A Resurrection Illustration

Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Romans 3:22–26, KJV

Several events in Isaac’s life illustrate wonderful truths about our Lord Jesus Christ.  Since Christ is the sum and center of the Word of God, He may be seen in a variety of ways throughout the Old Testament. Genesis 22 is one of those passages were two truths about Christ are illustrated. 

* Isaac the Obedient and Submissive Son. Christ is the Obedient Son of God

* The Ram in the Bush as a Substitutionary Sacrifice. Christ is Our Substitute.

* Isaac is the Promised Son and Seed of Abraham (Gen. 21:12; Gal. 3:16, 29). Christ is the Seed of Abraham

* Isaac Experienced a Miraculous birth (Gen. 21; Heb. 11; Matt. 1:18, 23). Christ was miraculously born of a virgin.

ISAAC’S BIRTH ILLUSTRATES CHRIST'S RESURRECTION (Rom. 4:16-25)

Of course, the mention of the resurrected Jesus Christ (Rom. 4:24) is an element that does not belong to the OT history, but the intended parallel with Abraham's experience is fairly evident. The same God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead quickened the "dead" body of Abraham so as to make parenthood possible.  Isaac was brought from the dead by the power of God and so was Christ!

    The Deadness of Abraham  Rom.  4:17-19  

    The Deadness of Sarah    Rom. 4:19; Heb. 11:11-12

Like Abraham and Sarah we were without any ability to do anything about our dead condition, but like them we can simply believe God’s promise of salvation and forgiveness and be justified.

   The Dynamics of God    Rom. 4:17    “even God who quickeneth the dead”

In spite of the deadness of Abraham and Sarah’s bodies, God still gave life to their old bodies and they brought forth the life of Isaac by a miracle. Isaac was born by the power of God, and life came forth from death! 

         

           So it is With the Savior.  Rom. 4:23-24; 6:5-14

The ability of God to raise the dead was clearly demonstrated in the resurrection of Christ.  God’s life giving power was manifested!  The triumph of Christ over his enemies was clearly demonstrated.  Through the resurrection of Christ, Satan, Sin, Death and Hell were defeated by the dynamic power of God! (1Jn. 3:8; Rom. 6:9; 1 Cor. 15:54-57)  Why not trust such a strong God with your sin problem or habit!

           So it is in Salvation.  Rom. 4:24   Faith in the God who resurrected Christ equals salvation by the power of God!

APPLICATION:  It does not matter how dead you are in trespasses and sin, Jesus Christ is able to raise you to life in Him and give you a relationship with God. God has the power to save anyone who will believe Eph. 2:1-6

APPLICATION: Rom 6:2, God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

We are dead to sin because we are saved! Being dead to sin means we are unresponsive to sin. 

ILLUSTRATION: A dead body is non-responsive to any form of stimuli.  You could kick it or caress it and it would not respond.

ILLUSTRATION: I am sure all of you who are of an adult age, have attended a funeral service.  Now think for a moment.  What happens to the relationship of that person and the present administration of government in the U.S., when the casket is lowered into the grave.  The IRS cannot tax him anymore.  Local justice authorities can't conscript him to jury duty, armed services cannot draft him for military duty, and he is dropped from the census of the U.S. When a person dies, the administration has no more power over him. 

The administration of sin is reigning over the world, but when a man or woman accepts Christ as Savior, he or she becomes dead to sin.  Therefore, the comparison of a dead body to governmental authority is made to a Christian in respect to the administration of sin and death. (See Rom. 6:2; Eph. 2:1, 2.) We were dead in sin, but now we have been made alive to God.  At our new birth we died to sin.  When we were birthed into God’s family we simultaneously died in Adam’s family!

ISAAC’S SACRIFICE ILLUSTRATES CHRIST’S RESURRECTION (Gen. 22:1-14)

    Death and resurrection were the portion of the Savior (Rom. 4:25). One can hardly fail to notice the carefully balanced character of this statement, relating as it does the death of Jesus to our sins and his resurrection to our justification.

     The Sacrifice of Isaac  Gen. 22:9 & Heb. 11:17

Hebrews 11:17, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

  

We come to the greatest test of Abraham's faith. God told him to offer up his only son, Isaac, upon the altar. With unhesitating obedience, Abraham set forth to offer to God the dearest treasure of his heart.

     The Promises of God    Heb. 11:18; Gen. 17:19-21; 21:12

Hebrews 11:18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Was Abraham oblivious of the tremendous dilemma? God had promised him numberless children. Isaac was his only begotten son. Abraham was now 117 and Sarah was 108! The promise of a great host of descendants was to be fulfilled in Isaac. The dilemma was this: if Abraham killed Isaac, how could the promise ever be fulfilled? Isaac was now about seventeen and unmarried.  Abraham knew what God had promised; that was all that mattered. 

