My Brother is Alive!

Luke 15 gives us the account of a prodigal son who chose to ask his father for his inheritance and leave. He wasted his money and found himself alone, hungry and without provision. He knew he had nothing else coming to him, but he returned home to beg for the mercy of his father. When the young man was in sight, the father went out to meet him, joyfully declaring, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry” (v. 24). The father said “my son was dead.” To him, the boy had made a decision which left him completely out of his life. He recognized the son would never return home and had decided to be dead to the rest of the family in search of his own frivolous life. Thankfully, the father also recognized his return home when he said, “and is alive again.”

The other, faithful brother, was bitter about his brother’s return. He would not celebrate with everyone else. “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him” (v. 28). The father, in his abundant love for this son, came to him to bring him into the merriment. So disappointed was this son that he wouldn’t even refer to the prodigal as his brother. He said, “this thy son” rather than “my brother.” “And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found” (vv. 31-32). Do we ever take the attitude of the faithful son when there are returning prodigals? The father reminded him that this was his brother and that he would never neglect his faithfulness to him. Let us ever be ready to rejoice with those who were dead, but are resurrected by the power of salvation. You and I were lost, but by God’s amazing grace, we have been restored to the Father, just as the prodigal.

THAT THEY MAY

“Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, THAT THEY MAY BE SAVED” (1 Cor. 10:33). The apostle Paul knew that the divided, corrupted Corinthian church must get its act together in order to be effective in evangelism, that souls may be saved. To that end, he gave three directives: 1) Do all to the glory of God, 2) Do not be a stumbling-block and, 3) Be a steppingstone. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:31-33).

DO ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matt. 22:37-39). This reminds us of the acrostic “J-O-Y”: Jesus first; Others second; Yourself last. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13).

DO NOT BE A STUMBLING-BLOCK
Much of the division in The Church of God was due to cultural differences of the Jewish and Gentile members. Paul taught them that if they were to be effective soul winners they must not offend one another because of differences in customs and traditions of men. They must have a mutual respect for one another in such matters. Earlier in the letter Paul had said, “And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Cor. 9:20-22).

BE A STEPPING-STONE
Just avoiding offence is not enough; we must seek to please one another. If we are to be effective in soul winning we must not tear one another down, but rather build one another up. “Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification” (Rom. 15:2). This will require a conscious effort. “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3) .

Death, Burial & Resurrection

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures... Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:1-4, 12-22).

Oh, what hope we have! The gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the great hope of a resurrection day! It is the gospel of the faith that was once delivered unto the saints, and not only was it delivered, but it was received according to the Son of God, "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them..." (John 17:8), and we stand in it today. Every Christian should remain in it and not lose sight of it, but keep it in their hearts and minds, for in doing so they shall be saved!

Since we have taken the whole Bible rightly divided, we must point out that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a foundation of our Christian faith. During the time of the early Church there existed many different opinions in regard to the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees taught the resurrection, and the Sadducees taught that there existed no such thing. Today, there are a range of religious groups of people, independent scholars, professors and authors, with diverse theories and opinions about this important Bible doctrine.

In 1 Corinthians we find strong evidence that both the early Church and the apostle Paul had no doubt in the fact that Jesus had died, been buried, and resurrected from the tomb where His dead body had been placed. When Paul spoke of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this portion of his writings, he pointed out three central truths about the end of Christ’s earthly visit "in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7).

The first is that Christ died for our sins according to Scripture. The death of the Lord may have come as a surprise to those closest to Him, but His death had been prophesied in the Old Testament. The early Church was reminded of the words Jesus had spoken previously (cf. John 2:19-22), and along with Paul now understood that His death was in order to fulfill prophecy (cf. Isa. 53:1-12; Psa. 22:1-21; Gen. 3:15).

Yes, Christ died at the hands of Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles and the people of Israel. The entire world rose up against the Son of God. Man was responsible and had his involvement. Nevertheless, this was preordained by God, "For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:28). This meant that the Divine was also responsible for the death of Jesus Christ to the extent that He allowed it to happen. "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin..." (Isa. 53:10). "And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb..." (Gen. 22:8). "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). (See also John 3:16; Romans 8:32). The Son of God made this statement in John 10:18, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus Christ suffered death for us, not because He had sinned, but to pay the penalty of sin in our stead. It is easy to believe that His sufferings ended when He said, "It is finished" (John 19:30) or when He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46), but His actual physical death on the Cross was also part of the dishonor and humiliation He suffered. He whom life proceeds from, the only life-giving Fount, had now to experience and taste physical death in all of its aspects—the separation of the soul from the body. Also, in His momentary separation from God—that eternal death—Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46). He suffered death in all its agony and felt what He had never felt before—disconnection from God the Father—because He was suffering the castigation of our sins upon Him.

Paul’s statement clarifies quite clearly that His death was no accident. It was no surprise to God. Jesus was not the victim of an assassination, but it was the deliberate and willing plan of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost to be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. By putting on mortality for immortality, and the earthly for the celestial, Jesus tasted death as all mortal men do when they leave this life. Hebrews 2:9 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, CROWNED WITH GLORY AND HONOUR; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."

There is no reason to hang our heads low. Jesus Christ was no victim in His

death. He was victoriously and triumphantly on His path to the culmination of God’s redeeming plan for man.

