Who resurrected Jesus? I. Overview of the Question The question “Who resurrected Jesus?” arises from passages throughout Scripture indicating that God the Father raised Him, that Jesus Himself exercised the authority to take up His life again, and that the Holy Spirit was also involved in this miraculous event. Each of these affirmations is rooted in biblical teaching, highlighting a unified work of the Triune God. This entry catalogs key biblical passages from the Berean Standard Bible that address this question, considering both direct statements about who raised Jesus and the broader theological significance of Christ’s resurrection. II. God the Father’s Role The New Testament repeatedly names God the Father as the One who raised Jesus from the dead. • Galatians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.” Here, Paul explicitly identifies God the Father as the One who performed the resurrection. • Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The emphasis is on the believer’s recognition of God’s power in raising Christ. • 1 Peter 1:21: “[Through Him] you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” This verse reinforces that the Father initiated and accomplished the act of raising Jesus and bringing Him into His glory. These references portray the Father’s sovereignty and confirm that the resurrection was performed by His will and power. This declaration of God’s action in Christ’s resurrection is central to the apostolic preaching and the earliest Christian confessions. III. Jesus’s Role in His Own Resurrection Scripture also reveals that Jesus possessed and exercised divine authority to rise from the dead, highlighting His co-equal power with the Father. • John 2:19: “Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.’” Though some of His hearers mistook His reference to the physical temple, the Gospel clarifies He spoke of the temple of His body (John 2:21). • John 10:17–18: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.” These verses affirm the divine prerogative of Christ to raise Himself. This is significant in understanding that Jesus’s resurrection was not solely a passive event. Instead, it was an active display of His eternal sonship, evidencing His oneness with the Father. IV. The Holy Spirit’s Role The Holy Spirit is also described as the agent of Christ’s resurrection, contributing to our comprehensive understanding of who resurrected Jesus. • Romans 8:11: “And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.” In this passage, Paul connects the Spirit’s power in raising Jesus with the same Spirit who indwells believers, offering them the hope of resurrection. This underscores the Holy Spirit’s involvement in the resurrection and the continuation of that divine power at work within the faithful. V. Triune Unity in the Resurrection While Scripture attributes the resurrection to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, this should not be seen as contradictory. Instead, it illustrates the inseparable work of the Triune God. The Father ordains and wills it; the Son, sharing in divine authority, lays down His life and takes it up again; and the Holy Spirit powerfully enacts the resurrection. As a consistent teaching across the New Testament manuscripts—attested by the earliest Greek copies (such as those cataloged among papyri and codices showing remarkable agreement in these key resurrection passages)—this triune involvement demonstrates unity of purpose and action within the Godhead. VI. Historical and Theological Implications Scripture’s witness to the resurrection, coupled with historical testimony preserved in both biblical and extra-biblical writings, offers a cohesive argument for this event. Ancient historians such as Josephus mention Jesus and the early Christian community’s claims of His manifestation after death. The unanimous testimony of the New Testament manuscripts and the confessions of the early church confirm that the resurrection was understood as a definitive act of God, involving all Persons of the Godhead. From a theological perspective, the resurrection is central to the gospel message (1 Corinthians 15:14–17). It validates Jesus’s identity, secures believers’ forgiveness of sins, and offers the promise of eternal life. Every record of the event declares divine power and intention, encouraging faith and surrender to the One who overcame death. VII. Conclusion Scripture consistently credits Jesus’s resurrection to all three Persons of the Triune God—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Rather than conflicting claims, these passages reveal a unified, divine action. The Father’s will, the Son’s authority, and the Spirit’s power jointly accomplish the resurrection. Therefore, the most comprehensive answer to “Who resurrected Jesus?” is that the Triune God did so: the Father willed it, the Son exercised His authority to lay down and take up His life, and the Spirit empowered the completion of this history-defining event. |
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