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(2) Resurrection and the Gospel.--In the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians Paul
gives the basis of the gospel that he preached "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" (3, 4) and in Rom. 4: 24, 25 he declares that the righteousness of God
is "for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences and raised again for our
justification". It is evident that the resurrection of Christ held a vital place in the gospel
that the Apostle ministered. While it is important to stress the death of Christ as the one
offering for sin--for "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6: 23)--yet this is only half the
truth, for of what use would a dead Christ be as a Saviour? The pouring out of His
precious blood on Calvary's Cross would be valueless apart from His present resurrection
life.
"I am He that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore" (Rev. 1: 18).
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost (literally to all perfection or
maturity) that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for
them" (Heb. 7: 25).
He has entered into heaven itself "now to appear in the presence of God for us"
(Heb. 9: 24).
Many a gospel message has been spoiled and robbed of its power by omitting the great
truth of resurrection. To multitudes of unbelieving people Jesus Christ is merely an
historical figure Who walked this earth some 2000 years ago and is now dead, buried and
finished. In testifying to the gospel of His grace we must present Him as a living
Saviour, One Who is vitally interested in each person and One to Whom all shall one day
give account (Rom. 14: 10-12). In Rom. 10: 9 the Apostle states "If thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved". While we have no mention of Calvary here, it must
be included, inasmuch as the lesser is included in the greater. It is possible to present the
work on the cross without resurrection, but it is not possible to set forth the resurrection
of Christ without implying all that was accomplished on the cross for sinners.
When we come to the types of atonement and cleansing in the Old Testament it is
manifestly impossible for an animal to represent at one and the same time both the death
and the resurrection of the Lord. Consequently we have two types in Lev. 14: and 16:
to set forth this double truth. In the case of the cleansing of the leper two birds alive and
clean were to be brought to the priest. One was to be killed and then we read:
"As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar word, and the scarlet, and the
hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed
over the running water . . . . . and shall let the living bird loose into the open field"
(Lev. 14: 6, 7).
The living bird was identified with the slain one by being dipped in its blood, showing
that it was two aspects of the same work, and then released alive, a picture of death and
resurrection. The same truth is set forth in the sixteenth chapter of Leviticus describing