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I AM the Resurrection and the Life 


   There are some tangible features that depict each individual person in this world and distinguish us from one another: our social status and mental ability, our culture and native language, our gender, age, etc. While these distinguishing features are often perceived by the world as what defines a person, they simply set forth our external differences as humans and are by no means an expression of who we truly are; for they do not disclose the essence, i.e., the nature of our being. The outward disparity that exists between us veils and contrasts with our inward identicalness. Intrinsically, we are all alike, and the truth of the matter is, we are all from the same stock and therefore subject to the same fate.


     As children of men, we all have the same nature, the sinful nature inherited from Adam, our representative head. Inwardly, there is no difference between us: whether we are rich or poor, young or old, male or female, we are all intrinsically alike. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And because we are inherently sinful, we are all subject to the same fate. For our wages as sinful creatures is death (Romans 6:23). As it is written, “through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). 


     Thus, death ultimately brings everyone to the same level by holding us all captive. Both the wealthy and the poor die, as do the young and the old, the noble and the ignoble. Proverbs 22:2a reads, “The rich and the poor meet together.” There is no man under the sun who is immune to death. Death is our common enemy, a captor over which we have no power. As human beings, we languish helplessly in the shadow of death, devoid of life, and powerless. 


     Although over the centuries many inventions have been made to improve living conditions and have contributed to decreasing mortality rates worldwide, it is beyond our capability to add even a single hour to our span of life. For no one has the power to conquer death. For in order to conquer death, one must first conquer what brought it. By man, death entered into the world through sin. But no man is able to cut off the sting of death, which is sin. 


     We are all by nature slaves to sin, and so long as we remain under the power of sin, we are held captive by death. For since the sting of death is sin, no man can be delivered from the grip of death until he is freed from the power of sin. 


     In Adam, we are all held captive by death because of our inherited sinful nature. As it is written, “death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the One who was to come” (Romans 5:14), namely, Jesus Christ the Son of God. Adam was a type of Christ, in that his action, like Christ’s, impacted many people: Adam’s act of disobedience to God caused the death of many people, but by Christ’s obedience, many are made alive. Adam’s sin was transferred to all those born of him and thus all died – “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Likewise, Christ’s righteousness is credited to all those born of Him, and His obedience gains their justification before God and brings them life – they are delivered from the bonds of death. For “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). 


     Adam brought death, but with Christ comes fullness of life. He “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17d). Being held captive by death in Adam, we cannot be delivered except by the Lord Christ. For “I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die”, declares the Lord Christ in John 11:25-26a. 


     In the following lines, I will examine the background for this “I AM” statement of the Lord Christ and its theological implications.


     I~ The Statement’s Background 

     While Lazarus’ death constitutes the immediate context for our Lord’s statement – “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”, it is fitting to consider this statement against the background of the glooming veil that fell upon Adam in the garden when he ate the forbidden fruit – a veil that stretched over the entire human race and which the LORD promised by His prophets that He would swallow up forever. 


     When Lazarus was ill, his sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, he whom You love is ill” (John 11:3). But Jesus did not immediately return to heal Lazarus, but “stayed two days longer in the place where He was” (John 11:6). He came after Lazarus had died and had been in the tomb for four days. But the two sisters of the man, despite their trust in Christ’s healing power, did not fully understand Christ’s power over death. They both said to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21, 32), To the first sister, Martha by name, the Lord replied, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:23-26).


    Although the Lord Christ used the miracle of Lazarus primarily to authenticate before the crowd that He was sent by the Father (cf. John 11:42), there is every reason to believe that He also used it as an object lesson to display His glory and inform our minds of His power to raise the dead and give life – a power He demonstrated not only by raising Lazarus bodily, but also in the spiritual resurrection of many of those who witnessed Lazarus being raised from the dead – for “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him” (John 11:45).  They saw the glory of God manifested in the mighty work of the Spirit through the Son, and they believed in Him. Some of them had been saying of Him, “Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” (John 11:37). For the Lord Christ, in His divine sovereignty and according to the purpose of His will, had allowed Lazarus to succumb to his illness so that by raising him from the dead, He could reveal His glory to the multitudes. 


     Therefore, when He ordered that the stone be removed from the entrance of the cave where the body of Lazarus was laid, and Martha, the sister of the dead man, was hesitant and said, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39), the Lord Christ answered her, saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).


     Thus the Lord revealed His glory that day when He raised Lazarus bodily, and He providentially used this miracle to bring back to life many who were held captive by spiritual death, i.e., the many who saw Him raise Lazarus and believed in Him. 