Secondly, Paul points out that the burial of Jesus Christ was also according to Scripture. The Bible holds the record that His body was taken, wrapped, clothed with spices and laid in a new sepulcher in a garden near the place of the crucifixion. "And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand" (John 19:38-42; See also Luke 23:50-53). The critics, doubters and skeptics have said, "He was buried alive," and "Jesus recovered from a coma and departed Judea." The record of His burial demonstrates that He was truly dead, and that He was buried. The Pharisees and chief priests came to Pilate and said, "while he was yet alive" (Matt. 27:63), because now He was dead and had "poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors" (Isa. 53:12). The Pharisees and chief priest requested of Pilate, "Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead" (Matt. 27:64). If Christ had not died a true physical death, then why ask for keepers to secure the sepulcher for three days where His lifeless body laid? Why worry that His disciples would come and "steal Him away"? Why worry that His disciples would say, "He is risen from the dead"? Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews; Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and likely a member of the Sanhedrin; the soldiers who saw Him hanging on the cross; the one who pierced His side; and those who rushed to the sepulcher on the first day of the week were all convinced that He was dead.

We should not overlook this part of His suffering and shame, but acknowledge that the Holy One and Giver of Life also descended into the grave willingly on our behalf. This state of death was suffered for us just as much as His crucifixion and death. Although His body was laid in the place of corruption, He would not see corruption because Jesus Christ was holy and without sin. "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption" (Psa. 16:10). "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I WILL GIVE YOU THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, THOU SHALT NOT SUFFER THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION" (Acts 13:34, 35).

This takes us to Paul’s third point that the resurrection of Christ was also in fulfillment of the Scripture. The writings of the apostle Paul tell of Christ being raised from the dead "according to the working of [God’s]mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:19, 20). While the skeptics say: "His body was removed by someone unconnected with Jesus;" "The body of Jesus was stolen by His disciples," or "The vacant tomb was not the one Jesus was laid in," the writer of the book of Acts wrote, "he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).

I believe the following excerpt from Fundamentals of the Faith says it well:

"It was validated by many infallible proofs. It has been argued by a few that the disciples engaged in a deliberate fraud to doctor evidence to show that He had been raised from the dead, though an extremely small number of critics have taken this position. Even the Jews could not make that one stick (Matt. 28:11-15). Anyone taking that position must explain how men so paralyzed by fear and loss of hope following the death of Jesus, could turn so quickly and with such firm conviction, that they proclaimed His resurrection as a central fact of their faith for the rest of their lives, knowing that because of such a claim their lives would be in peril. Yet all of the disciples died the martyr’s death for preaching that message, except John, and he suffered many things because of it. If it was a fraud, how is it that the zealous skeptics and devout Pharisee, Saul, who was completely converted from a life dedicated to stamping out the Christian faith and destroying the Church of God, was converted and spent his life preaching the resurrection of Christ as a central fact of the faith?

"Some have suggested that those who saw the resurrected Christ were suffering from hallucinations. But it takes an inordinate stretch of the imagination to believe that a great number of His followers who saw Him were all alike suffering from hallucinations, and that all saw the same things. We know of more than 514 who saw Him after His resurrection, and it is highly unlikely that so many would have been seeing precisely the same illusion. Even the doubting disciple Thomas upon seeing Him, exclaimed, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Furthermore, if it was all an illusion, how can we explain the tremendous impact His resurrection has had upon the world for twenty centuries?

"His resurrection was attested to by many witnesses, chief of whom were the apostles, and they were eminently qualified as reliable witnesses, being impeccable in character, competent and all agreed on the details. They had been eye-witnesses (Luke 24:33-36; John 20:19, 26; Acts 1:3, 21, 22), and were of a sufficient number to establish their testimony as being reliable (1 Cor. 15:3-8).

"The importance of His resurrection.
It is the most essential doctrine of Christianity. Everything stands or falls on the fact or fallacy of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:4, 12-19; 2 Tim. 2:8). If He be not raised, our preaching is vain, our faith is vain, we are yet in our sins, the dead perish

without hope, and the living Christians ‘are of all men most miserable,’ having no hope beyond the grave.

"It was of utmost importance that the resurrected Christ show Himself after He was raised, since everything depended on whether or not He actually came forth from the grave bodily in complete victory over death. He showed Himself to His disciples (John 21:1) for a number of reasons which had direct significance to the doctrines the Church would be presenting to the world regarding Him: (1) In doing so, He gave them assurance and established their hope (Luke 24:21). (2) He demonstrated that His purpose in coming to earth, to take on our humanity, had been fulfilled. On this point, Dr. William Paton writes, ‘The Resurrection fulfilled and completed what was done on the Cross, it did not annul it. The risen Lord is still a crucified one. The joy of the first Easter was not the joy of those who wake from a nightmare and thank God that after all it wasn’t true and didn’t happen. It did happen, and because it happened it was not possible that death should be the end.’ (3) He demonstrated His deity (John 20:23). (4) He assured immortality to those who put their trust in Him (1 Cor. 15:12-14; John 14:19; 11: 25, 26). And, (5) He prepared His Church for its launching on the mission for which He had commissioned it (cf. Mark 3:13-19; Matt. 28:19; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; etc)." (Fundamentals of the Faith, Raymond M. Pruitt, pp. 207, 209.)

The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1:3-9, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

Although we were not privileged to see Him or touch Him, we have His Word, promises, and this one thing— FAITH. We believe that Christ did indeed come as the Lamb "which taketh away the sin of the world." The Bible teaches that He died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead. Because of that, we should not doubt that we will be raised in similar fashion.

Oscar Pimentel, General Overseer

The Church of God