grave, the soul not to be left in hell, but both to meet, and being reunited, to rise again. Again, lest any might imagine that the Messias dying once might rise from death, and living after death, yet die again, there was a farther prophecy to assure us of the excellency of that resurrection, and the perpetuity of that life, to which the Messias was to be raised. For God giving this promise to his people, "I will make an everlasting covenant with you," (of which the Messias was to be the mediator, and to ratify it by his death) and adding this expression, "even the sure mercies of David," (Isa. lv. 3.) could signify no less than that the Christ, who was given first unto us in a frail and mortal condition, in which he was to die, should afterwards be given in an immutable state, and consequently, that he being dead should rise unto eternal life. And thus by virtue of these three predictions we are assured that the Messias was to rise again, as also by those types which did represent and presignify the same. Joseph, who was ordained to save his brethren from death who would have slain him, did represent the Son of God, who was slain by us, and yet dying saved us; and his being in the dungeon typified Christ's death;* his being taken out from thence represented his resurrection; as his evection to the power of Egypt next to Pharaoh, signified the session of Christ at the right hand of his Father. Isaac was sacrificed, and yet lived, to shew that Christ should truly die, and truly live again. And Abraham offered him up, "accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.” (Heb. xi. 19.) In Abraham's intention Isaac died, in his expectation he was to rise from the dead, in his acceptation being spared he was received from the dead, and all this acted to presignify, that the only Son of God was really and truly to be sacrificed and die, and after death was really to be raised to life. What was the intention of our father Abraham not performed, that was the resolution of our heavenly Father and fulfilled. And thus the resurrection of the Messias was represented by types, and foretold by prophecies; and therefore the Christ was to rise from the dead. That Jesus, whom we believe to be the true and only Mes * 'Post duos annos dierum, tertio incipiente, de carcere educitur Joseph. Et noster Joseph Christus Dominus die tertio a mortuis resurrexit. Praesentatur Pharaoni; mundo resurrectio declaratur-Data est Joseph a Pharaone in tota Ægypto potestas. Et noster Joseph Christus Dominus post resurrectionem dicit, Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra,' Prosper. de Promis. et Pradict. p. i. c. 29. +Idco Isaac immolatus non est, quia resurrectio Filio Deiservata est.' Prosper. de Promiss. et Prædict. p. 1. c. 17. Οὕτως γὰρ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος τὸ μέγα μυστήριον τυπικῶς ἀμφοτέροις ἐπιμερίσαντος, τῷ τε ἠγαπημένῳ υἱῷ καὶ τῷ συμπαραδειχθέντι προβάτῳ, ὥστε δειχθῆναι ἐν μὲν τῷ προβάτῳ τὸ τοῦ θανάτου μυστήριον, ἐν δὲ τῷ μονογενεῖ τὴν ζωὴν, τὴν μὴ διακοπτομένην τῷ Oaváry. Greg. Nyss. Orat. 1. in Resur. ad init. sias, did rise from the dead according to the Scriptures, is a certain and infallible truth, delivered unto us, and confirmed by testimonies human, angelical, and divine. Those pious women which thought with sweet spices to anoint him dead, found him alive," held him by the feet, and worshipped him," (Matt. xxviii. 9.) and as the first preachers of his resurrection, with fear and great joy ran to bring his disciples word. The blessed apostles follow them, to whom also "he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs:" (Acts i. 3.) who "with great power gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus;" (Acts iv. 33.) the principal part of whose office consisted in this testimony, as appeareth upon the election of Matthias into the place of Judas, grounded upon this necessity. "Wherefore of these men which have compa nied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." (Acts i. 21, 22.) The rest of his disciples testified the same, to whom he also appeared, even to "five hundred brethren at once." (1 Cor. xv. 6.) These were the witnesses of his own family, of such as worshipped him, such as believed in him. And because the testimony of an adversary is in such cases thought of greatest validity, we have not only his disciples, but even his enemies, to confirm it. Those soldiers that watched at the sepulchre, and pretended to keep his body from the hands of his apostles; they which felt the earth trembling under them, and saw the "countenance of an angel like lightning, and his raiment white as snow;" they who upon that sight "did shake and became as dead men," while he whom they kept, became alive: even some of these " came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done." (Matt. xxviii. 3, 4. 