     Before Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead, the Lord Christ wept out of grief for our fallen world (cf. Isaiah 53:3). For we are all subject to physical death, like Lazarus who was snatched away by death. Moreover, we are all by nature dead in our sins and the uncircumcision of our hearts. In other words, we are also spiritually dead, and therefore alienated from God. 


     Sin entered our realm through Adam and brought death upon all of us. But Christ brings us resurrection and life. As it is written,“as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).


     The shadow of death that fell upon the entire race of mankind because of Adam’s sin thus constitutes the broad background for the statement of our Lord, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”, a statement with far-reaching theological implications.   


     II~ Theological implications of Christ’s statement

     The Lord Christ’s statement, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”, underscores that He has total power to raise the dead and total power to impart and sustain life. There is no resurrection or life outside of Him; for the whole power resides in Him alone. In other words, Christ alone is able to bring back from death to life, to give life to those who have no life in them, i.e., the whole race of mankind. And those who believe in Him, even if they die, will live and never die again. For He has “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10b).


     The prophet Isaiah envisioned the great feast that will celebrate the ultimate victory of the LORD over death, and he wrote in Isaiah 25:6-8b, “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces.”  


     Thus the Lord promised to free His own from all nations from the grip of death, for:

Adam’s disobedience brought about physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death, also known as the second death. And anyone born of Adam, i.e., the entire human race, is subject to all three forms of death. From our conception, we are all spiritually dead. In other words, we are unresponsive to God’s love, disobedient to His command and puffed up with conceit; our heart is inclined to do evil and pursue the sinful passions of the flesh; we reject what is good, are haters of God and of the things of God. We pursue the gratification of our sinful desires at the expense of God’s honour and the good of our neighbour. We “are all under sin, as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18).


     The second form of death is physical death: some of us die in the womb, others in infancy or youth, and still others in old age. Lastly, there is eternal death, which is eternal separation from God, everlasting torment in the hell of fire, endless affliction by the rod of God’s wrath. As sinners, we are all subject to all three forms of death – and this truth remains: we cannot deliver ourselves from the grip of any form of death. Thus we are all doomed in Adam. But in Christ there is resurrection both from physical death and spiritual death, and deliverance from eternal death. 


     As the Resurrection and the Life, the Lord Christ brings the spiritually dead from death to life through spiritual resurrection. This form of resurrection began with the very first convert of old and has been taking place throughout human history and will continue till the Lord returns to judge the world. As for the physically dead, the day is coming when He will restore them to life through bodily resurrection. Moreover, the Lord Christ delivers from eternal death, also known as the second death or eternity in hell, those who believe in Him, that is, those whom He has raised from spiritual death.  


     Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones contains the most vivid depiction of human deadness and magnificently portrays the power of Christ to raise the dead and impart life. In this vision, the LORD said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”


     So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

     Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O My people. And I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:3-14).

     While this prophecy promises Israel’s regathering and restoration to her land and her resurrection and spiritual revival, the picture of the house of Israel in this vision describes the condition of all peoples: we are all by nature dry bones, devoid of life, and it takes the mighty supernatural work of the Lord to bring us back to life. He alone has the power to resurrect our dead bodies and souls. 

1- Concerning bodily resurrection 

     An hour is coming when all the tombs will be emptied at the sound of the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. In that day, all those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken and come back to life. During His earthly ministry, the Lord gave us a foretaste of the resurrection of our bodies by raising Lazarus after he had been four days in the tomb. “It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go” (John 11:39-44). 


     Lazarus’ resurrection foreshadows the future worldwide bodily resurrection, when all the dead – righteous and unrighteous, will hear the voice of Christ and come out of their tombs, “those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). The righteous will be raised first. As it is written, “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). This verse confirms what the Lord Christ says in John 11:26, “everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” For those who are in Christ are made holy, washed by the blood of His cross, justified before God, freed from the penalty of sin.


     As for the ungodly, their resurrection awaits the day of the great judgment which will take place before the Great White Throne at the end of Christ’s earthly millennial kingdom. They will all be raised and judged according to their deeds and then thrown into the lake of fire (see Revelation 20:7-15). As Paul writes in Philippians 3:19-21, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.”


     In resurrection, we who are in Christ will receive a glorified body like Christ’s when He rose from the dead. As it is written, “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47-49). In other words, in resurrection, we who are in Christ shall bear the image of His glorious spiritual body – a body fit for heaven – as we have borne the image of Adam’s natural body on earth.


