The Finished Word

The Gift of the Spirit is the First Fruits of the bodily resurrection and the Guarantee of our participation in the coming New Creation . The Apostle Paul presents Abraham as the great model of faith. God counted his faith as “ righteousness ” when he was uncircumcised, which means that God justified the Patriarch apart from the “ works of the Law .” Thus, he became the father of all men who are also “ from faith .” Circumcision was added after the promise as the confirmation of Abraham’s justifying faith.

Foundational to the believer’s future hope is the bodily resurrection of the righteous dead when Jesus arrives in glory . Paul’s description of the “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ of Jesus in his first letter to the Thessalonians was written to comfort the congregation concerning the fate of fellow believers who die before Christ returns. They must not sorrow “ like the others ” since   the righteous dead will be resurrected when the Lord “ arrives ” from Heaven.

In explaining the resurrection, Paul lists key events that will precede or coincide with the arrival of Jesus at the close of the present age . Paul outlined the events that will occur at or shortly before the “ arrival ” of Jesus in  1 Corinthians . The Greek noun ‘ Parousia ’ or “ arrival ” is one of several terms Paul applies to the future coming of the Lord in his letters. Regardless of which term is used, the Apostle always refers to one “ coming ,” one “ appearance ,” one “ revelation ” and one “ appearance ” of the Son of God, not two or more.

The arrival of Jesus will mark the end of the present order, the resurrection of the dead, and the start of the New Creation . Jesus will return from Heaven on a day punctuated by power and glory. Christ’s “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will mean the consummation of God’s Kingdom, the judgment of the ungodly, the vindication and resurrection of the faithful, the unveiling of the New Creation, and the termination of death - The reversal of Death’s sentence on humanity. The coming of the “ Son of Man on the Clouds ” will be a glorious event of absolute finality.

Central to the hope of the Apostolic Faith is the bodily resurrection of the dead. This will occur when Jesus appears at the end of the age . The biblical faith is forward-looking. Foundational to the doctrine of salvation is the resurrection of the righteous dead. That event will also mark the arrival of the New Creation. The New Testament links the resurrection of the saints to two events. The past Resurrection of Jesus, and his arrival at the end of the age. Our salvation will remain incomplete until Christ raises us from the dead.

Paul reminded Timothy of the resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death since false teachers were denying the future resurrection of believers . Paul responded to false teachings about the resurrection of believers in his second letter to Timothy. Certain voices denied this essential truth. “ God did not give us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind ,” and this included overcoming our anxieties about death. Jesus was victorious over death and now gives men and women life “ through the Gospel .”

The coming of Jesus is not a major topic in Paul's letters to the Corinthians though it is in his Thessalonian correspondence. However, he does touch on several aspects of the event, including its identification as the “ Day of the Lord ,” the consummation of God’s kingdom, the resurrection of the righteous, the judgment of the wicked, and the cessation of death.

After healing a lame man, Peter and John were confronted by the priestly authorities. They were disturbed because the Apostles were “ proclaiming the resurrection ,” and the Sadducees among the priests rejected the resurrection of the dead. The Apostles claimed that the final resurrection began “ in Jesus ,” a teaching that made its doctrine distinct and placed the resurrection in the center of the Gospel.

The history of Israel includes national sins that resulted in her expulsion from the Promised Land. However, God foresaw her failures and determined eons ago to institute a New Covenant that would be energized and characterized by His Spirit, and a people, singular , that would include the Gentile nations. This covenant would culminate in the resurrection of the righteous dead and the arrival of the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .”

Salvation includes the bodily resurrection of the saints and life in the New Creation, which will occur when Jesus arrives . Central to the doctrine of salvation is the promise of  redemption . God will not abandon what He first created, and both the term and the concept mean the  recovery of what was lost . The universe is enslaved by sin and condemned to decay and death. In God’s redemptive plans, the end state of redeemed things and persons is vastly superior to their original state, and this principle is epitomized in the promises of bodily Resurrection and New Creation.

There is “ now no condemnation ” of anyone “ in Christ Jesus .” This happy condition exists because the “ law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death .” In  Romans , the Apostle Paul links our salvation to the inheritance of Christ and the coming redemption of our bodies and creation itself.

The arrival of Jesus will be an event of great victory and finality that will result in the resurrection and the New Creation . The return of Jesus at the “ end of the age ” will be a singular event of utter finality. His “ arrival ” or ‘ Parousia ’ will be accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, the installation of the New Creation, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of the godly and the ungodly, the “ gathering of Christ’s elect ,” and the end of Death. Decay and mortality will be replaced by immortality. Nothing will ever be the same again!

Paul presents his Gospel message starting with humanity's plight due to sin and concluding with the resurrection of the dead . In his Letter to the Romans , Paul presents his most detailed explanation of the Gospel. His purpose is to deal with conflicts between Gentile and Jewish members of the Church and to prepare the ground in Rome for his plan to take the Gospel to the western parts of the Empire. In doing so, the Apostle addresses key topics, including death, redemption, the Law, resurrection, and New Creation.

Paul expressed his goal of going on to completion, a process that would culminate in bodily resurrection when Jesus arrived in glory . Paul instructed the congregation of Philippi to “ completion ” in Jesus. Bodily resurrection must take place for the consummation of this process and the completion of our salvation. This will occur when Jesus appears “ on the clouds of Heaven .” God will continue to perform what He began with our conversion until “ the Day of Christ .”

When we hear the term “ Last Days ” we naturally assume it refers to the final short period of History just prior to the return of Jesus from Heaven, a natural assumption. Yet the New Testament presents this period as the era of fulfillment that began with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. In Jesus, the “ ends of the ages ” have come upon the Assembly, the people of God.

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.

The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, namely, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Certain members of the Corinthian congregation denied the future resurrection of the righteous. Paul responded by stressing how necessary our resurrection is and by appealing to the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus. His resurrection is the precedent for our future resurrection and everlasting life in the coming New Creation.

Paul presents Abraham as the great exemplar of the faith, the model for believers to emulate as they live from the “ faith of Jesus .” God counted his faith as “ righteousness ” while he was uncircumcised and thus justified him apart from the “ works of the Torah .” He is the father of those who live “ from the faith of Jesus ” whether Jew or Gentile and the “ heir of the world .”