Tomline on Article IV: Of the Resurrection of Christ

We have the authority of St. Peter for assert- ing that the Resurrection of Christ was foretold by the royal Psalmist : ” Men and brethren, let me fipeely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepul* chre is with us unto this day : therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne: he seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption (a)."" And our Saviour him- self (a) Acts, G. 2. V. 39 — ^31.

1 6o Exposition of the [part iik

self repeatedly foretold his resurrection : ” *Tlie Sou of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men; and they shall kill him; and the third day he shall be raised again (h).^” ” Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him ; and the third day he shall rise again (c)^ And to the Jews he speaks of his resurrection as a clear demonstration which would be afforded of his di- vine mission : When they put this question to him, ” What sign shewest thou unto us,” that is, what decisive proof dost thou give us that thou art the promised Messiah ? He answered, ” De- stroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up ; speaking of Uie temple of his body (d)’^

It is reasonable to expect, that the evidence of the truth of this great event, the importance of which was thus solemnly announced, should be proportionably strong and unequivocal, and upon enquiry we shall find that the resurrection of Christ is supported by the clearest and most satisfactory proofs.

In

(h) Matt.*c. 17. V. 22 and 23.

(c) Matt. c. 20. V. 18, &c.

(d) John, c. 2. V. 18, 19 and 21.

ABT. IV.] Thifiy-nine Articles. 161

In the explanation of the second article, we have seen that the body of Jesus, after it was taken down from the cross, was buried after the customary manner of the Jews. The chief priests caused the sepulchre to be sealed, and to be guarded by Roman soldiers. The object of this caution was, that, by securing and exhibit- ing the dead body of Christ, they might, as they thought, be able to disprove any report which the disciples might spread concerning his restoration to life : whereas this very caution tended to confirm the truth of his resurrection, by rendering it impossible that his body should have been removed by any human means. Thus does God produce good out of evil, and make even wicked men the instruments of executing die great designs of his providence. It is re- lated by all the Evangelists, that Jesus Christ, early on the third day after he was crucified and buried, arose from the dead, and afterwards ap- peared alive. We learn from the Acts, that the resurrection of Christ was constantly asserted, and urged with peculiar earnestness, by the first preachers of the Gospel ; and in the Epistles it is repeatedly mentioned as a well-knoTvn and ac- knowledged fact. The resurrection of Christ was not expected by his apostles, -which circum- stance must be considered as giving additional

VOL. II. M weight

i62 Ea:position of the [part hi.

weight to their testimony: When they heard from the devout women who carried spices to the sepulchre, that their crucified Lord was riseu from the dead, ” their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not (e) :” And when our Saviour first appeared to them ** they were affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit (f)."" He soon convinced them that he was a really existing body ; and by open- ing the Scriptures he explained to them, that all these wonderful events had happened according to the eternal purpose of God, declared by the mouth of his holy prophets, since the beginning of the world (g). The certainty of Christ’s re- surrection did not rest upon a transient glance, or a single interview with his apostles ; he con versed with them for forty days, which pre- cluded every sort of illusion or mistake ; nor did it depend upon the sole testimony of these chosen ministers of the Gospel, for he was seen by various other persons, and particularly by 50a disciples at once ; he ate and drank with many to whom he was known before his crucifixion; and he made Thomas feel the print of the nails^ by which he had been fastened to the cross, and of the spear with which his side had been pierced,

to

(e) Luke, c. 24. v. 1 1. (f) Luke, c. 24. v. 37. (g) Eph. c. 3. Y. 9, 8cc. Luke^ c. 24* v. 44, &c.

AET. IV.] Thirty-nine Articles. 163

to convince him that he was the same Jesus who had been crucified, that he had flesh and bones, and was not a spirit (h). He also said to all the eleven Apostles, when assembled to- gether immediately before his ascension, ” Be- hold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have (i).^’ And thus the identity of his person was uncontrovertibly ascertained, and all suspicion of his being a spi- rit was entirely removed. These numerous wit- nesses of a plain matter of fact, of which every one was a competent judge, constitute a species of proof which might well be denominated ” in- fallible (k)r

As the enemies of Christ had been peculiarly careful to guard against any fraud or deception, and as they were fully sensible, that the resur- rection, if real and generally believed, would have great influence upon the minds of men, it is im- possible not to suppose that they examined into it with the most anxious diligence and most jea- lous minuteness; and as they did not dare to <:ontradict it themselves, or even venture to pro- duce the soldiers whom they had suborned for the purpose of asserting that the body of Jesus

was

(h) John, c. 20. V. 26. (i) Luke, c. 24, v. 39. (k) Acts, c. 1 • V. 3.

K 12

164 Erposition of the [part iir.

was stolen out of the grave by night, we must conclude, that they found it attested by a weight of evidence, which no authority could suppress, nor any art invalidate. Upon these grounds we believe that christ did truly rise agaiw

Wherewith he ascended into heaven. As the resurrection of Christ was foretold by David, so also was his Ascension : ” Thou hast ascended up on high; thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men (I) ; ” which passage refers to the ascension of our Saviour into heaven, to his triumph over sin and death, and to his sending the glorious gifts of the Spirit unto the sons of men. Christ himself also predicted his ascension : ” Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father (ni).” That Christ really ascended into heaven with the same body with which he lived and died, and rose again, is declared by St. Mark, and by St. Luke, both in his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles ;

but

(I) Psalm 68. v. 18. Eph. €.“4. v. 9. (m) John, c. 20. v. 1 7.