    While the righteous will be given a glorified body like Christ’s, the unrighteous will remain in the likeness of the man of dust and their place shall be in the lake of fire. For “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:50). In order to live in God’s eternal and glorious habitation, our heart must be circumcised and our lowly, natural, frail and corruptible frame must be glorified. Put it simply, not only do we need a changed heart, but we must also have a body fit for heaven. For as Paul writes, “There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:40-41). 


     Although we now bear the image of Adam, the hour is coming when we will put off this earthen frame and be clothed with the glory of Christ. For those whom the Lord Christ has delivered from spiritual death, He will also glorify. So then, in resurrection, our natural body – which is subject to death and decay because of sin – will be raised into an eternal spiritual body that can never die or be subject to corruption. As Paul writes, “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44b). 


     Thus death shall be ultimately destroyed for us who belong to Christ. As it is written, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). Death we shall know no more; for our resurrection body will be patterned on Christ’s glorious resurrection body. 


     Therefore, we are eagerly waiting “for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23b).  For whether we are dead or still alive when Christ returns, we will all receive in place of our natural body a spiritual body that can never die. By the word of the Lord, “we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15b-17). 


     So then, all the redeemed of the Lord, dead or alive, will be glorified at His coming; we will be caught up “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). As it is written, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-55). 



2- Concerning spiritual resurrection 

     Adam’s disobedience to God plunged the entire human race into moral depravity, also known as spiritual death. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he became depraved: his love for God and the things of God was replaced by hatred, and his heart inclined to evil. Adam’s sinful nature was then passed on to his posterity, i.e., the entire human race. Hence, we are all by nature spiritually dead, utterly depraved; we hate God and the things of God and love evil instead. We are dead in our trespasses and sins, with our minds set on the things of the flesh. As it is written, “to set the mind on the flesh is death” (Romans 8:6a). 


     Adam led us captive to death, but the Lord Christ rescues us from the grip of death. He delivers us from spiritual deadness, He frees our souls from the yoke of slavery and the sting of death by His glorious Holy Spirit. He promised to revive the souls of His old covenant people through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, after they had been scattered abroad because of their perverseness and unfaithfulness to Him, saying long ago by the prophet Ezekiel, “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules” (Ezekiel 36:24-27). The Lord also promised by the prophet Joel, “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh” (Joel 2:28b). 


     While the promise of Ezekiel is specific to the house of Israel, and its ultimate fulfillment awaits the second coming of the Lord Christ, Joel’s extends to the nations. Under the Old Covenant, only the Jews were God’s people. But under the New Covenant, God’s people include both Jews and Gentiles. Therefore, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised by God is intended both for His scattered sheep from the house of Israel and for His sheep who are not from the house of Jacob. 


     By the powerful and supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, the dead are raised. In place of our hearts of stone, the Holy Spirit gives us a heart of flesh that is inclined to God and obedient to His commands; in place of our darkened and foolish minds, He gives us a sound and sincere mind set on the things of God.


     While spiritual resurrection began with the very first convert of old, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled some two thousand years ago. It occurred on three distinct instances, each involving a group of people of one specific descent. The first and foremost outpouring of the Spirit happened on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples as they were all gathered in one place (see Acts 2) – these were all Jewish. Later, in Samaria, the Spirit descended upon the Samaritans (see Acts 8:5-17). Then in the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, the Holy Spirit also came upon Cornelius and his family and friends – all of Gentile descent – when they heard the Word(see Acts 10). For after the completion of His ministry on earth and His ascension back to glory, the Lord Christ sent His Spirit to convert all flesh – both Jewish and Gentile; He sent His Spirit to instill in us the fear of the Living God and to turn us from our wicked ways. 


     The Spirit of Christ guides us into all the truth (cf. John 16:13) and frees us from the power of sin. He circumcises our hearts, turns us from evil and brings us to the knowledge of the One True God. Thus from death we are raised to life. The Lord Christ, by His glorious Holy Spirit, brings us forth from death to a new life in Him. Hence, it is written, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old [man of the flesh] has passed away; behold, the new [man born of the Spirit] has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). 


     In Adam, we are dead in our trespasses and the uncircumcision of our hearts; our minds are set on the things of the flesh and death is our companion. But Christ brings us freedom from the power of sin and its penalty, and newness of life. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:3-8). 


