The Resurrection Series #15

Resurrection Dawns

If you are uncomfortable with the low Christology of 1 Thessalonians and Galatians then I imagine that some of the believers of the first century were as well. As Paul writes more epistles his Christology becomes more developed over time. Philippians and 1 Corinthians mark important developments in the dawning of resurrection theology for the early Church. It is important to note that these developments came at later points, and I believe it is not because they were being “added” to Christian belief. It is more likely that Christian belief always contained these elements within them as an unconscious participator, and as Christianity grew into itself more these beliefs would have to expand and eventually realize their full potential. In Philippians we see the “suffering servant” motif given full acceptance into the Christ-God narrative, and in 1 Corinthians we see the full acceptance of the term “resurrection” to describe Jesus’ state of being “raised from the dead”.

 Philippians lacks the traditional Pauline greeting which affirms his calling and the resurrection of Jesus, which we find in both 1 Thessalonians and Galatians. This epistle is written while Paul is in prison, and so it could be that the prison experience prompted new insights in Paul, or it could be criticism we received from his first missionary journey, or a combination of both, but in Philippians we see some new developments that are important to note. But while it seems that Paul is deepening his Christology, he is not hesitant to repeat his previous theological convictions. For Paul, the Gospel is always the primary edict of devotion for him. God had given us His Gospel through Jesus Christ. This is and always will be Paul’s basic message.

There are small hints of Jesus’ resurrection in the beginning chapters of Philippians. Paul does say, “For to me, to live is Christ to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (1:21-24). Paul is speaking here from the perspective that Jesus is in heaven and will welcome those who die for him, which is analogous to a belief that he exists with God. Previously, we saw how this was equivalent to a  belief in being raised from the dead. Paul echoes this sentiment again not to far from this pericope when he says, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place” (2:9). These sentiments reflect the non-corporeal aspects to the resurrection that I was showcasing in the previous article. Paul continues with his same teachings as before, but later in Philippians he changes his tone.

Paul says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (3:10-11). And later Paul elaborates and says, “we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorified body” (21). I believe this is the first mention of resurrection for Paul, and is the impetus for his more elongated explanation in 1 Corinthians 15, which we already looked at. These two verses encapsulate resurrection belief for Paul. The resurrection is a source of power! Paul does not want to know the details, the facts, or the history of the resurrection. He wants to know the POWER of the resurrection. And secondly, that there is a bodily transformation!

I would like to note that the one distinguishing characteristic thus far added into the “raised from the dead” narrative that previously existed in 1 Thessalonians and Galatians and is changed now in Philippians is this concept of bodily transformation. For Paul, the difference between being “raised from the dead” and being resurrected is bodily transformation. The bodies we possess post-resurrection is NOT simply our spirits which leave our bodies. Our body will be transformed. Now I am not arguing that Paul lacked resurrection belief previous to Philippians, but what I am arguing is that the differences between the presentations of Christ’s after-death existence reveal to us nuances that are worth taking note of, because they reveal to us a pattern and development that can apply to our own sense of how we can relate to the resurrection. For Paul, it seems that he was primarily influenced by a theological conviction of Grace superceding the Law, of a Living God, and of Jesus’ atoning crucifixion. These elements combined to form the belief in Paul that Jesus must now be the source of New Life with God and that this New Life can be characterized through Jesus’ after-death narratives of exaltation, “raised from the dead”, and ultimately resurrection.

So for us, a theologically motivated belief in the resurrection should not be seen as being an offense to sacred history, for it seems to be the pattern of what we find in the NT. The important characteristic that Paul, and I think every believer who is theologically motivated to do so, is that our theology be incarnational. Paul did not simply believe in the Gospel. He believed in a Gospel story. He believed that salvation could be found in a man.

Not just any man, of course. Paul, takes a moment in Philippians to remind us of the divinity of Christ, and it is an exceptionally important moment in early Chruch history, because the stanza that Paul writes to the Philippians is considered to be one of those early creedal forms that we discussed earlier, and it shows us at an early stage how Christians related to Jesus as God. But it also reveals a very remarkable Christology that is not often seen in most Churches. It is called kenoticism. It is the belief that for God to become a man, in Jesus, the divine attributes would have had to of been poured out. This image shows Jesus as a man, because he is literally suppressing his divinity at every moment. It is important to note this passage in Philippians as a belief in kenoticism, because it highlights one characteristic of Paul that is over looked, and that is the intentional use of rhetoric. In kenotic Christology there is no distinguishing Jesus as God-man and from man. In fact, it could be argued that the more human Jesus seemed the more like God he must have been. A perfect God would surely be capable of perfectly suppressing his divinity in order to perfectly resemble a man at all times. Thus, the kentocist’s need to appeal to any supernatural characteristics of Jesus’ life are non-existent. It would seem that for Paul this would be a particularly persuasive Christology for he held to no clear supernatural interventionist belief in the resurrection, as well.

What is most important though about the Philippians Christ poem is its clear allusion and connection to the suffering servant motif. Christ is called a “servant” in Philippians 2:7, and in 2:9 it says how he was exalted. Both are direct references to the suffering servant passage in Isaiah 50-55, particularly 53. This is a good passage of scripture to study independently.

The beginning of 1 Corinthians seems to flaunt Paul’s contempt for what might be called a miraculous orientated resurrection. He speaks of how our belief in Christ is foolishness, and he claims that this is so in the context of is apparent lack of support from miraculous intervention (1:22). Paul later says how the Power of the Spirit causes the “weakness” of Christianity to appear strong (2:2-5). So for Paul the victory or triumph of Christianity lies not in any evidential argument crafted to prove that Jesus rose from the dead. It comes from the Power of the Spirit. Paul speaks of a demonstration which was given of this Power, and many might think that this is referring to some miracles that were preformed, but for Paul this spiritual Power is nothing more then wisdom (2:13).

Wisdom is important for Paul as he writes 1 Corinthians for this is almost a Church manual for the 1^st century. In it Paul discusses how to tithe, how to take communion, how women should act in Church, how people should marry, and how spiritual gifts should operate. The climax of this wisdom, Paul says, is love (ch. 13). So again, for Paul, everything goes back to love, or grace, in some way as being the heart of the Gospel. And it is in this that we see the “power” that he so eagerly desires. For Paul, power and demonstrations are not acts of superiority over inferior subjects. Power is a life force that energizes all things. When Paul speaks of the Power of the Spirit, the only thing he can be referring to is the life changing reality of love and grace. Paul does not need divine intervention to know that love makes the world go around.

1 Corinthians 15 is really the only other section that deals with the resurrection, and we already discussed that, which brings us up to date on all the Pauline material that pre-dates 1 Corinthians 15. From these books I can find no suggestion that Christology is a miracle/interventionalist dependent belief system, not for Paul, anyways. However, this does not mean that the Biblical miracles did not, nor could not happen. I for one think that the miracle stories have great value and can cause no one harm for believing in them. But it would seem that it is not necessary for belief in Christ. Paul’s only emphasis in his epistles is the theological impact of Christ’s New Life with God, the gospel. Through Christ we have the Spirit in 1 Corinthians. In Galatians it is because the Law must be abolished. In 1 Thessalonians it is so we can have hope for an after-life. In Philippians it is so we can have power. None of these reasons points to a non-rhetorical motive for believing in the resurrection. So for Paul, it would seem, that the sufficient and necessary belief about the resurrection is that we connect to God through it to deepen our relationship with Him.