The Son is Raised

Did Jesus Raise Himself from Death?
Jesus repeatedly predicted His death and resurrection.

Three verses state He will be raised, a passive action performed by someone else.
Three verses state He will simply rise again without indicating how.

A central requirement of the Trinity doctrine is that Christ, a co-equal, eternal, person of the Godhead,
could not allow His divine nature to die, and thus He could resurrect Himself with His own power.
While the verses above do not clearly establish this, a couple statements suggest it.

One of them was made after being asked for a sign of His authority to cleanse the temple. Jesus said,

John 2:19____'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' [egerw auton I will arise]

Jesus had just cleansed the temple and gave this prediction as proof of His authority to do so.
The Jewish leaders misunderstood Christ's words to mean the literal stone edifice of Herod's temple.
They were incredulous: How could anyone erect a building in three days that took 46 years to build?!
Later they accused him of actually planning to destroy this temple Matt 27:39,40.

vs 21_______But Jesus "spoke of the temple of his body." He was speaking figuratively, using symbols.

The Body, His Church, is Raised
We, like the Jews, may misunderstand this to mean only Christ's physical body.
However, the New Testament uses the symbol of Christ's body to also represent His Church.

Both symbolic meanings are true.
In three days Jesus would raise up both His body temple and His church body.

Luke 13:32 ..Jesus told Herod, "I perform cures today, tomorrow, and the third day I am perfected"

Here Jesus uses a day for a year to foretell the completion of His mission.
In the third year, both Jesus and the infant Church suffered death at the crucifixion.
Christ's physical body was destroyed; His followers were devastated -- their hope died.
But the Church was given new life to their hope
and raised up when Christ was raised from the dead.

The two women (two churches) of Luke chapter 8 illustrate this truth.
The woman plagued with the issue of blood (the Old Testament sacrificial system)
was cured (the blood stopped, the temple veil was rent, the sacrifices ceased).
Later that same day, Jairus' daughter (the New Testament church) was raised from the dead.
The young 12 year old girl represents the birth of Christ's Church
as it is given life to rise up again and feed at the command of Jesus.
Finally, the sleeping church will rise again on the "third day", at the last day.
A day with the Lord is as a thousand years. In the 3rd millennial day, the Church will rise again.

God's drawing power and His resurrection power are both exercised through Christ.
As Jesus rose early on the morning of the third day,
so His sleeping saints will be raised by the call of His voice, the voice of the archangel,
on the morning of the third millennium, on "the last day".

Jesus, in all His third day predictions, was speaking as a prophet as foretold by Moses:

Jesus referred to these words of Moses when He said,

Ezekiel spoke about causing Jerusalem's destruction because he predicted it.

Ezek 43:3___"I came to bring the city to ruin" yet the Babylonian's destroyed the city, not Ezekiel.

Jesus predicted His death and resurrection, but caused neither.
He laid down His life willingly, voluntarily in obedience to the Father's will; but He didn't kill Himself.
Likewise, He rested obediently in the tomb, depending fully on His Father; He never acted on His own.
While Jesus announced His own resurrection, He didn't act impetuously to raise Himself.

The integrity of Christ's mission depended on the fulfillment of the words given Him by the Father.
It wasn't until after the resurrection that the disciples remembered these prophetic words of Jesus.
At the tomb the angel reminds them, "Remember what he told you?..
that the Son of Man must be delivered up ...and the third day rise again?" Luke 24:6-8.

"Risen" is ambiguous. He could have raised Himself, or the Father could have raised Him.
The NASV is clearer: "When He was raised from the dead," indicating He was raised by someone else.

The Father raised His Son
It is abundantly clear from scripture that the disciples understood Who raised Christ.
Peter and Paul repeatedly and consistently stated that God, the Father, raised Jesus.

The Father created the worlds by Jesus; The Father shall raise us up by Jesus.
The same principle works here as in creation: The Father is the Source of all life and power.
In the Greek, each time the Father is the subject, the verb is in the active voice.
This indicates that the subject, in this case the Father, is doing the action, He is doing the raising.
Every time Christ is the subject the verb is always in the passive voice,
the action is being done on Christ.

"He was in that stony prison house as a prisoner of divine justice. He was responsible to the Judge of the universe. He was bearing the sins of the world, and His Father only could release Him." EGW Manuscript 94, 1897.

Jesus raised the dead by speaking to them.

So did His Father speak to raise His Son.
An angel descends from heaven and brings the Father's command.