      In our natural state, we are slaves of our own sinful flesh, unable to please God, unable to obey His Law. Even our good deeds fall short in the sight of God, for they are done for selfish reasons. For we pursue, not the glory of God, but the gratification of our flesh. Therefore death has a grip on us. But the Lord Christ, in His condescension, brings us deliverance from spiritual deadness. He came in our likeness, but was completely without sin. Being born under the Law, unlike us, He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law. Then He bore our sins upon His sinless body at the cross, thus setting us free from the dominion of sin, so that we can now begin to fulfill what the Law of God requires. 


     The Lord Christ brings our enslavement to sin to an end. For what we are unable to do in our natural state, the Spirit of Christ produces in us; for not only does He write the Law of God upon the tablets of our hearts, but He also gives us the power to obey God. The Spirit transforms our stubborn and wicked hearts, He turns our hearts from seeking the pleasures of sins to seeking the glory of God. He raises us from spiritual deadness and imparts life to our souls. In our natural state, we are degenerate, rebellious, dead, blind and naked; we wallow in the cesspool of our iniquities. 


     With our minds set on evil, we are like smoke in the nostrils of God, the Holy One, and our deeds like filthy rags in His sight. But the glorious Holy Spirit of Christ powerfully works within us and gives us a new nature – the divine nature. He pours into our hearts the love of God and enables us to love what God loves and to hate what God hates. He fills our hearts with the fear of God and stirs our souls to obedience to God. The Spirit of the Lord Christ delivers us from dead works and empowers us to walk in the works which He Himself prepared beforehand for us. He enables us “to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). 


     Thus the Spirit of Christ brings us from spiritual deadness to life. Therefore, not only are we no longer like smoke in God’s nostrils – for we bear the very righteousness of His Son, but also our works are no longer a foul stench but a pleasing aroma. For we practice the works that God Himself prepared beforehand for us – being empowered by His Spirit and freed from sin dominion. We walk in newness of life, to the glory of the Lord, free from ongoing enslavement to sin, free from spiritual deadness. 


     Speaking of the spiritual transformation and revival of the believers in Ephesus, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1-10, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”


     To the Colossians, Paul also writes, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him” (Colossians 2:13-15).


     Jesus Christ, the God of life, conquered all forms of death at the cross by taking our sins upon His holy body. He died to sin once for all to bring to life those held captive by death. Thanks to the person and work of Christ, sin no longer has power over those who trust in Him, and death is no longer their companion. Therefore we who are in Christ, even if we die physically, the Lord Christ will resurrect our bodies on the last day and unite them to our living souls. 


     Indeed, Christ is the Resurrection. For He is able to resurrect not only those who are physically dead but also those who are spiritually dead. The authority and power to raise the dead resides exclusively in Him. Moreover, the Lord Christ is the Life because:

The Lord Christ is the Author and Sustainer of life. As creatures, we all derive our being from Him, for He is the Supreme Being, He in Whom there is life. We do not have life in and of ourselves: both our existence and our persistence are utterly dependent upon the Lord Christ. For He has life in Himself and is the Dispenser and Sustainer of life. 


     The Lord Christ is the Author of life and He it is who ensures our persistence. His statement, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”, underscores His Divinity. For God alone has the power to raise the dead, and God alone has life in Himself and is the Source of life. As the One who has life in Himself, the Lord Christ is self-existent, eternal and independent. He is the Source of life, the Creator from Whom all other beings proceed and by Whom they are kept – “He upholds the universe by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3b); and, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a). 


    Christ’s claim in the context of Lazarus’ death was authenticated by Lazarus’ resurrection from physical death, when Christ commanded him to come forth. This resurrection served as a foretaste of the power of Christ that will be fully displayed in the future bodily resurrection, when all those who sleep in the dust of the earth, both righteous and unrighteous, shall awaken to the sound of the voice of the Son of God. 


     The Lord’s command in Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead is reminiscent of His command at creation, when by His spoken Word He brought forth everything out of nothing. Like John Piper puts it, “When He speaks in His office of Creator, nothingness obeys. And when He speaks in His office as One who raises the dead, decomposed matter obeys.” The same voice that spoke everything into existence, the same voice that formed the man out of dust in the beginning and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, this same voice will raise all the dead bodily on the last day. 


     Furthermore, it is worth noting that Jesus’ declaration also addresses the lifelessness of our souls; for we are by nature devoid of life – spiritually speaking. Therefore we must look to Him, the Author of Life. He alone has life in Himself and the power to impart life to our spiritually dead souls, and He alone can bring us into fellowship with the eternal God. 


