123. Christ's Resurrection: Necessity and Causes

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• The Necessity of Christ’s Resurrection: Thomas argues for five distinct reasons why Christ’s resurrection was necessary and fitting, not merely contingent or optional.
• Resurrection vs. Rising: Clarification of terminology—resurrection involves not merely rising from death but promotion to a glorified state where one can no longer die.
• Complementary Work of Passion and Resurrection: The passion removed evils (guilt, punishment, sin); the resurrection bestows positive goods and demonstrates divine power.
• The Principle of Humiliation and Exaltation: Those who humble themselves for God’s sake should be exalted by God—the resurrection corresponds perfectly to Christ’s self-humiliation unto death on the cross.

Key Arguments #

Five Reasons for the Necessity of the Resurrection #

1. Commendation of Divine Justice: God exalts those who humble themselves for His sake. Since Christ humbled Himself unto death out of love, charity, and obedience, divine justice requires His exaltation through glorious resurrection.

   • Scriptural basis: Luke 1:52 (Magnificat—“He has cast down the powerful from the seat and has exalted the humble”)
   • Principle: Humiliation and exaltation are correlative—the cross corresponds to the resurrection

2. Instruction of Faith: The resurrection confirms faith in Christ’s divinity by demonstrating His power over death itself.

   • Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13 (“Although he is crucified from our infirmity, he lives from the power of God”)
   • Without the resurrection, preaching and faith would be empty (1 Corinthians 15)
   • The resurrection proves Christ’s power by His own authority, not merely bestowed by the Father

3. Lifting Up of Hope: Christ’s resurrection, as the head of the Church, provides the foundation and exemplar of our own resurrection.

   • Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15 (if Christ rose, the dead will rise; if Christ did not rise, how can some deny resurrection?)
   • Job 19 (“I know that my Redeemer lives”)
   • The resurrection is the pledge that we who are members of His body will also rise

4. Informing the Life of the Faithful: The resurrection serves as an exemplar for how Christians should live—in newness of life, freed from the dominion of sin.

   • Scripture: Romans 6:9 (“Christ rising from the dead will no longer die; regard yourselves as dead to sin, living to God”)
   • Just as Christ’s resurrection means He will no longer die, our spiritual resurrection means we should no longer serve sin
   • This corresponds to the teaching on ascension: we should keep our thoughts on heavenly things, not earthly

5. Completing Our Salvation: As Christ died to liberate us from evils (guilt, punishment, sin), He rose to promote us to positive goods and perfect beatitude.

   • Scripture: Romans 4 (“He was handed over on account of our sins and rose on account of our justification”)
   • Thomas’s principle: the passion removed the evil of guilt and punishment; the resurrection bestows the good of glorification and exaltation

Objections and Responses #

Objection 1: Christ did not fall through sin, nor was His body dissolved; therefore resurrection does not properly belong to Him.

• Response: Death itself constitutes a fall from life. The separation of soul from body, while not complete dissolution, still represents a kind of disunion (dissolutio) requiring restoration. Micaiah 7: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I have fallen, for I shall rise up.”

Objection 2: The body of Christ remained united to His divinity after death, so it could not be promoted to something higher; how then can there be a true rising?

• Response: Distinction between personal union (hypostatic) and natural union (soul-body). The divine person remained united to the flesh after death, but not through the natural union of soul as form of body. When the body was reunited to the soul, it achieved promotion in nature (not in person), restored to the higher natural status of a living body animated by soul.

Objection 3: The passion of Christ suffices for our salvation; therefore the resurrection is not necessary.

• Response: The passion worked our salvation properly as removal of evils (guilt, punishment). The resurrection works as beginning and exemplar of goods—it bestows positive benefits and demonstrates the fulfillment of Christ’s redemptive mission. Both are necessary for complete salvation.

Important Definitions #

• Resurrection (Latin: resurrectio): Not merely rising from death in act, but the restoration of the soul-body union with the added perfection that one can no longer die—a glorified state. Damascene defines it as “the raising up of that which was dissolved and has fallen.”

• Rising (Latin: surgere): Movement upward, promotion to a higher state. In Christ’s case, promotion in the natural status of His human nature through the reunion of soul and body, though not in personal status (which remained eternally united to the divine Person).

• The Principle of Humiliation-Exaltation: Those who humble themselves for God’s sake must be exalted by God—a principle grounded in divine justice. The cross and resurrection enact this principle perfectly in Christ’s person.

• Newness of Life (Latin: novitas vitae): The transformed manner of living required of the faithful in response to Christ’s resurrection—living as dead to sin and alive to God, just as Christ in His resurrection is released from the possibility of dying.

Examples & Illustrations #

• Sitting and Rising: Berquist uses the simple example of a teacher entering a classroom, sitting down (dissent/humiliation), and standing up again (ascent/exaltation). The principle is natural and intuitive: humiliation is followed by exaltation. This mirrors Christ’s descent to the cross followed by His glorious resurrection.

• Sleep and Waking: For ordinary human beings, it is easier to lie down in sleep and rise again in the morning than it was for Christ to lie down in death and rise in the resurrection—yet Christ accomplishes it with greater power.

• The Three-Day Period: The resurrection on the third day reflects the perfection of the number three (beginning, middle, end), suggesting the fullness and completeness of this event within the rhythm of time and creation.

Notable Quotes #

“The passion of Christ worked our salvation, properly speaking, as regards the removal of evils, right? But resurrection as regards the beginning and exemplar of good things.”

“Because therefore Christ, on account of love, charity, and obedience of God, humbled himself all the way to the death of the cross, it was necessary that he’d be exalted by God all the way to the glorious resurrection.”

“When Christ rose, who is the head, our head, we hope that we will also resurrect.”

Questions Addressed #

1. Was it necessary for Christ to rise from the dead? Yes, for five reasons: (1) divine justice exalts those who humble themselves, (2) it confirms faith in His divinity, (3) it lifts human hope through the exemplar of the head, (4) it informs the faithful how to live in newness of life, and (5) it completes salvation by bestowing positive goods.

2. How is the resurrection distinct from merely ceasing to be dead? Resurrection involves promotion (promotio) to a glorified state—not merely animation of a corpse, but a transformed existence in which death can no longer touch the risen person.

3. Can the resurrection be called a rising (surgere) if Christ remained personally united to the divine? Yes, because while personal status did not change (hypostatic union remained eternal), the natural status of His human nature was elevated through the perfect reunion of soul and body in a glorified state.

4. If the passion already accomplished salvation, why is resurrection necessary? The passion removes evils (guilt, punishment); the resurrection bestows goods (glorification, exaltation, the fulfillment of Christ’s victory). Complete salvation requires both the removal of obstacles and the bestowal of positive perfections.