The Church: Body of the Risen Lord

Jesus died, but He also rose from the dead. He was persecuted, but He was triumphant. He was rejected, but was also received by many. He suffered pain, yet He was given incorruptible body. He experienced shame, yet He is now glorified. He died a lowly death in the cross, yet He is now exalted in the heavenly realms. The church is the body of the risen Lord. What does this entail for the church?

A look at what happened to the disciples when Jesus died will give a good contrast. When Jesus died, the disciples were like “Oh man! We chose the wrong side!” The Jewish leaders were like “Hihihihihi! We have won!” The disciples were absolutely devastated. They have invested three years of their lives following the rabbi called Jesus, fully trusting that He is the Messiah the whole nation of Israel has been waiting for. They have left their businesses and occupation. They left their families. And now that Jesus is dead, there was nothing waiting for them but the same shame and treatment that Jesus received.

Of course they were completely distraught. Here are some of the things that happened to them:

1. The disciples were scattered. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, the only disciple mentioned to be nearby was John (John 19:16). This is because when Jesus was being arrested at the Garden of Gethsemane, “everyone deserted him and fled,” including a disciple who ran naked, leaving his garments behind (Mark 14:50-52).
2. The disciples went to hiding: “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders” (John 20:19). They were hiding their identity. If Peter denied Jesus Christ three times, the rest of the disciples were now making sure that nobody recognized them. They were so afraid of the religious leaders. Of course, why would they want to be identified with a convicted criminal who was merciless tortured and crucified? This is true about the church today. We act as if Christ is still dead and defeated. We do not want to be identified as a Christian to others because of fear. We wear our t-shirts with godly inscriptions only when we go to church and church-related gatherings. Like the disciples, we meet together and gather in order to hide from the world. We hide our Christian identity within the confines of our homes and the sanctuary. We gather in order to strengthen each other while being afraid of the authorities of the world that challenge our faith.
3. The disciples became idle. In John 21:2-3, at least they already stepped out of the upper room. Seven disciples were together once again, doing nothing. The fact that they were doing nothing is significant, because we must remember that even before Jesus died, they were commissioned to visit villages to minister to the people’s needs (Matt 10:1). In fact, they were so busy that at one point, “they did not even have a chance to eat” (Mark 6:31). But when Jesus died, they abandoned their mission and started to do nothing. Not only this, but Peter seemed to want to go back to his old profession as fisherman and the others followed his lead (John 21:3), when they should be fishing for men (Matt 4:19). They have forgotten their mission.

Like the disciples, the church sometimes is sometimes acting as if Jesus Christ is still in the tomb. We are afraid. We are idle. We gather only to go back to our old patterns of living. No wonder why the world is witnessing a lot of churches closing down, declining in membership, or are just barely surviving.

The church is not meant to be the body of the buried Christ.

There is a parody of the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers,” and I like this parody because this is the national anthem of many churches today:

Backward Christian soldiers, fleeing from the fight, 
With the cross of Jesus, nearly out of sight. 
Christ our rightful master stands against the foe 
Onward into battle, we seem afraid to go.

Like a mighty turtle moves the church of God. 
Brothers we are treading, where we’ve often trod. 
We are much divided, many bodies we, 
Having different doctrines, but not much charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane, 
But the cross of Jesus hidden does remain. 
Gates of hell should never ‘gainst the Church prevail, 
We have Christ’s own promise, but we think it might fail.

Sit here then ye people, join our sleeping throng. 
Blend with ours, your voices in a feeble song. 
Blessings, ease and comfort - ask from Christ the King, 
With our modern thinking, we won’t do a thing.

This hymn is the hymn of the body of the buried Christ. But Christ is no longer buried. He is risen from the dead. He is alive.

The resurrection changed the lives of the disciples. They were no longer afraid of death because they know that life awaits at the end. They have found the true meaning of life. They became bold, aggressive, and full of joy. The finest illustration would be Peter. He denied Jesus to a lowly girl, but after the resurrection, he stood in the temple courts defying those who were responsible for Jesus’ death (Acts 4:20). In Acts 2:22-32, Peter preached about the resurrection in the same city where Jesus died. Many were even eye-witnesses of his death. And such a tragic tale was just two months ago, and for sure, the discussions have not died out yet. Peter was addressing people who were very interested about it. In the crowds were probably the same people who shouted “Crucify!” and religious leaders who were responsible in the death of Christ. Yet Peter stood up.

What happened to Peter? The resurrection of Jesus Christ gave him lots of courage. Here are the things he said in his sermon to the Jerusalem crowd:

1. “God raised him from the dead… It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (2:24). Basically, he was saying that because God is involved, no human activity can ever triumph over him. It does not matter what humans invent or seem to achieve. Human plans and schemes do not work on Him. Human situations are irrelevant. Humanity’s greatest weapon to threaten other humans—death—does not work. Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31).
2. David prophesied about it happening, and once it is said, it will happen (Acts 2:25-28). God is faithful to accomplish what He said He would do. The people knew that once a prophet has spoken, it is as good as done. God’s promises will be fulfilled. This was affirmed by the Israelites: “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
3. Jesus is “the author of life” (Acts 3:14-15). John said that “in Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Jesus affirmed the same (John 5:26-29; 11:25; 14:6). There is power in the resurrection. There is power in life.

Here is the good news: “If we have been united with Jesus in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom 6:5). Just as we share in the suffering and death of Christ, we will also share in the victory of his resurrection. The Church is the body of the crucified Christ, but it is also the body of the risen and victorious Christ. The church is not only a suffering church; it is also the church of the risen and triumphant Lord! Our participation as a church in the death and resurrection of Christ is revealed in the words of Paul: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Phil 3:10).

But what is “the power of the resurrection?”  

It is interesting that the Greek word used for “power” in Philippians 3:10 is the same word used in the promise of Jesus to the disciples in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power (dunamin) when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” It seems that the coming of the Spirit is crucial in receiving the power of the resurrection. And this is just proper, for it is through the Spirit that Jesus Himself was raised from the dead: “He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Pet 3:18).

The Spirit who gave life to a lifeless lump of clay will also give the church life. The Spirit who made an army out of dry bones will also empower the church for its mission. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead (1 Peter 3:18) will also raise the church from its slumber. The church is not a tomb. Christians are not meant to lie and rot in a tomb. Just as Christ rose from the dead, the church is called to rise from its death and slumber. The church is the body of the risen Christ!