     Thus Jesus is not only the Author of creation, but also the Author of the new creation, of eternal life. For from Him all the living, both in this present world and in the world to come, derive their existence and perpetuity. In other words, there is no temporal or eternal life without the Lord Christ. For


1- Physical life derives from Him 

     Nothing exists outside of Christ. He is the Word of Life,  the Creator, the life-giving God, the One “through Whom are all things and through Whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6). He it is who made every living thing. He formed the man out of dust at creation and gave him the breath of life. John writes in John 1:1-3, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.” 


     In six days the Lord created everything out of nothing and rested from His work of creation on the seventh day. The heavens, the earth, the seas and everything in them, the host of heaven, inanimate objects, planets and galaxies, were created by the Lord; all living things – from bacteria to the giant Leviathan and all the invisible forces, were brought forth  by the Lord Christ.


     There is therefore no physical life apart from the Lord Christ, the Author of life. For “He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In Him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:25c-28a). 


     At creation, “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Genesis 2:7). Like the rest of God’s creation, man was good. Genesis 1:31 tells us that when His work of creation was complete, “God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” But years later, man rebelled against God, being lured by Satan, and his rebellion against God cost him his life: he died just as the LORD God had warned him; he was devoid of life, spiritually speaking (see Genesis 3:7-13). But the veil of spiritual deadness that covered the soul of man would be swallowed up forever by the Lord. For


2- Spiritual life derives from Him

     The Lord Christ is the Author of the new creation, of spiritual life, also known as life in the Spirit. Adam became a living being at creation when the Lord, after forming him out of dust, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. But when Adam sinned, he died, spiritually speaking, and all those born of him also died – for all have sinned. But just as at creation the man of dust became a living creature when the Lord Christ breathed into his nostrils, so also our dead souls begin to live when the Lord Christ infuses us with the breath of life. For He is the Life-giving Spirit. “Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). The second clause of this verse – “the last Adam became a life-giving spirit”, refers to Christ and goes beyond what Genesis 2:7 expresses to underscore the spiritual life that Christ gives to our dead souls. For He is not only the Author of creation, but also the Author of the new creation, the Source of spiritual life. John writes in John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” For “to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).


     By the circumcision of the foreskin of our hearts, Christ gives life to our dead souls. As Peter writes, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them [we] may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Paul writes to the Colossians, “In [Christ] also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12).


     Christ sets us free from the moral corruption into which Adam led the entire human race and makes us spiritually alive by putting off the body of the flesh. His Spirit removes our heart of stone and gives us a new heart – a heart of flesh, and a new mind. He endows us with a new nature – the divine nature, and we are thus freed from the power of sin, from the flesh with its evil passions and desires, and enabled to pursue the things of God. For the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. 


     The Spirit of Christ also produces in us repentance from sin and faith in Christ, and causes us to walk in a manner pleasing to God, by being submissive to His will. Thus being regenerated by the Life-giving Spirit and endowed with the divine nature, we no longer walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit; for we are spiritually alive.


     Without the Spirit of Christ, we cannot be submissive to God’s will nor can we respond to His love. He powerfully works within us and puts to death the deeds of the flesh and inclines our hearts to God and the things of God. In our natural state, our heart is hardened against God. But through the supernatural work of the Spirit of Christ, through Christ’s effectual call, the inclination of our heart is changed and we begin to love God and the things of God. 


     So then, when Christ says, “Live!” our souls come alive. During His earthly ministry, the Lord Christ declares in John 5:25-26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself.” 


     While this phrase, “an hour is coming,” points to the future bodily resurrection, the word “now” points to the current spiritual resurrection wrought by the Spirit of Christ, a resurrection by which many are given life in the Spirit and made heirs of the eternal Kingdom of God. “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will” (John 5:21). Thus the power to impart and sustain life resides in the Lord Christ, and He exercises this power according to His sovereign will; for He gives life to whom He wishes. 


