The Evidence of the Resurrection

Romans 1:4b

4and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

(Verse 4b) –Paul goes on to explain, the most conclusive and irrefutable evidence of Jesus’ divine Sonship was given with power by the resurrection from the dead (cf. Acts 13:29-33). By that supreme demonstration of His ability to conquer death, a power belonging only to God Himself (the Giver of life), He established beyond all doubt that He was indeed God, the Son.

With power - By some this expression has been supposed to mean in power or authority, after his resurrection from the dead. It is said, that he was before a man of sorrows; now he was clothed with power and authority. But I have seen no instance in which the expression “in power” denotes office, or authority. It denotes physical energy and might, and this was bestowed on Jesus before his resurrection as well as after; (Acts 10:38, Rom. 15:19; 1 Cor. 15:43). With such power Jesus will come to judgment: (Matt. 24:30). If there is any passage in which the word “power” means authority, office, etc., it is Matt. 28:18, “All power in heaven and earth is given unto me.” But this is not a power which was given unto him after his resurrection, or which he did not possess before. The same authority to commission his disciples he had exercised before this on the same ground, (Matt. 10:7-8). I am inclined to believe, therefore, that the expression means “powerfully, or efficiently;” He was with great power, or conclusiveness, shown to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead. Thus, the phrase “in power” is used to qualify a verb in Col. 1:29, “Which worketh in me mightily,” “Great,” in power, that is, operating in me effectually, or powerfully.

According to the spirit of holiness is another way of saying “according to the nature and work of His nature as God.” It was the nature of His Divinity working in Christ that accomplished Jesus’ resurrection. In the incarnation, Jesus Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was raised from the dead by the power of God within Him, the spirit of holiness.

This expression has been variously understood. We may arrive at its meaning by the following considerations.

(1) It is not the third person in the Trinity that is referred to here. The designation of that person is always in a different form. It is “the Holy Spirit,” the Holy Ghost, never “the spirit of holiness.” The words used and the word order in the original language is always different.

(2) In the context, it stands in contrast with the flesh; Rom. 1:3, “According to the flesh, the seed of David: according to the spirit of holiness, the Son of God.” As the former refers doubtless to his human nature, so this must refer to the nature designated by the title Son of God, that is, to his superior or divine nature.

(3) The expression is altogether unique to the Lord Jesus Christ. No where in the Scriptures, or in any other writings, is there an affirmation like this. What would be meant by it if affirmed of a mere man?

(4) It cannot mean that the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Trinity, showed that Jesus was the Son of God by raising him from the dead because that act is no where attributed to him. It is uniformly ascribed either to God, as God (Acts 2:24, 32; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; 10:40; 13:30, 33-34; 17:31; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 1:20), or to the Father (Rom. 6:4), or to Jesus himself (John 10:18). In no instance is this act ascribed to the Holy Spirit.

(5) It indicates a state far more elevate than any human dignity, or honor In regard to his earthly descent, he was of a royal race; in regard to the Spirit of holiness, much more than that, he was the Son of God.

(6) The word “Spirit” is used often to designate God, the holy God, as distinguished from all the material forms of idol worship, (John 4:24).

(7) The word “Spirit” is applied to the Messiah, in his more elevated or divine nature. 1 Cor. 15:45, “the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit.” 2 Cor. 3:17, “now the Lord (Jesus) is that Spirit.” Heb. 9:14, Christ is said to have offered himself through the eternal Spirit. 1 Pet. 3:18, he is said to have been “put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” 1 Tim. 3:16, he is said to have been “justified in the Spirit.” In most of these passages there is the same contrast noticed between his flesh, his human nature, and his other state, which occurs in Rom. 1:3-4. In all these instances, the design is, doubtless, to speak of him as a man, and as something more than a man: he was one thing as a man; he was another thing in his other nature. In the one, he was of David; was put to death, etc. In the other, he was of God, he was manifested to be such, he was restored to the elevation which he had sustained before his incarnation and death, (John 17:1-5; Phil 2:2-11). The expression, “according to the Spirit of holiness,” does not indeed of itself imply divinity. It denotes that holy and more exalted nature which he possessed as distinguished from the human. What that is, must be learned from other declarations. “This expression implies simply that it was such as to make proper the appellation, the Son of God.” Other places, as we have seen, show that that designation naturally implied divinity. And that this was the true idea couched under the expression, according to the Spirit of holiness, appears from those numerous texts of scripture which explicitly assert his divinity; (see John 1:1, etc.)..

Immediately after Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist, “the heavens were opened, and he [John the Baptist] saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, ‘This is My beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased’” (Matt. 3:16-17). All members of the Trinity were eternally equal in every way, but as mentioned above, in the incarnation the Second Person of the Trinity willingly divested Himself of the expression of the fullness of divine glory and the prerogatives of deity. During His humanity on earth He willingly submitted to the will of the Father (cf. John 5:30) and to the power of the Spirit. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon Him at His baptism was Jesus’ initiation into ministry, a ministry totally controlled and empowered by the Spirit, so much so that Jesus characterized willful rejection of Him as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:24-32).

