I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead

 

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead

 

John 11:25-27 『 Jesus said unto her, 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. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.』

In a poor town called Bethany, a man named Lazarus died. Then Martha, Lazarus' sister, came to Jesus. Jesus said to Martha, “Thy brother shall rise again,” and in verse 24, Martha said, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus is speaking of a present resurrection, and Martha is responding to a future resurrection.

"What Jesus said" means "He was spiritually dead before, but he comes to life, and because the spirit is raised, he goes forth to the resurrection of life." It means that you must live spiritually and believe in the resurrection to receive eternal life. Even though people did not live spiritually, they are mistakenly thinking that believing in Jesus leads to the resurrection of life. But Martha thinks of it as a simple logic that if one day she dies physically, she will be resurrected. Jesus is not physically dead, but spiritually dead. “Those who believe are spiritually dead before, but they come to life, and because they live spiritually and believe, they have eternal life.” When the spirit comes to life and believes, you can have eternal life.

And in verse 26, Jesus said, “Do you believe this?” But Martha answered in verse 27. “She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”These confessions are not connected to each other. Martha believed in Jesus, but Jesus did not have a conversation with Martha.

In the last days, if people do not go out to the resurrection of life, they will go out to the resurrection of judgment. Although you have died spiritually, you can only gain life by resurrecting spiritually because of Jesus. It does not mean that everyone will be saved by being resurrected. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, everyone will be resurrected at the end of the day. Those who are in Jesus go to the resurrection of life, and those who are not in Jesus go to the resurrection of judgment.

Today, in many churches, like Martha, there will be many who have the wrong idea of the resurrection.

Regarding what Martha said to Jesus, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day”, many people think that simply believing in Jesus will lead him to the resurrection of life. But unless they are spiritually alive, they cannot go out to the resurrection of life. The Lord will say, “You have a name that says you are alive, but you are dead.”

In the Bible, Lazarus died, but Jesus said, “He sleeps.” However, the Bible describes a person whose spirit is dead as “dead”. The “dead” Jesus refers to is a person whose spirit is dead. In John 5:25, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” "He who hears the voice" means the spiritually dead. That is why only those who realize that “I am the dead” will be revived spiritually. In 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice his, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Martha believes in "for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice". Those in the grave are the sleeping ones. The time is coming when all the wicked will hear the voice. The time is late, for it leads to the resurrection of judgment. If you do not believe in living spiritually, there is no life in heaven. Those whose spirit is dead cannot be saved. It means that the spirit is life. In John 6:63, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Jesus is holding onto the resurrected spirit. The Lord spoke to the Sardis Church. “They have the name that they are alive, but they are dead, therefore repent.” If you do not repent, your spirit will not come to life. People only repent of the sins of the world, but they must repent of the root of the original sin that they sinned in the kingdom of God. It is a sin against God by wanting to become like God. The self is formed from the root of original sin. Therefore, repentance requires the death of the fleshly self, the root of sin. To deny self before the word of God is to die. Only those who repent can have the spirit alive. In order for the spirit to be revived, the saints must die in union with Jesus who died on the cross (greed). So repentance means the death of the old man.

 

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