     According to His sovereign will, the Lord Christ gives life to those who are held captive by spiritual death; and the day is coming when He will resurrect those who are physically dead. Moreover, the Lord Christ delivers from the wrath to come those He raises from spiritual deadness. For through the supernatural work of the Spirit of Christ, these turn to Him in repentance and faith, and are thus delivered from the second death. On the basis of Christ’s righteousness, they are delivered from eternal torment in the hell of fire; they are granted peace with God and everlasting life in His glorious presence by the Lord Christ. For


3- Eternal life derives from Him

     Life in the world to come utterly depends on the Lord Christ, just as life in the present world does. Being born in sin, we all deserve eternal damnation, also known as the second death, which is a state of eternal separation from God and subjection to His consuming wrath. And as with the first two forms of death, namely physical death and spiritual death, the means of escape from the second death lies outside of us. For no amount of good works, no human exertion can deliver us from the wrath of Almighty God – the One against Whom we have sinned. In fact, placing our confidence in ourselves (which is nothing other than pride) further increases our culpability; for it disdains the holiness of God, spurns the free gift of God’s grace and tramples underfoot the blood of Christ. 


     Deliverance from the wrath of God cannot be attained by human exertion. For it requires that the full penalty for our lawless deeds be paid and that we may be completely purified and holy before God.  As fallen creatures, we cannot escape the judgment of God on our own. But the Lord Christ delivers from the wrath of God all those who turn from their sins and put their trust in Him; for He laid down His life at Calvary so that repentant sinners might enter life through Him. 


     Christ is the Conqueror of every form of death. By His great power He frees us from eternal damnation, according to the riches of His grace. His blood was shed to atone for our iniquities, and on the basis of His finished work, all those who believe in Him are saved from the wrath to come. Christ brings us justification and peace with God and everlasting life in God’s eternal habitation. As Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life”, declares the Lord Christ in John 5:24.


     We have no righteousness of our own; the Lord Christ is our righteousness. As the Life-giving Spirit and the only righteous man the world has ever known, the Lord Christ brings us justification and life. For He came and lived the perfect life that we cannot live and died as our substitute upon the cross. “For our sake [the Father] made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God, being rich in mercy and love, offered His Son as a propitiation for our sins, so that through faith in Him we might be freed from the power and penalty of sin. 


     At the cross, our sins were imputed to Christ, the sinless One, and He bore the wrath of God in our stead. Because Christ paid the full penalty for our sins, therefore, through faith in Him, our guilt is removed and we are legally justified before God; for Christ’s righteousness is graciously imputed to us. Therefore, rather than being condemned to eternal torment in the hell of fire, we become heirs of the Kingdom of God and will live forever in His glorious presence. For on the basis of Christ’s own righteousness, we are justified through faith in Him and treated by God as righteous. 


     Justification is by faith alone in the person and work of Christ. Our justification is wrought by the Lord Christ’s perfect obedience to the Law and His sacrifice on the cross. For the perfect life He lived is graciously credited to us through faith, and by His substitutionary death on the cross, we are granted forgiveness of sin and life everlasting in God’s glorious and eternal habitation. 


     Whoever turns from himself and puts his trust in Christ receives life in abundance. “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day”, declares the Lord Christ in John 6:40. John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” 


     Thus those who belong to Christ are acquitted, legally declared guiltless by God; for Christ paid the full penalty for their sins, and by their faith in Him they are justified. “Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years”in His millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:6). Then the Lord “will dwell with them [in the new heaven and the new earth], and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3c-4). For, as the Resurrection and the Life, the Lord Christ grants victory over every form of death and gives fullness of life to all who believe on Him.


     God has granted us deliverance from His own wrath through His Son Jesus Christ “by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Thus everyone who believes in His Son Jesus Christ receives by faith Christ’s imputed righteousness and is freed from the wrath to come. As the Lord Christ Himself said, “everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:26). That is, such will never experience the second death; for the wrath of God was satisfied by Christ’s vicarious death on their behalf. But those who reject the Son of God and cling to their own works will be consumed by the wrath of God on the day of His wrath. For they have chosen death over life.


     The day is coming when the Lord will pour out His fierce anger upon those who have refused to turn to Him to receive life. On that day, all creation will witness the ultimate fulfillment of the Lord’s declaration, “I AM the Resurrection and the Life”. For His power to raise the dead and impart life will be fully displayed. On that day – to repeat the words of Daniel, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2-3). But to those who have hardened their hearts against the Lord Christ and have served sin instead – thereby choosing death over life – the Lord Christ will say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). For they have rejected Him, who is the Resurrection and the Life.


     Thus the Lord Christ will rid the earth of all those who, by rejecting Him, have kept their own souls from receiving life and condemned themselves to eternal death. But the redeemed of the Lord, whose souls He has resurrected from spiritual deadness, will inherit the new heaven and the new earth. Their corruptible bodies shall be glorified, and they will live in the glorious presence of the Lord forever. 

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