Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The doctrine of resurrection is found throughout Scripture, including in the use of the phrase “first resurrection in Revelation 20:4-6. Our future resurrection clearly promised in God’s Word, does not infringe on our certainty that deceased believers are with the Lord right now, as we studied yesterday. What, then, does our resurrection accomplish? Why is it necessary? First, it reveals the character of our Savior God, Who is orderly in all of His ways (I Corinthians 14:40). Second, it is part of His plan of redemption: “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5b). Romans 8:18-39 is an extended commentary on the need for the entire creation to be cleansed from the pernicious effects of man’s sin; one part of this process is “the redemption of our body” (verse 23). Third, we are reminded that with God there is always more to look forward to. Because He is infinite, He is infinitely good to us. We can look with expectation to the fullness of our “redemption,” which includes resurrection. Then we can continue into eternity with the same outlook of excitement at the prospects of new evidences of God’s great grace.