali- |
ty and finally expired. But as Jesus the |
new creature was developing, the while his /
earthly nature vas perishing, must 1t be !
If His body" While 'the outward man per-
sheth the inward man is renewed day by
law" Indeed, we have the assurances of the
Scriptures that the new creature can triumph,
become strong in the new, the resurrected
life only in proportion the old body is kept
'Mortify, therefore, your
members which are upon the earth" (Col.
3:5) So, then, the Scriptural suggestion. is
hat from the time of the begettng or the {