Union with Christ

Resurrection | The Pauline Epistles

Kirk E. Miller

The following belongs to a series entitled “An Introductory Biblical Theology of Resurrection.” Read other posts belonging to this series here.

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The Pauline Epistles

Of all Biblical authors, the resurrection is most prolific in Paul’s writings.[1] Of first importance, Paul confesses the bodily resurrection and appearance of Christ (1 Cor 15:3-8; Gal 1:1; 1 Thes 1:10; 2 Tim 2:8). Christ is raised for the imputation of His righteousness to all who are united to Him by faith (Rom 4:25),[2] and lives to make intercession for all those for whom He died (Rom 8:34). But even more so, the central motif in Paul’s resurrection-framework is union with Christ.[3]

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Resurrection | The Gospel of John

Kirk E. Miller

The following belongs to a series entitled “An Introductory Biblical Theology of Resurrection.” Read other posts belonging to this series here.

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The Gospel of John

The resurrection, both Christ’s and the believer’s, plays a central role in John’s Gospel. Because Jesus is one with the Father (5:17-18), His will is exactly the Father’s (5:19, 21; 6:37-40), and “whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (5:19). Just as God raises the dead (a prerogative seen in the OT as belonging to God alone [2 Kings 5:17][1]), so Christ raises whomever He wills. Christ came to do His Father’s will (6:38)—to lose none of those whom the Father had given Him to save, but to secure their resurrection (6:39-40). And because Jesus has life in Himself as the Father has life in Himself (5:26), presumably He is able to raise others to life (5:25-29). As Christ has life in Himself, all those in whom He abides and who abide in Him have life (6:53-58). Those who hear the voice of Jesus (5:25) are drawn by the Father to come to Christ (6:44), believe on Christ (6:47), metaphorically feed on His flesh and blood (John 6:54), and are raised to life in some sense now—they have eternal life presently and in this sense will never die (John 5:25; 6:40, 47, 57-58; 11:25-26). But after physically dying, they will also be raised bodily on the last day (John 6:40; 44, 54; 11:24). All will certainly be raised, but some to life and others to judgment (John 5:28-29).[2]

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Having Taken Off the Old Man and Put on the New (Colossians 3:1-11)

Kirk E. Miller

The following is an exegetical paper on Colossians 3:1-11 entitled “Having Taken Off the Old Man and Put on the New: An Exegetical Analysis of Colossians 3:1-11.” I wrote this paper in partial fulfillment for a Greek Exegesis course at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.[1] Fair warning–This paper is a bit more technical than our typical blog posts. If you are not acquainted with New Testament Greek you may find some parts unintelligible although the occasional summary statements should clarify things. But either way, whether you are a Greek scholar or not, I trust the theological discussions in this paper will prove to be beneficial for you.

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