Christ’s exaltation consists of his resurrection, his ascension into Heaven and the fact that He will one day return to earth as Judge. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central doctrine of Christianity. Without the resurrection of Christ, all other doctrines of the Christian faith come crashing down. This is why the resurrection is so fundamental to Christian people. In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul puts forward a strong case in defence of the resurrection in the face of those who doubted. In verses 13-14 he says, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” Paul is saying that if Christ has not been raised from the dead, we are still in our sins and our faith is worthless (1 Cor. 15:17). The truth of the matter is that Christ came to die for our sins according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3) and on the third day He rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:4). In Paul’s letter to the Romans, the Bible says, “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.” (Rom. 4:25).

Many people today seek proof of the resurrection of Christ. I will not write a long apologetic argument here for the resurrection of Christ. However, I will say this. Do you think it is plausible that hundreds of people would die for a lie? Do you think hundreds of people would make something up knowing that it would make their lives extremely difficult? In 1 Corinthians 15, the Bible tells us that the risen Christ appeared to over 500 people at the same time (1 Cor. 15:6). Many of them would have been at first hostile or doubted the message of Christ but could no longer deny the truth after an encounter with Christ.

The bodily resurrection of Christ has been a matter of great debate among those who doubt the Bible. One of the arguments put forward is that Christ’s body was not raised, but merely His Spirit. This is completely false according to Holy Scripture. The Bible clearly teaches that the body of Christ that was crucified was the same body that rose from the dead. Some of Christ’s closest followers even doubted at first, but Christ gave them proof of his bodily resurrection (John 20:27). It is a remarkable truth of Scripture that our Lord suffered death and yet his body saw no corruption (Acts 13:37). The resurrection of Christ teaches us to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4) and with this assurance that one day our bodies will be made like his and shall rise from the dead on the last day (1 Cor. 15:20).

The second part of Christ’s exaltation is his ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50-51). This happened 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:2-3). Again, just like his bodily resurrection Christ ascended into Heaven bodily. This teaches us to set our minds on things above and not on earthly matters (Col. 3:2). Christ is now at the right hand of God, the Father. He has the highest honour in Heaven. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. How do you view this terrifying prospect? On that day Christ will either be your advocator or your condemner. The message is clear; seek God while there is still time and set your mind on things above.