Acts 2:22-28 – “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.25 David said about Him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, You will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence.’
“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Peter here states that the Father raised Jesus from the dead and also he wrote the same in Acts 2:32. Paul confirms that Jesus was raised by the Father (2 Corinthians 13:4, Romans 6:4). Yet we also know that scripture clearly states that Jesus was resurrected by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11, 2 Corinthians, Romans 1:4, Romans 8:11). Jesus clearly states that He will raise resurrect Himself (John 2:19, John 10:18). Does the Word contradict itself in stating that it was the Father, that it was the Son, and that it was the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from dead? Well the answer is uncomplicated. Who resurrected Jesus from the dead? It was God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yes, God is three, but God is one. They are all equally God and they are perpetually and eternally in utter agreement. They, in unison, in perfect united will, raised Jesus from the grave. The entire plan of salvation was agreed upon by the Trinity. All that Jesus did was by the full will of the Triune God. They are one. God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Acts 5:3-4). So indeed the Father raised Jesus from the dead, and the Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead, and Jesus who is Lord of all, raised Himself from the dead.
Jesus allowed mankind to put His body to death, but that is all. We are, all of us, eternal spirits that had a beginning by the creative will of God. Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and all our spirits are alive only because of He is God, is one with God, and He is the source of life. The source of all life is Spirit as God is Spirit. No created being can take life from the giver and source of life. We must remember that the act in Eden killed body and spirit (separation from God). The salvation of mankind is first spiritual. Our natural bodies, even after receiving salvation through Jesus, are not eternally redeemed. All of our natural bodies will die and when we die here we are born into celestial bodies that will live forever (1 Corinthians 15:40-53). For the first time ever, then we shall see each other as God designed us individually to be. Our purified spirit will receive a celestial and eternal body. Jesus allowed mankind to put His body to death, but He would not allow His spirit to remain in Hades. Remember, He holds the keys to death. Yet the most important fact is that Jesus is God. God cannot be killed by anyone or anything. V24 states that it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.” Jesus stated in Revelation 1:18 that He holds the keys to death. How can one with the keys be held by the captor. God is eternal, the essence of Jesus, that He is God, cannot be killed. He allowed His flesh to be killed, He allowed His Spirit to descend, but God is greater than death, He is bigger than death, death cannot contain Him. Family, death is another creation of God in the grand scheme of His foreordained plan. It is part of the mechanism of the eternal life that God has given us. We see the evidence of what Jesus did even in those who are rescued by Him. As our bodies die, so Jesus allowed His earthly body to die to pay for the sin of mankind. However the essence of whom we are, our spirit, lives forever. Jesus is God and so the essence of Him is Spirit (John 4:24). Lest we doubt that fact, let us consider that when we are born again our Spirits are instantly reunited with God. The curse is immediately broken in the Spirit and through Christ our spirits remain eternally clean. Christ died once for all of us and for all our sins (Romans 6:10, 1 Peter 3:18). However it is not the flesh that is in immediate unison with God. The flesh remains rebellious (Romans 7:14-25) and is slowly and partially controlled by our submitted spirit. Our flesh must die (Romans 8:12-13). So Jesus came to bring our essence, our spirit, with Him to heaven and our bodies remain with this corrupted world. Jesus took on flesh to pay the price of our sins. His Spirit could not remain in death. God cannot be killed. God is one and that is an eternal truth. Jesus could not be contained by any part of creation. (Colossians 1:15-23)
Jesus is the Life and the Light (John 14:6, John 1;1,4,14, John 6:63, John 3:19, 8:12, 9:5). We know that darkness must leave when light comes. Darkness is nothing but the absence of light. Darkness disappears when light appears. Life is stronger than death. The life that Jesus brings is stronger than the death that was brought by sin. Death is swallowed up by the victory, the life that is through Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:54). We were dead in the death brought by sin, but we are alive through the Life brought by Jesus. The creator knows how to, and has the power to, revive the dead. Life is stronger than death. Death was never meant for us and by the power of God, those who love and obey Jesus break free from the power of it. Since Jesus is the creator and sustainer of life, death could not overcome life. The only reason that He experienced death was because of His great love of us. Life beats death. The victory over death is for all who humble themselves before Jesus and submit their lives to Him as their Savior and as their Lord.
Jesus trumped death. It was impossible for death to hold Jesus. Life trumps death. Life is for all who will come to God through Jesus. It is the only way (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). It is God’s way. Let us all grasp life rather than hold onto death (Death is what all men dwell in [John 3:18]) unless born from above through Jesus. Let us hold onto Jesus who first loved us. Praise God! Jesus is alive and He evermore will be! And through and by Him so we will evermore have eternal life to live with Him! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.