WARNING!

The contents of this blog are not intended to be standard fare, settled-upon Adventist doctrine. It is hoped that the topics discussed here will be on the cutting edge of Adventist revolution. While we endeavor to uphold the fundamental beliefs of Adventism, the responses given here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the local pastor, or its members. We hope you will find this blog a sanctuary where big ideas and differences can be discussed. It is in this freedom of discussion that we have the best hope of arriving at the optimal path forward. May God bless the conversations that take place here.

Sincerely,
Pastor Stewart Pepper

I’ve often asked the question If death is a sleep where “the dead know not anything,” and Divinity is a condition that has total awareness, and if Divinity cannot die, then when Jesus died on the cross was He really dead? Of course, we’ve all heard the pat answer that Jesus was “fully human and fully Divine.” The explanation continues that Jesus’ humanity died on the cross, but Jesus’ divinity did not because, after all, “Divinity cannot die.”

And it is absolutely true that Divinity cannot die (it’s important that you hear that), but doesn’t that leave Jesus conscious after death? Think with me. A Baptist believes that after death conscious thought continues. Does our typical Adventist view of what happened to Jesus sound more like an Adventist view of death or a Baptist view? When you’re done thinking, continue.

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I would like, in this blog, to enter into a conversation about what happened at Jesus’ death and why it matters. Did He really die? Is it too radical to say Jesus came out of the grave by His own power, or did the Father have to raise Him? Can something dead raise itself?

I ask that question because in Scripture Jesus says in reference to Himself, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Really? Can something dead raise itself? Contrast that with at least 30 texts in Scripture that say God (the Father) raised Jesus from the dead (Gal. 1:1, Acts 2:24, Rom. 4:24, etc.). So which is it? Did Jesus come out of the grave on His own power or by the power of the Father?

To answer this question I would like to start back in Genesis. In chapter 2, verse 7, it states, “And the Lord God” (that’s Jesus [John 1:1-3, Eph. 3:9, Col. 1:14-16, Heb. 1:1, 2]) “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

As you analyze this verse I want you to ask a question you may never have asked before. What was used to bring the lump of clay to life? Was it not the breath of Jesus? Are not breath and spirit one and the same thing? It would seem to me to be an accurate assessment of Scripture to say Jesus used His spirit to make us alive. We are not here by accident but by an act of Divinity. Keep that thought in mind.

Now I want to take you to the place in the Bible where Jesus actually died. In Luke 23:46, it says, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”  His what? His spirit (or His breath). Keep in mind that when Jesus died He gave to God that very thing He had used to make us alive–His Spirit.

In keeping with that reality I would suggest for your thoughtful consideration that what Jesus used to make us alive and what He gave to God when He died were one and the same thing–His divinity. Here’s why I say this. Divinity cannot die but Jesus did. In my mind, the only way I’ve been able to make sense of the dilemma is to realize that when Jesus died on the cross He ceded control of His own divinity to the Father. This is a useful concept for several reasons.

First, it answers the question of how Jesus could come from the grave under His own power (Remember? He said, “In three days I will raise it up”) and still be raised by the Father. At His death, Jesus gave control of His divinity to the Father and because of this He could only come out of the grave by the will of the Father. That has several implications, the most important of which is that at the end of the three days God gave Jesus control of His divinity once again so Jesus could come out of the grave under His own power. In that way, Jesus raising Himself and God raising Him can both be true. And Jesus really died.

Second, it helps establish the point that when Jesus died He could only come out of the grave by faith. Remember, when Jesus was on the cross He uttered the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Matt. 27:46). He did not know in His human form if God had accepted His sacrifice. But when He died He had given that decision fully to God. If Jesus could have decided to come out of the grave on His own power, then His salvation would have been by works.

Third, Jesus died the second death–believing He would die forever. He could not see beyond the portals of the tomb. And as such He wasn’t doing what He was doing to save Himself; He was doing it to save me. Would I be willing to give up my own salvation so others could be saved? Would you? When we get the mind of Jesus in us that much (God help us), the world will be reached.

And the last reason this really matters is this:  Jesus is coming again. And if God was faithful to raise Jesus from the dead, we can rest assured that He will do the same for us. May we endeavor to live for Jesus because He died for us.