"Then the mighty angel, with a voice that caused the earth to quake, was heard: Jesus, thou Son of God, thy Father calls thee! Then he who had earned the power to conquer death and the grave came forth" Spirit of Prophecy Vol. 3 p. 192, 1878.

"Then the angel from heaven, with a voice that caused the earth to quake, cried out, "Thou Son of God, Thy Father calls Thee! Come forth." Death could hold dominion over Him no longer. Jesus arose from the dead, a triumphant conqueror." Early Writings, p. 182 (1882).

"The soldiers see him removing the stone as he would a pebble, and hear him cry, Son of God, come forth; Thy Father calls Thee." Desire of Ages, p. 780 (1889)

"The light of heaven encircled the tomb, and the whole heaven was lighted by the glory of the angels. Then his voice was heard, "Thy Father calls Thee; come forth" 5SDABC p. 1110, MS 115, 1897.

Matt 2:15 __Out of Egypt have I [the Father] called My Son

Matthew is actually quoting Hosea 11:1 which is making an historical statment of fact.
God calls Israel "my son" but Jesus is the Second Israel, even as He is the Second Adam.
Matthew then applies this to the historical truth that Jesus also "came out of Egypt."
Egypt is both a symbol of plenty and refuge in time of famine, and of bondage-genocide.
Like Joseph, Jesus goes to Egypt and finds safety from murderous threats born of jealousy.
God promised Jacob "I will go down with you into Egypt and I will bring you up again" Gen 46.3
In Rev 11 Egypt is a symbol of death "where our Lord was crucified."
Therefore, Jesus was called out of Egypt both literally and symbolically.
First, when as an infant his father Joseph took him there as directed by an angel from God.
Secondly, when sleeping in the tomb his heavenly Father called him out of the bondage of death.

Jesus obeyed the call of His Father and came forth with a new spiritual body that was given Him.
Obedient in life unto death, He was obedient in death unto life. Phil 2:8
He was patient, trusting, not impetuous or willfully independent.
He died in His natural body; He was raised in His spiritual body becoming a life-giving Spirit. 1Cor 15:44,45
He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

This is evidenced by the fact that an angel came from heaven to roll away the stone. Matt 28:2
If Jesus was able to awake Himself from the sleep of death, then raise Himself back to life,
He certainly should have been able to remove the stone by Himself.
But after this His Father quickened Him with His Spirit,
restored His immortality, and called Him to come forth.

His Father is the Source of all life, giving immortal, self-existent life to His Son.
He gave this life to His Son in the beginning and again at the resurrection.
Thus Christ has immortality and is the Source of all life to the creatures He created.

"All created things live by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the life of the Son of God. However able and talented, however large their capabilities, they are replenished with life from the Source of all life." 5SDABC p. 1113, Manuscript 131, 1897.

Then Jesus, with the immortal, divine life that was restored to Him,
raised Himself from a lying position in obedience to the command from His Father to arise,
even as He had commanded others to arise.
His human body could not come forth from the tomb until an angel removed the stone. Mat 28:2
He appeared first to Mary, who was cautioned to not touch or handle Him. John 20:17
The reason He gives is that He, as our High Priest, had not yet ascended to see His Father in heaven.
He came forth from the tomb without seeing corruption, without breeding worms, without sin. Acts 2:27;Ex 16:24
He had previously sacrificed His divine powers, laying them aside, to become a man Phil 2:6,7.
Now he had sacrificed His human body but had yet to complete the sacrifice by presenting His blood. Lev 4:17
He ascended to the Holy Place with the blood of the covenant to obtain eternal redemption for us Heb 9:11, 12

See Formation of the Heavenly Trio

Later He appears to the other women who are now allowed to hold Him by the feet. Matt 28:9
The two disciples on the way to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus for he appeared in another form. Mark 16:12
He had been "transfigured" since the cross when His visage was marred beyond recognition. Isa 52:14
But when they reached home and He broke the bread suddenly their eyes were opened. Luke 24:30
His body was significantly changed when He dined with them and then disappearing in their presence.
Later He reappeared to the group behind shut doors demonstrating supernatural abilities of His glorified body.
Yet His body was still recognizable, the prints in his hands, feet and side were visible and solid.
He appeared before the disciples saying, "A spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have." Luke 24:39
He then ate food in their presence to prove that He was not just a phantom spirit.
"Flesh and blood" is a very frequent phrase Matt 16:17; 1Cor 15:50; Eph 6:12; Gal 1:16; Heb 2:14
Every occurrence refers to a human body. But "flesh and bones" suggests a different kind of body.
"The life is in the blood" And the blood was taken to heaven and left there, an eternal sacrifice for man.
Jesus gives us his blood, his life of obedience, of victory, give us power to overcome. Lev 17:11;Heb 10:19
He was now sustained by a different kind of life, an eternal zoe life of immortality.