ART. IV.] Thirty-nine Articles. 165

but it will be sufficient to transcribe the account from St. Luke’s Gospel : ” And he led out his apostles as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them : and it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven […] Thus was Christ’s ascension visibly performed in the pre- sence and sight of the apostles, for the con- firmation of the reality and certainty thereof. They did not see him when he rose, but they saw him when he ascended ; because an eye-wit- ness was not necessary unto the act of his resur- rection, but it was necessary unto the act of his ascension. It was sufficient that Christ shewed himself to the Apostles alive after his passion ; for since they knew him before to be dead, and now saw him alive, they were thereby assured that he rose again ; for whatsoever was a proof of his life after death, was a demonstration of his resurrection. But since the Apostles were not to see our Saviour in heaven ; since his sit- ting there at the right hand of God was not to be visible to them on earth, therefore it was ne- cessary they should be eye-witnesses of the act^ who were not with the same eyes to behold the effect. Besides the eye-witness of the Apostles,

there

(n) Luke, c. 24. v. 50, 8ie. M 3

l6^ JEd’posUion of the [part hi,

there was added the testimony of the angels ; those blessed spirits which ministered before, and saw the face of God in heaven, and came down from thence, did know that Christ ascended up from hence mito that place from whence they came ; and because the eyes of the Apostles could not follow him so far, the inhabitants of that place did come to testify of his reception : * For behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven (o) f we must, therefore, acknow- ledge and confess, against all the wild heresies of old, that the eternal Son of God, who died and rose again, did, with the same body with which he died and rose, ascend up to heaven. Should it be asked what reason can be given why our Saviour did not ascend in the sight of the Jews, for their conviction ? I answer, that it was only absolutely necessary that they who were to preach the Gospel, should have the ut- most evidence of those matters of fact they at- tested. God’s design was to bring the world to salvation by the exercise of faith, which is

an

(o) Acts, c. I. y. 10 and ii*

ART. IV.] Tlnrty-nine Articles. ” 167

tan act of assent, upon the testimony of another, Mith which si^t is inconsistent ; and it is to be doubted, whether they, who ascribed our Sa- viour’s miracles to the power of the devil, and suborned the soldiers to say, upon his resurrec- tion, that his disciples stole him away, would not have called his ascension, if they had seen it, a phantasm and vain apparition (^/>J.” The ascension of Christ is frequently alluded to in th9 Epistles (q).

And there sitteth: The sitting of Christ at the right hand of God is foretold in the Old Testament, and asserted in the New: ” The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot- stool (r)r Christ applied this passage to him- telf (s)^ and it is quoted by St. Paul, as describing the superiority of .Christ to all created beings: ” To which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool (t) y^ Christ himself expressly foretold his sitting at the right hand of God : ” Here- after shall the Son of man sit at the right hand of the power of God {u)r There are several passages in the Epistles, declaring that Christ

sitteth (f) Veneer’s Exp. of this Art.

(q) Eph. c. 4. V. 10. Heb. c. 9. v. 12.

• {t) Ps. 110. V. 1. (%) Matt. c. 22. V, 44.

it) Heb. c. 1. V. 13. (u) Luke, c. 22. v. 69.

K 4

1.68 Exposition of the [part iik

sitteth at the right hand of God : ” When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High (x)’ — ” We have a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens (y) By the metaphorical expression of sitting at the right hand of God, which is applied in Scrip- ture to none but Clmst, we are to understand the honour and dignity to which he was exalted after his ascension into heaven : ” Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God ; angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject unto him (z)” — ” And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king- dom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is an ever- lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed (a)’

Until he return to judge all men, AT THE LAST DAY : The sccoud advent of Christ, and the purpose for which he is to come, are clearly foretold in Scripture : ” I go to pre- pare a place for you ; I will come again, and re- ceive you unto myself f […] This same Jesus,

which

(x) Heb. c. 1. v. 3. (y) Heb. c. 8. v. 1.

(z) 1 Pet. c. 3. V. 22. (a) Dan. c. 7. v^ 14.

(b) Johu; c. 14. V. 3 and 28.

ART. IV.] Thirty-nine Articles. 169

which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven (c).” — ” The Lord himself shall de- scend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God […] Whom the heavens must receive, until the times of restitution of all things (e).” — ” For God hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead […] When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angeb with him, then shall he sit down upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats (g).” — Then we shall ” appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad […] The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as they

honour

(c) Acts, c. 1. V. 11. (d) 1 ThesB. c. 4. v. 16. (e) Acts, c. 3. V. 21. (f) Acts, c. 17. v. 31. (g) Matt. c. 25. V. 31 and 32, (h) 2 Cor. c. 5. v. 10.

170 Exposition of the [part in.

honour the Father (i).” — ” The day of the Lord will come, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat (k).” — ” In short, no doctrine is more clear and express, and fundamental in the word of God, than that of an eternal judgment at the end of the world, when the state of our trial and probation shall be finished, which will be a proper season for the distribu- tion of public justice, for rewarding all those with eternal life, ’ who by patient continuance in wdl- doing seek for glory, and honour, and immor- tality,’ and for rendering ’ to them that obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indigna- tion and wrath, tribulation and anguish (I)* . I shall therefore conclude my observations upon this article, with that most excellent inference of St. Peter’s : ” Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening imto, the coming of the day of God (m).

(i) John, c. 5. V. 22 and 23. (k) 2 Pet. c. 3. v. !••

(I) Rom. c. 2. V. 7, &c.

(m) 2 Pet. c. 3. V. \i and 12. Vene«r:

i\aT. v.] Thirty-nine Articles. 171