APPLICATION: The best way to live is by the wonderful promises of God.  (1) The Promise of Peace ----Phil. 4:6:9; (2) The Promise of Forgiveness and Cleansing ----1Jn. 1:7-9; (3) The Promise of Escape from Temptation ----1Cor. 10:13; (4) The Promise of God’s Provision ----Phil. 4:19;   (5) The Promise of Christ’s Strength ----Phil. 4:13;  (6) The Promise of Deliverance ----Rom. 6:22;   (7) The Promise of Courage---Ps. 27:14; Isa. 43:2.  Let us be like Abraham, strong in faith and fully persuaded that God is able to do what He promised!

     The Faith of Abraham   Gen. 22 & Heb.  11:17-19 

Genesis 22:5, And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you,

Hebrews 11:17-19, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, [18] Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: [19] Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

  

            We Will Be Back!   Gen. 22:5

His statement, indicating that they would worship and then they would come back (Gen. 22:5), is amazing. All Abraham knew was that (a) God planned the future around Isaac, and (b) God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac. He could not reconcile the two, but he would obey anyway. That is faith.

He concluded that if God required him to slay his son, God would raise him up, even from the dead in order to fulfill the promise. Up to this time there had been no recorded case of resurrection from the dead. Human experience had no statistics to offer.  Likewise Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to fulfill the promise of Salvation and eternal life through the gospel.

            God Will Provide! Gen. 22:7-8

In response to Isaac’s question “Where is the lamb?” Abraham again revealed his faith: “God will provide Himself a lamb” (v. 8; cf. v. 14). In a wonderful sense, Isaac was brought “from the dead” twice—once from Sarah’s dead womb, and again from a high altar (Heb. 11:17-19).

            Abraham Introduced the Concept of Resurrection!

Hebrews 11:17-19, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, [18] Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: [19] Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

In a real sense, Abraham invented the idea of resurrection. His faith in the promise of God drove him to the conclusion that God would have to raise Isaac. In a figurative sense, he did receive Isaac back from the dead. He had committed himself to the fact that Isaac must be slain. God credited him with the act.

             Like Isaac, Like Christ!

In a sense Isaac’s was the first resurrection in the Bible. This makes his resurrection unique! Jesus Christ is the first born from the dead! Col. 1:18, And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

  

Jesus Christ is depicted here in several ways; the most significant one to the message is that He is the firstborn from the dead.  Not that He was the first ever to be raised from the dead, but the first to rise from the dead to die no more. He was the first to rise with a glorified body, and He rose as Head of a new creation.  His resurrection is wonderfully unique, and is a pledge that all who trust in Him will also rise.  It proclaims Him as supreme in the spiritual creation.

QUOTE: Alfred Mace said: “Christ cannot be second anywhere.  He is the “firstborn of every creature,” because He created everything (Col. 1:15, 16).  He is also firstborn from the dead in connection with a redeemed heavenly family.  Thus creation and redemption hand the honors of supremacy to him because of Who He is and what He has done; “that in all things He might have the preeminence.”  He is first everywhere.”   

We can be delivered from eternal suffering in the Lake of Fire for our sin by accepting God’s provision of a Substitute and Sacrifice—Jesus Christ.  For indeed Christ was delivered for our offenses and then raised again from the dead for our justification– salvation.  Because of faith in the resurrected Christ, we are made acceptable to God.

Christ died in our place, bore our sins, paid the penalty due our sins; and all this not by force, but willingly (Jn. 10:17, 18).  Beloved, the wonderful truth is that something happened to Christ, and because it happened to Jesus, it need not happen to us.  Christ died for our sins; we need not die for them if we accept His Sacrifice. 

Christ was also raise again! As believers we are identified with Him and represented by Him as winners and victors over Satan, sin, death, hell, and the grave.  The Lord Jesus has a central place in God’s program providing righteousness for sinful people by grace through faith.  Both Christ’s death and His resurrection are essential to that work of justification (Rom. 4:23-25). What about you? Have you been justified through faith in the Risen Christ?

If you have not…then do not put it off any longer. Recognize that you, like me, are a sinner and cannot save yourself. As a sinner we all are condemned to Hell forever without God. The only hope is to receive forgiveness from God for our sins. You can do this by placing your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin. Accept Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection as the complete payment for your sin. Apply Christ’s work on your behalf very personally. Accept Him as the only means of establishing a relationship with God and being forgiven. God will save you as He promised! Come to Him even now….