11.) Thus was the resurrection of Christ confirmed by the highest human testimonies, both of his friends and enemies, of his followers and revilers. But so great, so necessary, so important a mystery, had need of a more firm and higher testimony than that of man: and therefore an angel from heaven, who was ministerial in it, gave a present and infallible witness to it. He descended down," and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it." (Matt. xxviii. 2.) Nay, " two angels in white, sitting the one at the head, the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain, said unto the women, Why seek ye the living among the dead? he is not here, but is risen." (John xx. 12.) These were the witnesses sent from heaven, this the angelical testimony of the resurrection. "the And "if we receive the witness of men," or angels, witness of God is greater," (1 John v. 9.) who did sufficiently attest this resurrection: not only because there was no other power but that of God, which could effect it, but as our Sat viour himself said, "The Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me;" adding these words to his apostles, " and ye shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.” (John xv. 26, 27.) The Spirit of God sent down upon the apostles did thereby testify that Christ was risen, because he sent that Spirit from the Father; and the apostles witnessed together with that Spirit, because they were enlightened, comforted, confirmed, and strengthened in their testimony by the same Spirit. Thus God raised up Jesus," and shewed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to those who did eat and drink with him, after he rose from the dead." (Acts x. 40, 41.) And thus, as it was foretold of the Messias, did our Jesus rise; which was the first part of our inquiry. For the second, concerning the reality and propriety of Christ's resurrection, expressed in that term from the dead, it will be necessary first to consider what are the essential characters and proprieties of a true resurrection; and, secondly, to shew how those proprieties do belong and are agreeable to the raising of Christ. The proper notion of the resurrection consists in this, that it is a substantial change by which that which was before, and was corrupted, is reproduced the same thing again. It is said to be a change, that it may be distinguished from a second or new creation. For if God should annihilate a man or angel, and make the same man or angel out of nothing, though it were a restitution of the same thing, yet were it not properly a resurrection, because it is not a change or proper mutation, but a pure and total production. This change is called a substantial change, to distinguish it from all accidental alterations: he which awaketh from his sleep ariseth from his bed, and there is a greater change from sickness to health; but neither of these is a resurrection. It is called a change of that which was and hath been corrupted, because things immaterial and incorruptible cannot be said to rise again; resurrection implying a reproduction, and that which after it was, never was not, cannot be reproduced. Again, of those things which are material and corruptible, of some the forms continue and subsist after the corruption of the whole, of others not. The forms of inanimate bodies, and all irrational souls, when they are corrupted, cease to be; and therefore if they should be produced out of the same matter, yet were not this a proper resurrection, because thereby there would not be the same individual which was before, but only a restitution of the species by another individual. But when a rational soul is separated from its body, which is the corruption of a man, that soul so separated doth exist, and consequently, is capable of conjunction and reunion with the body; and if the two be again united by an essential and vital union, from which life doth necessarily flow, then doth the same man live which lived before; and consequently, this reunion is a perfect and proper resurrection from death to life, because the same individual person, consisting of the same soul and body, which was dead, is now alive again. Having thus delivered the true nature of a proper resurrection, we shall easily demonstrate that Christ did truly and properly rise from the dead. For, first, by a true, though miraculous, generation, he was made flesh; and lived in his human nature a true and proper life, producing vital actions as we do. Secondly, he suffered a true and proper dissolution at his death; his soul being really separated, and his body left without the least vitality, as our dead bodies are. Thirdly, the same soul was reunited to the same body, and so he lived again the same man. For the truth of which, two things are neces. sary to be shewn upon his appearing after death; the one concerning the verity, the other concerning the identity of his body. All the apostles doubted of the first; for when Christ stood in the midst of them, "they were affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit." But he sufficiently assured them of the verity of his corporeity, saying, "Handle me and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”* He convinced them all of the identity of his body, saying, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself;" (Luke xxiv. 37. 