Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, Come Forth. Read more...

• God’s Power is Unrivaled - Throughout the Bible we encounter many verses that testify to God’s creative power. Who can possibly understand such magnificent statements like “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light”? When one looks around at this intricate, complex, beautiful and astounding universe that God has spoken into being by His Word, one is awed at the One who brought this fantastic creation into existence and can only exclaim along with the psalmist in Psa 147:5, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite”. Rom 1:20 adds that God has revealed Himself to fallen mankind by His creation: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead…”. In fact, Jer 32:17 reminds us: “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee…”. You cannot separate the Lord Jesus from His Word, they are one and the same, as we see in John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” and in verse 14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. God is in total control of the forces of nature as we see Isa 38:7-8 and also the Gospel accounts gives us a vivid description of Christ’s power over tumultuous “waters” and the “sea”: “What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him”. We also learn from Mat 8:16 that Jesus “cast out the spirits with his word”. Luke 4:36 states, “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out”. However, the greatest demonstration of God’s power is seen in Rom 1:4, “And declared to be the Son of God with power [or dunamis], according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead…”. The Greek word for “the power of his resurrection” used in Php 3:10 is dunamis (G1411), and we can get us some idea of the amazing “power” God possesses when we realize that the English word “dynamite” was derived from this Greek word. 1 Cor 1:24 reminds us, “… Christ the power [dunamis] of God, and the wisdom of God”.

Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

Isa 38:7-8 “And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.”

Luke 8:24-25 “And they came to him [Jesus], and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. 25And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.”

• God’s Power over Spiritual Life and Death - 1 Sam 2:6 declares, “The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up”. It is an undeniable fact that God alone retains the power of physical life and death, but have you stopped to think that His eternal power also extends to spiritual life and spiritual death? Naturally, new life is God’s specialty both in Creation as well as in salvation (or re-creation) because He is the Supreme Author of physical and spiritual life. One of the clearest pictures of this is found in the account of the raising of Lazarus who was physically dead in John 11. This is a beautiful picture of man’s spiritual deadness and the power of God’s Word to resurrect their dead souls. We see the power of God’s Word from Heb 4:12, “For the word of God is quick [alive], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”. And we also are aware that “faith [which is a synonym for salvation] comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God”, as Rom. 10:17 tells us. Indeed, it is the resurrection that we now want to consider. There is another resurrection in addition to that of Christ that God addresses in the Bible, according to 1 Pet 1:3: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again [make us born again] unto a lively [living] hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. The phrase “… begotten us again unto a lively [living] hope…” is referring to being “born again”, or “born from above”. In John 3:3-6 we are confronted with the late night conversation between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus on the subject of the New Birth. When Jesus referred to being “born again”, the Greek word for “again” - anothen (G509), really means “from above”. We need to keep in mind that the gift of salvation, which comes “down” from God Himself, is entirely undeserved and is only by God’s grace. “Born again”, or “born from above” is also referred as “first resurrection” which is a result of spiritually “hearing” the Gospel. In fact, the Lord Jesus is intimately identified with the resurrection, as John 11:25 teaches: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”

John 3:3-6 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”

1 Pet 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

Rom 1:16  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power [dunamis] of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Rev 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

• The Raising of Lazarus is a Picture of Salvation - God Makes the Point that Lazarus is Dead – 20 Times! in John 11 - One of the most difficult biblical concepts for man to grasp is the idea that man is spiritually dead although he is obviously physically alive. However, in John 11 and 12 God goes to great lengths to focus our attention on this enormously important fact that Lazarus was physically dead typifying our spiritual death. The account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead is what is known as a historical parable. It is a true historical occurrence through which God is teaching a great deal of spiritual truth concerning the nature of salvation. An unsaved person is “dead in sins” until God resurrects his soul from the dead, as Eph 2:5-6 explains. What God accomplishes in saving someone from spiritual death to spiritual life is equivalent to what the Lord Jesus Christ experienced through His death, burial, and resurrection, as Eph 1:19-20 indicates. Jesus Christ paid the spiritual penalty of eternal Hell for those whom He came to save. That is why He told Martha in John 11:25-26, “… I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die …”. That is similar to what Jesus said in John 5:25, “... when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live ...”. The references to death and life are all spiritual in nature and relate to salvation. And we know with certainty that Rom 10:17 proclaims, “So then faith [or salvation] cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. The “hearing” God has in view is His gift of “spiritual hearing” without which no one becomes saved.

John 11:39, 43-44 “39Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. 43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

Eze 37:1-5, 9-14 “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. 3And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind [or spirit], prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel [typifying the Elect of God]: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. 12Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel [typifying “new Jerusalem from heaven”]. 13And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land [typifying “new heaven” and “new earth”]: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.”

Eph 1:19-20 “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.”

Eph 2:5-6 “Even when we [true believers] were dead in sins, hath quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

• The Excellency of God’s Power - God’s power finds its greatest expression in the redemption of His people. Psa 59:16 asserts, “But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble”. What is “the day of my trouble”? This same word for “trouble” is found in Messianic Psa 116:3, “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow”. The “trouble” that mankind faces is the penalty of their sin which awaits them, which is the wrath of God. Heb1:3 provides the answer of how God redeems His people: “Who [Lord Jesus Christ] being the brightness of his [God the Father] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…”. Rom 1:16 proclaims, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…”. 2 Cor 4:7 teaches a very important principle concerning the New Birth and the ensuing life of a believer on this earth: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us”. When a person is “born of God” he becomes a “new creature” (i.e., a new creation) in Christ through the miraculous creative power of God, as 2 Cor 5:17 explains: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. The Christian, if he doesn’t already know it, will in time come to recognize and depend on the reality of Gal 2:20: “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. The Apostle Paul, experienced much suffering for the sake of the Gospel. God predicted that fact to Ananias, who was given the task of sharing the Gospel with Paul in Acts 9:16, “For I will shew him [Paul] how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake”. Paul’s goals are summed up in Php 3:10: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…”. Could it be that God, by His great power and mercy, would so work in our lives to make these our goals as well?

Gal 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

2 Cor 13:4 “For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.”