By the resurrection from the dead - This has been also variously understood. Some have maintained that the word “by,” denotes AFTER. He was declared to be the Son of God in power after he rose from the dead; that is, he was solemnly invested with the dignity that became the Son of God after he had been so long in a state of voluntary humiliation. But to this view there are some insuperable objections.

(1) It is not the natural and usual meaning of the word “by.”

(2) It is not the object of the apostle to state the time when the thing was done, or the order, but evidently to declare the fact, and the evidence of the fact. If such had been his design, he would have said that previous to his death he was shown to be of the seed of David, but afterward that he was invested with power.

(3) Though it must be admitted that the preposition “by” sometimes means AFTER (Matt. 19:20; Luke 8:27; 23:8, etc.), yet its proper and usual meaning is to denote the efficient cause, or the agent, or origin of a thing, (Matt. 1:3, 18; 21:25; John 3:5; Rom. 5:16; 11:36, “OF him are all things.” 1 Cor. 8:6, “one God, the Father, OF whom are all things,” etc). In this sense, I suppose it is used here; and that the apostle means to affirm that he was clearly or decisively shown to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.

But here will it be asked, how did his resurrection show this? Was not Lazarus raised from the dead? And did not many saints rise also after Jesus? And were not the dead raised by the apostles; by Elijah, by the bones of Elisha, and by Christ himself? And did their being raised prove that they were the sons of God? I answer that the mere fact of the resurrection of the body proves nothing in itself about the character and rank of the being that is raised. But in the circumstances in which Jesus was placed it might show it conclusively. When Lazarus was raised, it was not in attestation of anything which he had taught or done. It was a mere display of the power and benevolence of Christ. But in regard to the resurrection of Jesus, let the following circumstances be taken into the account:

(1) He came as the Messiah.

(2) He uniformly taught that he was the Son of God.

(3) He maintained that God was his Father in such a sense as to imply equality with him, (John 5:17-30; 10:36).

(4) He claimed authority to abolish the laws of the Jews, to change their customs, and to be himself absolved from the observance of those laws, even as his Father was, (John 5:1-17; Mark 2:28).

(5) When God raised him up therefore, it was not an ordinary event. It was “a public attestation, in the face of the universe, of the truth of his claims to be the Son of God.” God would not sanction the doings and doctrines of an impostor. And when, therefore he raised up Jesus, he, by this act, showed the truth of his claims, that he was the Son of God. Additionally, it showed the efficacy of His accomplished work, that it was complete and accepted by the Father.

Further, in the view of the apostles, the resurrection was intimately connected with the ascension and exaltation of Jesus. The one made the other certain. And it is not improbable that when they spoke of his resurrection, they meant to include, not merely that single act, but the entire series of doings of which that was the first, and which was the pledge of the elevation and majesty of the Son of God. Hence, when they had proved his resurrection, they assumed that all the others would follow. That involved and supposed all. And the series, of which that was the first, proved that he was the Son of God; (see Acts 17:31), “He will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given ASSURANCE to all people, “in that he hath raised him from the dead.” The one involves the other; (see Acts 1:6). Thus, Peter Acts 2:22-32 having proved that Jesus was raised up, adds, Acts 2:33, “THEREFORE, being by the right hand exalted, he hath shed forth this,” etc.; and Acts 2:36, “THEREFORE, let all the house of Israel KNOW ASSUREDLY that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, BOTH LORD AND CHRIST.”

This verse is a remarkable instance of the “apostle” Paul’s manner of writing. Having mentioned a subject, his mind seems to catch fire; he presents it in new forms, and amplifies it, until he seems to forget for a time the subject on which he was writing. It is from this cause that his writings abound so with parentheses, and that there is so much difficulty in following and understanding him.

Here, then, is the Person of the good news. He is fully man (a descendant of David) and fully God (declared to be the Son of God). Throughout His ministry, both Jesus’ humanness and His divinity were portrayed. When asked to pay taxes, Jesus complied. He explained to Peter that, as God’s Son and the rightful ruler of the universe, including the Roman Empire, He was rightfully exempt from taxation. “But lest we give them [the tax collectors] offense,” He went on to say, “go to the sea, and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me” (Matt. 17:27). In His humanness He willingly paid taxes, but in His divinity He provided the payment supernaturally.

One evening after a long day of teaching Jesus got into a boat with the disciples and they set out for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus soon fell asleep, and when a storm arose and threatened to capsize the boat, the frightened disciples awakened Jesus, crying, “‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ And being aroused, He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm” (Mark 4:38-39). In His humanness Jesus was exhausted just as every person becomes exhausted after a hard day’s work. Yet in His divinity He was able to instantly calm a violent storm.

As He hung on the cross, Jesus was bleeding and in severe agony because of His humanness. Yet at the same time, in His divinity He was able to grant eternal life to the repentant thief who hung nearby (Luke 23:42-43).

This Son of God and Son of Man who was raised from the dead by the power of God within Him was Jesus Christ our Lord, Paul declares. Jesus means Savior, Christ means Anointed One, and Lord means sovereign ruler. He is Jesus because He saves His people from their sin. He is Christ because He has been anointed by God as King and Priest. He is Lord because He is God and is the sovereign ruler of the universe.

I need to stand amazed in the presence of such a God!  He is worthy of my praise and my worship – may His Name be raised on High and may all may bow before His throne!