39.) especially unbelieving Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing." (John xx. 27.) The body then in which he rose, must be the same in which he lived before, because it was the same with which he died. " And that we might be assured of the soul as well as of the. body: First, he gave an argument of the vegetative and nutritive faculty, saying unto them, "Have ye here any meat? and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honey-comb, and he took it and did eat before them." (Luke xxiv. 41-43.) Secondly, of the sensitive part, conversing with them, shewing himself, seeing and hearing them. Thirdly, he gave evidence of his rational and intellectual soul, by speaking to them, and discoursing out of the Scriptures, concerning those things which he spake unto them, while he was yet with them." (Ibid. 44.) Thus did he shew, that the body which they saw, * Thus Ignatius disputes against the Aokηrai, in his days: 'Eyo yàp μɛτὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐν σαρκὶ αὐτὸν οἶδα καὶ πιστεύω ὄντα. Καὶ ὅτε πρὸς τοὺς περὶ Πέτρον ἦλθεν, ἔφη αὐτοῖς, λάβετε, ψηλαφήσατέ με καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ δαιμόνιον. Καὶ εὐθὺς αὐτοῦ ἥψαντο καὶ ἐπίστευσαν, κρατηθέντες τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι. -Merà dè Týv åváotαolv ovvέpayev avtoïç kaì ovvétiεv wg σαρκικὸς, καίπερ πνευματικῶς ἡνωμένος т Пarρí. Epist. ad Smyrn. §. 3. 'Pal pandam carnem Dominus præbuit, quam januis clausis introduxit-ut esse post resurrectionem ostenderet corpus suum et ejusdem naturæ et alterius gloriæ. Greg. Magn. Hom. 26. in Evang. Resurrexit Christus, absoluta res est. Corpus erat, caro erat, pependit in cruce, positus est in sepulcro, exhibuit illam vivam qui vivebat in illa.' S. August. Serm. de Tempore, 147. al. 242. ξ. 1. was truly and vitally informed with a human soul. And that they might be yet farther assured that it was the same soul, by which that body lived before,* he gave a full testimony of his Divinity by the miracle which he wrought in the multitude of fishes caught, by breathing on the apostles the Holy Ghost, and by ascending into heaven in the sight of his disciples. For being "no man ascended into heaven but he which came from heaven, the Son of man which was in heaven," (John iii. 13.) being the Divinity was never so united to any human soul but only in that person, it appeared to be the same soul with which he lived and wrought all the miracles before. To conclude, being Christ appeared after his death with the same body in which he died, and with the same soul united to it, it followeth that he rose from the dead by a true and proper resurrection. Moreover, that the verity and propriety of Christ's resurrection may farther appear, it will be necessary to consider the cause thereof, by what power and by whom it was effected. And if we look upon the meritorious cause, we shall find it to be Christ himself. For he by his voluntary sufferings in his life, and exact obedience at his death, did truly deserve to be raised unto life again.† Because he drank of the brook in the way, because he humbled himself unto death, even to the death of the cross, therefore was it necessary that he should be exalted, and the first degree of his exaltation was his resurrection. Now being Christ humbled himself to the sufferings both of soul and body; being whatsoever suffered, the same by the virtue and merit of his passion was to be exalted; being all other degrees of exaltation supposed that of the resurrection it followeth from the meritorious cause, that Christ did truly rise from the dead with the same soul and the same body, with which he lived united, and died separated. The efficient cause of the resurrection of Christ is to be considered either as principal or instrumental. The principal cause was God himself; for no other power but that which is omnipotent, can raise the dead. It is an act beyond the activity of any creature, and unproportionate to the power of any finite agent. "This Jesus hath God raised up (saith the apostle), whereof we are all witnesses." (Acts ii. 32.) And generally in the Scriptures as our, so Christ's, resurrection is attributed unto God; and as we cannot hope after death to rise to life again without the activity of an infinite and irresistible * Ideo clausis ad discipulos ostiis introibat, et flatu suo dabat Spiritum Sanctum, et dato intelligentiæ lumine, sanctarum Scripturarum occulta pandebat; et rursus idem vulnus lateris, fixuras clavorum, et omnia recentissimæ passionis signa monstrabat, ut agnosceretur in eo proprietas divinæ humanæque naturæ individua perma nere.' Leo,Serm.1.de Resurrectione,c.3. +Ut mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus resurrectione clarificaretur, prius humiliatus est passione: non enim a mortuis resurrexisset, si mortuus non fuisset. Humilitas claritatis est meritum, claritas humilitatis est præmium.' S. August, Tract. 104. in Ioan. §. 3. |