Eight days later He again appeared to them behind closed doors to show Thomas that He knew of his doubt.
Jesus proved that He was present with them while invisible; His presence was just as real then as now.
"I am the truth" John 14:6 "I will pray the Father and he will give you...the Spirit of truth" vs 16,17.
"and shall be in you" vs 17. "I will come to you" vs 18. "I in you" vs 20.
He commands Thomas to touch and handle Him to prove that He had a real body, more real than ours!
He proved this again at a final appearance on the shore of Galilee cooking a meal of bread and fish.
Did He catch the fish, gather the wood, build the fire? He invited them to bring some of their fish as well!
This was the real last supper and Jesus ate together with them again showing them that His body was real.
His body had graced His early life, borne our sins in it, rested without corruption in the tomb.
He glorified the Father in it, and now it would never be laid aside again, forever immortal, the divine Man.

Thus, the Father raised Jesus from the dead by calling Him forth and giving back His immortal life.
And Jesus raised His physical self once He had received back His divine soul (psuche). Both are true.
Once again He was begotten of the Father, "no more to return to corruption" Acts 13:34; no more mortal.
Paul applies Psalm 2:7 "this day have I begotten thee" to the day that "God...has raised up Jesus again" vs. 33.
Jesus was now "declared to be the Son of God...by the resurrection from the dead" Rom 1:4
Thus He became "the first begotten of the dead" Rev 1:5.

Three times Jesus was begotten. All three are true.
1. He was begotten in heaven before the foundation of the world
2. He was begotten in Bethlehem "in the fullness of time"
3. He was begotten from the dead when He was resurrected by His Father

He presented this human body to the Father Sunday morning to fulfill the wave sheaf offering.
Jesus is the First fruit of those who sleep in death, He fulfilled the wave sheaf on the day of His resurrection.
He was not the first to be resurrected from the dead. Moses was.
But, like Esau, Reuben, Manasseh, Cain who were all literal firstborns, they were not the significant firstborn.
Christ is the Leader, the Chief, the Head, the real Firstborn of heaven.
When we are born again, we are raised to newness of life, a kind of first fruits from an old life dead in sin.

The exact nature of the spiritual body, the celestial body that we will receive at the last trump is uncertain.

So, to what extent did Christ's divinity still reside within Him?
And to what extent did Christ lay aside His divinity before leaving heaven?

Christ said that He laid down His life (psuchen, soul) and has power to take it again.
However, the issue is not ability or power but authority which, Jesus says, comes from His Father.

Jesus said "no man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself"
but He didn't say "no man gives it to me, I take it again by myself."

The word "take" has two Greek forms in this text.
When Jesus says "No man takes it from me"
the Greek word is Strong's #142 airo which is translated take up or take away.
It is a unilateral action; a removal by one party without any associated transfer from another party.

But when He says He will "take it again" John uses a different Greek word,
Strong's #2983 labo, labein, elabon. Various forms of lambano
which is translated as either take or receive because it is a reciprocal action.
There is a transfer of something from a giver to a receiver. For example,

Matt 26:26___Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them saying, "Take, eat..."

In taking the bread, they received it.
So lambano is also translated as receive 133 times in the New Testament.

Lambano is also translated 106 times as take.
Each time a take occurs, a receive happens as well.
This same Greek word is used in John 10:18 when Jesus said He "received" this commandment
from His Father who "gave" it to Him. He could just as well said, "I take this command, this responsibility."
The taking of lambano is always the result of receiving that which is given. It's a reciprocal action.

If we translate the reciprocal "take-receive" lambano as the unilateral "take" of airo,
_______then this verse contradicts the many verses which state that God the Father raised Jesus.
If we translate lambano as a reciprocal "take and receive", then this verse agrees with all these verses
_______and only conflicts with the two other verses that seem to suggest Jesus raised Himself.
_______In harmony with John 5:26, the Son has authority to receive again the life His Father gave Him.

The Weymouth translation renders this verse using lambano consistently.
"I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to receive it again.
This commandment I received from my Father."
So does The New English Bible:
"I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to receive it back again;
this charge I have received from my Father."

So also, Jesus took and received the life that His Father gave Him;
He had been given the authority to take and receive the life which His Father gave.

Continued: The Spirit of God