The Crucified Messiah

Jesus declared, “ The Spirit makes alive. The flesh profits nothing. The words which I have spoken to you, they are spirit, and they are life .” His statement echoes the principle that life and the Spirit of God are inextricably linked. The “ flesh ” is not inherently evil, but it has no lasting life apart from the Holy Spirit. This principle was demonstrated at the original creation, and now the same Spirit is essential for the bodily resurrection of believers and everlasting life in the age to come.

God has spoken His decisive and superior “ word ” in His son, and He did so “ upon the last of these days .” This clause refers to the end of the period epitomized by the Levitical code with its priesthood and repeated animal sacrifices, a system of worship that was centered in the Tabernacle, and later, in the Jerusalem Temple. With the appointment of God’s Son as the High Priest “ after the order of Melchizedek ,” a new and final era of salvation commenced.

The return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the appearance of the New Creation, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the judgment and punishment of the ungodly, the “gathering of his elect,” and the cessation of Death. Mortality will be replaced by immortality, and nothing will ever be the same again!

Paul explains the Gospel in detail in his Letter to the Romans . He wrote to the Assembly in the city of Rome to deal with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish members, and to prepare the ground for taking the Gospel to the western provinces of the Empire. In doing so, he touched on key topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and New Creation. Believers are justified through the Nazarene’s death, and they are saved and receive immortality through his resurrection.

The  Letter to the Hebrews  encourages believers not to abandon Jesus when difficult times come by emphasizing the superiority of what God has done in His “Son.” The Word “ spoken ” in Jesus is superior to the earlier revelations provided “ to the fathers in the prophets .” The Letter compares the Levitical system with its incomplete provisions and repeated sacrifices to the “ better ” priesthood and “ once for all ” sacrifice of the “ Son ,” Jesus Christ.

In the opening thanksgiving of Philippians , Paul prepares his readers for one of the Letter's key themes: Going on to perfection in Jesus . The resurrection of the believer is necessary for the consummation of this process, and its goal. It is a pivotal part of the salvation that believers will receive when Jesus appears, and a glorious hope as the past resurrection of Jesus demonstrates.